SUSTAINABLE MAGIC: RECYCLING BOTTLES INTO ENGINEERING PARTS
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With sustainability in mind, the Additive Manufacturing team has found exciting ways to save our business cash and time whilst we drive towards net zero carbon emissions by 2039.
In Gaydon’s Building 540, a small team of engineers are busy at work, creating amazing prototype parts, all with sustainability and saving cash in mind. And if you want a test part produced quickly, the team is on hand to support you.
Our highly skilled, Additive Manufacturing Centre (AMC) team has found a way to reuse plastic waste produced by our business and create 3D printed parts which are working their way onto vehicles in our engineering test fleet.
But how do they do it we hear you ask?
One method at their disposal involves sintering polymer powder with precise lasers into layers which create computer designed parts. In simple terms, lasers are fired at plastic powder in such a way to create 3D parts.
The powder used during this process comes from a few sources. Jaguar Land Rover can buy it directly from a supplier. However, during the process, at least half of the waste powder can be recycled to go through the process again.
And it gets even better! The resourceful AMC team have found a way to recycle plastic bottles, redundant parts and waste powder back into a filament which can be used in Fuse Deposition Modelling machines (another method of 3D printing) to create more new parts.
Yes, you heard it right, your old coke bottle is now a prototype part on one of our test vehicles.
As we continue to Reimagine as a business and work towards our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2039, this recent innovation is just one of many ways we are keeping sustainability at the forefront of everything we do.
We are at the start of our sustainability journey at the AMC, but we are extremely excited by the innovations this could bring to Jaguar Land Rover.
Reducing our carbon footprint is a continuous mission and we must work in unity to be successful.
Luke FoxAdditive Manufacturing Lead Strategic Engineer, Jaguar Land Rover
Get in touch!
Luke and the AMC team want to hear from you. Do you have a test part you need to produce quickly instead of going out to a suppler? The AMC team can 3D print it for you. Simply check out the Additive Manufacturing Centre Intranet page to find out more and contact the them.
If you have a 3D printer in your department, the filament made from recycled plastic could be a new source of material for you in the future, so this story is not over yet.
Over the coming months, Luke and the AMC team will be looking to perform tours of the AMC facility, so you can see the magic first hand. Keep reading your Pioneer newsletter over coming months for more information.
A big well done to the AMC team for their innovate thinking and helping us strive towards net zero by 2039.
