Sheffield Forgemasters joins industry in 3D printing NHS visor components

21st April 2020

Steel casting and forging specialist, Sheffield Forgemasters, has devoted its 3D printing facility to help protect vulnerable frontline NHS workers and assist in the UK’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sheffield Forgemasters’ Research, Design and Technology (RD&T) department has started to produce 3D printed components for protective visors used by NHS staff, in response to a request from 3D print solutions provider, Solid Print3D.

The initiative coincides with Dan Jarvis, the mayor of the Sheffield city region, issuing call to arms for South Yorkshire businesses to join the national effort and help make life-saving medical equipment during the pandemic.

RD&T uses its 3D printing output to produce models and prototypes for ultra-large, complex steel components, but with the ability to 3D print the visor components, the business is more than happy to play its part in assisting the fight against the pandemic.

David Bond, chief executive officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We don’t have large scale facilities for 3D printing, but it is important for us to do what we can at this desperate time for our NHS workers and each visor that is constructed could potentially save a person’s life.

“We normally use our 3D print output to establish what we can achieve in large-scale engineering terms and so it is very much utilised on a bespoke basis rather than for production runs, but we are up for the challenge and really want to help out.

Sheffield Forgemasters would like to encourage any other companies that have a 3D printing capability to respond to the request. The request, best designs and guidance, can be found on the Solid Print3D website:

https://www.solidprint3d.co.uk/corona-virus-groups-that-are-3d-printing-facemasks

David added: “We welcome the call to arms by the Sheffield City Region Mayor for South Yorkshire businesses to join the NHS supply drive at this difficult time and hope that more companies will come forward to offer whatever help they can.”

Component setup and optimisation has been completed and Sheffield Forgemasters plans to despatch 100 of the crucial components within seven days.

Photo Captions: The first 3D printed visor components going through optimisation/Sheffield Forgemasters