BAE Systems extends PPE effort with ‘Door Claw’
As well as producing face shields and supporting the national ventilator effort, BAE Systems has revealed that its Maritime Services team on the Isle of Wight are 3D-printing the innovative ‘Door Claw’ by Vestas.
Above:
Door Claw Covid-19 door opener.
Courtesy BAE Systems
This piece of PPE allows users to open doors without touching the door handle, helping to reduce the spread of infection.
To open a door, the hook part of the device is placed over a door handle, then turned and pulled.
The Door Claw also has a touchscreen stylus, so that users can operate devices such as tablets without using their fingers, further reducing the risk of infection from shared devices.
The design for the Door Claw has come from Vestas, a company that makes wind turbine blades and has offices in Cowes.
When BAE Systems heard about the design its team was eager to help and offered to increase production with its 3D printers, meaning health workers at the 77 care homes on the island could get the devices more quickly.
Paul Davis from Maritime Services is helping on the project and said: “It’s rewarding to see how different industries on the island are pulling together to help the NHS and care home workers with the urgent PPE that they need to help keep residents safe. Making best use of our collective skills and equipment as an industry is just a natural response to the current situation.”
So far, BAE Systems have supplied more than 200 Door Claws, with more in production to supply the island.
Vestas has also made the 3D file for the Door Claw freely available on its website.
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