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

• What was needed: igus® 3D printing service using iglide® I150 filament
• Requirements: hygienic, grease-free operation, cost-effective, available quickly, lightweight
• Industry: packaging industry for cosmetics products
• Success for the customer: 85% cost saving as well as a 70% faster delivery time for the grippers compared to previously-used metal options

Carecos Kosmetik GmbH was faced with the following problem: a product change was due and the company had to have new grippers made for its packaging machines. These devices grip the lids and screw them onto containers. Carecos Kosmetik had previously opted for the complex milling process of aluminum grippers. This cost up to 10,000 euros per unit and took around six weeks to produce. In the search for a more flexible 3D-printed alternative, filaments had to be found that would work reliably even under the influence of constant wear. This is because almost every element of a gripper is movable and slides on surfaces, shafts and pins as it moves.

Due to the high costs and long production time of the metal grippers, Carecos Kosmetik GmbH initially tried 3D-printing the grippers using standard plastics such as ABS and PLA. However, the printing processes did not deliver satisfactory results.

The manufacturer then turned to igus® and found the tribologically optimized filament iglide i150, an extremely strong and impact-resistant material for 3D printing. With this solution, a gripper could be printed within 10 to 12 hours.

Metallic parts often have to be fitted with separate bearing bushings or lubricated in the application. Thanks to the use of iglide i150, the company was able to save up to 85% of the costs and 70% of the production time compared to the previously selected aluminum formats. Furthermore, plastic grippers are seven times lighter than metal grippers. In addition to iglide i150, igus offers various other filaments for printing wear-resistant parts in a wide range of application scenarios. Compared to standard materials such as polylactide (PLA), these are up to 50 times more wear-resistant and can be processed on all commercially available 3D printers.