Tag: Think3D

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Maintenance of a 3D Printer

3D printing is a new & upcoming technology and because of that most 3D printers aren’t very sturdy enough like PCs, 2D printers. 3D Printers have to well taken care of to get quality prints and also to avoid regular repairs. In  this article , we will be discussing the mechanical maintenance of 3D printer to help  you get better quality prints.

Here are some of the tips to keep your printer nicely maintained

1. Keep the build plate clean

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While taking 3D prints, we apply glue to the build plate to avoid warping of the prints. Because of the glue, some molten plastic and foreign particles get stuck to the build plate. Due to this, prints don’t come proper and build plate will have an irregular surface. To avoid that, always clean the build plate after every print.

We can clean it using cloth and by dipping it in the warm water.

2.Lubricate the X & Y axes

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While printing ,the X & Y axes are there in continuous motion along with the Printer head. The lubrication fades along with the deposition of dust on these rods over a period of time.  This makes the movement of the axes stiffer and they demand lubrication for a smooth motion.

Wipe the rods to clean the dust and lubricate it with oil and manually move it to check for the lubrication .

3.Lubricate the Z axis

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The Z axis of a 3D printer is generally a lead screw and it should be lubricated with a solid lubricant or grease to sustain the lubrication over it .

Lubricate the Z axis with grease and move it manually to the extremes to get the uniform lubrication.

4.Clean the Extruder

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The filament passes through the rollers for the extrusion in the cold end of the  Extruder. During extrusion/plastic deformation some particles of the material wear off on these rollers and get stuck to it. It changes the geometry of the rollers which can make the further extrusions improper.

These rollers can be cleaned using toothbrush which will help the extruder function smoothly and give quality prints.

5.Tighten the Pulley Screws

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The pulleys are installed on the X & Y  axes of the printer. Due to the continuous motion of these axes there are vibrations in the system which result in the loosening of the pulley screws . It leads to a misaligned system and the quality may reduce .

It is a good practice to tighten the pulley screws periodically with the allen keys.

Regular maintenance of a 3D printer gives long life to the printer and helps avoid costly repairs. We hope this tutorial gives you an idea on how to maintain a 3D printer. If you have any suggestions, feel free to add those in the comments section below.

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think3D is now the official reseller for Ultimaker, MakerBot and 3D Systems

authorized resellers
authorized resellers

Think3D has recently signed MoU’s with the top three leaders in 3D printing industry – 3D Systems, Ultimaker International Limited (UMI) and MakerBot Industries, LLC. As per each agreements think3D gets the license to sell the range of 3D printers and related products of UMI, MakerBot and 3D Systems in the southern part of Asia.

This agreement also leads to the fact that think3D holds the rights to market and position the products of the three top 3D printing brands and utilize its web portal, www.think3d.in, as a possible medium. The agreement makes think3D eligible to offer any kind of technical support and after-sales services to clients’ issues, relating to 3D printing and scanning in India.

Think3D Ultimaker MoU
MoU between Ultimaker International Ltd. and think3D

The official date of agreement for Ultimaker was dated on 4th of April, 2015, whereas, MakerBot and 3D Systems signed the MoUs on 8th and 12th of April, 2015, respectively.Nick Mayor, International Business Development Manager, Ultimaker International Ltd. stated, “I would like to welcome Think3D to the growing community of Ultimaker resellers around the world. We are looking forward to work with Think3D in building the Ultimaker brand in India.”

Post these agreements the potential consumers of these brands are more likely to get their products available at a much lesser price, compared to the cost of the actual price of the printers i.e., the price of the printer when they are directly shipped from the homelands.

Think3D is now among the key players for marketing and positioning the range of products of these 3D printing giants and this agreement gives think3D the opportunity to create a segment of customers for the three companies in India, and possibly, in the neighbouring countries. Being one of the known brands on 3D printing in India, this business opportunity will make think3D an accessible one-stop-shop for the potential Indian clients and the growing market in India, at large.

MoU between MakerBot and think3D
MoU between think3D & MakerBot Industries, LLC
3D Systems_MoU
MoU between 3D Systems & think3D
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AIMT sets up a 3D printing lab in partnership with think3D

think3D with AIMT
think3D with AIMT

Ambalika Institute of Management and Technology (AIMT) Lucknow, one of top universities in Lucknow has partnered with think3D, India’s largest 3D printer store to set up a state-of-art 3D printing lab at the institute in Lucknow, the first such lab in entire Uttar Pradesh. The AIMT-think3D lab is set up to do research on the upcoming 3D printing technologies, to educate students on this latest technology and also to provide consulting services to the industry in Uttar Pradesh. AIMT and think3D together aim to build a state of the art 3D printing lab in Uttar Pradesh with printers for all kinds of technologies like SLA, SLS, FDM, DLP, 3D scanners and so on.

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As a launchpad for setting up the lab, a seminar on 3D printing technologies has been conducted at the university campus. Ambika Misra, Executive Director, Ambalika Institute Of Management & Technology presided over the function to explain students about the 3D printing technology and its benefits. The function is attended by AIMT students, faculty, executive board members, industry people in Lucknow, think3D team, Artec team and the press. Mr. Mukul Gupta kickstarted the event with lamp lighting ceremony. Afterwards, Mr. Mukul Gupta gave a small introduction to the 3D printing technology and invited Mr. Ambika Misra to share his thoughts on 3D printing technology. Mr. Ambika Misra, a passionate follower of latest advancements in technology, shared his insights on 3D printing technology. It was a highly illuminating discussion with lots of inputs from Mr. Misra.

think3D with AIMT

Later, Raja Sekhar Upputuri and Prudhvi Reddy from think3D gave a 90 minute presentation on the 3D printing technology with lots of videos, insights on 3D printing technology, followed by a live demo with the UP Plus2 printer. Students are well engaged in the event and asked lots of questions during the course of the session. After a short lunch break, Artec team gave a presentation on 3D scanning technology and on how objects can be scanned using 3D scanners and then 3D printed using 3D printers. In the mean time, Mr. Ambika held a session with Jewellers in Lucknow to explain how 3D printing technology can benefit the industry in Lucknow. AIMT gave a call to the industry to come forward and support this initiative to develop the Jewellery industry in Lucknow.  The session came to an end at 05:00 in the evening and attendees were delighted to attend such a fruitful session.

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So far the lab has been equipped with 3 printers  – 1 Cube Pro Trio, 1 UP Plus 2, 1 Prusa i3 kit. One Flashforge Dreamer Dual Extruder printer will be added to the kitty soon. Thereafter, few SLA printers and 3D scanners will be procured to complete the entire end to end set up.

The 3D printing lab at AIMT takes care of three divisions

• Student Training: Regular training to students on 3D printing technology and its uses.

• Consulting to industry: Advice to industry in Lucknow on how 3D printing can be used to improve the existing processes.

• Print On Demand Service: Prototyping service to industry in Uttar Pradesh to come up with new products.

Commenting on this partnership, Mr Prudhvi Reddy, co-founder think3D said, “Ambalika Institute” has been a trendsetter in imparting advanced technologies in the course curriculum and we are pleased to set up the center at AIMT. We were convinced and are excited about the possibilities this partnership offers to students in this region. In the address Mr Ambika Misra, said that as this is another step towards co-aligning student education with latest technologies in the market. The lab will be equipped with four FDM printers, one 3D scanner and one SLA printer to start with. With these 4 printers and scanners, students should be capable of understanding 3D printing technology. A separate lab is being set up to train students on 3D design services like CAD, ProE, CATIA.

About think3D: 

think3D is India’s largest online 3D printing platform launched with the mission “3D Printing For Everyone”. think3D platform primarily comprises for four sections (a) News Portal – Covering all the latest 3D printing news; (b) Online Store – For selling 3D printers, filaments and spare parts; (c) Print of Demand – For customers who want a 3D prototype of their designs; (d) Training Platform – To provide training on 3D printing technologies. The company was founded by two BITS Pilani graduates having a combined work experience of around 15 years with an aim to disrupt the 3D printing space. Visit www.think3d.in for more information

Please send an e-mail at info@think3d.in if you wish to contact the think3d.in team.

About AIMT:

With over 2500 students and more than 300 employees, Ambalika Institute Of Management And Technology is the fastest growing institution of research and education in Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of the institute is to conduct research, provide further education to the highest academic level and to incubate industry embedded platform for the students. AIMT received various prestigious National and International awards beginning with Best Emerging College in U.P., Best Placement, Best Infrastructure and Faculty to Best Engineering College. With sheer dedication, Ambalika has always been providing specialized and innovative methods of individual and small group instruction and assessment necessary to promote student augmentation and achievement.

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3D Printing Companies in India

3D Printing in India
3D Printing in India

After successfully creating a strong market in the developed countries 3D printing is all set to conquer the markets of developing countries as well. The falling prices of 3D printers and other related equipment as well as the increased awareness among the people about the technology has lead to the creation of a strong market base for manufacturers. The technology is also entering into the mainstream by eliminating some of the drawbacks which were earlier restricting the usage of this technology for commercial purposes.

In the Indian context the technology is quite new and most people are skeptical about the performance of the technology. Thanks to the local assemblers as well as the domestic manufacturers 3D printers are available to the people for a relatively low price. This ensures that the technology could be tested and then when all the proofreading is done a branded 3D printer can be brought.

The Indian market has always been sensitive when it comes to price and so is in the case of 3D printing technology. Most of the industries follow the traditional method of manufacturing (for example: CNC Machines) and the price of 3D printers is almost equivalent to the price of any other conventional machine. This brings in an air of reluctance among the manufacturers for adapting 3D printing into their manufacturing process.

The technology itself is in the evolving phase and there are many transformations yet to be made in the field of mass production and easier design capabilities. One major drawback of 3D printing is the speed. For 3D printers to be fully used in the mainstream industries, these drawbacks should be sorted out at the earliest. These are also the reasons for 3D printing not booming in the Indian market.

This technology has been successfully adapted by many industries like automotive, medical, architectural, aerospace, educational, industrial and so on. As per the projections, the contribution of 3D printing in the various industries in the year 2013 are as follows:

  • Automotive (21.2%)
  • Medical (15%)
  • Industrial (13.8%)
  • Aerospace (10.8%)
  • Architectural (5.2%)
  • Educational (3.0%)

In the developed countries the 3D printing market is booming, the United States of America which is considered to be the biggest market for this technology in the year 2012 has generated revenue of $2 billion; on the other hand the Indian 3D printer market is expected to reach $46 million by the year 2019.

3D printing as a technology can in implemented in India in commercial sectors like healthcare sector, architecture, educational, art & craft. The elements that could attract Indians towards using this technology is the capacity of customization. The biggest positive point related to 3D printing is customization and the usage of these customized objects in various fields such as organ replacements, footwear, interior decorations, furniture modeling, food, animation and gaming, fashion and apparels as well as educational purposes. All this would create a strong base for 3D printing technology in India.

With each passing day researchers and scientists are bringing about ground breaking reforms in this technology and so the area of application of 3D printing is likely to develop even more in the near future.

There are many companies that have established their base in 3D printing industry such as Stratsys and MakerBot. These companies have established partnership with many Indian companies in order to increase their customer base. The major companies in India that are aspirants in this new field of 3D printing are:

ALTEM Technologies:

ALTEM Technologies is basically a Product Lifecycle management (PLM) Software VAR (Value Added Reseller) for a company named Dassault Systemes. It is also the Indian distributor for Stratasys 3D printers. The company has signed a partnership agreement with Stratasys in the year 2010. Since then the company has been supplying 3D printer to Indian consumers. The company sells FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) and Polyjet technology based 3D printers so that an ultimate 3D printing experience can be obtained by the consumers.

The company has its headquarters in Bangalore, India and three other sales officesin Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

Imaginarium:

The company claims to be the largest Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Manufacturing Center in India. The company provides exclusive prototypes for a wide range of industries like from jewelry, engineering, automotive, architecture, consumer goods etc. The company has more than 30 years of experience in Rapid Prototyping and it uses this experience to deliver complete solution to the needs of the customers.

Brahma 3:

It is a startup company which is all set to explore the potential of 3D printing with the help of powerful hardware and very creative members on board. The company is one of the few Indian companies that have successfully made a 3D printer.

The company has named the printer as the Braham Anvil. The printer is made for both beginners as well as professionals.

Some of the features of the printer are mentioned below:

  • Technology: Fused Filament Fabrication
  • Build Volume: 240 x 240 x 240 mm
  • Printing Material: 3mm PLA, ABS, Nylon
  • of Extruders: 1
  • Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm
  • Layer Resolution: 50- 100 micron
  • Maximum Extruder Temperature: 350°C
  • Hot end: All metal hot end
  • Extrusion method: Direct drive

KCbots:

KCbots is another Indian 3D printing company that is making extremely user friendly and powerful printers based on the knowledge and experience of its founder Karan Chaphekar. Chaphekar has vast experience in making RepRap 3D printers. The company was founded on the base of this knowledge. The company believes that the best 3D printer is a one that is reliable as well as consistent. The name of the 3D printer that the company has made is named Gbot 3D creator. The printer has been made especially for the Indian market. The company also offer support for customers via key support and training resources.

think3D:

think3D is another major startup in 3D printing space in India. think3D works with the mission “3D Printing For Everyone”. The company works on a multi-pronged strategy. (a) 3D Printer & Filament Sales (b) 3D Print On Demand (c) 3D Design Store (d) Training & Workshops. The company also covers latest happenings on 3D printing across the world. The company partnered with various 3D printer manufacturers across the world and thus offer reseller services for those manufacturers.

JGroup Robotics:

The company aims to manufacture 3D printers with supreme quality. With products such as Dimension 3 LE and Vector PLA 3D, the company delivers value added solutions. The company professes to have developed printers which have duplication accuracy up to 99%.

These are a few companies in India that are trying to create a market for this technology. Hopefully in the near future we do see more companies jumping in into the unknown waters of 3D printing!

Sources: 

About Us

http://www.imaginarium.co.in/aboutus.php

http://www.brahma3.com/

http://www.kcbots.com/

http://www.jgrouprobotics.com/aboutus

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3D Printing Courses in India

3D Printing Courses in India
3D Printing Courses in India

3D printing is by far one of the most interesting and happening technological advancements that mankind has seen in almost a decade. 3D printing has proved to be a booming industry in the west and in most developed countries. But in India and other developing countries, 3D printing technology adoption is a bit slow. Given the 1.2 billion population, 3D printing shall provided Indians with lot of opportunities and also improve Indian economy.

It is an inevitable truth that there is a lot of scope for this technology in India and also a lot of opportunities to teach this science to the people. The sole problem in the entire thing is the capital. To teach 3D printing technology to the masses require huge capital and as India is a developing country, neither government of India nor individuals have that kind of funds to train individuals on 3D printing technology.

The key essential component for learning this technology is a 3D printer. No matter what the statistics say, buying a 3D printer is still an expensive affair for a common Indian man (keeping in mind the average Indian income). Unlike in United States of America and many other developed countries, where kids have access to 3D printers in school, colleges and universities in India, only few colleges have 3D printers. Inspite of all these odds, there are few companies that are offering 3D printing courses in India. Below is the list of those companies.

Tutor3D

The website was started as a joint venture between two companies Kidopia Venture and df3d. The main aim of the website is to bridge the gap between learning and resources that are essential for learning the basics of 3D printing. It also aims to bring 3D printing into the educational sector mainly for children between the age groups of 8-16 years. Currently the representatives of the venture are trying to convince some of the students of the various schools and other educational institutions of the country to participate in the 3D printing classes offered by Tutor3D.

The venture offers courses in two levels. Each course is of three months. These are the services that are being provided by tutor3d.com:

  • Learn modeling tools for 3D printing
  • Learn design processes
  • Incorporate 3D printing into an existing project
  • Learn basic sciences with models
  • Explore mathematical modeling
  • Define a custom curriculum for individual school / colleges.

One of the co- founders of the venture Deepak Raj said, “The greatest designers are the ones who explore design at an young age. There is no better skill than the one that provides child with the ability to understand the technologies that will pave the way towards the future.” Another co-founder of Tutor 3D Samarth Rao said, “Children when exposed to such tools and training at an young age can get more avenues to utilize those skills in the course of their career path and also explore their infinite creativity”.

The reason behind this venture is quite clear from the talks of one of the co- founders Samarth Rao. He said, “The very concept of being able to create a physical model out of any creative thought appeared interesting. Moreover, the industry is opening out in a big way worldwide and the future of 3D printing seems very attractive, not just in terms of the industries that would have applications out of 3D printing, but also with respect to the jobs and other opportunities that it would create.”

MDS 3D:

The organization aims to create awareness among people as well as organizations in India regarding this technology and the perks that come along with it. The company keeps a track of the recent developments in the industry and is very persistent in incorporating those new ideas into their own working so that they can help their clients in the best possible way.

The company is equally passionate about knowledge generation and increase the understanding that people have regarding this new technology. The company conducts many trainings and seminars which last for one or two days. These seminars are conducted for giving the people a general idea of what 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing actually is. Apart from this the company also holds three days seminars which are intensive courses or the master level courses for 3D printing.

Think3D.in

The company claims to be the largest 3D printing platform in India. There are reasons for it to feel so, the company has signed a partnership with the big shots of the 3D printing industry like the iMakr company. With the collaborative efforts from iMakr think3D is supporting 3D printing entrepreneurship in India. Think3D also functions like the incubator for iMakr in India.

The company works on four levels.

  • News Portal – Covering all the latest 3D printing news
  • Online Store – For selling 3D printers, filaments and spare parts
  • Print of Demand – For customers who want a 3D prototype of their designs
  • Training Platform – To provide training on 3D printing technologies.

The company on a very frequent basis organizes seminars and training workshops in India.

BotzLab.com

This is an online company that on request goes to various schools and colleges with a 3D printer to demonstrate the actual working of a 3D printer. The company educates interested students in batches. The company claims to offer the best live workshop on 3D printing for “future technologists”.

As Indians emphasis a lot on education right from childhood and every year lakhs and lakhs of engineers are being churned out of all the engineering colleges that mushroom all around India, the company is hopeful that 3D printing as a specialization will soon be offered in the engineering syllabus. In the past we have seen that in Australia a two year degree program is being offered by four universities QUT in Queensland, the University of Wollongong in NSW, the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands and the University of Würzburg in Germany. In the near future we are hopeful that in India too there would be full- time courses on 3D printing in the various universities and colleges.

Sources: 

http://www.inside3dp.com/tutor3d-new-initiative-introduce-3d-printing-students-india/

http://www.mds3d.in/about/

https://www.think3d.in/about-think3d-india/

http://botzlab.com/portfolio/workshops/

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iMakr partners with think3D to fund Indian 3D printing projects

iMakr.vc partners with think3D
imakr.vc partners with think3D

iMakr.vc partners with think3D.in to fund Indian 3D printing projects

Additive Manufacturing, more popularly known as 3D printing has become a buzzword in the last few years. Every other day, we get to see some interesting news about 3D printed houses, 3D printed prosthetic limbs, jewellery and so on. So revolutionary is the technology that all the experts predict that 3D printing will change the face of manufacturing in the next 20 years. Seeing the immense potential 3D printing offers, many passionate entrepreneurs from India are jumping into the 3D printing bandwagon bringing this revolutionary technology closer to the masses. Adding to the lure is the fact that key technology patents in this space expired and thus IP became accessible to everyone in the last few years.

To tap into this growing entrepreneurial activity in 3D printing space in India, iMakr.vc, world’s leading dedicated 3D printing fund has partnered with think3D.in to launch a dedicated seed fund for 3D startups in India. The mission of this fund is to support the best in class/ innovative 3D printing start-ups emerging out of India.

For the last 2 years, iMakr.vc was receiving several requests for incubation and investment from India based 3D entrepreneurs on a regular basis and the company was looking for an advisory team in India to evaluate these proposals and facilitate the funding process. Few months back, iMakr team met the founders of think3d.in, a startup in 3D printing space in India. Passionate and well qualified think3d team became their natural choice to play the role of advisor and incubator for iMakr. iMakr.vc brings in its expertise and exceptional track record to the partnership while the Indian partner brings in the Indian market know-how and the local expertise.

think3d.vc, a new seed-fund set up and run by the think3d team, will be responsible for all the due diligence of ideas received by iMakr.vc from India and the successful applicants will enter one of the three dedicated programs established by iMakr.vc (campus, incubator, accelerator). Think3d.vc shall also offer incubation space for the successful applicants from India. Together, these two companies hope to tap into the fast growing industry which is poised to reach $16.2 billion dollars by 2018 from the current $3.8 billion globally, growing at an annual rate of 45.7% as per Gartner report on 3D printing.

About iMakr.vc
iMakr.vc was founded in 2012 by Sylvain Preumont, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience creating and managing tech and industrial corporations. It was launched with a mission to invest in promising projects operating in 3D printing and 3D scanning sectors. In the last 2 years, iMakr.vc has successfully invested in imakr.com, myminifactory.com, miniyou. co.uk, newton3d.com and is in look out for interesting projects in 3D printing space.

iMakr.vc invites Indian 3D printing projects to apply at www.imakr.vc.

About think3d.vc
think3D.vc was founded in 2014 by two 3D printing entrepreneurs Prudhvi Reddy and Raja Sekhar Upputuri who are currently running a 3D printing portal in India – www.think3d.in. Prudhvi Reddy and Raja Sekhar Upputuri were classmates at BITS Pilani.

After BITS, Raja worked for some time in Aricent and then went on to pursue his MBA from China Europe International Business School. Post his MBA, he founded a multinational digitization company called ScanCorner which is headquartered in Switzerland with presence in India and 5 other European countries.

After graduation, Prudhvi joined IIM Calcutta to pursue his PGDM. His work history includes rich stints with technology companies like Freescale, Cognizant, Firefly Internet ventures in product/management roles. Before starting think3d, Prudhvi worked for T.I.M.E., one of the largest test prep companies in India and was instrumental in building their GATE product and scaling it up across the country. He was also the in-charge of elearning initiatives of TIME. In 2014, they both joined hands to take up the challenge of creating a 3D printing eco-system in India, and started think3d.in. They are planning to build think3D into one of the top global companies in 3D printing space in the next 5 – 10 years.

Visit www.think3d.vc for more information.

For all questions, please contact info@think3d.vc.

To find more about iMakr, click here

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3D Printing Business In India – Detailed Analysis

3D Printing in India
3D Printing in India

3D printing is in a very early stage in India when compared to various developed economies across Europe, America and Asia. It can be primarily attributed to the cost of printers which are priced upwards $2000 and also to the lack of proper eco-system. But the future holds lot of promise in India with the price of printers falling down and with various new 3D printing applications emerging on a daily basis. According to Zala Shah, Gartner’s research analyst, 3D printing movement started in India in 2012 with various local manufacturers building printers based on the open-source RepRap technology. In the last 2 years, many local printers were produced based on RepRap technology. These printers have certain shortcomings like quality and speed. Many experts believe that it takes another 3-4 years before a truly world-class, low cost desktop 3D printer emerges out of India. 

According to a research conducted by 6Wresearch, India’s 3D printing market is projected to grow at around 20 percent CAGR during 2014-19. While various technologies like FDM, SLS, Polyjet, Stereo lithography are in active use in India, Fused deposition modelling (FDM) based 3D printers account for majority of the market in India because of its affordable price and ease of use. Prosthetics, Toys, Gifts are some of the most common applications of 3D printing in India. Many passionate entrepreneurs in India are jumping into the 3D printing bandwagon to bring this technology closer to the common man. These entrepreneurs have already set up some very interesting business models surrounding 3D printing. 

Also Indian government started supporting 3D Printing technology in a big way from 2015 onwards. Under Atal Innovation Mission, government is giving mandate to various public schools to set up 3D Printers and teach the kids as part of Atal Tinkering Labs. Also, government is sponsoring INR 10.00 Cr worth rapid protyping related machinery under Atal Incubation Mission. All these policies provide added incentive to entrepreneurs to get into this space. 

3D Printing startups in India

think3D is one such company in India. It was founded by two young passionate entrepreneurs Raja Sekhar Upputuri and Prudhvi Reddy. A small Youtube clip on 3D printing is what it took them to quit their jobs and launch 3D printing company in India. think3D can be considered a one stop shop for all things 3D. As the market is in a nascent stage, they decided to focus on building the ecosystem instead of confining to one particular niche. think3D has a news portal covering all the latest happenings in the 3D printing space, an online store selling various printers and filaments, a dedicated training section to educate people on 3D printing and its advantages. 

think3D also launched a seed fund in partnership with iMakr, the seed fund behind world’s largest dedicated retail store for 3D printing. The aim of this fund is to encourage and inspire various 3D printing entrepreneurs in India. Talking about opportunities in 3D printing space Raja Sekhar Upputuri has to say “We strongly believe 3D printing is going to revolutionize the entire manufacturing industry in days to come. It makes manufacturing more local thereby generating local employment. In India, we aren’t finding as much activity or buzz around 3D printing as we see in other parts of the world. It is primarily due to lack of proper awareness and support. So, we launched a seedfund in association with iMakr to build that ecosystem in India. Interested entrepreneurs can apply for any of our programs”.

Another interesting startup in 3D printing space in India is Brahma3, based out of Bangalore. It was co-founded by Nikhil Velpanur and Aravind Nadig in August 2013. This startup focuses mostly on manufacturing 3D printers and on offering 3D print services to the companies. The team built one 3D printer in India with the help of an open-source community . Encouraged by the reception that the product got, Nikhil and Aravind now wants to build a good quality and aesthetically appealing 3D printer from scratch. They both are now focused on building one of the finest quality printers in the world.  The Brahma3 team strongly believes that every single industry will be revolutionized by 3D printing technology in ways unimaginable now. Talking about the skill-sets for 3D printing Nikhil says “To work in 3D printing space, one needs to have a multi-disciplinary expertise – The software, the materials, the hardware and so on. Thus the primary requirement for a person to work in 3D printing space is to be open to learning and absorbing as many skills as possible”

ProtoPrint is a social enterprise in 3D printing space in India. ProtoPrint empowers urban waste pickers with the technology to ethically produce fair trade 3D printer filament from the waste plastic they collect. That filament is marked globally providing consumers with a competitively priced, ethically sourced, recycled alternative to virgin plastic. ProtoPrint is a perfect example of how 3D printing technology can be used for social causes. Plastic waste material gets recycled, rag pickers get employment and consumers get the plastic filaments, a key raw material for 3D printing. It is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. 

LBD Makers is another start-up co-founded by three young engineers with a mission to create awareness on 3D printing technology for school and college students. When conducting the training sessions, many educational institutions started approaching them asking them for 3D printers for their institutions. They then realized that the 3D printer available in the market had some shortcomings and worked on making a 3D printer that is user friendly. 

There are many more such start-ups exploring various business models. And very few of these companies raised investment capital. One such company that raised capital and is noteworthy to mention about is Biotz. Biotz is a Kerala based 3D printing startup offering 3D printing solutions for enterprises. It raised a $50,000 seed fund in April 2013 and has raised Series A round of funding from a group of investors, including a Gurgaon based private equity firm Ncubate. This capital will be used for setting up a manufacturing unit, R&D facility in addition to product development, marketing and hiring. 

Challenges in 3D printing industry in India

There are various challenges faced by 3D printing industry in India. But most of these challenges can be attributed to the fact that the industry is still very nascent. And there is no single compelling application built using 3D printing technology. Most of the current applications aren’t really solving the day to day problems. Secondly, not many people are aware of 3D printing. So, the entire market should be educated first on 3D printing industry and on how it can be used to solve various problems in an efficient manner. Also the current range of good quality 3D printers are priced upwards Rs. 1,20,000 ($ 2000). At this price, the printers are very expensive for the majority of the market and the prices should come down by atleast 75% for 3D printing technology to become mainstream.

Except for few investors, majority of the  investor community in India plays it safe and invests only in the business models that are copied from successful Silicon Valley business models. Since the 3D printing industry is also in a nascent stage in USA, there is no single highly successfully 3D printing company to emulate. So, investors aren’t backing the 3D printing start-ups in India yet. And this is hurting the eco-system as the hardware is very expensive and thus require lots of investment.

All the 3D printers and raw material required for 3D printing have to be imported from abroad. This adds to the costs making the whole 3D printing process very expensive. Only if materials are locally engineered and produced, the costs of 3D printing will come down. Also the size of 3D printing equipment and the variety of materials that can be used limits 3D printing to only a small set of products and applications.

Summing it all, current 3D printing industry in India faces multitude of challenges and isn’t economically viable. But it is a matter of time before these challenges are addressed to bring the industry into the mainstream. 

What investors are looking for?

Many investors in India are maintaining a wait and watch stance when it comes to 3D printing though most of them are aware of 3D printing technology. The reason for that being lack of successful business models in Silicon Valley that can be emulated in India. And this boils down to the fact that industry is in a very nascent stage in India. But with the 3D printing industry evolving at a rapid pace, this is bound to change in the near future. Investors are primarily looking at three aspects when considering to invest in a 3D printing startup. 

1. Team – For most investors, having a strong team running the show is absolutely essential. The team should be aware of the complete 3D printing technologies inside out. 

2. Value Proposition – 3D printing process impacts the cost, quality and speed of production. So, one important thing investors want to see in the product is its value proposition. If the product can help a company bring down the cost of manufacturing by 50% without any impact on quality, that is a compelling value proposition. 

3. End Customer – Startups should have a clear idea on who their end customers and what their requirements are. Only if the founders have clear idea on their end customers, investors will be able to better evaluate them.  

Future of 3D printing in India:

3D printing industry has a very bright future as various 3D printing patents are expiring thereby opening up lot of opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs to build more efficient, high quality printers. It is a matter of time before some compelling applications will be built using 3D printing technologies. According to Gartner, consumers and companies spend more than $600 million on 3D printer related products in 2014. Given the rapid advancements in the 3D printing technology, 3D printing will be soon adopted by various industries and consumers alike. Hope that by 2020, many billion dollar 3D printing startups emerge out of India. 

Advice to entrepreneurs wishing to get into 3D Printing:

3D Printing is definitely an emerging field and has lot of scope. But unlike mobile technology which has major application in B2C, most of the applications of 3D Printing are in B2B segment and most of these are in Retail, Automotive & Manufacturing industries. Entrepreneurs can choose between manufacturing 3D Printers, trading in 3D Printers, providing 3D Printing services. We advice entrepreneurs to first start with offering 3D Printing services to clients. Identify an industrial zone, set up office there, find few clients and start offering 3D Printing services.  It is important to be present in an industrial zone as it provides a catchment area to cater to.  If you wish to get more insights into 3D Printing technology, feel free to shoot an e-mail to info@think3d.in