BARTEC BENKE TIGER Milk Collection System for Fast and Accurate Measurement

BARTEC BENKE, part of the BARTEC Group, is a global leader in industrial safety technology. BARTEC products and solutions prevent explosions wherever hazardous substances could occur and aim to keep humans safe and ease their jobs, while protecting the environment. During the engineering of one of its newly launched devices, the TIGER Milk barcode reader, a custom lens solution was needed to tailor and optimize the system performance. The BARTEC engineers reached out to Luximprint for support on the functional lens part. We’re delighted to share some deeper project insights and achievements with you about the fabrication and application of the lenses for the TIGER Milk Collection System.

Image composition of Bartec Benke Tiger Milk Collection System.

BARTEC Benke TIGER Milk Collection System: Fast and accurate scanning and measurement on site.

Introduction: BARTEC Benke Barcode Reader for inventive TIGER Milk Collection System

This showcase highlights the realization of functional reader lenses for one of BARTEC’s latest analyzer systems called the ‘TIGER Milk Collection System’. In this project, Luximprint additive optics fabrication services were used to prototype a set of functional lens solutions helping to define the best performing barcode lens solution.

The BARTEC engineering team reached out to Luximprint to rapidly prototype various suitable lens options to build its functional product demonstrators for internal approval, aiming to do so in a time saving and budget friendly way, while keeping up the optical function and system performance.

Image of the engineering concept of the Bartec BC reader including printed optics.

Integrated Printed Optics as foreseen in the engineering concept for the BARTEC TIGER MILK Collector.

Along with the initial ‘masterpiece’, multiple ‘Product Variations’ were needed to rapidly determine which of the variations would finally meet best the requirements for the project.

The Challenge: Multiple Optical Directions

Developing custom optics is a time and budget consuming task. Especially, when multiple options need to be considered, budgets might get absorbed rapidly and the project is running out of time as there are simply too many project steps involved. Each of them may include various intermediate product iterations and improvements, all on the account of valued engineering time.

Image of Bartec Lens Set-Up for BC reader

BARTEC offered Luximprint various lens options for fabrication, taking benefit of the Rapid Optics Prototyping services and its related time- and cost savings

While iterative design processing with using the Luximprint rapid optics prototyping services is a very interesting option, the shortcut BARTEC chose might be even more appealing: ordering multiple lens options at the same time, all close in properties and appearance, but only slightly differing in shape (optical surface). Then test them and finally take the best performing version to proceed with. By following this approach, project cycle times were shortened significantly, and engineering efforts were spent to further optimize the overall concept.

The Solution: Bar Lenses by Additive Optics Manufacturing

With this novel engineering approach in mind, BARTEC looked abroad for a suitable supplier and finally reached out to Luximprint to learn about the possibilities with optical 3D printing for their particular project needs.

After getting confirmed in their mindset, BARTEC was able to significantly shorten its development cycle, as multiple lenses (6 product variations in total) could be ordered in one single job. Apart from production speed (incl. time savings), Luximprint offers attractive options when ordering multiple lens variations at the same time.

Image by BARTEC for Luximprint showing the Barcode Reader Lens set-up

Complete set-up including the camera, lighting device, printed lens and barcode label.

After evaluation of the individual solutions, the best lens bar was selected for use, and the final production tool was ordered.

Project USP’s

Various unique process features supported BARTEC to do a fast and effective development job:

1) Manufacturing Speed: different ‘Product Variations’ of the barcode reader lenses were available in only a few days enabling a quick ‘trial-and-error’ of multiple lens solutions until the best matching optical solution was defined;

2) Process Flexibility: Easy Product Variations in one single job. With no physical tooling is involved in the process, this might be one of the most interesting advantages arising from Luximprint’s services.

3) No Tooling/No MOQ: Ordering on demand in exact quantities as needed. As no (soft)tooling investments are needed at this stage, there are no order quantities needed to justify the investment. Also, no (obsolete) stock items need to be kept.

After the engineering cycle was closed and the product demonstrator was approved, BARTEC ordered small start-up series to equip the first production batches.

Image composition of final 3D printed lenses for Bartec's BC Reader

Some of the final lenses as provided for the TIGER Milk Barcode Reader

Summary

Luximprint is lowering the bar for Iterative Design Processing custom optics solutions. The flexible build process incorporates a flexibility and manufacturing speed for tailored lens parts that were never available before. After choosing Luximprint as its preferred supplier for the job, the BARTEC team was able to cut cycle times and budgets, while keeping the flexibility of trial-and-error different possible lens solutions alive.

Learn here how the lenses contribute to collecting milk even faster and accurate than before:

Interesting to know, Luximprint offers various package-deal options for companies in search for fast custom optics that have multiple lens items included. Please contact one of our sales engineers to learn what we can do for you!

BARTEC BENKE World Market Leader in Industrial Safety Technology

BARTEC BENKE boasts over 50 years of experience and specialist expertise in the field of industrial safety technology. This expertise encompasses analysis devices and systems, as well as the engineering, construction and service-related aspects of monitoring and optimizing production processes, operational safety and systems availability.

BARTEC BENKE belongs to the BARTEC Group, one of the world’s leading providers of industrial safety technology. The Group’s products and solutions cater for all areas in which hazardous substances, such as combustible liquids, gases and dust, create a potentially explosive environment. Within such environments, these products prevent the simultaneous occurrence of the components necessary for an explosion and thus guarantee safety for both people and the environment.

With production locations in Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Norway, United Kingdom and China, as well as distribution units is 30 countries and 50+ trading partners, the Group is well-represented around the world.

Pictures and video footage in this post are courtesy of BARTEC Benke and/or Luximprint.