India’s first 3D-printed post office was virtually inaugurated by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Bengaluru’s Cambridge Layout on August 18.
- Its construction was completed in just 43 days. Multinational company Larsen & Toubro Limited built the post office with technological support from IIT Madras.
About 3D printing
- 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process that uses computer-created design to make three-dimensional objects layer by layer.
- It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity and colour.
- To carry out 3D printing, one needs to do is design a 3D model of the required object on computer-aid design (CAD) software and press ‘print’.
- 3D printers construct the desired object by using a layering method, which is the complete opposite of the subtractive manufacturing processes.
- 3D printers build from the bottom up by piling on layer after layer until the object looks exactly like it was envisioned.
- 3D printing is being used in a host of different industries like healthcare, automobile and aerospace.
