Heineken is using Ultimaker 3D printing solutions to produce a range of custom tools and functional machine parts to aid in manufacturing at the company’s brewery in Seville, Spain.
Using a set of Ultimaker S5 printers, engineers at Heineken now design and print safety devices, tools and parts on-demand rather than outsourcing to external vendors.
The Seville brewery produces several Heineken-owned beer brands, with a production capacity of up to 500 million litres of beer per year.
Using Ultimaker technology, Heineken has created new tools that make it easier to perform maintenance or check the quality of products or machines. To increase worker safety, the brewer has also developed improved locking mechanisms for machines so they don’t start operating during maintenance.
Isabelle Haenen, global supply chain procurement at Heineken, said: “We’re still in the first stages of 3D printing, but we’ve already seen a reduction of costs in the applications that we found by 70-90% and also a decrease of delivery time of these applications of 70-90%. Local manufacturing helps us a lot in increasing uptime, efficiency and output.
“We use 3D printing to optimise the manufacturing line, create safety and quality control tools, and create tools for our machines… I think there will be even more purposes in the future.”
Ultimaker CEO Jos Burger said: “Every company has its own unique challenges in the production process, which is why the ability to create custom solutions straight from the factory floor is such a game-changer for the manufacturing industry.
“Heineken is a prime example of a company that’s utilising the Ultimaker S5 as an all-purpose manufacturing machine. We have enjoyed watching the use case evolve over the past year, from safety applications to the creation of fully functional parts for machines that lead to significant savings, and we cannot wait to see what they come up with next.”
In December, Heineken announced it bought a majority stake in Spanish craft brewer La Cibeles.
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