Maintenance-free 3D printed grippers transform packaging machine effectiveness

Robust 3D printed plastic grippers made of igus tribo-filaments can be manufactured 85 percent cheaper and 70 percent faster than traditional machining aluminium parts.
 
Alongside the digitalisation of industry, 3D printing is considered one of the biggest trends in industrial innovation. The vision
of single batches becomes a reality and enables the personalised series production of, for example, furniture, shoes, or watches.

The high-volume packaging industry also benefits from additive manufacturing. With accurate CAD data of the product, it is easy to manufacture wearing parts, such as grippers,
using an additive process. Since 2015, igus has supplied tribologically optimised 3D printing filaments for the FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) process, specifically for printing wearing parts. These filaments are made from self-lubricating iglidur high-performance plastics and optimised for wear and friction.
 
Among many
customers to have used tribo-filaments from igus is cosmetics company, Carecos Kosmetik. It faced this problem regularly: when a product was changed, its packaging machines needed new grippers to grip the lids and screw them onto cans. Previously, the customer chose to machine a gripper
from aluminium, a process that cost many thousands of euros per part with a changeover time of six weeks – too long to wait in the fast-moving packaging industry, where, with digitalisation, it is increasingly important to produce even small batches economically...

Read the full article in the August issue of DPA