Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB), in collaboration with HP and Redington, inaugurated an Additive Manufacturing Center focused on accelerating the design and production of integrated 3D-printed components in India. This Center of Excellence (CoE), named ‘Wabtec India Additive Manufacturing Center', will offer end-to-end solutions like consulting, part identification and production for locomotives, transit entities and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The facility is based out of Wabtec India's existing factory in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
This CoE builds upon Wabtec's growing additive strategy to leverage the technology to design and prototype 25,000 production parts by 2025. This supports the company's effort to ramp-up the production processes, save the overall cost and offer customized solutions to heavy industries, ancillary MSMEs and other manufacturing units.
"The Wabtec India Additive Manufacturing Center is another step in our Industry 4.0 journey as we continue to integrate smart technologies and production systems to drive innovation and deliver cutting-edge solutions for our customers," said Gopal Madabhushi, Global Director, Wabtec Corporation. "This collaboration with HP and Redington will lend our expertise to a wider manufacturing industry. HP's industry leading 3D printing solutions enable industrial grade manufacturing with benefits from design to production including reduction in product design and manufacturing cycle time. It also provides flexibility and freedom to design complex parts which meet customer requirements. With initial focus in South India, through our partnership, we plan to expand across India in future. Our additive center will position Wabtec as an enabler for India's manufacturing across multiple sectors - an Atmanirbhar (Self-reliant) in manufacturing," added Gopal.
The Wabtec India Additive Manufacturing Center combines HP's Multi Jet Fusion Technology, Wabtec's expertise in consulting and manufacturing, with Redington's strong supply chain network. The partnership aims to improve customer service, streamline maintenance, and enable flexibility to manufacture and replace spare parts. Using HP's Jet Fusion printers, Wabtec will work closely with Redington to design, manufacture and deliver complex parts for prototyping and final parts production including short to medium batch production such as adapters, IOT shield covers for brake controllers, customized dispenser tips and sensor holders.
"The world is witnessing a rising demand for digital manufacturing and 3D printing is enabling this journey across industries including transportation, industrial medical and consumer products. A sustainable 3D printing ecosystem can open new manufacturing possibilities by giving freedom from traditional design constraints and producing revolutionary structures and geometry. This collaboration is enabling innovators like Wabtec and Redington to leverage the power of HP's advanced digital manufacturing technology, solutions and services supporting small- and large-scale production of breakthrough 3D printed applications," said Alexandre Lalumiere, Head -APJ, 3DP and Digital Manufacturing, HP.
"Redington is committed in leveraging its expertise to develop a network of partners across India for localizing the supply of 3D Printed parts. The revolutionary solutions from HP & the design expertise of Wabtec will help our customers leverage the Additive Manufacturing capabilities for their growing demands of functional end-use parts." said Ramesh K S, VP- Graphics Group, Business Head, 3D Printer Division, Redington India.
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