Ricoh Modernizes Manufacturing Facility and Boosts Productivity by Replacing Metal Tools with Stratasys 3D Printed Customized, Lightweight Tools

• Customized and lightweight jigs and fixtures 3D printed in one day,
  compared to two weeks for outsourced metal tools, improving production
  efficiency for Ricoh large-format printers
• Operator efficiency and satisfaction improved significantly, spurring
  further Ricoh manufacturing modernization

MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Stratasys
(NASDAQ: SSYS), a global leader in applied additive technology
solutions, today announced that Ricoh Japan is replacing traditional
metal tooling with customized, lightweight 3D printed jigs and fixtures
for its Production Technology Center assembly line – improving
manufacturing efficiency while minimizing manual tooling errors. The
assembly line, located in the northeast branch of Ricoh Industries in
Miyagi prefecture, Japan, is dedicated to manufacturing large-format
printers.

Watch
the video to see how Ricoh transforms its assembly
line for its large-format printers with Stratasys additive technology

By producing the tools in durable ABS thermoplastic on its Stratasys Fortus
900mc Production 3D Printer, Ricoh is able to customize each tool
precisely according to the part geometry while reducing the tool’s
weight. This has enabled Ricoh to accelerate the manufacturing process
in which an operator typically handles more than 200 parts each day.

Ricoh develops and manufactures high quality office equipment such as
copiers, fax machines and projectors. The competitive nature of the
electronics industry led the company to look for new ways to accelerate
product launches while maintaining or lowering its production costs.

“Because we are producing an enormous number of parts, it takes a lot of
time and effort to identify the right jigs and fixtures for each one.
This manual process has become even lengthier as the number of
components grows, requiring that an operator examine the shape,
orientation and angle of each part before taking out a tool and placing
it back in its original fixture. The operators were occasionally annoyed
with the many different tools, and we were looking for a way to
accelerate tooling to match our manufacturing schedule,” said Taizo
Sakaki, Senior Manager of Business Development at Ricoh Group. “Now with
Stratasys 3D printing, we are able to customize the tools according to
the part and produce them on demand which is helping us restructure and
modernize our production process.”

Geometric Design Freedom: Optimize the Workbench with 3D Printed
Fixtures
Prior to 3D printing, Ricoh had to outsource machine
cut tools which could take two weeks or more. Now, Ricoh’s operators can
determine the shape and geometry of a fixture that corresponds to its
associated part through 3D CAD software and 3D print it in one day. This
leaves the workers more time to attend to other stations. Moreover, new
hires can now adapt to the tools and the workstations in two days when
previously a new worker had to spend at least one week to learn all the
tools. The jigs and fixtures are also much lighter so that workers can
use them for a prolonged period of time without fatigue.

“The Stratasys Fortus 900mc 3D printing solution enables us to realize
designs that are difficult for conventional cutting methods to
replicate, such as hollow interiors, curves or complex shapes. The
material used to 3D print the tools is very strong and anti-static which
is important due to the large number of electronic components we are
assembling, adding to the advantages of Stratasys 3D printing,”
explained Sakaki.

A Catalyst for Innovation with Digital Manufacturing
Ricoh’s
large-format printer assembly plant has pioneered the adoption of
digital manufacturing, and the company continues to explore areas where
3D printing can be applied to expedite workflows, such as molding and
low-volume production – releasing more resources and expanding its scope
for its diverse customer base.

“Ricoh embraces technology and we are delighted to lead the industry in
adopting innovation in our business. Our workbench has become more
flexible and more efficiently organized, and our operators are all happy
about that,” said Masami Hirama, Director of Production Innovation
Center at Ricoh.

“At Stratasys, we are committed to helping our customers overcome the
constraints of traditional workflows and processes with a complete
ecosystem of 3D printing expertise, technologies and services. Ricoh
illustrates perfectly how manufacturing aids 3D printed with Stratasys
additive technology empower manufacturers to increase their efficiency
and flexibility while ultimately becoming more competitive,” commented
Omer Krieger, President of Stratasys Asia Pacific & Japan. “Customized
3D printed jigs and fixtures can play an important role in enabling
companies to get products to market faster and are a great example of
how Stratasys applies purposeful innovation to manufacturers’ goals and
aspirations. Whenever you can reduce a process from weeks to days – that
is a solution worth exploring.”

Video:
Watch how Ricoh modernizes its assembly line for its large-format
printers with Stratasys additive technology

About Stratasys
Stratasys
(NASDAQ: SSYS) is a global leader in applied additive technology
solutions for industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare,
Consumer Products and Education. For nearly 30 years, a deep and ongoing
focus on customers’ business requirements has fueled purposeful
innovations—1,200 granted and pending additive technology patents to
date—that create new value across product lifecycle processes, from
design prototypes to manufacturing tools and final production parts. The
Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise—advanced
materials; software with voxel level control; precise, repeatable and
reliable FDM and PolyJet 3D printers; application-based expert services;
on-demand parts and industry-defining partnerships—works to ensure
seamless integration into each customer’s evolving workflow. Fulfilling
the real-world potential of additive, Stratasys delivers breakthrough
industry-specific applications that accelerate business processes,
optimize value chains and drive business performance improvements for
thousands of future-ready leaders around the world.

Corporate Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel

Online at: http://www.stratasys.com,
http://blog.stratasys.com
and LinkedIn

Stratasys and Fortus are registered trademarks, and the Stratasys signet
is a trademark of Stratasys Ltd. and or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

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