Unified Ace Designers continues to deliver customer-focused solutions

By Staff Report April 1, 2025 6:10 pm IST

India’s manufacturing sector is advancing, driven by high-speed machining, aerospace, and electronics manufacturing. With  Ace Manufacturing Systems and Ace Designers now unified, L.S Umesh, Director, Ace Designers Ltd, Machining Centre Division, shares that their combined strength in R&D, AI, automation, and Industry 4.0 will keep them ahead in the industry. He shared the vision of this unification, which is delivering innovative, cost-effective, and customer-focused solutions.

How is Ace addressing the evolving needs of high-speed machining, and what impact does your amalgamation with AMS have on the future of manufacturing?

The industry is focused on high-speed machining. Thin-walled component manufacturing is gaining popularity, especially in sunrise sectors along with graphite manufacturing. Ace has technologies that address these needs for electronic or aerospace component manufacturing. These sectors require high-speed, high-precision manufacturing, which presents a significant challenge for all of us.

India is making strides in aerospace components and mobile manufacturing. However, for our economy to develop, we must prioritise indigenous production and support initiatives like “Make in India.”

At IMTEX 2025, we showcased at least six of our new technology products, which received enthusiastic responses from customers. We even attracted customers from the UK and USA, who expressed excitement about taking our new machines back to their countries for sale.

IMTEX is a vital platform for us to demonstrate technology, and we value the opportunity to meet our customers, whom we consider friends, all in one place with our diverse range of machines. Notably, this edition of the IMTEX marks the first participation of the unified entity as Ace Designers Limited. We are participating together as ADL rather than as separate entities. This synergy showcases our technological strengths and highlights how we work together on various products.

With Ace Designers and Ace Manufacturing Systems joining forces, how is this collaboration shaping your R&D strategy and future innovations?

If you look closely at the growth of Ace Designers and Ace Manufacturing Systems, you’ll see that we started small. It enables faster development and production. However, we have now reached a stage where both companies are exploring investment methods for R&D and other initiatives.

Historically, we faced challenges in financing our R&D efforts, but by uniting, we pool our financial resources, strengths, and knowledge. This collaboration has allowed us to establish a dedicated R&D department for our combined efforts. We have even appointed a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), bringing significant value to our R&D initiatives. We can now financially sustain a separate R&D team and have a clear vision for how this department should operate. Our focus is on delivering new technologies, ensuring we are 100% customer-focused and even anticipatory of future requirements.

To achieve this, we have also created the product manager role. This individual will identify the future needs of our customers, whether in machining, 3D printing, laser cutting, or bending technologies. In the next three to four years, we plan to evolve with new leadership roles. The impact of the R&D efforts, with our CTO’s leadership and the contributions of some of our brightest young engineers, will help us stay ahead of the competition and deliver innovative technologies that benefit our customers.

As a pioneer in Industry 4.0, how has your journey evolved from the early 2000s to the present, and how do you see its impact on modern manufacturing?”

We were among the pioneers of the Industry 4.0 movement during the early 2000s. We began with productivity monitoring, machine downtime tracking, and similar initiatives. Although the term “Industry 4.0” came into use recently, we were essentially the first movers in this space, establishing a strong foothold in the market.

Our products incorporate metrics such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) measurements. We can integrate our technology with any product that contains a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) or CNC controls, making our OEE measurement capabilities widely applicable. Our offerings in Industry 4.0 are designed to serve all customers, including competitors and various end users.

We are committed to continuous improvement, paying close attention to our customers’ evolving needs. Recently, we’ve noticed a significant shift among machine tool users, particularly with the new generation of manufacturers. Unlike before, when we had to advocate for these technologies, our customers now actively demand them. Industry 4.0 will enhance productivity, improve product quality, and reduce delivery times, ultimately benefiting our customers.

Please tell us about amace’s collaboration with Ace Designers to advance and make 3D printing affordable in India.

In 2018, we envisioned the potential of 3D printing and decided to collaborate with Ace Designers. The investment in this technology through partnership resulted in the formation of amace. Before developing our first product independently, we focused on understanding customer needs, which led us to begin working on application engineering.

Our 3D printing services using different materials helped us identify our customers’ challenges and pain points. We learned that simply printing a part according to customer specifications was not enough—it was essential to redesign components with a focus on strength, minimising material use, and ensuring uniform stress distribution. This engineering approach allowed us to reduce costs and weight, which is crucial in the aerospace industry, where every gram saved contributes to lower fuel consumption and overall cost reduction.

To achieve optimal results, we analyse component usage and assembly requirements and explore ways to reduce the number of parts through re-engineering, ultimately providing comprehensive solutions. While many companies have focused on R&D or rapid prototyping, few have truly scaled production using 3D printing machines. Our machines are a valuable asset for customers across different applications, including prototyping and aerospace components.

Our products are priced at least 40% lower than imported machines, and we offer swift support services, ensuring quick accessibility for our customers. We have also established agreements to supply high-technology machines to the government and are committed to collaborating with them to develop new powders and components. This presents a significant opportunity for amace, as we strive to make 3D printing accessible and affordable for Indian customers.

Many believe that 3D printing is prohibitively expensive, but our turning and milling machines have successfully transformed manufacturing before. Our goal is to replicate this success with 3D printing. In the next three to five years, we anticipate seeing the results of our collaboration with the government. This is a monumental step forward for amace, akin to reaching the moon. Ultimately, our customers and Indian users will benefit, leading to lower component costs and potentially making air and space travel more affordable.