Ricoh’s Customer Experience Centre expands for co-creation of metal additive manufacturing

 A value co-creation space with customers and partners in innovative aluminum binder jetting technology

TOKYO, October 10, 2022 – Ricoh Company, Ltd. will expand its Customer Experience Centre (CEC) in Telford, the UK, on November 7 to accelerate co-creation with customers and partners in the manufacturing industry. The move will benefit those considering use of metal binder jetting 3D printers for automobile and aircraft innovation.

Through demonstrations, Ricoh will help customers understand the capabilities of its technology as well as the benefits of 3D printing and a total solution for production workflow.

Ricoh has the technology to manufacture aluminum parts using a highly productive metal binder jetting 3D printer. Ricoh can utilise the strength of 3D printers to manufacture aluminum parts with complex shapes that cannot be made using existing manufacturing methods, producing lightweight parts, high-performance heat exchange parts, and other components. This will help solve the problem of cooling, which has become a significant issue in the electrification of various areas, such as electric vehicles (EVs), for greater energy efficiency. Ricoh will accelerate co-creation with customers to realise new value and explore applications for aluminum metal binder jetting technology.

Ricoh has positioned the “realisation of a zero-carbon society” as one of its material issues. Ricoh aims to achieve zero GHG emissions throughout its entire value chain, enabling customers to develop highly energy-efficient products by using Ricoh’s 3D printers, thereby contributing to the realization of a zero-carbon society.

Tokutaro Fukushima, General Manager of Additive Manufacturing Business Center, Ricoh Futures BU, Ricoh Company, Ltd., says, “There are technical issues with many products where they cannot fully perform due to heat problems or limitation of weight reduction. We are confident that Ricoh's unique Aluminum Binder Jetting Technology will significantly contribute to solving these issues our customers face. With the expansion of the CEC, we would like to accelerate co-creation with our customers to realise additional value for customers’ clients. Furthermore, we would like to actively promote collaboration with technical partners who have unique technologies. We hope to welcome partners who support our vision to ‘Make a significant contribution to a zero-carbon society and lead to the realization of a wonderful future for children’ through co-creation activities”.

Location:

Ricoh UK Products Limited - The Home of Ricoh 3D

Priorslee, Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom TF2 9NS 

For further information, please contact:

AM Business Center, Ricoh Futures Business Unit, Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Related Information:

Ricoh Company, Ltd. and Ricoh UK Products Ltd. will exhibit the metal binder jetting technology at the Formnext event, held at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, from November 15 to 18, 2022. 

Exhibit Content: Metal binder jetting technology for manufacturing innovative aluminum parts:

• Contributes to weight reduction and improved heat exchange performance of aluminum parts by realising shapes that cannot be produced with existing processing technologies.
• The binder jetting method saves time and resources due to its high productivity and the ability to reuse unused materials.
• Ricoh's industrial inkjet printhead technology, developed over many years, enables stable manufacturing of parts with complex shapes.
• Capable of processing aluminum alloy, which is widely used as metal parts.

Related links:

Metal 3D Printing Based on Binder Jetting Method

Aluminum Metal Binder Jetting website