National Centre on Additive Manufacturing (NCAM)

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched a strategy paper entitled “National Strategy on Additive manufacturing (AM)” for promoting various verticals of the AM sector, including machines, materials, software and designs to leverage the untapped business opportunities that will unfold in the near future. The strategy aims at promoting the creation of a conducive ecosystem for design, development and deployment, and to overcome technical and economic barriers for local manufacturers to seamlessly adopt Additive Manufacturing. This is also expected to facilitate the creation of a support base of domestic manufacturers for setting up operations with supporting ancillaries in India by foreign companies as well as Global AM leaders. The strategy on AM identified the need to establish a National Additive Manufacturing Centre to spearhead the National Initiative for positioning India at the forefront of development and adoption of Additive Manufacturing Technologies. The “National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM)” has been initiated with Telangana State Government at Hyderabad. The NCAM is a company registered under section 8(1) of the Companies Act 2013. The vision of NCAM is to create and enable a sustainable ecosystem for product innovation in India with emphasis on research, design, development, and testing through collaborative efforts between academia, industry and government using the disruptive technology of Additive Manufacturing. It is aimed to develop a comprehensive Additive Manufacturing ecosystem in the country and position India as a Global AM Manufacturing Hub

About NCAM

National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM) has been formed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Telangana State Government & Industry at Hyderabad. The NCAM is a company registered under section 8(1) of the Companies Act 2013. The vision of NCAM is to develop a comprehensive Additive Manufacturing ecosystem in the country and position India as a Global AM Manufacturing Hub.

India aims to become a manufacturing hub to the world. In this backdrop Additive Manufacturing (AM), also called 3D printing has immense potential to revolutionize India’s manufacturing and industrial production landscape with its technology that brings digitalization, improved functionality, productivity, and competitiveness. Metal AM technologies especially have almost unlimited potential, and the range of their applications have increased in recent years. At the same time, industries have faced numerous challenges in the adoption of these technologies, which are nascent in India and are coping with a turbulent and dynamic market.

Additive Engineering requires key competencies to derive maximum value from the technology. A unique combination of domain knowledge, additive engineering principles, structural engineering, metallurgy, application engineering, optics, powder metallurgy, conventional machining, thermal engineering, and business consulting are used to design and deliver a complete solution that benefits the customers.

Despite extensive work done on the properties of metal AM materials, there is still a need for a robust understanding of processes, challenges, application‐specific needs, and considerations associated with these technologies.

The objective of NCAM is to present a bird’s eye view of the latest AM technologies and their industrial applications across various industry sectors in India, additive design, and metal materials qualification and certification. NCAM will also outline post-processing requirements, and highlight current limitations and challenges in the technologies that prevent industries from fully benefiting from the metal AM opportunities, including production volume, standards compliance, post-processing, product quality, maintenance, and materials range.

Vision

  • The vision of NCAM is "To create and enable a sustainable ecosystem for product innovation in India with emphasis on research, design, development, and testing through collaborative efforts between academia, industry and government using the disruptive technology of Additive Manufacturing”.
  • NCAM acts as the central agency to promote, foster, and drive the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in India to make the country AtmaNirbhar in the sector.

Mission

  • Ensure AM Manufactured end-user functional components for domestic and global markets
  • Ensure adequate measures for the protection of AM Technology
  • Position India as a global innovation and research hub for Additive Manufacturing
  • Ensure the creation of a sustainable ecosystem for the AM industry to compete globally
  • Promote the creation of Indian IPR

The center has carried out the following achievements since its inception :

  • NCAM facility was Inaugurated on 8th June 2023 by Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma, IAS, Ex-Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), GoI & Shri Jayesh Ranjan, IAS- Principal Secretary – ITE&C and I&C, Government of Telangana & Chairman-NCAM along with other dignitaries.
  • 28 start-ups applied for the first start-up cohort at NCAM & a batch of 6 has been selected for Incubation based on IPR generation for the country.
  • Launched the National Skill Development Awareness Marathon and conducted Training Programmes across various cities in India impacting 10,000+ individuals.
  • Conducted 15 Additive Expert Sessions and upskilled 2310+ working professionals in partnership with AM Chronicle, HITEX, ASTM, HP & Redington.
  • Conducted National Startup Technology Grand Challenge funded by Industry
  • Conducted 9-Workshops, 6- Faculty Development Programs, and many webinars PAN India:
    • li>Three sessions have been successfully conducted in partnership with Lovely Professional University Punjab, St. Vincent Pallotti College of Engineering & Technology Nagpur, and Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Engineering Pune. li>Steered one-day Workshops on “Startup Opportunities in 3D Printing” on 11th and 12th October, 2023, NCAM-MLRIT Engineering College and furthered from the Workshop to 110 Engineering Students of all streams. li>Industry investment at NCAM from 1) MatrixNano (TEKNA, CANADA) 2) Advaitech Studios LLP.

Centre Targets (for 5 Years)

Section 8 company establishment stage
Technology Products Collaborations Industry Start-ups Manpower Funding (in Rs Lakhs) Self-Sustenance (in Lakhs)
Industry (in Lakhs) State (in Lakhs) Institution (MEITY) (in Lakhs)
10 - - 20 33 1,29,000 Rs. 1,868 Rs. 1874.6 Rs. 3,058 1,498

Output and Outcome (till October 2023)

Number of Specialized Manpower Trained Number of Publications Number of Proof of Concept Leading to Field Deployment Number of IPRs Filed Number of Transfer of Technology (ToT) to Industry Number of Industries Engaged Number of Start-ups Engaged Revenue Generated for Self-Sustenance (in Rs Lakhs)
9041 - - - - 13 6 20.00
Section 8 company establishment stage

Contact for the Centre

[email protected];
8008268531