Packaging is the ultimate vehicle for design: industrial, graphic, and typographic design are all put to the test to create an impression so meaningful that it converts currency into consumerism. This ...
Amcor’s Rigid Plastics division (renamed from Amcor PET after its parent bought Alcan in late 2009), is the world’s largest supplier of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) containers. With 63 facilities in 12 countries, the company provides packaging for many of the world’s leading brands of carbonated soft drinks, juices, teas, water, condiments, salad dressings, sports drinks, soaps, shampoos, pharmaceutical, and health care products.
The Michigan-based division produces about 25 billion units of bottles, jars, cans and other product configurationsper year. Multiply that number by even a few grams saved per unit, and the sustainability impact is staggering.
“A container made with too much, or too little, material can be very expensive and have a negative impact on the environment,” says Suresh Krishnan, Amcor’s Advanced Engineering Services group manager. “Too little material can lead to containers failing, and too much can cost us a fortune. Either way, materials are wasted and thrown away. ‘Lightweighting’ our products is one of the key things that has sustained Amcor against our competition during these tough times, and computer-aided engineering (CAE), within a product lifecycle management (PLM) environment, has been critical to achieving that.”
Amcor uses PLM solutions to integrate 3D virtual design, finite element analysis (FEA), and collaborative product development software into their product design and development process. This has enabled the division to reduce costs and environmental impact significantly—from product design, to materials parameters, to methods of production—while adhering to strict industry performance standards.
Realism = responsiveness
At the core of the approach is Abaqus Unified FEA software from SIMULIA, the Dassault Systèmes (DS) brand for realistic simulation. Amcor employs Abaqus to generate simulation data that can guide design modifications, material thickness parameters, and even manufacturing processes to reach the lightest possible result that satisfies both customer and regulatory requirements.
Using multiple iterations between CATIA, the DS brand for designing virtual products, and Abaqus, the parties can collaborate to arrive at the best solution that validates the appearance, performance, and functionality of a particular container. This process also enables Amcor to make its development lifecycle more sustainable, eliminating the need for multiple real-world mock-ups and letting it anticipate and manage the social and environmental impacts of its products—from product design to end-of-life recycling.
The results: a 50% drop in design cycle times, enhanced communication between designers and engineers, less physical prototyping, and faster time-to-market. Quicker, more creative response to customer requests for new ideas led to lighter-weight, high-performance product solutions that lowered everyone’s costs all along the supply chain, significantly reducing the company’s overall environmental impact.
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