‘3D printing helps levelling competition’

BENGALURU: Last year, surgeons at a children’s hospital in Miami, USA used a 3D printed model of a 5-year-old girl, including the very complex aortic arch vessels to assess complications and plan the best surgical procedures for a challenging operation.

Not just in the medical field, the use of 3D printing technology has become widespread in a range of sectors such as automobile, aerospace, infrastructure, education, to name a few.Interacting with City Express, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Stratasys, India, a 3D printing company based in Bengaluru gives us a low-down of what is going on in the sector in India and the city.

Asked about the growth of 3D printing tech firms in India and the city and Rajiv gives the examples of companies such as the Bangalore-Based medical start-up, Cardiac Design Lab, where the design team created prototypes of a new mobile cardiac monitoring system enabling them to apply for a central grant as early as in 2013.

“3D printing allows smaller companies to compete with industry giants through agility. It empowers companies to accelerate time to market, improve the quality of their designs and become more cost-effective,” he says. Whether used in prototyping, tooling or short-run manufacturing, 3D printing is essential to staying competitive in this rapidly changing world, adds Rajiv.

Rajiv says that 3D printing or additive manufacturing, is therefore not new anymore in India with awareness and adoption in manufacturing community in recent years. “However, the majority of users apply 3D printing in the prototyping area and we believe there is room for adoption of prototyping application to expand as technology and material options advance,” he adds.   

According to him, 3D printing is already being used by early adopters to support innovation and manufacturing and to bring new products and service offerings to market. But, where is it being used—it is being used because of the business benefits it presents rather than simply because it is an alternative and new way of making. “3D printing presents a number of compelling business benefits, which are driving adoption of the technology globally. It is an exciting time for the 3D printing industry over the past few years,” adds Rajiv.