India will witness engine, turbines and jets fitted with 3D printed parts produced at the new advanced manufacturing plant of GE India at Chakan, Pune. General Electric has installed the first 3D printing machine at the Chakan plan, which will be opened formally later this year. This will be the first multi-modal industry manufacturing facility in India catering to the needs of its diverse business from power to aviation to transportation to healthcare from the same manufacturing facility.
India initially saw a relatively slow inception of industrial additive manufacturing and desktop 3D printing technologies by comparison to some other large economies, but now the huge potential of the Indian marketplace and workforce is beginning to hot up.
Thomas Mitchell, the General Manager of supply chain, distributed power at GE Water & Power said: “The company has installed the first 3D printing machine at the Chakan plant. We will start with plastics(and then get into metal parts and components.
The Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI) may be the first port of call that the enquiring mind for 3D printing in India wishes to stop at. The AMSI “educates and promotes the latest developments and applications in Additive Manufacturing Technologies” seeking to provide information on the latest developments in additive manufacturing technologies. The objective of the society is to serve designorganisations, research &development organisations, manufacturing professionals and academics in 3D printing technologies.
Existing industrial users of additive manufacturing in India include the notable EFESTO, which is ‘committed to engineering an industrial revolution in the field of 3D printing of metals and metal composites. Formed under its parent company, Vania Services LLC, EFESTO’s vision is to focus upon creativity, innovation and continuous improvement. It will develop and deliver market driven solutions including a comprehensive range of standalone, turnkey and automated 3D metal printing systems for desktop, laboratory, factory and large scale field deployment. EFESTO will also launch innovative business models, including select long term services partnering arrangements.
Other varieties of 3D printing business in India include Ikix, head-quartered in Chennai, which provides 3D printed models for fields ranging from Architecture to heavy engineering, and MDS3D, a 3D printing consultancy with ‘over 15 years of experience in the 3D printing industry, a duo who began their 3D Printing journey when they set up Imaginarium, one of India’s largest service bureaus catering to industries like jewellery, medical, automotive, etc.
The 4th International Conference & Exhibition on Additive Manufacturing Technologies – AM 2014, is to be held from September 1st to 2nd at the Nimhans Convention Centre, Bangalore. The conference includes invited talks from global industry and academia, discussion regarding processes, the latest developments in 3D printing and additive manufacturing with an emphasis upondefence, aerospace, automotive and biomedical applications. The event is being organised by a consortium of well renowned and respected professional bodies such as Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI) and various national & international professional organisations.
