Ricoh announces first 3D printer designed to support high functional materials

December 10, 2015

Ricoh has announced the release of the RICOH AM S5500P, its first 3D Printer under the RICOH brand. The product was showcased in Frankfurt, Germany at the end of 2015 and will be made available to European customers by mid 2016.

The RICOH AM S5500P is a high speed, high quality product designed to help businesses meet their specific manufacturing innovation needs. It is a high-end 3D printer which can offer PA6 and PP materials support – which are of strategic importance to manufacturers, including those in the automotive industry.

Capable of producing high-definition durable fabricated objects, the RICOH AM S5500P employs an additive manufacturing method known as SLS®1. Using this technique, a powdered material is irradiated with the laser for sintering. In addition to the polymer powder materials mainly used with the SLS® method, such as PA2 11 and PA12, universally applicable and highly functional materials PA6 and PP3 can also be used. For instance, the product can build automobile parts for functional tests, as well as the parts for end products. With a large modelling area of 550 mm (W) × 550 mm (D) × 500 mm (H), the RICOH AM S5500P can fabricate different kinds of parts at the same time, as well as large parts all at once.