Customised product turners for packaging and beverage industries

3D printed solution to save time, cost and materials on product turning conveyors

Precise product turning of packaging such as beverage cans, tins and jars is an essential step in conveyor belt systems in the beverage, cosmetics and food industries. High volumes and speeds require a solution that is cost-efficient, flexible and durable. Traditional product turners made from bent steel wires or milled plastic blocks are expensive, difficult to customise and often cause material waste.

This is where the 3D printed product turner from igus comes in. Made of wear-resistant iglidur i150 tribofilament, manufacturers can save over 70% in production costs and over 90% on material, all while reducing the CO₂ footprint by over 85%. The customised design makes the turners adaptable for all can formats and enables easy cleaning through the integrated maintenance opening. It is made from a tribologically optimised material designed for continuous operation in industrial environments, guaranteeing a long service life with no unplanned downtime.

More information on iglidur i150

Industry challenges and solutions for packaging and beverage manufacturers

beverage conveyor line with product turner

The industry

Many packaging and beverage customers require cost-effective and flexible product turning solutions for high-speed conveyor systems, often facilitating up to 80,000 cans per hour.

Any competitive product needs to be customisable, wear-resistant, and to be delivered quickly to minimise downtime on production lines.

traditional metal product turner on beverage conveyor line

Challenge

Product turners were previously made from bent steel wires or milled plastic blocks, posing numerous challenges:

High production costs due to material consumption and resource-intensive production methods
Long delivery times due to complex production processes
Limited design flexibility, making adaptations to different can formats difficult to realise
Waste of materials and high CO₂ emissions, an inefficient production process

Solution

The product turner consists of wear-resistant iglidur i150 filament, designed for continuous operation in industrial applications.

Tool-free and cost-efficient production using the additive manufacturing process (FDM)
Spiral-shaped internal enables precise and controlled turning of cans, even at high processing speeds
Easily cleaned through integrated maintenance opening
Flexible adaptation to different conveyor belt geometries and can formats

Further information on 3D printing

Material shop

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