Solving Carecos Kosmetik's Problems with 3D-Printed Grippers

The problem: expensive and long waiting times

Carecos Kosmetik GmbH faced the following problem: if a product had to be changed, the company had to have new grippers made for the packaging machines, which would grip the lids and screw them onto cans. The company had previously opted for elaborate machining of grippers made from aluminum. Not only did that cost up to 10,000 euros per part, it also took six weeks. That is too long a wait in an industrial sector, where at the beginning of the era of the Internet of Things it is increasingly important to be able to economically produce even small batches.

50 times more wear-resistant than standard materials

Almost every element of a gripper is flexible and glides in its movement on surfaces and shafts and pins, so that the individual parts are exposed to constant wear. Metal parts must often be fitted with separate bearings or lubricated in the application. The use of iglide I150 in 3D printing enabled the company to save up to 85% of the cost and 70% of the manufacturing time compared to the previously selected aluminum formats. Plastic grippers are seven times lighter than metal grippers. In addition to iglide I150, igus® offers five other filaments for the printing of wearing parts in a wide variety of application scenarios. These are up to 50 times more wear-resistant compared to standard materials such as polylactide (PLA) and can be processed on all standard 3D printers.

Profile

What was needed: grippers to screw on lids
Manufacturing process: igus® 3D printing service
Requirements: hygienic, no external lubrication used, cost-effective, available quickly, lightweight
Material: iglide® I150 filament
Branch of industry: packaging industry for cosmetics products
Success for the customer: 85% cost savings for the grippers, as well as a 70% faster delivery of the grippers

More flexibility through 3D printing

Metal grippers, which for example put the lid on cream jars, are usually limited to a single format. Therefore, it often takes weeks for a product change, until the right gripper is made. It is 85% more cost-effective and 70% faster with robust and lightweight plastic grippers made of iglide® filaments. They come directly from the 3D printing process.

Solution: 3D-printed grippers from iglide® filaments

Due to the high costs and the long production time of the metal grippers, Carecos Kosmetik GmbH initially tried to 3D print the grippers with standard plastics such as ABS and PLA. However, the printing processes did not provide satisfactory results. So they turned to igus® and with the tribologically-optimized I150 filament, they found an extremely stable and simultaneously impact-resistant material for 3D printing, with which a gripper can be printed within 10 to 12 hours.

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