According to Mike Littrell, president of CIDEAS (a successful 3D printing and processing company), this is one of the hottest areas in 3D printing. "3D printing technology will not replace 100% of the manufacturing industry, but it does help the business," Littrell said.
The following are three ways to use 3D printing to save time, materials, and costs in packaging lines:
1. In the manufacture and improvement of packaging machinery parts. There are several examples of this:
If there are parts that are no longer suitable for the old machine, you can think about your own production. Engineers can use 3D scanning to feed back part information that has been eliminated, then create a CAD file and use the 3D printer to make the corresponding parts.
In most cases, 3D printed parts are produced faster than on CNC (computer numerical control) machines. In the processing of permanent parts or molds, engineers can use 3D printing to quickly create a temporary part, fixture, fixture, or mold to keep the line running. Although I say "temporary," some of the bridge parts/tools are still very strong. At CIDEAS, they currently have custom-made ABS/M100 and polycarbonate parts successfully used in their own production operations, which took less than 12 years.
Since 3D printing does not require the same design constraints as the injection mold, complex parts can be produced only by creative design, thus saving material and saving costs. One example from CIDEAS is an ABS plastic closure made for the sealer. It is made by creating a sparse lattice inside the material and wrapping the outer surface outside the part of the solid. It is still strong enough to withstand the stringent requirements of the packaging line and it also saves a lot of material. Combining this with ultra high molecular mass (UHMW) accessories on the packaging machine, you (or the machinery manufacturer) can achieve significant cost savings.
Producing specific packaging machinery parts, dies, fixtures, fixtures, or other "demand" tools can also reduce inventory and all associated costs. Or it just helps to develop a launch date for a key product.
2. In the accurate dimension modeling. The ability of virtual simulation is very limited. Engineers can more accurately measure the spatial layout of a new packaging line/factory by creating a full-scale packaging machine model.
3. The packaging design verification and testing aspects of the production line. For example, creating a hot-formed, porous die allows packaging engineers to perform a variety of packaging design tests more quickly to explore how small changes can improve packaging flow in the filling process.