Roland DG
Develops and manufactures professional-grade 3D printers including DLP-based systems for prototyping and binder jetting systems for ceramics, serving dental, signage, and manufacturing industries
- CEO / Founder
- Kohei Tanabe
- Team Size
- 501-1000
- Stage
- Active
- Total Funding
- Undisclosed
- Latest Round
- Private Equity
- Key Investors
- Taiyo Pacific Partners
Technology & Products
Key Products
Roland DG develops and manufactures wide-format color inkjet printers, vinyl cutting machines, 3D milling machines, and dental milling devices. Their product lines include TrueVIS, DGXPRESS, VersaOBJECT, VersaSTUDIO, DGSHAPE, and CAMM-1.
Technological Advantage
Proprietary DLP technology with precision control systems; Established binder jetting expertise for ceramics manufacturing; Integration of milling and 3D printing capabilities in dental systems
Patent position
Roland DG’s materials-focused patent-family share rose from 36% to 75%. It filed 13 families versus 14, falling 7% while tracked AM filings in the same patent offices fell 13%. AMPulse analysis
- Filing momentum
- 13 families filed 2022–2024, 14 in 2019–2021 (-7%); all tracked AM filings in the same offices -13%
- Process mix, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Binder or fusing-agent jetting 93% → 90%
- Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Equipment 100% → 100%Materials 36% → 75%
- Filed in
- JP 45%US 36%EP 9%WO 7%CN 5%
- Named competitors, AM patent families
- HP 16Mimaki 199Ricoh 6
107 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Provides reliable, professional-grade 3D printing solutions with Roland's decades of precision manufacturing expertise, enabling customers to produce high-quality parts with consistent results
How They Differentiate
Combines decades of precision motion control expertise with 3D printing technology; Strong focus on ceramics binder jetting through dedicated joint ventures; Integrated dental solutions combining milling and 3D printing
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Dental labs, sign makers, manufacturers, prototyping facilities
Industry Verticals
Dental; Signage; Manufacturing; Prototyping
Competitors
HP Inc., Mimaki, Graphtec, Summa, KYOCERA Document Solutions, FUJIFILM Holdings, Ricoh, Epson.
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Over 100,000 units of digital fabrication equipment installed worldwide; operates in over 100 countries; dental 3D printer sales growing with expansion into ceramic 3D printing for dental applications
Major Milestones
1981: Company founded; 2014: Launched first 3D printer (monoFab based on DLP process); 2022: Established binder jetting 3D printing joint venture in China for ceramics
Notable Customers
Notable customers and partners include PCI Graphics, Open Throttle Graphics, Sagaboy Productions, 3Sixty5Designs, Body of Work, and Grimco.
AM patents
AM-relevant patents linked to this company.
- Patents
- 109
- Granted
- 25
- Families
- 107
Leading domains: process (109), equipment (91), material (43)
Filings by year: 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4
- Image projection system and image projection method09632983 · US
- THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING APPARATUS AND OBJECT-FORMATION-DATA PRODUCING APPARATUS20180001560 · US
- 三次元造形装置07160647|1995160647 · JP
- 3D modeling equipment2019006050 · JP
- 三次元造形装置および造形物の造形位置の表示方法07741009|1995741009 · JP
Funding rounds
- Private Equity$416M2024-02Lead: Taiyo Pacific Partners · Source: Mergerlinks