Packaging innovations
Coster
Coster, an international manufacturer of spray and
dispensing solutions, has developed an in-house solution
to make actuator customization available at a low investment
and in a short time.
Custom actuators typically require dedicated molds
and assembly equipment, requiring high investments and
long lead times. This is enabled by a platform-design of
the product (actuator) and modular mold construction.
Coster took inspiration from the automotive market—
where platforms are commonly used to build different
car models—and applied the concept to the actuator
design. By keeping a set of functional features fixed (“the
platform”), a variety of different designs can be offered
using the same platform production equipment. The
same mold and same assembly machine can therefore
produce different actuators. This is made possible by a
modular mold design with a fast changeover from one
version to the other.
According to Coster, advantages include fewer design
and development costs, less development time, reusability
of production equipment, guaranteed quality and
reliability and the possibility of custom products with a
low investment. Spray
September 2018 Spray 27