3D Concept Studio signs MoU with University of Moratuwa

Wednesday, 28 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

3D Concept Studio, the first rapid prototyping firm in Sri Lanka, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Moratuwa’s Department of Electronics. The agreement will provide students of the department easy access to the company’s vast array of prototyping services.

3D Concept Studio Founder/CEO Nissanga Warnapura (left) and University of Moratuwa Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Head Dr. Ajith Pasqual with the singed MoU Students of the department primarily use prototyping for their final year projects and while 3D printing would be ideally suited for their needs they have yet to utilise the process. The barrier for students at the university was price; however, this will no longer be the case. “Nissanga has given us a good offer to make the process affordable to our students,” said University of Moratuwa Department of Electronics Head Professor Rohan Munasinghe. “Now, with access to affordable 3D printing students can showcase their products. They can design exactly how different parts in the system should be located with respect to each other and they can remove a lot of practical problems when they integrate systems using 3D printing.” 3D printing as a technology is over 30 years old but it has only recently become practical for everyday use with the production of affordable machines that are able to produce high quality prototypes that even rival their more costly brothers.However, 3D printing is not simply a tool of replication but also one of innovation and it is a tool greatly underutilised in Sri Lanka. Few corporates in the country have embraced the technology and because of this the expertise and knowledge to unleash the potential of the technology are still in its fledgling stages. One reason for this has been the exorbitant cost and slow turnaround time of the 3D printing facilities previously available in the country. This is a constant barrier that hinders creativity and advancement. “Our motto has always been accessibility. For no other reason than we believe that there are great minds out there that only need the opportunity to unleash that spark of innovation buried within them,” said 3D Concept Studio CEO and Founder Nissanga Warnapura. “And with this new partnership we expect great things to come out of the University of Moratuwa.” 3D Concept Studio was founded in 2013 and offers services in 2D and 3D design, 3D scanning, 3D printing, 3D fabrication and laser cutting. While the company is a retailer it also caters to corporate clients such as Hemas, Orel Coporation (Orange Electric), Phoenix, FMJ Industries, Boehm Leckner Multi Moulds and MAS Holdings.