Over the years we have invested heavily in our people and machinery in order to establish us as industry leaders in Ireland. From waterjets and CNC machines to letter benders and laser engravers, our capabilities are virtually endless. Never content with our current capabilities however, we have added 3D printing to our repertoire of services!
Recently we were tasked by Lidl Ireland to come up with a creative solution for their delicious bakery sections in store. Ever since the pandemic hit us in early 2020, Lidl have been individually bagging baked goods with plastic packaging to maintain a standard of hygiene. With a view to sustainability and eco-friendliness, Lidl have tasked us here at 3:rock with creating a solution that enables them to reduce the amount of packaging being used.
Through a number of iterations and a concept development phase, we arrived at the solution of hinged toughened glass doors to cover the baked goods. These doors have a small cut out in them which is enough for the customer to access the goods, however it does not largely expose the goods to the wider environment.
The doors themselves are hinged to allow for cleaning both internally and externally. A particular hinge was required to retrofit onto these modules which had a specific shape and size. With supply chains under severe pressure, we were not able to source the hinge in sufficient time to meet the deadline.
Our NPD (New Product Development) department were quick on their feet and identified this project as an ideal one for 3D printing. With some of our team having previous experience with 3D printing, we promptly invested in a large-scale 3D printer to allow us to complete this project fully in-house, whilst meeting the client deadline.
This project has once again showcased our dedication to client satisfaction and our willingness to embrace new technology. We now have the ability and expertise to create scaled models of larger projects to fully functional fixtures and fittings!
If you have a project in mind and think we could help, make sure to get in touch!
