India embracing rise of additive manufacturing for medical devices

S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently inaugurated the first National Additive Manufacturing Symposium (NAMS) – 2024 organised at New Delhi, India to provide an overview of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) ecosystem in India.

The event featured release of Additive Manufacturing Landscape Report and unveiled indigenously developed additive manufacturing machine.  

The National Strategy for Additive Manufacturing (NSAM), released in 2022 aims at harnessing the full potential of this transformative technology to drive industrial growth, innovation, and inclusive development.  So far, seven centres, dedicated to deployment and development of AM technologies, are serving as vibrant hubs by actively involving diverse stakeholders to invigorate AM ecosystem, while spearheading the advancement of pioneering technologies in manufacturing like, optical chip packaging, optical computing chips, electronics components, medical devices, food 3D printing & renewal energy products, etc.

The symposium facilitated discussions regarding AM’s role in advancing level of manufacturing efficiency and capturing new markets. Efforts should be made to connect National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), Hyderabad with various other organisations engaged in this emerging technology to develop machines, materials, software or products to develop a robust network to facilitate the industry more effectively so as to cultivate maximum AM business opportunities for the country.

The NAMS-2024 has seen participation from diverse stakeholders, e.g. industry, academia and government. The participants included, Industry associations, such as, Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI), AM Chronicle and 3D GRAPHY LLP; besides, Central ministries, e.g., Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Department of Defence Production; as also, State Governments (Government of Telangana). The participants from the National and international companies such as STPL3D, Divide By Zero Technologies, EOS GmbH, Stratasys Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Company, NIKON SLM Solutions, General Electric and Philips Additive also took part in the symposiums.