On August 10th and 11th, the Plastomotive 2016 conference took place in Chennai, India. The annual event is the biggest gathering for the automotive plastics supply chain industry in the country, and this year’s conference definitely had more of a focus on 3D printing than ever before. Organized by the Inside 3D Printing team, a first-ever dedicated 3D printing session was among the conference highlights, featuring presentations from 3D printer manufacturers and service and material providers.
Guruprasad Rao
One of the presenters was Guruprasad Rao, Technical Director of Imaginarium, one of India’s biggest 3D printing companies and the lead patron for Inside 3D Printing Mumbai. The rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing service bureau has amassed over 20 large industrial 3D printers encompassing almost all of the major printing technologies out there, including SLS, SLA, DLP, Multijet and Polyjet. While Imaginarium’s services aren’t limited to 3D printing – they also offer several casting services as well – it’s a major part of their business, and it’s constantly growing.
We were given the opportunity to speak with Rao last year before Inside 3D Printing Mumbai, and he shared with us his vision for the future of 3D printing both in India and globally. He became acquainted with the technology in its early days, and has done a lot to spread knowledge and implementation of 3D printing in India. The country is still an emerging market for 3D printing, but it’s growing steadily and Rao expects that its popularity will continue to grow, particularly as more people begin to learn more about it.
“While many know about 3D printing hype through media, Industrial application is still remains unexplored,” he told us at the time. “This needs awareness drives through demonstration, projects and sharing of successful case studies.”
Attendees at Plastomotive 2016’s 3D printing session.
Last year’s conference in Mumbai certainly made significant inroads into the increased awareness of 3D printing’s industrial applications in India, whose economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world. The country is a great example of an emerging market whose growth is being driven by technology like 3D printing – and whose continued growth depends on it, hence the importance of major expos like Inside 3D Printing as well as the discussion of the technology at other trade shows like Plastomotive.
Swapnil Sansare
It’s one thing to hear about how amazing 3D printing is, but it’s another to learn specifically how it applies to you and your business. The attendees at Plastomotive 2016 were part of a specific niche, and the organizers of the 3D printing session made sure to include practical examples and success stories of 3D printing in that niche. Swapnil Sansare, founder of industrial 3D printer manufacturer Divide By Zero Technologies, spoke to the crowd specifically about the successes he’s seen in automotive 3D printing applications, while Kiran Raj, director of 3D Product Development Pvt Ltd, discussed the technology’s effectiveness for “under the hood” manufacturing. Soumya Mishra of the Solvay Group talked about nylon printing materials and why they work so well for many automotive applications.
The talks went over well – the show’s attendees were full of questions and ideas, and the enthusiasm and interest bode well for Inside 3D Printing Mumbai 2016. India’s automotive industry is one of the world’s biggest, so its willingness to get on board with 3D printing is a very good sign for the continued forward momentum of India’s economy – and for its potential to join the world’s technological leaders before long. Discuss this more in the Plastomotive 2016 Focus on 3D Printing forum over at 3DPB.com.