A jet engine inspires gen-next engineers at Cyient in Hyderabad

Engineers need to be inspired all the time so that innovation becomes natural to them. This is one mantra being chanted by Cyient, an engineering, network and operations solutions company headquartered in Hyderabad, to propel its workforce.

During a visit to the facilities recently, OneIndia was shown around the Cyient Experience Centre, a unique block set up after drawing inspiration from its senior leadership.

According to company officials, the name of the facility (Cyient Experience Center) and the core idea behind it is to enable young engineers to see, touch and learn about products and components the company designs.

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"The Center focuses on ‘innovation at Cyient' and progressively will not only enable our engineers to design better products, but also cut down the design cycle time significantly leading to seamless production and faster time to market at our customers' end.

The Center will also be an inspiration to budding engineers from the colleges that Cyient partners closely with, who are not currently Cyient employees," says an official.

The Cyient Experience Center is designed to support a wide spectrum of verticals including utilities and telecommunications, aerospace and defence, rail and transportation, energy and natural resources, heavy engineering, consumer, medical, and manufacturing engineering.

Spanning an area of over 15,000 sq. ft., the new facility at the company's Gachibowli campus, is spread over two floors with dedicated spaces for product display, prototyping, inspection and assembly.

An investment of Rs 50 million was made by Cyient to build this facility. Further investments to equip the facility are being made in a phased manner.

Pratt & Whitney engine centre of attraction

Among the unique exhibits is a PW4090 aircraft engine donated to Cyient by Pratt & Whitney.

"It is installed at the Experience Center so that engineers who work on Pratt & Whitney projects get invaluable, hands-on experience. This engine which is capable of producing 90,000 pounds of thrust, is meant to serve as a source of inspiration to Cyient associates, symbolizing the extent and reach of their capabilities and opportunities. Other engine sub-assemblies donated earlier by Pratt & Whitney to Cyient have also been moved to the new facility," says the official.

With 35 per cent of its revenues coming from aerospace engineering, Cyient is hoping that it would be a power to reckon with in developing aircraft engine systems and sub-systems.

More innovative exhibits to be added in phases

In an interview to OneIndia early this year, B V R Mohan Reddy, Founder and Executive Chairman of Cyient had said that the company has the potential of designing an aircraft engine in future.

The Cyient Experience Center will also house advanced 3D printers and table-top machines capable of producing plastic and metal component prototypes.

The Center will also exhibit actual products designed by Cyient to help engineers see, analyze and learn.

"Current expansion plans for the Cyient Experience Center include setting up of virtual reality and proof of concept labs. Further investments to equip the facility continue to be made in a phased manner," adds the official.

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(The writer is a seasoned aerospace and defence journalist in India. Currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow with University of Mysore, he is a Consulting Editor (Defence) with OneIndia. He tweets @writetake.)