RICOH Partners with AMFG to Automate 3D Printing Workflow

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“Quoting used to take us over 30 minutes – now, it can take us less than two minutes. For us, [AMFG] has been a game changer. It’s streamlined our manufacturing process right from start to finish”, Richard Minifie, Design Engineer at Ricoh 3D.

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Since 2020, RICOH’s 3D printing services, branded Ricoh 3D, have been optimizing their systems with AMFG’s automated quotation functionality. This has enabled the company’s customers to easily order 3D-printed parts instantly.

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After over four years of successful partnership, Ricoh 3D has expanded its investment in AMFG’s solution, adopting a number of additional features to further leverage the software’s wider capabilities. Ricoh 3D has equipped AMFG specifically to streamline its client-facing processes, providing customers with a more efficient way to order parts from the company’s website. Using AMFG’s instant quotation tool, customers are able to directly upload their files and subsequently receive an accurate quotation in a matter of seconds. Once an order has been confirmed, Ricoh 3D’s projects team are then able to prepare the file for production, making use of the software’s extensive auto-analysis and repair tools.

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Going Further with AMFG

Having earned the company a higher number of returning customers and impactful simplification of their production processes, RICOH decided to further enhance their customer journey by upgrading to AMFG’s ULTIMATE license, reflecting their own company journey towards critical end-part manufacturing. Including features such as machine monitoring, build-preparation software preparation, automated production scheduling and integration with shipping providers, AMFG’s implementation will grant critical insights into Ricoh 3D’s medical part production, monitoring operational progress and ensuring that parts maintain consistently exceptional quality levels where needed the most. This provision of full traceability enables RICOH to conform with exacting ISO:13485 standards, vital for their medical industry customers.

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AMFG: A Game Changer

“When we started the business, we were using manual methods of communicating with customers and transferring parts to people for production,” reflects Richard Minifie, a Design Engineer at Ricoh 3D, “AMFG […] has totally streamlined that. For example, quoting used to take us over 30 minutes – now, it can take us less than two minutes. For us, it’s been a game changer. It’s streamlined our manufacturing process right from start to finish”.

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AMFG’s software has been integrated into Ricoh 3D’s business intelligence platform and build preparation software, as well as with its logistics provider. This level of integration provides RICOH with a seamless digital thread to manage the full complexity of their AM operations.

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Evolving Workflow

Matt Martin, VP EMEA at AMFG commented: “Our journey with RICOH started a couple of years ago and their transition towards end-parts manufacturing and the complexities of scaling production, are challenges representative of much of the enterprise 3D printing market. RICOH constantly challenge us with new obstacles in their evolving workflow, and our partnership is driving rapid product development to benefit both them, and the industry as a whole.”

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Ricoh 3D is accessible via rapidfab.ricoh-europe.com.

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About AMFG

‍AMFG is a leading provider of MES software for manufacturing. Our software solutions empower manufacturers, allowing them to manage their workflows and achieve streamlined, automated processes. With over 500 successful implementations in 35 countries and across a range of industries, we specialize in enabling companies to successfully integrate our software for AM and CNC production, into their wider manufacturing processes and scale their AM operations. For more information, please visit www.amfg.ai or contact: press@amfg.ai