TIDCO and GE Inaugurate Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Chennai

GE Aerospace, a world leader in aircraft engines and technology development, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (TIDCO) today welcomed M.K. Stalin, Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, to inaugurate the Tamil Nadu Advance Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (TAMCoE), in Chennai, India.

TAMCoE will work towards technology development of aviation engine parts such as compressor heat exchangers, combustor components, casing, frames, gears, and splines. It will also take up projects in development of predictive analytical solutions for additive manufacturing (AM) for Industry 4.0.

Metal Additive Manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a scalable manufacturing technology whose adoption is being deployed at scale across many industries, globally. AM innovation is being led by the aerospace and defense, healthcare, and automotive sectors, which were early adopters and are now super users of the technology.

Alok Nanda, Chief Technology Officer, GE India said, “Interest in additive manufacturing remains high across India. What we’ve seen recently is that this interest is turning into action. More organizations are developing additive strategies and business models to get started. Innovation gains traction by having an expert ecosystem on hand and focal points like TAMCoE to foster R&D, collaboration, and education.”

“Our partnership and shared learnings are as important as the technology in driving growth and adoption. We are thrilled with the launch of TAMCoE and look forward to seeing the first results soon,” Nanda added.

Thiru B. Krishnamoorthy, IOFS, Additional Secretary and Project Director, TIDCO said, “The GE partnership with the government of Tamil Nadu is a significant milestone in the growth of the aerospace and defense ecosystem in the state. With the establishment of this facility, Tamil Nadu will emerge as an aerospace and defense hub for research and development and advanced manufacturing of aerospace parts.”

The new 150,000 square foot facility in Chennai’s Tidel Park, Tharamani will harness the potential of AM in Tamil Nadu and support India’s national AM strategy in three ways:

• Create a hub for generation and dissemination of knowledge, as well as transferrable skills for supporting local industrial ecosystem development in Tamil Nadu.
• Develop and share process knowledge using additive technologies for key growth industries—primarily aerospace, but also medical and orthopedic and automotive sectors.
• Work closely with industry bodies to build a platform for local industry to benefit from the work generated by the CoE.

TAMCoE is the first milestone of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by TIDCO and GE Aerospace in 2021 with an investment of about ₹141.26 crores over five years, by both parties.

www.ge.com