The public sector aerospace and defence firm HAL and Wipro 3D, the metal additive manufacturing (AM) business of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, have signed a pact to design, develop, prove out, manufacture and repair aerospace components using metal additive technology.
As a per a media release from HAL, the initiative would focus on development, prove out and production of aerospace applications, including MRO, using metal additive manufacturing. Prove-outs and certification of components developed using metal 3D printing was a key element of this co-operation, it said.
Shekhar Shrivastava, CEO, Bangalore Complex, HAL, said, “This collaboration between HAL and Wipro 3D will create a unique synergy of capabilities that can accelerate the adoption of metal additive manufacturing in aerospace in India. Qualification of parts for aerospace is challenging as it would require prove out and extensive testing followed by certification by regulatory authorities which may also include flight testing.”
Globally, the aerospace industry has been one of the foremost adopters of metal 3D printing due to the benefits of faster design iterations, weight and geometry optimisation, performance improvement and flexible manufacturing.
“The MoU will provide significant manufacturing and MRO flexibility and freedom to existing, upcoming, and legacy aerospace programmes,”' said Ajay Parikh, Vice President and Business Head, Wipro 3D.
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