Printing visions
Due to the rapid advances in 3D printing technologies, people can now create their own “factories” at home. 3D printers allow users to build solid objects by stacking layers of molten material (like plastics and resin) in line with the design fed to the printer. There are various types of 3D printers: from the cheapest FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) printers, which stack layers of plastic after passing it through a heated filament; to the more expensive SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) printers, which use ultraviolet rays to melt a layer of metal and stack them to create a solid metallic object.
Although 3D printing technologies emerged in 1980s and became commercially available during the mid- 2000s, it first came to Nepal almost a decade later, when Zener technologies introduced an FDM printer in late 2016. To date, no other type of 3D printer has been introduced in Nepal. And we have already been able to achieve some feats with the primitive 3D printing technology.
“3D printing is still in its infancy in Nepal,” says Ram Chandra Nepal, Zener’s co-founder. “Its use is mostly limited to processes where precision and detail are vital, like prototyping of new products, creating architectural models, making masterpieces for metal, and making customized items”.
3D printing has been used by various researchers in Nepal. According to Ram Chandra Nepal, 3D printing is being used by organizations and institutes like Kathmandu University, Nepal Communitere, the robotics club at the IoE in Pulchowk, Field Ready, and the Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal (CMDN). Recently CMDN had utilized 3D printing technology to develop a prosthetic arm for Sabita Thapa, who had lost both her arms when she accidently touched an electrically charged iron rod.
Developing a customized prosthetic arm would have been a tiresome process without 3D printing. “3D printing has also been used extensively in the Nepal Tiger Genome Project to track the whereabouts of individual tigers,” says Saman Pradhan, a research associate at CMDN. Field Ready, an organization focused on providing humanitarian support, has taken the initiative of using 3D printers to help earthquake victims.
There are several impediments to greater commercial use of 3D printing in Nepal. First, at present even the cheapest printers cost Rs 40,000, a sum that is still beyond most Nepalis. Second, the plastic filaments, the material used for the most common 3D printers, are also expensive. Lastly, with approximately 80 3D printers already in its kitty, the government does not seem to see much potential in 3D printing.
But the future may be rosier. “The whole world is exploring 3D printing and Nepal cannot afford to lag behind,” says Ram Chandra Nepal. He thinks it is doubly important for the country, which is vulnerable to natural calamities like earthquakes and landslides, to invest in 3D printing as it comes very handy during these emergencies.
