Realizing the Impossible

It’s not been very long since Additive Manufacturing started garnering attention in India as a manufacturing technology. Imaginarium India Pvt Ltd tops the list of the few in the country who could fathom its potential at the right time. The company has been poring over it since then, making some serious investments in the lesser known technology with the aim to make it accessible to more companies and taking the industry by storm.

Taking the untrodden path

Imaginarium has been at the forefront of the 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing wave in India for over a decade now. The company started off as a service bureau with a small footprint in the Jewelry industry, slowly expanding to sectors such as Automotive, Engineering, Electronics, Dental etc.

The next phase was an evolution towards application expertise. “As application experts, we added allied technologies such as metal casting, vacuum casting, CNC machining, injection moulding, painting, plating etc. that helped fabricate completely functional prototypes and small batches of end use products for several industries,” shares Nishant Shah, Director, Imaginarium India.

“Imaginarium is a now one-stop-shop for anyone who wishes to realize product ideas and needs support through any means – networking with relevant providers, manufacturing services, technology consultancy, knowledge and education or financial support,” he adds.

“The Awareness Stage of this new technology is at its end, and with all the major players starting to adopt 3D Printing within their organizations, the exciting developments and opportunities ahead is what keeps us ticking,” says the jubilant Shah.

Catering to a wide spectrum of industries

There are several industries vying for the top spot in terms of demand for 3D Printing, and the Automotive, Jewelry and FMCG sectors have all been growing fast. “The trend is towards the use of 3D Printing for end part manufacturing rather than just as a way to prototype new ideas,” notes Shah.

The business units of Imaginarium are set up around specific industry groups that it serves.

Imaginarium Rapid is the team that addresses the needs of Engineering, Automotive, Electronics, Aerospace and other related sectors for all kinds of Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Manufacturing and Product Development related jobs.

Imaginarium Precious is an on-demand, low volume manufacturing facility for all kinds of metal products such as jewelry, accessories and gift articles using 3D Printing.

Imaginarium Life brings life- saving technologies to doctors, surgeons and hospitals all over the country. 3D Printing allows completely new ways of healthcare by means of patient-specific anatomical models, surgical guides, implants as well as prosthetics and orthotics.

Imaginarium Solutions is a team of technology experts who has partnered with global giants such as HP, Autodesk, Oerlikon, Rapidshape and others to bring the best in class products to the Indian market, including Machines, Materials and Software for 3D Printing.

Filling the gaps

With Additive Manufacturing and Digital Fabrication being emerging technologies, getting skilled personnel has been a huge challenge for Imaginarium. With the view to fill in large gaps in the education curriculum with regards to Additive Manufacturing coverage, the company has set up the Imaginarium Academy. “The Academy’s sole purpose is to find new ways to communicate the power of 3D Printing to as many audiences as possible,” shares Shah. It has been able to reach out to diverse crowds that span schools, colleges, professionals and large organizations making them aware of the benefits of 3D Printing.

“Over time, initiatives like the Imaginarium Academy as well as new courses being offered at universities in India and abroad have led to an increased influx of candidates with relevant training and work experience, though there is still room for many more as the industry demands increase,” he adds.

Realizing that new technologies can often be intimidating for non-technical students/professionals, Imaginarium has resorted to creative ways such as the Metamorphosis Café to lower the learning curve and increase accessibility to such technology. “The Metamorphosis Café is a customized 3D Printing Experience Zone that can be set up in any institute or organization and comes bundled with easy-to-use 3D Printers, Scanners, Material, Software and Content. Think of it as a plug and play innovation corner wherever you want it!,” he notes.

Advantage Imaginarium

Shah tells us about the various benefits to customers while they avail of Imaginarium’s services: “We are in a very fast paced industry. Imaginarium has always tried to understand the need of the customer at the very beginning of the quotation stage itself. This, in turn, helps delays in requirement understanding and process understandings. This reduces time and hence some cost.”

Additionally, the company is rapidly increasing its capacity. It already has over 20 printers, which makes it the largest set-up in India. Imaginarium aims to offer on-demand parts
which will be manufactured in its lean environment, resulting in drastic reduction in timelines. “Apart from 3D Printing, our advance manufacturing services like CNC machining, Tooling divisions keep innovating their manufacturing techniques to give aggressive timelines,” he adds.

“Imaginarium seeks to democratize design and manufacturing for brands, businesses and individuals alike through the power of advanced technologies, and will do so in an open, collaborative and community-driven endeavor,” sums up Shah.

The Metamorphosis Café is a customized 3D Printing Experience Zone that can be set up in any institute or organization and comes bundled with easy-to-use 3D printers, scanners, material, software and content.

Author

Poonam Pednekar
Chief Copy Editor
Magic Wand Media Inc
poonam.pednekar@magicwandmedia.in