A world of a difference in 3D
The world's first 3D wedding dress by Nissanga's team
You have a sudden craving for ice cream. Who do you call? You can’t find a spare part for your car. Who do you call? You need a unique one-off wedding dress for the big day. Once again who do you call? The Ghostbusters might have exorcised many demons but if you want the devil in the detail and all your wild dreams to come true, then you better call 3D Concept Studio which is revolutionising the way people think and run businesses in Sri Lanka. Nissanga Warnapura is on an oil rig of the West coast of the US but he finds the time to answer a few questions by email. The founder of this start-up believes that the world will change even more rapidly because of this zany technology which is virtually a magic lamp that can grant any wish.
“In the future anything we can think of can be downloaded and printed. Everything from a spare part for your home appliances or your car to food that you crave and even body parts can be printed. This is disruptive technology at its best,” is Nissanga’s take on 3D printing. While the West is leaps and bounds ahead in this department, Nissanga and his cutting edge crew have also made waves. Earlier this year they created the world’s first 3D-printed wedding dress, bringing to life an idea by a fashion designer who wanted to create something unique for client who was taking the big leap. Made from PLA flex – flexible plastic – the dress was made up of 700 panels, each panel taking two hours to print. It took around a month to print it and then a full two days to assemble it.
It is more remarkable that the 3D printer used – Ultimaker Fused deposition Modelling (FDM) – is only 20x20x20 centimetres giving the phrase small is beautiful an entirely new meaning. Think of the machine which makes the face-mask for Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible flicks and you get the idea. “All our customers come to us with the basic requirement of wanting to create something new. We look for passion and love in creating,” says Nissanga, an old boy of Colombo International School. Having armed himself with an electrical and electronic engineering degree from the University of Nottingham in the UK, Nissanga followed his passion which was technology. “All my life I have been fascinated with technology.
I had been researching about 3D for a few years and was amazed at what these machines could do. Also the technology had advanced so far that these machines were now affordable.” Nissanga was quick to realise the market potential of 3D printing when his friends and colleagues were talking about the difficulty of getting prototypes done in Sri Lanka. He addressed the issue by bringing down a machine. In October, 2013, 3D Concept Studio got off the ground with a small sum of start-up capital. Nissanga left his job at MAS Holdings to devote his energies full time to this exciting new venture. He had one machine and his customers came home which was his base. Social media helped spread the word of this new innovative kid on the block.
“I’m driven by people wanting to create unique solutions or products that change the way we are used to doing things. I enjoy understanding how and why people come up with ideas and we enjoy helping them on their journey.” Nissanga, 30, is convinced that 3D printing has huge potential not only in product development but also for research and development. “The potential is to enable Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and inventors to fabricate their ideas into products that can help them secure customers and investment. “We have also setup R&D labs for many corporates using 3D printers, chosen specifically to address their needs. There are multiple types and grades of 3D printers for each and every industry such as manufacturing, injection moulding, automobiles, jewellery, medicine, electronics and architecture among other.”
Now based in a small office in Kohuwala – behind Bernard’s – a small group of 10 engineers are hard at work as we make a visit. Various printers are layering plastic, solidifying liquid and powder printing jewellery moulds. The maxim at 3D is to never say “No” to any request. If you can dream of it, they will find a way to bring it to life. “It’s interesting times as we are experiencing a change in Sri Lankan mindsets from conservative to innovative. We can see extremely high levels of curiosity on how things work in multiple industries and we can see disruption happening at all levels and at all age groups,” Nissanga forecasts. A few months after starting the company, 3D acquired a few investors and more seed money. Nissanga is unwilling to name them but reveals that they play a significant role as mentors too.
“Our primary goal is to be accessible therefore we plan to be present across Sri Lanka. We also want to evolve into specialist areas, especially with bio-printing and medical applications. “Our biggest challenge has been the conservative mindset with change being quite slow. This technology enables us to do so much but it’s limited by what the mind wants,” adds Nissanga. And his advice to young entrepreneurs: “Take a leap of faith and go for it. There is nothing called a silly question. Ask a million questions until you understand your answer quite clearly. You must also remove the fear of failure for failure is what has made some companies extremely successful.” -(Alvin)