The Ladakh administration revealed that it is investigating the use of 3D printing technology in construction of civil structures as well as the repair and maintenance of machines in the Union Territory in an effort to improve the capacity of its executing agencies. Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner/Secretary, Public Works Department, and officials from PWD, Ladakh met with the Director and professors from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
The IIT team, led by Prof. Parmeshwar Iyer, Director of IIT Guwahati, gave a comprehensive presentation on the institute’s achievements in the area of newly emerging 3D printing technology to construct civil structures.
3D Printing Technology in Construction of Civil Structures
The IIT Guwahati team demonstrated various types of machine parts and special requirements for machine parts during the interactive session, which were manufactured at their workshop using a robotic arm. The team also demonstrated work on buildings constructed with 3D printing technology and a robotic arm, such as toilets and guard rooms.
The Commissioner/Secretary stated that the UT administration is considering the use of robotic arms in the construction of infrastructure, particularly in remote areas, because the incorporation of robotic technology yields highly accurate results, increases efficiency, improves worker safety, saves time, and reduces costs, and robotics can be controlled from a safer area, eliminating the need to physically access unsafe locations.
The use of 3D printing technology in construction will be environmentally friendly and contribute to the goal of creating a carbon-neutral Ladakh. It will also accelerate the design process.
The interactive session with IIT Guwahati and PWD resulted in a fruitful exchange of ideas on the newly emerging 3D technology, as well as familiarization of Ladakh engineers with this emerging technology.
Prof. Parmeshwar Iyer, Director, IIT Guwahati; Prof Sajan Kapil and Prof Biranchi Panda of IIT Guwahati; SE, PWD Leh and Kargil, among others, participated in the interactive session.