Bangalore December 21 2018: The 2nd edition of the Stratasys India User Forum held here earlier this week, spotlighted the adoption of 3D printing technology across the region in manufacturing, automotive, aerospace & defence, healthcare, and education sectors.
The company displayed the latest range of F370 printers that are adaptable to all engineering environments: office, lab or classroom to facilitate rapid 3D prototyping. Stratasys also showcased its latest FDM elastomer solution from its F123 Series, allowing users to produce parts with unique resilience that can stretch or compress without losing shape.
Said Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, India & SEA, Stratasys: “3D printing has immense growth potential in India, but the uptake has to be faster. We notice there is a lack of awareness on the diverse applications of 3D Printing. Companies usually hold back on innovation ignorant of cost-benefit ratio, which if taken into consideration can help businesses deliver solutions faster, cheaper, better and easier."
He highlighted a number of Indian uses cases of successful 3-D printing operations. These included Automotive makers Ashok Leyland who used Stratasys printers to create the blower cover for the now mandatory cabin air conditioning system in trucks. Honda Cars were using 3-D printing in their plant near Delhi on the smart manufacturing line top create jigs and fixtures for windshield, car headlamps and trunk lids.
|Added Guy Yair, Executive Vice President, EMEA & APJ, Stratasys: “India is becoming a manufacturing hub for foreign investors. Stratasys aims to leverage this opportunity to promote the adoption of 3D printing as part of the next Industrial revolution that empowers both personal manufacturing and customization in products.”
Stratasys EVP for products, Omer Krieger signposted the new technology flowing from the company -- Liquid Powder Metallurgy --that for the first time would allow metal fabricators to take the additive 3-D printing route in making tools. Aluminium would be the first metal to be thus enabled. 3-D would enable the Pixel to be soon replaced by its 3-D volume avatar -- or Voxel, he added,
Speakers presented case studies that highlighted the uses of 3D printing and how it is slowly changing the traditional manufacturing landscape.
Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, from Shalby Hospital, Mohali, Punjab, shared a surgical miracle made possible with 3D printing: using a 3-D model of a patient's lung tumour to assist in AVsurgery. Ravi Shankar, Managing Director, Accreate Additive Labs, shined light on the evolution from 3D printing to 4D printing in the field of life sciences. And Sanjay Anikhindi, Associate Vice President, JCB India Ltd., spoke on the topic ‘Driving Innovation in Earth Moving.
First 3D printing course
Stratasys announced a collaboration with NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation) to launch India’s first additive manufacturing certification course. This training programme which is an addition to its tool & die manufacturing course is designed to help students to learn new technologies in 3D printing and make them future industry ready. The course would be rolled out at NTTF's Peenya HQ -- and 8 other centres. In an opening keynote, NTTF Managing Director Reguraj N, shared insights on the Government’s skill development initiatives and the use of 3D Printing to revolutionize the education system in India.