NO CLASSES ON 3D PRINT TECH

CHENNAI: Two days ago, India’s first 3D printed post office in Bengaluru’s Cambridge Layout was virtually inaugurated by Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw. It was built in 1,021 square feet area in 43 days by L&T (with technical guidance from IIT-M) at a cost of Rs 23 lakh, which was 30-40% less than a conventionally constructed building.

Two years ago, IIT-M’s civil engineers had designed, developed, and built a 1-BHK single-storey home in around 600 square feet with the help of Tvasta’s indigenous ‘Concrete 3D Printing’ technology for just Rs 5 lakh.

But despite such advances in technology, the country lags be-hind in optimising the know-how via educational programmes. There are no long-term programmes in 3D printing technology.

Relevance in construction

3D printing is a digital technique that has many advantages over conventional building such as reduced construction time, less manpower and zero waste.

“The 3D printing construction market is rapidly growing. With the help of a printer, this technology deposits materials one at a time to build three-dimensional objects or structures,” explained Prof Manu Santhanam, civil dean, department of civil engineering, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research, IIT-M.

Stating that research on 3D printing technology was gaining momentum globally, and especially in India, he said: “This technology makes building houses cost-effective and less time-consuming. I’m sure, the Union government will soon come out with guidelines and norms for constructing homes using this technology. This will also enable the start of full-time courses in universities and colleges.”

Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT-M, said that the tech was the first to be beneficiary-led in the construction industry. “The machine for constructing this house can be rented – similar to how bore-wells and tractors are rented by farmers. It provides large-scale, high quality and also, price-assurance for the customers,” he pointed out.

According to Ramamurthi, 3D printing will potentially reduce overall construction cost significantly, magnitude difference in overall construction time, bring down the related carbon footprint, increase productivity of labour involved, and also offer raw material flexibility and utilisation of eco-friendly materials.

Elaborating on the need for such projects, VS Adithya, co-founder and CEO, Tvasta Manufacturing, which constructed the first house using 3D printing, said, “This project depicts the necessity and capability of advanced construction technology in the infrastructure development of the country across various sectors.”

Short-term courses

In view of the emerging technology and the steady rise in the demand for 3D printing in the construction industry across the country, many technical institutions have started short-time courses in that field.

However, experts opine that the technology, especially in the construction industry, should be approved by the Union government so that guidelines on safety and other factors can be framed well. “Technology has to be streamlined by introducing proper full-time courses for students, who evince interest in 3D printing technology in building construction,” said one of the experts in the industry.

Additionally, 3D printing also made an impression in the aerospace, automotive, home decor and medical industries.

Though there are no regular or separate long-term courses in 3D printing technology in schools and colleges, the Indian educationalists definitely understand the implications of such a technology in the future.

“The 3D printing technology is being taught in schools. Many private institutions have small 3D printing machines. From printing a simple 3D planet model or working on an automotive engine, these real-time models help teachers explain difficult concepts easily,” elaborated M Ashok Kumar, a science teacher in a private school in the city. “If school children know to create objects with 3D printers, they could be encouraged to work with bigger projects when they pursue higher education.”

No separate programme

A senior professor from the department of civil engineering, Anna University, said that there was no separate course in 3D printing tech.

“It’s clubbed with another course. The Union Ministry of Education will soon formulate a full-fledged course,” he stated. “We had conducted a national seminar on 3D printing tech titled ‘An emerging technology towards young minds’. Experts from many institutions, including IIT-M, spoke about the way forward and challenges in the tech.”

The professor averred that several universities and technical institutions had sent their 3D printing curriculum proposals to the Union government. “We can expect regular courses soon after the Union government formulates it,” he stated.