New Delhi-based Delhi3DPrinting, formerly known as IPrintMyThings-3D Printing, was set up by the 3D expert Avikshit Saras in 2016. The company trades in equipment for 3D printing, including industrial printers and consumables. Apart from being the CEO of the company, Saras is the author of a book called 3D Printing – Made Simple.
3D printing is about creating an object layer by layer, and the raw material could be thermoplastic, resin or powder. Saras’s company mainly deals with the FDM (fuse deposition modeling) technology-based printers. It is a reseller of portable entry-level printers.
Saras’ provides 3D printing training to school students and professionals who use the technology for new product development. The training for CAD designing and operating 3D printers effectively has been provided to approximately 1200-1500 people in India over the past two years. The company also supplies its printers to schools for student 3D printing projects. Industry customers include architects and designers who want to output prototypes and samples.
A 3D printing evangelist, Saras, says, “The future of 3D printing has phenomenal growth potential. The market has come up with inherent skills and creativity for 3D projects. While the market is growing, the technology is improving gradually, and the cost of 3D printers has come down. Some printer manufacturing is also taking place in India. Because a great deal of the technology is open source, so at least the fused deposition modeling (FDM) range of printers is being manufactured. Some amount of resin 3D printers are also being manufactured, SLA (stereolithography). The powder-based 3D printers are costly, and those are mostly imported in India because this technology is very advanced. These printers come from companies such as HP and Stratasys.”
According to Avikshit Saras, the 3D printer market has done well during the Covid-19 pandemic. “In the past two years, the market for 3D printers was good. During the pandemic in 2020, we made around 30,000 face shields and helped people with good quality bio-degradable copper masks to protect themselves from Coronavirus.
“And, if you ask me about my contribution to the 3D industry, I would like to tell you that I have carried 3D technology to the grassroots level. Our major input has been training village-level entrepreneurs. A few of our clients have set up labs in India.”
