Ricoh 3D
Ricoh 3D has announced the launch of a new design optimisation service which leans on generative design and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tools.
The multinational company has long been invested in 3D printing, supplying machinery, services and training programmes to help support the adoption and application of the technology, and has now moved to up its offering to the market.
Its specialist service is now making strides to help users create generative design concepts that are engineered precisely to meet the specified performance or geometric parameters of applications, delivering concepts that are otherwise difficult or impossible to produce. The offering through this new addition to the service includes both generative design – which uses complex software to remove material after FEA – and shape optimisation – which requires material to be removed manually by the CAD users.
Ricoh believes there are numerous benefits to its new design services, such as cost and weight savings, and enhancements to performance and sustainability. It claims in the development of a lever device for a local orthopaedic hospital there was a 60% weight reduction and 15% cost saving compared to the traditional manufacturing method. And internally, the company has also remodelled a jig used in its automated quality assurance (QA) processes for the production of toner bottles in its Telford, UK facility.
“We’ve been offering CAD design services for many years now to help customers realise the benefits of 3D printing, but we pride ourselves on evolving with our customer base and many of our more advanced applications demand design innovation with absolution confirmation of effect,” commented Ricoh 3D Senior Design Engineer Richard Minifie. “As we move towards 3D printing being widely adopted for end-use our customers require that performance guarantee.
“We see endless parts being produced for additive manufacturing that are still designed as though they are being applied to traditional manufacturing methods. Very often, those who have worked with traditional methods all their lives do not fully understand how AM can completely remove old design constraints. Our in-house team of experts and sophisticated software can bridge the gap between designs suitable for traditional manufacturing and those which realise the full potential of 3D printing, providing solutions which cannot be produced using conventional manufacturing techniques.”
The new design services are complemented by Ricoh’s 3D and injection moulding capacity, which will allow designs to be optimised for any production volume, and QA and metrology capabilities that aims to ensure consistency throughout design, production and post-processing.
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