Mark Dickin, Additive Manufacturing & Moulding Specialist at Ricoh 3D, says: “Our site is uniquely set up to take a product from concept to prototype to serial production, and that is exactly what we have done here in a very short timeframe. This really is a testimony to the strength of our supplier relations and the cross-functional team who made it happen so quickly. Local suppliers for the foam, elastic strapping and visor components have come forward across our production print, design solutions and quality assurance networks. We were seeing reports of nurses’ faces being cut and bruised by their existing protective equipment. Our frontline workers are battling enough already, without having to tend to sore and swollen faces at the end of a 12-hour shift. We knew our Polypropylene material was ideally suited for the job with its flexible, lightweight, watertight and fatigue resistant nature. Given its comparable properties to injection moulding, we had no doubts that this was the right material to support the transition to full moulded production.”

Jason Pott, Lead Research Nurse for Emergency Medicine at The Royal London Hospital, adds: “In our tests, staff commented on the comfort of Ricoh’s solution over existing equipment. We tested across a range of male and female staff in the emergency department with different head shapes, hairstyles and head scarves – everyone was happy with the fit. Innovations like this help staff in the NHS to remain safe while caring for those in need.”

Ricoh 3D already produces over five million mouldings per month as part of Ricoh’s toner business, with capacity available at a moment’s notice at its 828m² injection moulding facility. Ricoh 3D has experience with medical projects that have made living conditions better for thousands of people. These include development of a lever-hinge mechanism for ankle-foot orthotics and involvement in revolutionary new technology which sees limbs scanned and precisely replicated using 3D printing prior to operation. Surgical instruments can also be produced using additive manufacturing and are typically used for intricate operations.