From DRDO to Dinosaurs: India's listed 3D printing firm makes consumer pivot

Mint

26-05-2025

Mumbai: India's first listed 3D printing company is readying for its boldest move yet—transforming from a machine trader to a full-stack consumer product brand. Rahul Chandalia, founder and chief executive of WOL3D India Ltd, has launched Brahma, a new vertical that aims to become a design-to-manufacturing powerhouse by leveraging large-scale 3D printing for toys and home decor.
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With 200 printers installed and a roadmap to scale to 1,000 within six months, Brahma is already producing up to 10,000 pieces a week, with ambitions of hitting 50,000. The first big bet under this model is Winglets, a line of fully customizable, eco-friendly animal toys designed for children and adults alike.
'We want to be the creator of creators," said Chandalia. 'Brahma is a new model for Indian manufacturing, where design meets demand instantly, without tooling, moulds or long lead times."
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Winglets will span five categories, from farm animals to fantasy figures like unicorns and dinosaurs, with 75 stock keeping units (SKUs) to start with. Each toy is made using PLA (polylactic acid) filament developed in-house, and clients can customize size and colour, with bundles available online and in-store. The company plans to launch the range on Amazon US and is in talks with global buyers looking to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
A stock keeping unit is a unique alphanumeric code that companies allocate to each distinct product they sell to identify and track their inventory internally.
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But as WOL3D goes from enabling creators to becoming one, scaling such a model comes with clear challenges.
For one, the Indian market for 3D-printed consumer products is still in its infancy. While use-cases in industrial prototyping, education and décor have matured, categories like toys remain untested at scale. 'Mass customization is a compelling idea but market education, price sensitivity and logistics of high-SKU inventory could become real hurdles," said an industry executive tracking the segment.
Chandalia agrees that manufacturing is only one-half of the equation. 'Selling is the real test. It's one thing to create, quite another to convert that into demand," he said, adding that the company is focusing on impulse-driven categories like toys, gifts and small home products, not need-based purchases.
Another challenge lies in sustaining the economics of 3D printing at volume. Traditional toy factories achieve scale through injection moulding and low material costs. While 3D printing offers flexibility, it still requires high printer uptime, consistent raw material supply and consumer willingness to pay a premium for personalization. WOL3D's model banks on rising demand for differentiated, eco-friendly toys, particularly from urban Indian parents and global buyers.
To address scale, WOL3D is building capacity before hitting retail. The Brahma farm is being readied to produce 50,000 pieces weekly. The company is also considering locating future units in subsidy-backed industrial zones such as those promoted by the Maharashtra government's toy cluster policy.
Chandalia also plans to spin off Brahma as a separate subsidiary to enable sharper brand focus and clean up valuations. 'We want to keep WOL3D as the machine and materials backbone, and let Brahma grow as a product-first consumer brand," he said.
The journey so far has been swift. From importing six machines in 2017 to now running nine experience centres and supplying to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and over 7,000 schools, WOL3D has built a full-fledged ecosystem. It listed on the NSE Emerge platform in September 2023, raised ₹19 crore, and closed FY25 with ₹49.3 crore in revenue and ₹5.59 crore in net profit.
But consumer playbooks are different from institutional sales. 'There are no playbooks here, we're writing ours," Chandalia said.
As it tries to position itself as the Lego or Apple of India's 3D printing industry, the company knows the road ahead will be more demanding than a filament run. But if it succeeds, Brahma could well become the blueprint for India's additive manufacturing future, one Wiggly toy at a time.