Telangana to handhold 3D printing startups

Through this, startups in additive manufacturing or 3D printing will get handholding, mentoring and other support

Hyderabad: In a first, Telangana will set up an incubator for additive manufacturing startups. Through this, startups in additive manufacturing or 3D printing will get handholding, mentoring and other support.

The incubator will be part of the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing that is coming up on the Osmania University campus, according to L Rama Devi, Director, Emerging Technologies Wing, Telangana.

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“We are planning to set up an incubator to handhold startups that are into additive manufacturing. This will be the first of its kind. Accelerators and incubators are present for various tech startups but not for 3D printing. Once that is in place, we will be able to call applications from various startups,” she said.

NCAM was set up last year in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It is now operating from a temporary premise on the campus.

“The permanent facility is getting ready. Once it is ready, we will buy a lot of machinery that can be used by the MSMEs. The focus is on medical, aerospace and defence and other segments,” Rama Devi said.

NCAM is addressing the lack of awareness on the possibilities of 3D printing among the vast number of SMEs and has been conducting awareness drives and workshops, and design sessions, she said.

This apart, focus is also on evolving standards to ensure consistency in production.

“Designs are being accomplished but hurdles lie with respect to standards. Once these standards are established, they will help in bagging export orders as well,” she said.

NCAM has already entered into an agreement with a Singapore-based entity as part of its efforts to define standards for 3D printing.

“Healthcare is one area we are looking at. There are good use cases of using 3D printed artificial limbs in certain cases. Aerospace and defence industries are also important segments for 3D printing. We will get the machinery and work with various sectors. A proper study by multiple stakeholders is needed before embarking on production as not all components can go the 3D printing way. That depends on the need, economics and availability of supporting raw materials,” she said.

“We have created awareness in the last one year. Now, people know of a nodal point to approach and explore the possibilities of additive manufacturing. In certain cases now, the manufacturing cycle is delayed as they depend on import of raw materials. Some of these are classified as hazardous. So, their transport takes time. People are asking if additive manufacturing can play a role in such cases,” Rama Devi said.