What is Bengaluru using 3D printing for?

Girish S Murthy with a robotic usher his firm, 3D Printzkart, in JP Nagar, 3D-printed for a college in Dharwad.

3D printing is touted to be the next frontier in construction and Bengaluru is showing the way forward. India’s first 3D-printed post office is coming up in Cambridge Layout in Halasuru, layer by layer.

The 1,000 sqft office will be ready in about 40 days and with only five men at work, Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) shared with the media. At Rs 23 lakh, it is not cheaper than a conventionally built office but as the demand increases, the cost should drop, said an official.

Bengaluru has joined cities like Chennai, Dubai, Italy, Belgium, Malawi, and Jiangsu (China) that have 3D-printed homes and offices for prototyping or use.

With 3D printing back in the news, Metrolife finds out how India’s tech capital has been using the technology so far.

Market watch

3D Printzkart, JP Nagar, has more than 200 companies as clients and a ‘farm’ of 15 cloud-connected printers. From kitchen items like cookie cutters, cutlery and chocolate moulds to scaled models, cosplay costumes, and wax casting for jewellery, the orders are varied. Requests to print spare parts of machines, robot kits, drone airframes, and dental and medical models come aplenty. Work on below knee sockets for the disabled is on.

The largest number of parts it has manufactured for a single client is 2,50,000 pieces. “It was for a reputed edtech company. The parts were small and had complex curvatures and they needed these printed immediately. Conventional tooling and moulding would have taken time,” recalls its CEO Girish S Murthy.

Invihub, RR Nagar, gets orders for product prototypes, batches for market sampling, college projects, miniature models, jewellery parts, and replacements for broken articles. “The demand for enclosures or protective covers is more. An enclosure the size of a hand can cost Rs 1,000-1,200. The pricing depends on material, size, strength and finish,” says Nikhil Gowda, owner.

Industries are his major clients. “Often, the cost of designing a 3D model is more than printing it. So individuals go for ready-made products,” he believes.

However, personalised gifts are the forte of Arya Krishna Enterprise, a setup Ashwini H runs on the terrace of her home in Dasarahalli. ‘Flip’ is their most ordered product, popular among couples and siblings. The souvenir comes with two names printed back to back. Depending on how long the names are, it can cost Rs 499-Rs 840. A remote-controlled 3D lamp printed in the shape of a moon, indoor planters, return gifts and drone parts are other orders she gets in big numbers.

The accessibility of 3D printing machines and the rough finish of printed objects were common concerns a few years ago. But now 3D printed jewellery is turning heads. Last December, Pallavi Foley won an award for a dragon-inspired bespoke neckpiece she designed for a noted industrialist. Pallavi is known for sculptural jewellery. She loves technology and innovation. And so, 3D technologies fit well with her vision.

Visualisation is key for designers and 3D tools allow Pallavi to convert the idea in her head to a tangible prototype for feedback and iterations in shorter turnaround cycles and at lesser cost. “I’ve been using 3D printing for 10 years,” she says.

The idea of printing offices in a short time, with fewer labourers and smaller budgets is exciting, says Prashanth Nandiprasad, main architect at Etagi Design Collaborative. But he is more excited about the design possibilities.

“Free flowing, non-conventional geometric designs are possible with 3D printing as it pipes out semi-solid material out of a tube. But conventional architecture tends to be cuboidal. You first put columns, then add bricks and blocks,” he explains. Incidentally, going by the visuals doing the rounds online, the post office looks curvy.

If 3D printing in construction picks up, he would like to see the use of sustainable materials like clay instead of cement.

Challenges

The influx of home-based 3D printers decentralised manufacturing around 2010. People could print everything from switchboards to earrings and toys in a few clicks. It has since moved from the experimental to the industrial realm and now NASA wants to use 3D printers to build in outer space.

Anabelle Viegas, architect and cofounder of the makerspace, Think Happy everyday —Workshop, says increased efficiency will give rise to implications such as the replacement of human labour. She says India also needs to fund and push research in 3D printing, which is seen as a possible solution for affordable housing.

Can 3D-printed structures stand monsoons? Will redoing the electrical wiring be easy? Will multi-storeyed buildings be strong enough? Will the home buyer market adopt it? Prashanth says we need to wait and watch how 3D-printed structures behave in the long term.