The food and beverage packaging industry is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by evolving consumer demands, sustainability goals, and the need for cost reduction. Packaging machine builders must adapt quickly to these changes, ensuring their machines can handle the new requirements without sacrificing performance or increasing costs. Custom additive manufacturing (AM) solutions are emerging as a powerful tool to meet these packaging machinery challenges, offering flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and speed that traditional manufacturing methods can’t match.
Challenges facing the Packaging Industry in 2024 and beyond
Innovation and rapid changes in consumer behavior are pushing food and beverage companies to adapt their packaging lines to meet new demands — whether it’s a shift toward bulk buying, the preference for sustainable packaging, or the need for rapid product changeovers. Packaging machine builders, in turn, must develop machines that are not only versatile but also capable of quick adjustments to accommodate these trends.
Farason Corporation faced the challenge of moving heavy, irregularly shaped shampoo bottles on a fast-moving production line. Traditional off-the-shelf packaging solutions couldn’t meet the required payload limits for their robot, which led to slower cycle rates and reduced productivity. By adopting custom AM solutions, Farason was able to develop a lightweight, high-performance End of Arm Tooling (EOAT) that met the demands of their production line, enabling them to maintain high speeds and improve overall efficiency.
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