2/2/2014

Making 3D printers now child's play - The Times of India

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Making 3D printers now child's play

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Atul Sethi,T NN | Feb 2 , 2 0 1 4 , 0 1 .4 2 PM IST

READ MORE Karan Chaphekar | DIY 3D Printers | DIY | 3D Printers | Rakesh Shishodia

Angad Daryani, a 15-year-old Mumbai resident,

found it tough to convince his dad to part with
the Rs one lakh required for buying a ready-touse 3D printer. So he decided to make one
himself. "Eventually, I could do it in half the
amount," says Daryani, who is now planning to
sell his assembled printers, which can make a
physical object from a three-dimensional digital
model, at under Rs 20,000 - a price he claims is
the cheapest in the country.

MODELLING A CAREER: Karan Chaphekar, a Do-ItYourself (DIY) enthusiast, built his first 3D printer three
years ago. He now sells his assembled printers online.

The youngest Indian to build a 3D printer at

home, Daryani represents a growing breed of
Do-It-Y ourself (DIY ) enthusiasts who are
assembling their own machines. Many of them
are hobbyists and creators who can't sit still
unless they are making something.

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Karan Chaphekar, another Mumbaikar, built his first 3D printer almost

three years ago after he had built his first robot. "I was looking for
something exciting to make and stumbled upon the world of 3D
printers," says the 24-year-old ardent Star Wars fan. Not surprisingly,
one of the first things that came out of his printer was a bust of Y oda,
complete with trademark pointed ears and worry-lines, finely etched in
white plastic.

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Watching a 3D model slowly 'come to life' as the printer spews rings of

moulded plastic, can be exciting. But how tough is it to assemble a 3D
printer? "Most of the popular DIY desktop 3D printers are based on
open source designs like RepRap which are easy to use. In fact, the
technology is such that any class 12 student can assemble it and make it work within 48 hours."
says Rakesh Shishodia of 3D Printonics that regularly organizes workshops to introduce home
users to 3D printing.

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The presence of a vibrant '3D makers' community on the web also helps. "The internet is full of
resources - from websites featuring 3D models of objects to open source developer forums - where
information and updates are regularly exchanged," says Chaphekar. As for the printer
components, some are imported while quite a few are now available locally. "The beauty of an
open source 3D printer is that it can also print its own parts. It's a self-replicating machine. We
can, in a sense, print a new printer from an existing printer in a few hours," says Asil Rohit,
another ardent DIY er, who won a competition to make affordable 3D printers at his college
Manipal Institute of Technology. The 19-year-old now runs a start-up that has sold almost 10
assembled printers in the two months since it launched.
Observers say that the growing tribe of DIY ers has the potential to start what is being termed as a
desktop 3D printer revolution. "The situation is quite similar to the one a few decades ago when
enthusiasts would assemble desktop personal computers. Just like computers revolutionized the
way we work, this, too, has the potential to change how we create products in the future," says
Zalak Shah, research associate at technology research firm Gartner India. However, it's early
days yet. While industrial 3D printers have started pushing limits on the kind of products they can
create - from aircraft parts to human tissues - the field is still evolving for desktop DIY printers.
The products being churned out by DIY ers are currently limited to stuff like toys, mementos,
personalized smartphone cases, artificial jewellery etc with occasional experiments in printing
gummy, barely edible food. On the horizon, though, are newer areas where they can play a more
utilitarian role.
An interesting application is in waste management. "Home 3D printers have the potential to start
a recycling revolution in the country," says Rohit. "We are looking at a scenario a few years down
the line when instead of throwing a used Coke can into the dustbin, you throw it into your printer

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2/2/2014

Making 3D printers now child's play - The Times of India

it 100%

and voila, it gets converted into something useful like cutlery."

Now visit TOI Tech directly at www.toitech.com

Another obvious
17area is education. Nikhil Velpanur, who runs a Bangalore-based technology
incubator, says that prints of 3D models may soon become an integral part of teaching. "Imagine
comments
how easy it would
be for a child to relate to a subject like chemistry if she is able to hold a 3D print
of a molecule and see how it is formed."
68

As 3D printing becomes more utilitarian and finds application in everyday life - possibilities of
Like
printing regular medicines and exquisite food from a 3D printer at home are being touted as a
reality in a few years' time - the cost of desktop 3D printers is expected to go down. This might
impact the DIY63
ers in the long run. "Currently, it is much cheaper to make your own 3D printer
than buy an off-the
Tw eetshelf one," says Shishodia. "But as new players enter the market and the price
point goes down, the DIY segment will diminish. However, this will take a few years at least..till
then, the DIY ers
0 will continue to grow the market."
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Making 3D printers now child's play - The Times of India

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Krithik Vaidya (Panjim (Panaji), India)
50 mins ago

Bronze: 90
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I'm waiting for the day this technology becomes mainstream.

Munna Kum ar Singh (Unknow n)

54 mins ago

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that is called a old era applied to new era, where people's of old era use to
make their own device due to money problem and resulting into a new
techniques.... a real genius (Y)

rvijay ()
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1 hr ago

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young bright children are our asset

Kevin Guite ()
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2 hrs ago

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Technology has madden the modern world. I can't imagine what the world
would have been without it.

SKSG (Mumbai)
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3 hrs ago

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Awesome technology and DIY talent at home !!

Rishikesh Kushw aha (chhatisgarh)

3 hrs ago

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grt work

Santanu Sinha ()
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3 hrs ago

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wonderful!

ibm .vishw anath ()

3 hrs ago

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Indians rocks

m rigrajgosw am i ()
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Making 3D printers now child's play - The Times of India

1 Follow ers
4 hrs ago

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Self learners rock.

Sum an Shekhar (New Delhi)

4 hrs ago :
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It's encouraging to see that kids are tweaking with new technologies.

Sushm ita ()
4 hrs ago

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I like the spirit and creative mind of these people. Keep up. Best wishes

Sudhakaran T (Hosur, Tamil Nadu)

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These DIYers need all appreciation. Their 3D printers will force major
manufacturers to come up with economy model 3D printers!

bhanu ()
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so cool

Ayan Saha (Hyderabad)

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great thinking

SCLP (World)
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The real revolution will come with 3 d printers capable of printing components
of metals and alloys from metal powders or liquids.

Nam e (Location) replies to SCLP

7 hrs ago :

They are already there, just that they are prohibitively expensive

RA Jum es (Kochi) replies to Nam e

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The news portal RT contains details of metal 3D printers. The new

era is one of entrepreneurs who could build everything they want at the cost of scrap metal powder.

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