The DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) at IIT Hyderabad has achieved a significant milestone in Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM). This breakthrough, developed in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad, DRDO’s Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, and industry partners, marks a major advancement in India’s additive manufacturing capabilities.

The LAAM system utilizes powder-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology for the fabrication of rocket components – reinforcing India’s efforts toward self-reliance in advanced manufacturing technologies.

A key highlight of this indigenously developed system is its build volume of 1m × 1m × 3m – making it one of India’s largest metal additive manufacturing machines. It operates on laser and blown-powder DED technology and features dual deposition heads for thermal balancing and enhanced production speed.

A recent achievement includes the successful fabrication of a one-meter-tall component – demonstrating the system’s capability to produce large-scale metal parts, an essential requirement for aerospace and defense applications.

Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, commended the DIA-CoE at IIT Hyderabad for its efforts in designing, developing, and demonstrating this innovative system. He emphasized that this development will unlock new possibilities for large-scale metal part production, driving further growth and innovation in additive manufacturing across the country.