A family-run vehicle conversion firm is embracing Virtual Reality technology to boost productivity and reduce turnaround times for designing and kitting out vehicles for customers.

A team from the Integrated Manufacturing Group (IMG) worked with Clarks Vehicle Conversions to show how it can use Virtual Reality (VR) to revolutionise the design stages of converting a vehicle and that with some clever optimisation of its CAD models, the process time can be improved and complexity reduced.

Clarks Vehicle Conversions (CVC), based in Doncaster, kits out vehicles such as welfare vans, lifestyle vehicles and crew carriers to clients’ individual specifications. Customers include firms such as National Rail, Enterprise and Lex Autolease. The work by the IMG group was carried out as part of a five-day funded project and is part of the AMRC’s commitment to SME engagement, funded by Catapult.