Sidel Group / Packaging equipment
Seven components. One better gripper.
Rethinking a bottle gripper around high-speed performance, cleanability and maintenance—not simply printing the old design.
The business challenge
Sidel’s high-speed equipment handles more than 50,000 bottles per hour. Its bottle grippers need to accommodate different bottle formats while remaining reliable under repeated loading and emergency stops. The original machined assembly used seven individual components, with crevices that complicated cleaning.
Working alongside the customer
Additive Center worked with Sidel to rethink the gripper as a single component. Generative design and simulation informed the geometry, while application requirements and manufacturing considerations guided further development. Feedback from maintenance managers helped refine the design for daily use.
What changed
The redesign consolidated seven components into one. Its rounded surfaces support better cleanability, while the simplified assembly and maintenance approach address more than the printing operation alone. The published case reports reduced production cost and longer gripper life; these are application-specific outcomes, not promises for every part.
The adoption lesson
The value came from connecting engineering, maintenance and manufacturing requirements. This is the difference between buying a printed part and developing an application that fits the business.
Results and experience relate to this customer application and its specific requirements.
A different way to approach the part
Original assembly. Integrated redesign.
