Warangal: 3D printing exciting because of interactive technology

Warangal: The 3D printing is exciting due to its easy-to-use interactive technology, NIT Warangal Director Prof N V Ramana Rao said. He was speaking at the week-long AICTE-ATAL sponsored Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on 3D Printing and Design, organised by the Mechanical Engineering Department of the NIT that got underway here on Monday.

He said that NIT Warangal was the first institute in the country to start a M Tech programme on Additive Manufacturing aka 3D printing five years ago. The 3D Printing technology has primarily been developed for the manufacturing industry to assist in speeding up the development of new products, its vendors and users were quick to realise the technology was also suitable for applications in the medical field, he said.

"Doctors and surgeons have always been looking for better ways to describe, understand and diagnose the condition of individual patients," Rao said. It is time for the scholars to speed up the research on 3D printing in order to get the products with higher accuracy and low cost, he added. He stated that NIT Warangal has always been in the forefront to adopt and learn new technologies. He told participants to make use of recourses and expertise available in the campus and become experts in the said domain.

In-Charge Head of Department Prof Adepu Kumar said that many projects related to the 3D printing technology by the government and private funding agencies have been sanctioned to the Mechanical Engineering department in the recent past.

NIT Warangal has been working together with many hospitals to give solutions to the typical medical problems by designing replicas to the bone, jaw, skull etc, he said.

Programme Coordinators Dr Y Ravi Kumar and Prof L Krishnanand said that that there was an overwhelming response for the 3D programme. Only 60 researchers/faculty are selected from 270 applicants. They hoped that his programme will fulfil the objectives of the AICTE-ATAL Academy and bring the faculty, scholars and PG students onto common platform to encourage and share the knowledge of 3D Printing Technology in their respective Institutes and organisations.