"I thought 3D print was a good starting point to meet customers who were totally different from our traditional customers," says Yusuke Nakamura, General Manager of Business Development Department, who promoted the introduction.
Introduction of a 3D printer was also often requested by the company staff as equipment they wanted to introduce next time.

President Tomoya Wadayama recalls: "The "3DUJ-553" 3D printer may allow us to use an approach that takes one step further, in addition to conventional proposals to our customers. And it may become an opportunity to develop new customers, I thought, and I made up my mind."

Yusuke Nakamura, General Manager of Business Development Department

Nakamura's evaluation on its capability of more than 10-million full color is "overwhelming."
"Introduction of a 3D printer that cannot add color has no meaning to us, because we have no coloring personnel and facilities. Even a plaster-based 3D printer that can add color needs re-coloring and polishing at a later time, so we have determined that the introduction was difficult in terms of our business purpose," says Nakamura.

The strength of modeled objects is also "overwhelming".
When an object is manufactured using a plaster-based printer, it becomes so soft that delicate handling is required to take them out. Since the "3DUJ-553" is a UV-curable printer, the strength of the object is already very high when it is completed, and there is no concern for damages that may occur when it is taken out.

10-million full color is [overwhelming]

Meanwhile, the "support material" used in the 3D printer to assist in modeling is created in a manner where the material is attached to the object. Therefore, it has to be removed after modeling. When plaster is used, it has to be scratched off from the object, so this operation requires special personnel, and the object may be damaged in such operation.
Since the "3DUJ-553" uses a water-soluble support material, removal is done by just soaking the object in the dedicated solution.

Water-soluble support material. Objects taken out during the course of removal (left) and the ones for which removal is completed (right)

From all this, advantages of the "3DUJ-553" such as easy handling, no need for post-process personnel who perform color finishing, coating, polishing, etc., become apparent.
The basis for selecting this printer is more than these capabilities.
B＆P has introduced a number of large-size printers of Mimaki Engineering, and "there has been a sense of trust as well," says Wadayama.
In terms of support, "Mimaki's service rep would not let us wait even a few days and come to solve our problem," says Nakamura, who also trusts Mimaki.
When asked how often problems actually occur, he replied "at most once in a month," saying the company does not use maintenance services very often.

Tomoya Wadayama, President

On the other hand, customer's recognition on 3D printers is not so high today. "Currently, we are gradually spreading the awareness," and although the word "3D printer" sounds familiar, "where it is placed," "how much it is," and "what we can create with it" are not known well.
On the contrary, among the company's customers, relatively large one who introduced a 3D printer a few years ago ends up "failing to make use of it," while the other reaches a decision where it "had better outsource modeling to specialists."

Replica that looks like a real Buddha statue was also created. The real one is right.

As for color, Nakamura "would like to have a color matching system to comply with the Japan Color certification," because more accurate color matching would help achieve convenient, higher quality prints, he says.

"The Business Development Department Nakamura belongs to is a department that creates new business and customers, not the one that simply increases sales. The "3DUJ-553" is a product that drives such department," says Wadayama, with expectations of the printer's further use.

Nakamura, who appeals for the necessity of color matching