Addition Design, an industrial 3D printing and design firm, has developed a ground-breaking process to enable the food industry to detect production issues and adopt new technologies. Based on the company’s ‘AddParts’ service, which utilizes 3D scanning, digital data management, and industrial 3D printing to supply digital spares for automated production lines, the new process enables food manufacturers to procure production parts that meet discriminating regulatory requirements while taking full advantage of industrial additive manufacturing. The new technique has resolved a number of challenges inhibiting the use of industrial 3D printing in the food production sector, with crucial emphasis on uninterrupted adherence to food-safety regulations and production line efficiency, including the ability to manufacture inexpensive, blue, food contact components quickly.
According to Tom Fripp, director at Addition Design, when a component on a food production line fails, it is crucial that any broken parts be removed to avoid contamination in the final product. Traditional processes involved using blue plastic components to easily and quickly identify broken parts on a production line. Nonetheless, when it comes to 3D printing, this procedure has proven to be a barrier for the food industry. Most approaches require the material itself to be blue, which becomes an expensive proposition when the entire stock of material must be precisely the same color. Addition Design has developed a new process exclusively for AddParts that addresses this requirement and brings the food industry up to speed with the wider manufacturing industry’s pivot towards industrial 3D printing.
“We’re incredibly proud to have found a solution that works for all parties and, importantly, reduces the costs for food manufacturers, opening them up to the possibilities and opportunities that industrial 3D printing brings,” Tom added. The latest process created by Addition Design aims to resolve issues and embrace new technologies in the food industry while complying with food safety regulations and production line efficiency.
