Agnikul Cosmos has launched India’s first private large-format additive manufacturing facility for aerospace, enabling faster and cheaper rocket development. Located at IIT-M Research Park in Chennai, the facility allows 3D-printing of aerospace parts up to 1 meter, significantly reducing production time. This advancement strengthens India’s space ecosystem by improving quality, speed, and affordability in space manufacturing.
Agnikul Cosmos, a spacetech startup, on Monday commissioned the country’s first private large-format additive manufacturing facility dedicated to aerospace and rocket systems.The facility combines design, simulation, printing, post-processing, and testing under a single roof, allowing the firm to develop rocket engines and critical components faster and at lower cost.
For the first time in India, Agnikul can now 3D-print aerospace parts up to 1 metre in height using the new facility they set up at the IIT-M Research Park in Chennai. These larger components were previously difficult to produce using additive manufacturing.
With this facility, now fully finished, flight-ready hardware can be manufactured in just a few days, reducing development cycles and accelerating innovation.A key addition is an indigenously developed de-powdering machine, used in post-processing, to ensure flawless surface finish and space-grade quality.
This system, designed entirely in-house, reduces reliance on external suppliers and ensures consistent results for all printed parts. “Agnikul was started to make space accessible to everyone. By developing both the printing capacity and supporting machines in-house, we can build space transportation systems faster and take our innovations – and our customers – to space sooner,” Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul, said.
The firm holds a US patent for single-piece 3D-printed rocket engines. With the new facility, engines measuring up to 1 metre can now be produced, delivering seven times the thrust of previous designs. All manufacturing is done in-house, allowing Agnikul to iterate quickly, test extensively, and scale up production without the delays caused by external suppliers.”Beyond immediate benefits for Agnikul’s rocket programme, the facility represents a long-term investment in India’s space ecosystem.
It strengthens the country’s position in global benchmarks for quality, speed, and affordability,” the firm said. Moin S P M, co-founder and COO of Agnikul, said, “This is not just a milestone for Agnikul, it is a statement of national capability. By bringing design, simulation, 3D printing, post-processing, and testing under one roof, we are compressing design-to-flight control from months to days and lowering the cost of space manufacturing,” Moin told TOI.
News Courtesy : Times of India