Agnikul launches India's first additive manufacturing hub for rockets

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Taking a step forward towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat in space technology, domestic space-tech player Agnikul Cosmos has launched the first-of-its-kind additive manufacturing facility.

The Large Format Additive Metal Manufacturing (LFAMM) Unit is dedicated to aerospace and rocket systems. It will, for the first time in India, enable 3D printing of aerospace and rocket components up to one metre in height.

The facility, inaugurated by Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space & Chairman of ISRO, and Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, among others, introduces a fully integrated ecosystem covering design, simulation, printing, post-processing, and finishing. It will enhance quality, reliability, and supply chain resilience, while lowering the cost of building for space by 50 per cent.

“Inaugurated our new end-to-end Large Format Additive Metal Manufacturing (LFAMM) Unit -- a step forward towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat in space technology,” Agnikul shared in a post on social media platform X.

“This facility houses: India’s largest 3D metal printer for large space-tech systems -- an indigenous de-powdering machine, designed and built in-house for repeatable post processing … and a lot more,” it added.

With the LFAMM Unit, Agnikul can now deliver fully finished, flight-ready hardware within a few days.

“Agnikul was started with the goal of making space available to everyone. One way to do that is to build capability that allows us to advance rocket manufacturing with precision while also focusing on quality,” said Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and chief executive officer of Agnikul Cosmos.

“By developing not just printing capacity but also full-scale machines in-house, we are equipping ourselves to build space transportation systems faster, bringing us one step closer to taking Agnikul’s innovations and our customers to space,” he added.

In 2024, Agnikul also launched the world's first rocket with a single-piece three-dimensional (3D) printed engine.

The rocket Agnibaan SOrTeD (SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator) is also India's first semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket launch that was completely designed and manufactured indigenously.

The IIT Madras incubatee holds a US patent for single-piece 3D-printed rocket engines.

--IANS

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