Key figures
+90%
3D-printed small robot grippers
30–50%
savings in manufacturing costs
+5
years of collaboration
Objective
Trimaster needed a reliable manufacturing partner for 3D-printed food-industry components. Vacuum grippers and other parts must meet the hygiene and safety standards of the food industry, be light enough for high-speed robot movements, and withstand demanding industrial use.
Solution
Trimaster’s small robot grippers are now manufactured almost entirely by additive manufacturing. 3DStep produces and finishes the components with a chemical surface treatment or micro-coating that improves cleanability. Additive manufacturing enables vacuum grippers as well as a wide range of other applications.
Results
Additive manufacturing allows Trimaster to deliver robotic systems for the food and packaging industry that could not be produced by machining or assembled from standard components. The collaboration with 3DStep ensures precise, high-quality components, fast spare part availability, and delivery reliability that supports international project production.
Trimaster designs and manufactures custom production automation and material handling systems for the food industry across Finland and Europe. Robot-based solutions range from standalone machines to complete production lines and entire production facilities. The company has worked with 3DStep-manufactured components for over five years, and additive manufacturing has grown into the primary production method for small robot grippers.
”More than 90 per cent of our small robot grippers are manufactured using additive manufacturing. The technology enables structures that would be extremely difficult or impossible to achieve by machining or assembling from standard components. Parts are also typically 30 to 50 per cent cheaper to manufacture.”
Jaakko JärviMechanical Design Engineer, Trimaster
A gripper that only additive manufacturing makes possible
A robot gripper handling biscuits in a cake factory or ready-meal packages in a food packaging plant may contain no metal parts at all. A small vacuum gripper still has demanding requirements: to function, compressed air must flow through internal channels, and depending on the application the gripper needs vacuum-generating ejectors, suction cups, internal channels and air directors.
The gripper must be light enough for fast robot movements, durable enough for demanding industrial use, and made from materials and geometries suited to food contact and thorough cleaning. It also needs to be quick and easy to replace.
“3D printing delivers multiple benefits at once: greater design freedom, a lighter structure, or a more cost-effective manufacturing method. Fast spare part availability is also critical. A gripper can be damaged in a collision, for example. With additive manufacturing, a replacement part is available quickly, and a quick-release connector means the swap takes seconds.”
Exceptional accuracy and delivery reliability
In the food industry, component geometry has a direct impact on cleanability and operational safety. Additive manufacturing allows rounded surfaces and contours to be designed into parts,
eliminating recesses that trap contamination during cleaning. 3DStep manufactures gripper components using SLS technology in food-approved PA2200 polymer. Flexible TPU material is used for fittings on robot arms and for hose management.
3DStep finishes parts with a chemical surface treatment that seals the surface and improves cleanability. For more demanding applications, micro-coating is available, which improves surface durability and prevents the material from absorbing liquids or contaminants. Additively manufactured parts are used not only in grippers but also in guides, pushers, part holders, slide elements, safety guards,
fittings and compressed air routing components. What all of these share is that they can be precisely shaped to suit the application.
”Not all additive manufacturing suppliers can achieve the same level of dimensional accuracy as 3DStep. We have had specialist parts made that require a fully watertight structure with a threaded connection and an O-ring, and they work well. Quality, delivery reliability and fast spare part availability are extremely important to us and our customers. 3DStep meets all of these requirements.”
Trimaster is a production automation specialist for the food industry, founded in 1998. The company designs and manufactures custom robot systems for packaging and material handling applications across Finland and Europe.
