What does a young teacher with 3 degrees do for a hobby? Print jewellery. If you could find him in Kegalle where he teaches, lives and runs a small 3D printing shop, he will print you just about anything, including the new pair of shoes you so badly want.
Thimira Thilakarathne is a man whose ambition is to blaze a new trail as he goes, in life. That sees him running a business which his market hasn’t even really understood. But that’s exactly what separates geniuses and pioneers from the ordinary.
 Thimira Thilakarathne |
“Somebody has to start it and here I am”, Thimira opens up. He is among a handful of entrepreneurs in the country to have taken into the business of 3D printing. It’s a business people yet do not really understand but then again, it’s just a matter of time when they do and when that happens - boom, he avers. Just the idea of doing it inspires him no end.
Considering his difficult path to where he is today, you’d expect him not to take the risky route. But then, that’s what makes him special. It’s kind of a mixed bag; I have three degrees - in science, mathematics and statistics, and a one and half years into an MSC when I had to drop out due to personal reasons.
“My dad is a bus driver and my mom a typical house wife. I loved experimenting and making stuff as a young boy, so that’s the reason for me to join the science faculty of Peradeniya after my A/L’s”, he says candidly. It is his time at the university that got him interested in 3D printing. As an apprentice in the engineering faculty I learnt this new technology where you can bring to life the diagrams you sketch, he says excitedly and life hasn’t been the same since.
He wouldn’t rest till he got his hands on a 3D printer; a philanthropic organization helped.
3D’s initial focus is on accessories and jewellery, and they can work with their clients based on just ideas, sketches or scanned products, which are then turned into 3D models.
I was hooked! So I set about finding more ways to keep this small business running while I teach.
A full time teacher at Lenagala Maha Vidiyala where he is committed to helping develop a rural school, Thimira is proud of his charges. I teach through grades 6 to 10 and these students have shown remarkable aptitude and results, he says with pride. Along with the support of his fellow teachers, Thimira says that the school has been able to send 9 students to university – a no mean achievement for an unheralded rural school. Thimira is quick to talk of the guidance of his principal Mr. H.S. Thilakarathne.
Not only are these students good in academics they top the charts with their sports too, he points to the balance that youth must find in their lives.
That this young teacher finds the time to run to his small 3D printing shop GST Design in Kegalle, is testimony to his vision. “My biggest challenge is getting business as people still don’t know about the concept. But I am ready for the future”, he says.
“One of the key elements in this is the ability to manufacture on demand without commitment to minimum orders that are typical with traditional ways of making products, or indeed needing to worry about stock risk since products are made only when ordered.” said Thimira.
“Customization is really what 3D printing is all about. We have a problem and we can literally make the solution in a matter of hours. It makes sense for small companies to invest early on and really embrace it now. There are opportunities to be had.”
It’s awesome to bring to life the images that are drawn on paper. I’ m excited when I get unusual requests but so far I have done mostly awards and jewellery. It’s fascinating to know that very soon we will even be able to print on thehuman anatomy too, he says.
If you lose your ear or finger or nose you will be able to print it and get it fixed just like in the movies. No need to worry, he says laughing.
Thimira has inspiration for young minds. “You have to do what you love and if you have a business idea in mind, just try it and see what happens. I see too many people with great ideas, but they do not pursue them as they are afraid to. Just get on and do it!”
Always remember that being an entrepreneur is more than just being someone willing to take a risk in creating a business. It’s about doing something that forces you outside of your comfort zone -- and outside of the comfort zone of your peers and your social group. It allows you to do something great, and to devote your time and effort to a cause that has a positive impact. That’s true entrepreneurship.”. His words let you into what really makes a prioneer.
For now, Thimira will go on moulding his young charges. And in his spare time, run to his favourite place – his 3D printing shop. It may be nearly empty, for now. But not for too long! It is the fearless journey of geniuses, unafraid of the unknown, who will take a small country into the future.
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The unbelievable reality of 3D printing
Everyone’s talking about 3D printing! But only a few really know what it really can do for them or how this modern wonder works!
3D printing, as the name suggests, print objects. Yes, real things in real shapes! So, what can you really print with it? How about a brand new phone cover? Sure, you can 3D print just the one you like! How about a toy for your kid brother? No problem! Or a broken part for your mom’s blender? Right, anything else? The talk is that soon even body organs may be 3D printed, on demand!
How does it work?
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is more like owning a manufacturing plant that can produce a never-ending list of things and yes, this incredible factory can go right on your desk at home or office. It works through a process of depositing materials layer by layer as per the object’s 3D digital model which has been fed into a computer. That means your kid brother’s toy will be printed in real 3D, layer by layer of a material you have fed into the machine. That could be plastic, metal or new manufacturing substances coming into the market.