So you want new shoes! Why not get a 3D printed one?
A revolutionary technology, 3D printing is an advancement of additive manufacturing. 3D printing is used widely in developed countries, and now it has reached in India too. Although the technology is new to India, the domestic manufacturers and local assemblers have increasingly taken initiatives to make 3D printers available to consumers at affordable costs. 3D printing seems to have a bright future in our country.
3D Printing Applications in India:
3D printing has applications in fields like industrial, educational, aerospace, architectural, medical, automotive, electronics and others. The technologies that reign are polyjet, fused deposition modelling,stereo lithography and selective laser sintering. As of 2013, the application in electronics dominates the market (24.1% volume share), followed by the automotive industry (21.2% volume share), the medical field (15% volume share), industrial field (13.8% volume share), aerospace (10.8% volume share), architectural field (5.2% volume share) and educational field (3% volume share). The revenue of 3D printer market in our country is estimated to be $46 million by 2019.
3D printers in Indian market have greater potential in the commercial segment, such as art and craft, educational, architecture, healthcare sector and other companies that provide 3D printing services. The niche applications of the technology in our country’s market are drug and chocolate printing, gaming and animation, fashion and apparels, educational models, furniture modelling, interior decoration customized footwear designs, organ replacement, and special purpose applications.
Big Players of 3D Printing:
The major players in the 3D printing market of India (distributors and manufacturers) are JGroup Robotics, KCbots, Brahma 3, Imaginarium and Altem Technologies.
The global companies like Optomec and Stratasys have alliances or partnerships with technology companies based in India, to expand their customer base. Other key global players in the industry of 3D printing are Flashforge, Leapfrog, 3D Systems and Fabbster.
So what can you create using the 3D Printing Technology?
- Gun
- 3D printed acoustic guitar
- Card holder and iPhone 5 case
- iPad stand
- Hanging light
- Coffee cups
- High heels
- 3D printed fabrics
A cool technology right? Perhaps we would soon watch 3D printing entering into the mainstream in India. And once this happens, many things are going to change significantly in our country.
