3D Scanning Revolutionises Food Packaging Design

3D scanners are replacing tedious manual work across the board. One example of this, is a company that are using 3D scanners to enhance the moulds for easter chocolate bunnies. In the past you would need a master form or pilot tool to be created, and this would then need to be the same shape as the chocolate bunny itself.

Bachmann Forming AG (Hochdorf, Switzerland) is a part Swiss family-owned company, headquartered near Lucerne. They produce high-quality packaging to specification. Bachmann Forming were looking for a way to innovate shapes quickly and accurately, which is especially beneficial for food packaging, since food is usually produced without 3D CAD data vs other parts.

Using 3D scanning for packaging to create a CAD model of the original chocolate bunny, Bachmann Forming is now able to take advantage of the expedited process of CNC machining the master form. It also has the added benefit of being less prone to manual error by eliminating hand measurement and machining. It took Bachmann just one hour to complete the entire process. “It’s fun to see how quickly complicated shapes can find their way from hand to screen,” says a Jörg Nussbaum, design engineer at Bachmann.

3D Data for 100% Accuracy

The final result is such a perfect fit that the packaging looks as if it were a second, blue skin.

Tooling for plastic injection moulding has evolved significantly in recent years and The 3D Measurement Company (T3DMC) have worked with a number of customers using our automated 3D scanning data for packaging to design tooling by reverse engineering from the original part or to measure the tools themselves to monitor variance through wear or modification.

3D Scanning for Packaging

Our 3D scanning process for the packaging industry is designed to produce accurate data that can be used for CAD modelling or for tooling manufacture and our inspection and reporting service can add to this process through the development of reports which can show dimensional variance to help with process optimisation. For more information about how T3DMC can help you optimise your tooling or reverse engineering projects, please contact us on 01746 762251 or email us on info@t3dmc.com.

Source – Plastics Today