New 3D Printing Centers Established in India and China

It’s been a 3D printing-heavy year for India, which saw the introduction of Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing in January and the opening of a new additive manufacturing center just two weeks ago. Now India is taking another step in the direction of advanced technology with the establishment of the new Foundation for Innovation and Research at Sastra: Technology Business Incubator (FIRST) for 3D Printing and Internet of Things. The incubator was inaugurated at SASTRA University by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit this week.

FIRST has been set up by the university with support from the government’s department of science and technology, with the goal of supporting entrepreneurs through research, training, consultancy and education.

“In recent years, 3D printing has gone from a cutting-edge novelty to a growing and popular industry for new startups,” said Purohit. “Over the next six years, medical, aerospace and military applications are exhibiting promising growth in India’s 3D printing market, owing to increased spending towards R&D of aerospace and military related equipment.”

There will be two major centers for 3D printing at FIRST: the Innovation and Training Centre and the Rapid Prototyping Centre.

SASTRA University

“The innovation and training centre is like an entry level for people to get exposed and carry out research and experimentation processes, while at rapid prototyping centre, we have more advanced and expensive machines,” said FIRST CEO V Sridharan.

There will be two labs for the IoT side of things, as well, set up with a variety of sensors, modules, kits, signal generators, web nodes and transceivers.

“This setup has facilities for agriculture IoT, smart energy, smart grid, home automation, security, surveillance, health care, mobile IoT and so on,” said Sridharan.

“In India, the IoT market is going to touch $15 billion by 2020, according to NASSCOM,” added Purohit. “Fueled by a $1 billion investment from the Indian government every year for building 100 smart cities, the trade association also predicts that by 2020, India will account for nearly 5% of the global IoT market.”

It’s a momentous week for 3D printing in China, as well, as the country opens its first 3D bioprinting center.

The center is located at Zhongshan People’s Hospital and will be used to study fields such as regenerative medicine and human tissue engineering. It was set up by Medprin Regenerative Medical Technologies Co. in partnership with the hospital and is the first 3D printing base in the country to integrate scientific research with clinical applications.

Hospital Director Yuan Yong pointed to several of 3D printing’s beneficial applications in medicine, from 3D printed medical models to bioprinted tissue. Although this is China’s first bioprinting center, the country is no stranger to medical 3D printing, whether it’s 3D printed implants or 3D printed organ models. China has been responsible for some major medical accomplishments with the help of 3D printing, and this new center should propel the country even further forward in the medical 3D printing sector as precision medicine and bioprinting are studied and practiced.

Zhongshan is hoping to become a medical hub, and the bioprinting center will certainly help. According to Deputy Mayor Yuan Yongkang, the government will support industrial development through the introduction of talent and integration of medical resources. Zhongshan is located in China’s Guangdong province.

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[Sources: Times of India, Yicai Global]