CAD and product design
V2.0 External & Internal Shield Set
The move from an original CAD-designed shield to the refined V2.0 internal and external shield set for the Trafic, Vivaro, NV300 and Talento.
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The attack changed, no suitable product existed, and Sussex Installations had to learn how to design the answer.
The move into product design was not originally a plan to become a manufacturer. It came from repeatedly seeing vans attacked in a way that the available products did not address. Thieves were drilling and cutting directly through thin door skins to reach the latch or factory locking module.
The established van-lock manufacturers did not have a suitable latch-protection and repair solution, while the traditional plate market remained focused largely around handles and barrels.
I bought a 3D printer and taught myself CAD software. Printed prototypes allowed me to test shape, position, access and installation before committing to metal. I could fit a prototype, identify what did not work, alter the model and repeat the process until the design protected the latch while remaining practical to install.
The first design combined an external stainless-steel shield with bespoke protection inside the door. The external part could cover existing attack damage, strengthen the panel and act as a visible deterrent. The internal part protected the mechanism the thief was actually trying to reach.
The Sussex Installations branding was intended to communicate that the external plate represented a complete shield set, rather than a surface plate with no hidden latch protection.
External-only products entered the market and were cheaper because they did not include the internal component. Online, customers often compared the visible plates and concluded that our complete system was expensive. Many buyers only wanted the external shield. Others wanted only hidden internal protection, which is often a very intelligent strategy.
This led to independent, compatible product families: OG Shields externally and Stealth Shields internally. The customer can select either one or combine them as separate layers.
Thieves began moving holes above and below flat protection. They also cut around hardened plates, folded the plate and surrounding door skin outward and then accessed the latch. The answer could not simply be more anti-drill metal. Internal shields needed geometry that wrapped around the vulnerable mechanism and resisted cutting, folding and alternative approach angles.
The manufacturing business grew out of workshop evidence: observe a real attack, prototype the response, test it on the vehicle, refine it and then make the solution repeatable for other van owners.
We had outgrown the small unit, and buying our own premises for Sussex Installations really took the brakes off the business and opened up new opportunities for us.
A massive new challenge to adapt our premises to accommodate a CNC laser machine, CNC press brake, CNC gasket material cutting machines, along with welding machines, a powder coating booth, and to build a warehouse. Also to learn how to operate all of these machines and innovate new techniques, with the ambition to design and develop the best fitting and most effective van security shields that our industry has seen.
These extracts are from genuine five-star Google reviews.
★★★★★"We use Sussex Installations for large fleets of kits for various different vehicles, all kits come with clear instructions, the service and quality is excellent."
Mehmet Pekgoz · Google review, 2024
★★★★★"Good instructions with a video also provided on their website to aid in installation. Quality product, well made."
Cornelius Encyclopedia · Google review, May 2021
★★★★★"Good quality products at realistic prices, buy with confidence."
Bruce Elder · Google review, 2024
Review wording has been lightly shortened for display without changing its meaning. Full reviews remain available on the Sussex Installations Google Business Profile.
No. It was not originally a plan. It came from repeatedly seeing vans attacked in a way that no available product addressed, since thieves were drilling and cutting directly through thin door skins to reach the latch, and the established lock manufacturers and traditional plate market had not caught up.
I bought a 3D printer and taught myself CAD software, so I could print prototypes, fit them to a real van, see what did not work, alter the model and repeat the process until the design protected the latch while remaining practical to install.
Because thieves began moving their attack points above and below flat protection, and also cut around hardened plates and folded them outward with the door skin. The internal shield needed geometry that wraps around the vulnerable mechanism and resists cutting, folding and alternative approach angles, not just harder material.
The move from an original CAD-designed shield to the refined V2.0 internal and external shield set for the Trafic, Vivaro, NV300 and Talento.
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V-Armour is the trade brand under which Sussex Installations wholesales its own manufactured shields to installers and dealers around the UK and beyond.
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