DEVELOPING THE MUCH-NEEDED TECHNOLOGIES

A center of excellence on machine tools and production technology at IIT-Madras in Chennai, Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre is a vital facility for the development of manufacturing technologies in India. Here’s knowing more about it…

Supported by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India, Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre (AMTDC) is working on various aspects including the smart manufacturing platform for production processes.

As a one-of-its-kind research and development center working to arm the Indian Manufacturing industry with the latest technologies, AMTDC exemplifies what can be possible when the industry and academia join hands. The center successfully develops advanced technologies for the Capital Goods sector in collaboration with industry partners.

Forces must come together

Many developed nations like the USA, Germany, UK, Japan, etc. have artfully leveraged the collaborative Government-Academia-Industry model to remain at the top of the technology development value chain. Realizing the need for such a system in India, the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) took the lead in creating a similar module. IIT-Madras took a plunge in 2008 to create one such ecosystem and, finally in 2012, had a proposal sanctioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India to develop a Next Generation High Precision Grinding Machine in collaboration with an industrial partner.

As the project progressed, the confidence in academia-industry collaboration strengthened in the minds of IIT-Madras and IMTMA. As a result, in 2013, IMTMA and IIT-Madras jointly convened a meeting with IMTMA’s members to deliberate on the need for Centers of Excellence that could develop the fledgling ecosystem. The positive deliberations in the meeting helped IMTMA to push the case with the Union Government. Meanwhile, the Government’s own study through the Planning Commission and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade pointed out the need to promote such schemes for the development of the Capital Goods sector in India, and thus AMTDC came into existence finally in 2016.

Projects coming to fruition

AMTDC has successfully completed some critical projects such as hydrostatic guideways and spindles, low-cost machine tending robots, orbital motion mechanism for abrasive cutting, grinding process intelligence, thermal compensation strategy for CNC lathes, multi-station grinders and polishers, 5-axis universal machining centers, ultra-precision micro machining centers, 5-axis CNC multi-tasking machines, direct drives for the abrasive cut off machines, 5kw axis drives and 25kw spindle drives for machine tool applications, CNC setup for µ-plasma-based metal deposition, and automated system for the casting of reinforcement concrete structures.

Some projects under Phase II of the Capital Goods Scheme being developed at AMTDC include production-grade cylindrical grinding machines with indigenously developed hydrostatic systems, indigenous industrial robots project details, thermally efficient 5-axis vertical machining centers, bearing superfinishing technology and machine tools, plano grinders for steel mills, hot cell sample preparation systems, and optoelectronics polishing machines.

AMTDC, which is established over an area of 9,000 sq ft in IIT-Madras Research Park, primarily focuses on machine tools besides Industry 4.0, automation and mechatronics, motion control, and robotics. With its proven expertise in developing large, complex projects, the center is working to generate high-quality human resources for the Manufacturing industry, create opportunities for the incubation of new technologies, and promote business development for MSMEs.

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