Engineers at Krones have developed a part-making system for their filling lines at customer facilities to reduce downtime when machines fail.
Krones’ Rapid Part on Demand offers 3D printing on-site to replace any part required, reducing downtime to a ‘matter of hours’ in addition to inventory and procurement costs.
Components are custom-made for specific applications, once Krones’ engineers have assessed its feasibility and created a digital model, according to customer specifications. Krones also tests the product.
At the Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany (CCEP DE) site in Dorsten, the company operates three shifts a day on two canning lines and three non-returnable PET container lines.
The site has installed the Rapid Part on Demand system, with a 3D printer, access to the required 3D printing files and “additional support for special circumstances”. The system has more than 1,000 standard parts available for download from the Krones database.
Maik Becker, OT engineer at the Dorsten site, who is responsible for management, development and security of the systems used to control and monitor the production lines, said: “Just recently, the packer on one of our canning lines stopped because a small plastic part – a bracket for one of the cutters – had broken.”
He said in this case, he had to contact the Krones team directly, as there was no 3D print file for the particular part.
Becker commented: “In next to no time, they had designed the part for us and we were able to send the files to our printer through the Krones shop. It was very easy.”
Regina Schweiger of Krones’ 3D printing team, explained: “The package that CCEP DE is using is one of two options available through our Rapid Part on Demand program.
“We offer customised engineering, in which we generate printing licences for parts that are not in the standard spare parts catalogue in the Krones.shop.”
She said the feasibility tests take one working day to determine whether a part is suitable for 3D printing. Taking into consideration the stresses a part may have to withstand, she added: “We use this knowledge to design a perfect-fit 3D printing model and find just the right material to ensure that the finished part can hold up in production.”
Becker said that using the printer was “really easy” and did not require any experience of 3D modelling or printing. “It only took three hours to have the 3D-printed spare in hand, ready to be installed – and the line was up and running again.”
He added that CCEP DE prints small parts to have on hand. “That way, we can immediately replace the part if a machine goes down – or during scheduled maintenance – and then have a new spare available in the warehouse just a couple of hours later.
Becker said the quality of the 3D printed parts were comparable to original parts, indicating its durability.
Schweiger added: “They’ve printed gearwheels and sleeves, dummy bottles and, of course, that cutter bracket.”
Krones pointed out there were also savings to be made on shipping costs.
