DRDO, IIT Hyderabad unveil India’s largest metal 3D printing machine for rocket components

A significant breakthrough has been achieved in the field of Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) at the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) at IIT Hyderabad. This collaboration between IIT Hyderabad, DRDO’s Defence Research & Development Laboratory in Hyderabad, and industry partners has contributed to the advancement of additive manufacturing in India.

The LAAM system utilises Powder-based Directed Energy Deposition technology for the fabrication of rocket components.

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A statement from the Ministry of Defence stated that the indigenously designed machine boasts a build volume of 1m x 1m x 3m, making it one of the largest metal additive manufacturing machines in India. The system employs Laser and Blown-Powder Direct Energy Deposition technology and features dual heads for thermal balancing and speed.

Recently, a major milestone was achieved with the successful fabrication of a component that is one meter in height, marking a significant step forward in the creation of large-sized components using additive manufacturing, the release added.

Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, congratulated the team at DIA-CoE, IIT Hyderabad, for their work on the LAAM system. He emphasised that this achievement opens up new possibilities for large-scale production of metal parts and will drive growth and innovation in the country’s additive manufacturing sector.