Agnikul Cosmos, a private aerospace company based in the Indian city of Chennai, has inaugurated a large-format additive manufacturing facility that will be used to develop aerospace and rocket systems. It is the first large-format AM facility in India.

According to Agnikul, the Large Format Additive Metal Manufacturing (LFAMM) Unit houses India’s largest 3D metal printer for large space-tech systems and a custom de-powdering machine, designed and built in-house. German industrial AM giant EOS was a partner on the project.

“By developing not just printing capacity but also full scale machines in-house, we are equipping ourselves to build space transportation systems faster bringing us one step closer to taking Agnikul’s innovations and our customers to space,” commented Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder & CEO of Agnikul Cosmos.

The capabilities of the new facility will cover the entire AM process chain from design to finishing, and the company says its metal AM production equipment will be capable of printing parts up to one meter in height. The printer in question has not been named, though photos from the inauguration appear to show an AMCM M 4K, which would make sense given the company’s partnership with EOS. AMCM, which stands for Additive Manufacturing Customized Machines, provides modified EOS systems for specific applications and end-users.

Agnikul has previously used an EOS M 400-4 system, which has a standard build volume of 400 x 400 x 400 mm—large, but not capable of printing a part measuring one meter in length. However, the AMCM M 4K, which is based on the EOS M 400, has an extended build volume of 450 x 450 x 1,000 mm.

During today’s inauguration of the new aerospace facility, Agnikul was joined by Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary Department of Space and Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute Of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). “Agnikul was started with the goal of making space available to everyone,” Ravichandran added. “One way to do that is to build capability that allows us to advance rocket manufacturing with precision while also focusing on quality.”

Founded in 2017, Agnikul Cosmos was incubated at IIT Madras, a public research university and technical institute in Chennai. After securing a number of investments and commercial deals over the following years, the company made a breakthrough in 2023 when it printed a flight-qualified engine. A successful launch took place from Agnikul Cosmos’ private launchpad in 2024. Back in August of this year, the company showcased what it claims is the world’s largest single-piece Inconel rocket engine, for which it received a US patent. The engine can be built in-house in a matter of days.