Wipro unveils India's 'largest' metal 3D printing centre in Bengaluru

T services firm Wipro has opened a new metal 3D printing centre in Bengaluru in the latest indication that Indian companies are embracing additive manufacturing to drive industrial processes.

Wipro said that the 3D printing centre, which is spread over 12,000 square feet, has capabilities such as edge build technology, post-processing, research, characterisation and validation facilities,

It claimed that the centre is the country's "largest fully integrated Metal Additive Manufacturing facility".

Wipro's 3D printing divison, Wipro3D, currently has the ability to offer solutions in normal and customised additive manufacturing for sectors such as aviation, space, industrial, automotive, health care, oil and gas, and heavy engineering.

“Based on the confidence developed from our India operations, we are planning to take Wipro3D global,” Pratik Kumar, chief executive officer of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express. 

A recent report from market research firm International Data Corporation estimates that the expenditure on 3D printing will touch $3.6 billion by 2021 in the Asia-Pacific region at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.4%.

An increasing number of Indian companies have been boarding the 3D printing bus of late.

Last month, SoCoMo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs delivery services and auto-rickshaw aggregator app Jugnoo, said it will sell 3D printers as well as provide on-demand 3D-printing services, in partnership with a Korean firm.

In December, Bengaluru-based 3D printing and digital manufacturing company Fracktal Works Pvt. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round from Hyderabad Angels.

The startup currently delivers low-volume manufacturing capabilities to its customers through its digital printers. 

In January, US-based tech major HP Inc. introduced its 3D printing technology solutions in India, almost one year after its global launch.

Sumeer Chandra, managing director of HP Inc. India, had said that digital transformation of manufacturing would be a key enabler for the next industrial revolution in India.