3D Printing: Powering India’s Self-Reliant Defence

3D printing,also termed as additive manufacturing (AM) or rapid prototyping is a revolutionary technology. Today, there is no field or industry where 3D printing has not impacted. NASA has placed a 3D printer on board its space station in 2014, and an object which was 3D printed in space was to be brought on to the earth in 2015. It was for comparing it to a similar part printed on ground. In the space, the printing was in microgravity conditions, while at ground it is the normal gravity which is all around. This 3D printer will enable fulfilling the needs of a part on demand while in space! Digital inventory put to such an awesome use! Thus, a 3D printer, a la a space workshop, got operational way back in 2014. In 2020, one needs to take a cue from this. The application of 3D printing be adapted post haste and the capabilities be enhanced by its unlimited potential. The military, today, needs to bring a 3D printing environment; it will be akin to the IT revolution! Everyone carrying a smart cell phone in their palms; more capable than desktop computers three decades back.

This paper aims at familiarising…