3-D printed Hindu God Ganesha

Murtis (idols or statues) of Hindu Gods printed using 3-D technology is new and rare but is slowly catching up in India and various countries around the world. A 3-printed exhibition of Ganesha murtis was recently held in Bangalore and was a huge it with the audience.

The New Indian Express reports 

3-D printing technology has been around for many years now; the first working 3-D printer (stereolithography) was created in 1984 by Charles W Hull.

"The industry in India has not taken off in the way it has in countries like Taiwan, Singapore or Malaysia. India has the required manpower but owing to lack of world-class R and D facilities, the industry has taken a backseat. We want to bring this technology to the forefront and what better way than to start it with an exhibition of idols of Lord Ganesha," says Prasad Rodagi, founder director of Altem, which has been in the business of 3-D printing since 2010. 

At the exhibition, eight idols inspired by the temples in Maharashtra like Ashtavinayaka, Siddivinayaka and Dagdusheth Halwai will be showcased. The installation spans six feet in height and five feet in width. "For the purpose of the exhibition, we had procured wooden idols from various places and scanned the objects using a 3-D scanner. The scanner then converted the images to a digital format which was then printed using Stratasys FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) and Polyjet technology based 3-D Printers," he says.