November 11, 2020
Release - 0045

Maker Faire Hyderabad 2019 – A glimpse into what TWorks will offer

TWorks and Government of Telangana hosted Maker Faire Hyderabad 2019 at HITEX exhibition centre here on Sunday. The event, with over 80 exhibits, 40 workshops and 10 art installations, attracted an estimated 10,000 participants. The event was unique in that it provided a glimpse of the equipment, activities and community that the mega-prototyping centre will offer.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary ITE&C Department, who also participated in the event with family, said “The maker movement is important to encourage innovation and creativity in product design and development. Maker Faire Hyderabad is meant to spark curiosity among young and old alike. Looking at the tremendous response this year, we will look to constantly raise the complexity of innovation being showcased in the coming editions. It is also important to provide additional support to rural youth through such platforms”. 

Sujai Karampuri, CEO TWorks, said that the faire was organised by a core team of 45 members and over 200 volunteers. “At TWorks, we constantly look to collaborate. We work with government agencies, incubators, startups, non-profits and individual artists and makers to ensure the event is as inclusive as possible”. 

The main goal of the faire was for everyone to experience hands-on making by getting their hands dirty. “We focussed on the basics in a wide range of technologies such as electronics soldering, welding, woodworking, and 3D printing. TWorks itself set up a small makerspace at the event to provide a glimpse of the upcoming prototyping centre.” He said TWorks, which is currently under construction, is expected to come up in the next 5 months, adding that “work on the core and shell is nearly complete, the work on interiors will commence shortly”.

Makerspace inside the faire

TWorks, a state government company and the host of the event, set up a makerspace within the premises with hands-on experience zones for soldering, T-shirt screen printing, electronics repair station sponsored by iFixit, woodworking and welding. Several participants learnt how to assemble printed circuit boards and print custom T-shirt designs. The space was a microcosm of what is in store at the under-construction TWorks facility. “It is important for us to invest in prototyping infrastructure with the sole motive of creating a culture of makers and hardware entrepreneurs. Over 35 corporate sponsors supporting the event is a strong affirmation of our approach to collaboratively building this culture”.

Installations

There were several installations at the event made by artists from and outside Hyderabad.

The Peafowl was an intricately welded iron statue made by artist Saad’s studio called IRONic. It weighs 80 kg and took 30 days to build. Saad used spoons, nails, TMT bars, spanners, mud guards and car exhausts to make the 7.5 feet tall stunning art piece. Saad is a scrap metal artist with his studio near Assembly in Hyderabad. He graduated from Muffkam Jha in Mechanical Engineering before pursuing his masters in the US and has been making scrap metal art for the last 6 years.

Tree of Soul was another art piece by artist Priyank Rangparia’s studio called Befuse in Mumbai. It weighs 200 kg and took 30 days to build. The installations mainly used automotive parts and LEDs to make a 11 feet tall tree. Priyank completed his masters in industrial design from Pune and has been a scrap metal artist for three years.

Another installation was by students from Atria University in Bengaluru. 14 students along with 4 mentors built a scrap metal musical installation using scrap metal parts. The 8 ft high and 10 ft diameter installations weighed 350 kg and took a month to build. Other installations included a Batman pod, a metallic rhino and pin art by local artist Rajeev Vanarasa.

Over 50 corporate partners supported the event. Quantela was the keystone sponsor for the event which was also supported by Huawei, L&T, IDBI Bank, Sterlite, Vidhata Plastics and GE Appliances.