Governance
Formulation of Policy for 3D Printing
- 14 Dec 2020
- 5 min read
Why in News
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will soon come up with a policy aimed at promoting 3D printing on an industrial scale in view of its emerging market.
Key Points
- 3D Printing:
- 3D printing or additive manufacturing uses computer-aided designing to make prototypes or working models of objects by laying down successive layers of materials such as plastic, resin, thermoplastic, metal, fibre or ceramic.
- With the help of software, the model to be printed is first developed by the computer, which then gives instructions to the 3D printer.
- 3D printing and a viable industry around it is mostly in the shape of additive manufacturing, wherein companies make specific products for projects where there are very specific demands such as lightweight equipment, etc.
- One of the key applications for such products is in the medical and allied sector.
- The USA remains the global leader in 3D printing, with more than 35% market share.
- In Asia, about 50% of its market is cornered by China, followed by Japan at 30%, and South Korea at 10%.
- Features of the Policy:
- Encourage market leaders to establish global bases for 3D manufacturing in India, while also discouraging imports of printed material for domestic requirements.
- Objectives:
- Help develop a conducive ecosystem for design, development and deployment of 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
- Help domestic companies to overcome technical and economic barriers so that they can build supportive and ancillary facilities for world leaders in the technology, such as the USA and China.
- Key Areas of Focus and Application:
- Auto and ancillary auto and motor spare part business, such as engines, interior and exterior parts of luxury vehicles, or landing gear, complex brackets, and turbine blades.
- There can be some application of it in consumer electronics, printed circuit boards, clothing, toys and jewellery as well.
- Challenges:
- Lack of Standards: Since 3D printing is a very niche and new domain, there are no global qualifications and certification norms.
- Hesitation in Adoption: Another challenge is to convince the industry and ministries to push for its adoption in their respective sectors as any new technology, which is not understood easily, faces a tough time.
- Risk of Job Losses: In the initial meetings on the subject, there was a lot of resistance on whether this technology would eat into the jobs of highly-skilled workers in the medical equipment or aerospace technology sectors.
- High Costing: Although actual printing is cheap, parts to build a 3D printer are very expensive as the equipment and manufacturing costs are very high. In addition, there is a concern about warranty hence, resource companies are hesitant to put 3D-printed parts into their machines if they are not covered for damage in case the parts fail.
- Sector Specific Challenges: Globally and even in India, the largest consumer of 3D printing is the automotive industry and right now it is going through a lot of changes like the introduction of BS-VI and electric vehicles. New vehicle design development has slowed and so has the demand for 3D printing.
- Potential Market:
- According to MeitY’s estimates, the global market for additive manufacturing is expected to reach USD 34.8 billion by 2024, which is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 23.2%.
- 3D printing may not lead to an increase in net employment, but this technology is something which can be pushed ahead.
Way Forward
- Lack of investment and fewer research and development centres for 3D printing are some of the additional factors that are holding back a large scale adoption. However, a better understanding of 3D printing technology and its applications among users will definitely help increase its adoption in India.
- Indian market has a high potential ground as the adoption of 3D printing solutions is continuously rising for the past few years with increased general market awareness and there is still a lot of growth here compared to markets that are more mature such as Japan, Germany or the USA.
