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Additive Manufacturing for Food & Beverage
Increase line uptime with 3D Printed parts
There’s no other industry where interruptions within the supply chain can cause complete destruction of stock. Plant downtime within the food and beverage industry can mean loss of production, revenue, and stock waste. 3D Printers can optimise your line, increase food and beverage production efficiency by reducing changeover times, unplanned downtime and short stops with the rapid production of spare parts and less resilience on overseas parts.
Benefits of 3D Printing in Food & Beverage Manufacturing
- Minimise Downtime & Maximise Uptime - Reduce downtime and keep lines running by producing replacement parts, guides, fixtures and tooling in hours rather than weeks, including parts that are obsolete or difficult to source
- Optimise Line Efficiency - Improve line efficiency and performance with bespoke, lightweight components designed specifically for your production setup, helping reduce jams, wear, and strain on automation systems
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership - Eliminate minimum order quantities, reduce reliance on expensive machined parts and cut costs linked to emergency repairs and expedited shipping
- Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience - Enable on-demand, local production — reducing dependence on overseas suppliers and long lead times while improving business continuity
- Enhanced Hygiene & Food Safety - Design parts with smooth surfaces, fewer joints, and reduced crevices, as well as colour-coded tooling to support allergen separation and line identification
- Greater Design Freedom - Create complex geometries, integrated functions, and optimised internal structures that are difficult or costly to achieve using traditional manufacturing
- Accelerate Innovation - Rapidly prototype and test tooling, packaging aids and line improvements directly on the production floor, reducing time-to-market
- Support Sustainability Goals - Reduce material waste, minimise excess inventory, and enable repair, reuse, and redesign instead of full equipment replacement
- In-House Manufacturing Capability - Empower maintenance and engineering teams with digital part libraries and the freedom to continuously improve production processes
- Cost-Effective Customisation - Enable multiple SKUs, pack sizes, seasonal products, and short production runs without retooling costs.
Real-World 3D Printing Examples in Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Production Tooling & Line Parts
3D printing enables manufacturers to produce tools and parts that improve uptime and efficiency:
- Custom pushers, guides, chutes, and jigs
- Tailored to specific conveyor geometries
- End-of-arm tooling (EOAT)
- Lightweight and optimised for performance
- Materials e.g. Nylon White FS can be food-equipment compliant (NSF/ANSI 51 & FDA) for production areas
Prototype and Packaging Tools
3D printing helps bring innovative ideas to life fast — especially for packaging prototypes and custom moulds:
- Chocolate and confectionery moulds — complex shapes that are hard to make traditionally
- Prototype packaging samples before full production tooling
- Custom branding pieces for events and limited runs)
Innovation & Future Concepts
While industrial food printing (printing the food itself) remains emerging, there are exciting developments worth highlighting as trend pillars:
- 3D printed pizza, fruit/vegetable structures, and plant-based meat alternatives — used in R&D or specialty settings
- Researchers are exploring novel textures and shapes (e.g., mashed potato containers, solid vegetable prints)
