3M product R&D makes life a breeze for consumers

A visit to 3M India's R&D facility in Bengaluru brings to light the depth of the company's engineering genius

Diversified technology company 3M has been in India for over 25 years now, and has grown in its understanding of not only the Indian market, but also the inherent engineering talent that can be tapped in the country for the company’s local and global business.

A visit to 3M India’s R&D facility at Bengaluru offers one a perspective about the company’s in-depth work — from basic household innovations, all the way up to complex precision engineering. The lab was built by 3M for India with the intention to accelerate development of products ‘in India for India’ through a local, cutting-edge R&D capability and to provide growth and development opportunities for local talent.

Taking this Deccan Herald reporter through the trove of 3M India’s work at the centre, the company’s India R&D Head Raja Krishnamurthy said, “The aim of our R&D work in India is to understand and develop products for the country.”

The primary goal here is to aid the development of new products, through tests and deliberations, after ascertaining the platforms on which the products could be built. 3M develops products based on any one (or a combination) of 46 global technology platforms, in sync with any of five business groups namely consumer, electronics and energy, industrial, healthcare, and safety and graphics, which will help ensure efficient service to customers.

The 46 platforms include nonwovens, moulding technology, healthcare formulations (handrubs), dressings, post-operative care, adhesives, and abrasives, among many others. “Our global technology platforms are strong technical areas of exercise, which follow years of research, knowledge and infrastructure. We combine multiple platforms to make a product. As the product line increases, verticals may choose apt platforms,” Krishnamurthy said.

“Our job here involves leveraging knowledge from other 3M labs (65 in total) during product development. The way it works is that when a product must be developed for India, it isn’t necessary that we build a technology platform in every area. In many areas, while we have expertise, we may not have the infrastructure. So, our ideas, technology and expertise may be shared with our other labs, to be experimented, validated and tested, as per our conditions (and vice versa),” he said.

At the Bengaluru facility, one comes across a mind-boggling array of products that have made daily life easy for people. Now, everyone knows and would have used Scotch-Brite, the ‘invincible’ kitchenware and dish scrubber. This 3M product has revolutionised, and yet simplified, the way dishes are done at home. Global product Scotch-Brite was developed decades ago, but has had several variations developed for India.

Explaining the R&D facility’s work in the ‘wash’ department, Krishnamurthy said, “We are now looking at locally developing handpads for washing, which now sits in the test phase. The final product is expected next year. In order to design this product, it is important to know how people wash in india, the surfaces here, and also the cost factor. We’ve conducted experiments in Indian homes to see how people use Scotch-Brite, and what the challenges are. Then, we mapped how to go about the new product.”

Collect, Transmit, and Diffuse

One of 3M’s latest innovations is in the solar and lighting areas, and is truly a marvel. Taking nature’s blessing to light indoors may be a challenge for a technologist. But, the 3M Tubular Daylighting Guidance System (TDGS) rewrites that point. A revolutionary system that delivers total daylighting without UV and zero power, TDGS is enabled by the patented roof-mounting system working in tandem with specialised specular reflective films. At current cost, the system is designed to payback within three years of installation.

“The TDGS can be deployed at factories, warehouses, auditoria and offices, and works well in new, as well as retrofit projects, and offers a significant reduction of electrical energy bills. The system effectively transports sunlight into interior spaces, while cutting out heat and harmful radiations through a three-pronged process: Collect, Transmit and Diffuse,” Krishnamurthy said, demonstrating the system in a dark room at the facility, a part of which is illuminated by a white light emitted via TDGS.

Simply put, with regards to TDGS, ‘Collect’ refers to a specialised dome with a specialised optical system that efficiently captures sunlight from multiple directions, collects and redirects it downward into a duct below, ‘Transmit’ refers to the light that is carried through the duct for several metres deep into the interiors of a building. The inner surface of the duct is made of a 3M material that possesses high reflectivity, minimal loss and negligible colour shift (even in cloudy conditions), and contains the highest visible photopic reflectivity, at over than 99 per cent, and ‘Diffuse’ refers to the uniform light, spread and controlled in interior spaces. The unique lens design reduces glare and eliminates hot spots, and because of the optical-grade plastic used, the film does not alter the colours of the transmitted light.

Another era-leading technology that the centre has locally developed is the automotive sound insulation, which Krishnamurthy said was a Make in India initiative. Scientists at 3M India have worked very closely with key automotive customers to identify the need for an integrated vehicle level acoustic insulation material that will primarily reduce engine noise inside the cabin. “The idea required the development of a light weight material with excellent acoustic and thermal insulation properties that is suitable for operations in high temperature areas.

A multidisciplinary group of 3M scientists and engineers used our knowledge and expertise in nonwoven, polymer materials, acoustics and predictive engineering to develop an innovative and patent protected solution to satisfy the customer need,” he said. In terms of contributing to the country’s Digital India drive, and Smart Cities, Krishnamurthy demonstrated the company-developed passport reader, claiming that almost all passport readers in India are multiple-level authentication devices made by 3M.

60-plus patents in 5 years

As one moves further through the R&D centre floor, the depth of 3M’s engineering genius becomes only more apparent. 3M India’s R&D centre has a 100 people working here today, which over the next five years would rise by 15-20 per cent. While a large bunch of the R&D staff are engineers and scientists, the company also hires suitable talent from design schools, engineering and science institutes. Over the last five years, over 60 patents have been files from here.

Said Krishnamurthy, “Hundreds of products have been made in India. Currently, our goal is to work with our Indian customers, and most products are tailored for India. If other markets make products suited for India, we may consider them. The focus for the future is to strengthen key technology platforms that have been identified to drive India’s growth. Our new product validity index today is at 35 per cent, and we expect it to hit 40 per cent over the next five-year period.”

With $32 billion in sales and operations in over 70 countries, 3M sells more than 60,000 products, employing around 90,000 people around the world (over 12,000 researchers), who collaborate actively to design, manufacture and engage in the delivery of innovative products and services. Typical R&D spend is around 5-6 per cent of sales globally.