New Delhi: Indian defence companies are trying to master new frontiers of technology to cut the cost of production and speed up the process of defence manufacturing.
Metal additive technology, popularly known as 3D printing, is the latest technology that is going to be widely used in defence and aerospace sectors across the world.
However, the use of 3D printing technology requires extensive certification at different stages of production.
Public sector Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited has pitched in with vast experience in the field of complex metallurgy to meet the growing demand of input material by Indian players.
However, there is a complex approval and certification process for using metal additive technologies or 3D printing as it is commonly known. It requires mastery over the complex material processing techniques at the first stage itself such as certification of raw material.
“There are three kinds of approvals - product approval, process approval and input approval. What MIDHANI is going to do is to provide input, so qualification of input has also been done,” said Dinesh Kumar Likhi, Chairman and Managing Director of MIDHANI.
MIDHANI’s expertise in the field of metallurgy will become handy for public and private sector defence manufacturers who have been scouting for certified raw material. The state-owned aircraft manufacturer HAL, which has recently partnered with Wipro 3D to use metal additive technologies in its manufacturing process, will need certified input material from suppliers like MIDHANI.
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“We are setting up a new plant for the alloy powder, we will be making the feedstock and from there the powder will be made,” said Dinesh Kumar Likhi, CMD, MIDHANI in an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat adding that it will not be a completely Greenfield facility.
“Since we have integrated facility at MIDHANI, that facility will be utilised to make the alloy powder and that powder will be certified,” he said.
Talking about the benefits of the use of 3D printing technology in high tech defence and aerospace sectors, Dinesh Likhi said: “The product will not require machining. It can come very close to the design and complicated shapes can also be made."
The public sector metallurgy giant produces specialised steels and titanium alloys for defence, space and atomic energy sectors. MIDHANI also produces high quality light-weight bullet-proof armour known as Bhabha Kavach for Indian armed forces under licence from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
“That’s very important as we can use this technology complex defence equipment,” he said, adding that the use of 3D printing in the defence sector will speed up the manufacturing process but the cost of production will not come down initially.
Initially, MIDHANI will produce 10 tons each of the raw powder of titanium and nickel that will be used in producing high strength material for defence equipment. The state-owned company will later scale the production to 20-25 tons for both titanium and nickel powder.
“Initially we will have to qualify our powder and once it is qualified then we will start supplying to the domestic market and then the surplus will be sent for exports,” said Dinesh Kumar Likhi.
(Article by Senior Journalist Krishnanand Tripathi)
