INDIA AM

REPORT
MAPPING THE GROWING INDIAN AM INDUSTRY

Current Indian AM Scenario

Global & ASEAN AM Reviews

Insights from Industry Experts

Future Potential of AM in India

2019 Edition
 The India AM Report 2019 is based on our in-depth understanding of the Indian
AM industry and comprehensive market research. This included primary
research - detailed interviews with 35+ industry experts selected from the
Additive Manufacturing supply chain and end consumers.

ADITYA CHANDAVARKAR
Co-Founder
Indian 3D Printing Network

This report is a seamless combination of technical data and commercial data to

understand India’s current position in the AM market.

SAMEET RAUT
Consulting Partner
Indian 3D Printing Network

We are proud to present to you the India AM Report with a strong belief that this
will go a long way in helping the Industry grow and spur new investments into it.
We continue to remain strongly committed to our core cause and presence in
this industry, and look forward to partnering it in its next phase of growth.

DILIP RAGHAVAN
Co-Founder
Indian 3D Printing Network
Foreword
About six months ago, I gave a keynote address at a user meet of a leading additive manufacturing OEM and
the topic that I had chosen was ‘2D to 3D in India’, figuratively indicating the two-decade journey of 3D printing
in India. While the mission Chandrayan captivated national attention, AM fraternity can cherish the fact the
Indian space launches have started making end-use parts through AM for the past 2 years.
First set of AM users in India established the AM systems around 1996-97 to explore their use in prototyping
and product development. Pioneering technologies like FDM, stereolithography and metal sintering still lead
the pack with innovative offerings; while other early entrants like Helisys-LOM and Cubital-Solid Ground
Curing faded into oblivion. Survival of the fittest applies to all domains; AM being no exception.
At this juncture when the impetus to AM applications both in plastics and metals is at its peak, it is always
interesting to reflect on some pivotal changes that we have lived and worked through. Early generations of
AM machines were largely used for making communication models, as the material choices were limited and
process accuracy was below par. It should be to the credit of the Indian auto companies that the use of AM
technologies remained upbeat. While many of them used AM for rapid prototyping; a few gained expertise in
indirect method of generating multiple parts through rapid tooling. During early 2000s, development of
intricate metal castings using ABS and SLA master patterns was championed by TVS, Bajaj, Tata Motors, etc.,
and the need for metal AM was addressed, albeit indirectly. While establishments like GTRE, DMRL and DRDL
continued using AM parts for experimental stress analysis and assembly integration; a concurrent
phenomenon occurred in Indian jewellery sector, which found an effective ally in SLA for making high quality
patterns. Concurrently Indian AM service sector started emerging with entry of a few service bureaus and
their role in sensitising the users on potentials of AM in product development needs a special mention.
During this early period, the Rapid Prototyping Society of India, formed under the aegis of the Institution of
Engineers (India), conducted a series of workshops and seminars for popularising AM both in strategic and
engineering sectors. Memory of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam inaugurating one of the RPSI events is still vivid in
memory. Several industry honchos like Dr. Pawan Goenka, Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian, Mr. Dilip Chhabria
delivered stimulating keynotes in 2004 RPSI event. Since then, users from multitudinous sectors, disparate
backgrounds and diverse interests have embraced AM in India. If innovative tooling solutions by tyre makers
and light-weight inspection fixtures by auto majors dot Indian manufacturing landscape, it is a testimony to
collaboration among OEMs and end users.
An unmissable aspect of recent times is the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among the millennial
leading to numerous business models based on AM and design. Startups specialising in the supply of
customised gifts, patient-specific surgical guides, architectural models, medical devices, educational aids and
wearables have seamlessly integrated AM into their business models and supply-chains with innate features
of design freedom and customisation. AM build process is only part of the overall eco system, implementing
the full process supply chain is the key to the timely fulfilling of customers’ needs. Heartening feature is the
success story of a few of the early entrants in rising to these expectations and blazing the trails for several
others. Reflecting the similar trend, technology business incubation centres and entrepreneurship
development centres have set up maker spaces with multiple 3D printers so that incubate companies can
accelerate their product design and development pursuits.
Medical field presents immense uptake opportunities for AM. Orthodontists, maxillofacial and
orthopaedic surgeons making use of AM models for surgical planning is gradually gaining acceptance
despite the obvious lack of standard support mechanisms. Neoteric entrepreneurs are also exploring
developing special purpose 3D printers based on binder jetting principles for tissue engineering. The
tooling sector, while representing a massive horizon of AM opportunities, has not really leveraged AM
to the hilt.
Barring few instances wherein the Indian enterprises have leveraged AM for high-volume production,
majority of the efforts are limited to one-off printing or substitution of conventionally manufactured
parts. The approach should be to understand the principles of designing for AM and reengineer the
design so as to realise functional advantages like part consolidation, light weighting and functionality
improvement. The impact, even if a few thousands of spare parts get saved in digital warehouses to be
delivered on demand through 3D printing, could be humongous. Challenge lies in identifying the right
candidate parts for AM and arranging the digital data in such a way that all the manufacturing
information is available besides CAD data.
Atal Tinkering Labs, the mission of NITI Aayog for infusing design tinkering skills among the school
students has contributed significantly in AM democratisation with a consequential phenomenon of
desktop 3D printers entering thousands of school portals across the country. A spin-off benefit this
increased awareness is the continued healthy growth of Indian AM startups that specialize in desktop
3D printers. While the evolution of AM technology into a disruptive force that it is today, is beyond
doubt; the speed of adoption is much slower than we had expected, rather we had all hoped for. It is a
people-centric challenge interwoven with the vagaries of technologies, dynamics of business models
and perceptions. Inter-disciplinary and multi-organisational efforts are needed for getting the AM parts
made of new generation materials certified for direct use. With country’s thrust on indigenous
manufacturing and proclivity of younger generation towards digital processes, upcoming days look
bright for AM fraternity.

Dr. U. Chandrasekhar, FIE, C.Eng.

Programme Director, Wipro 3D AddWize &
(Former) Additional Director - GTRE DRDO
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manufacturers or users. Quantitative market information is based primarily on interviews and therefore is
subject to fluctuation. I3DPn research services are limited publications containing valuable market
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For any information or queries please write to:
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126A, Dhuruwadi, A.V.Nagwekar Marg,
Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400025
INDIA
editor@catnewtech.com
+91 22 24306319
Introduction To India AM Report
The India AM Report was conceptualised to provide a credible reference point for the manufacturing
industry in India and international companies, looking to invest in the Indian Additive Manufacturing
landscape. This edition of this annual comprehensive report maps the growing Indian Additive
manufacturing industry.
The India AM Report 2019 is based on our in-depth understanding of the Indian AM industry and
comprehensive market research. This included primary research - detailed interviews with 35+ industry
experts selected from the Additive Manufacturing supply chain and end consumers. This was supported
by intensive secondary research, which included referring to trade publications and literature, company
details, statistics and academic publications. Market forecasts were developed from the primary and
secondary research. This was combined with I3DPn’s existing insight and database of market
information on Additive Manufacturing Industry produce a first of its kind report in India.
This report takes you through the historical journey of AM in India and Globally. It also provides you the
State of the AM Industry in India, ASEAN and Globally with current scenarios, industries adopting it, on
ground numbers and future forecasts. For the uninitiated, the India AM Report also includes sections on
Technology Review, Process Flow and Applications allowing them to come upto speed with this
revolutionary technology.
1995 marked the first investment into AM by the Indian industry. Almost 25 years have passed since and
Indian industry has made advances including:
Acceptance by Jewellery and Automotive industries for mould making & prototyping respectively.
Increased Metal AM installations entering diverse applications like Aerospace, Space, Defence and
Tooling
Medical AM and Bio-printing companies
A thriving startup ecosystem addressing various needs including software, digital manufacturing and
system development.
Ongoing projects at Academic & Research Institutes and Educational Curriculum.
Many others, which have been captured in this report.
India is today only touching the tip of the Iceberg in adoption of this technology, however with the
ingenuity of Indian industry and existing/upcoming government policies an exponential growth in this
space is just around the corner.
We have put in our best efforts to honestly represent the Indian AM industry through this report and we
are sure that this will become one of the benchmarks in the industry and become an important tool for
the industry to take informed business decisions.

Aditya Chandavarkar
Co-Founder
Indian 3D Printing Network
 INDIA’S
ONLY DEDICATED
ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING
EXPO

5th EDITION

MUMBAI HALL 5, BEC

GOREGAON

11th-12th DECEMBER
www.amtechexpo.in
ORGANISER
#Go3DWithAMTech
Contact - events@catnewtech.com
Contents
AM Technology Review 1 - 14
Introduction to Additive Manufacturing 2
Landscape of AM Technologies 3
Technology Deep Dive 5

AM Process Workflow 15 - 18
AM History 19 - 29
Global Historical Perspective 20
History of AM in India 23

State of Global AM Industry 30 - 31

Growth Opportunities for AM in ASEAN 32 - 36
Applications of AM 37 - 44
State of Indian AM Industry 45 - 56
Historical Analysis of Industrial & Desktop AM Systems 46
Historical Analysis of Polymer Materials 48
Metal AM Scenario In India – Systems/Applications 49
Industry Performance and Cost Breakup 51
Indian AM Industry Market Size and Forecast 54

Application Cases in India 57 - 61

AM Research & Academia 62 - 65
Government Policies & Initiatives 66 - 68
Upcoming Technologies 69 - 73
Concluding Remarks 74 - 75
Appendix 1 : About Indian 3D Printing Network
Appendix 2 : Contributors
Appendix 3 : List of Photos & Infographics
Bibliography
 SHAPING YOUR
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
BUSINESS

Indian 3D Printing Network (I3DPn) is a neutral knowledge sharing

platform, acting as one point of contact for the Additive Manufacturing
industry in India, with an aim of engaging the AM community on a constant
basis.
Tradeshow, Seminars and Focused Roundtables
Publishing and Media Platform
Market Research and Intelligence
AM Training & Consulting

+91 22 2430 6319 events@catnewtech.com

www.indian3dprintingnetwork.com

@indian-3d-printing-network @AMTexpo
Contributors

Mukesh Agarwala Sridhar Balaram Paresh Bheda

3DPD Intech DMLS Protosys Technologies

Ketan Jajal Yathiraj Kasal Firoza Kothari

GE Anatomiz3D

Vijay Kumar Meena Rohil Mehta Dr. Christ Paul

CSIR-CSIO EnvisionTEC RRCAT

Guruprasad Rao Ankit Sahu Swapnil Sansare

Imaginarium Objectify Technologies Divide By Zero

Dheepa Srinivasan Terry Wohlers

Intech DMLS Wohlers Associates
 Tarun Chand Dr. U Chandrasekhar Nitin Chaudhari
3D Matters Pte Ltd Wipro 3D Shree Rapid Technologies

Aditya Kumar Dr. Shiva Shankar Mahadevan Alok Medikepura Anil

Marcopolo Confident Dental NBIL

Maniraj Perumal Anand Prakasam Ajay Purohit

Hero Motors EOS GmbH

Jitendra Singh Abhinav Sighal Maltesh Somashekarappa

Accreate Additive Labs Thyssenkrupp Supercraft3D
List Of Illustrations & Charts
Illustrations Illustration 21 Page 27
Article on Hip Implant developed by Protosys in 2000
Illustration 1 Page 5
Classical SLA with laser source located above resin vat Illustration 22 Page 38
3D Printed Automotive Components
Illustration 2 Page 5
Reverse SLA with laser source located below the resin vat Illustration 23 Page 38
3D Printed Automotive Metal Components
Illustration 3 Page 6
Typical representation of a DLP, CDLP or CLIP Printer Illustration 24 Page 39
3D Printed Aerospace Components
Illustration 4 Page 6
SLA 3d printed parts Illustration 25 Page 41
Illustration 5 Page 6 3D Printed Mould and Final Jewellery Product
Jewellery Patterns for Investment Casting Illustration 26 Page 41
Illustration 6 Page 6 Red Gold Powder For Michiel Holthinrichs’ 3D Printed Watches
Innovative Midsole geometries for Adidas using CLIP technology
Illustration 27 Page 42
Illustration 7 Page 7 3D Printed Building Model
Line Diagram of FDM or FFF technology
Illustration 28 Page 44
Illustration 8 Page 7 Conformal cooling channels follow the contours of a core or
Thermo Pyramid cavity insert

Illustration 9 Page 8 Illustration 29 Page 54

3D Printed Jigs & Fixtures Indian AM ecosystem with market value

Illustration 10 Page 8 Illustration 30 Page 55

ULTEM™ 9085 resin environmental control duct used on a space Indian Healthcare And Dental AM ecosystem With Market Value
launch vehicle
Illustration 31 Page 58
Illustration 11 Page 10 Comparison of Original and Additively Manufactured Steering
3D Powder Bed Fusion Technology Bracket
Illustration 12 Page 11
Illustration 32 Page 58
3D Printed Drill Extraction Shoe
Compressor Housing Hand Held
Illustration 13 Page 11
Illustration 33 Page 58
3D Printed Spiral Bottle
Fuel System Elbow Part
Illustration 14 Page 13
Illustration 34 Page 58
The Objet Polyjet Process
Anti Icing Assembly
Illustration 15 Page 13
Illustration 35 Page 59
3D Printed Liver
3D Printed Aerospace Components
Illustration 16 Page 13
Polymer Printed Parts by 3Diligent Illustration 36 Page 59
Material Feeder
Illustration 17 Page 14
Illustration 37 Page 59
Binder Jetting Process
Foot Rest
Illustration 18 Page 14
Optimized Piston Head Illustration 38 Page 60
Pre-operative Guide for Congenital Heart Disease
Illustration 19 Page 14
Tool-free production of an impeller: 3D-printed sand core (left) Illustration 39 Page 60
and the final casting (right) Surgical Drilling Guides for Scoliosis Surgery

Illustration 20 Page 14 Illustration 40 Page 60

3D Printed Parts Customised Cranial Implant
Illustration 41 Page 61 Chart 6 Page 46
Electron microscopy of Liver Spheroids Historical Analysis of Industrial AM Systems with Growth Rates
Values, 2014-19
Illustration 42 Page 61
Customised Ring

Illustration 43 Page 61 Chart 7 Page 48

3D Architectural Model for Theme Park Historical Analysis of Polymer Materials for Industrial & Desktop
AM Systems with Growth Rates
Illustration 44 Page 61
Values, 2014-19P
Concrete 3D Printed Structure

Illustration 45 Page 64
Photograph of Large Volume LAM-DED system at RRCAT Chart 8 Page 49
Installed Base of PBF, DED and Other Metal AM Systems in India
Illustration 46 Page 68
Percentage, 2019
Think 3D, Vizag

Illustration 47 Page 71
Sample HP Part Chart 9 Page 50
Split of Major Applications of Metal AM in India
Illustration 48 Page 72 Percentage, 2019
3D Printed Carbon Fiber Parts

Illustration 49 Page 73
NanoDimension Dragonfly 2020 3D Printer Chart 10 Page 51
Split of Applications of AM in India
Illustration 50 Page 73 Percentage, 2019
3D Printer Circuit

Chart 11 Page 52
Split of Healthcare Specialities serviced by AM in India

Charts Percentage, 2019

Chart 1 Page 31
Industrial AM systems sold by companies in major geographical Chart 12 Page 53
region. Product Development Stages Split Utilising AM in India
Percentage, 2018 Percentage, 2019

Chart 2 Page 33 Chart 13 Page 53

Overview of AM Market in ASEAN Cost Breakup of AM Process Workflow
Market Size, 2019 Percentage, 2019

Chart 3 Page 46 Chart 14 Page 55

Historical Analysis of Desktop AM Systems with Growth Rates India Growth Forecast of Desktop AM Systems
Installations, 2014-19 Values, 2019-23

Chart 4 Page 46 Chart 15 Page 56

Historical Analysis of Industrial AM Systems with Growth Rates India Growth Forecast of Industrial AM Systems
Installations, 2014-19 Values, 2019-23

Chart 5 Chart 16 Page 56

Historical Analysis of Desktop AM Systems with Growth Rates India Market Value Forecast
Values, 2014-19 Values, 2019-23
 The future is instant models for dentistry.

DR. SHIVA SHANKAR MAHADEVAN

Director
Confident Dental Lab

The Indian AM industry will soon see Technological Disruption and Business
Disruption which will drive further adoption of this technology

PRAKASAM ANAND
Country Manager
EOS GmbH

Pump Industry will start adapting AM faster for low volume production

MANIRAJ PERUMAL
DGM
Hero Motocorp

When we started Metal Additive Manufacturing research in 2003, the thought

process was to develop a machine and process, because of our background in
indigenous development of technology. In fact, we are now looking at some
interesting R&D in the field of laser material processing. Today, it is exciting to
note that our efforts are towards building Industry 4.0 solutions.

DR. C P PAUL
Head, Laser Additive Manufacturing Lab &
Dean- Student Affairs, Homi Bhabha National Institute,
RRCAT
Indian 3D Printing Network
126 A, Dhuruwadi,
A.V. Nagwekar Marg,
Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025,
Maharashtra, India.
Tel : +91 22 2430 6319
E-mail : editor@catnewtech.com
www.indian3dprintingnetwork.com

2019 Edition