Pearce, Joshua (2013) Applications of Open Source 3-D Printing on Small Farms. Organic Farming, pp. 19-35.
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Document available online at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02119671
Summary
There is growing evidence that low-cost open-source 3-D printers can reduce costs by enabling distributed manufacturing of substitutes for both specialty equipment and conventional mass-manufactured products. The rate of 3-D printable designs under open licenses is growing exponentially and there are already hundreds of designs applicable to small-scale organic farming. It has also been hypothesized that this technology could assist sustainable development in rural communities that rely on small-scale organic agriculture. To gauge the present utility of open-source 3-D printers in this organic farm context both in the developed and developing world, this paper reviews the current open-source designs available and evaluates the ability of low-cost 3-D printers to be effective at reducing the economic costs of farming. This study limits the evaluation of open-source 3-D printers to only the most-developed fused filament fabrication of the bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is a strong biodegradable and recyclable thermoplastic appropriate for a range of representative products, which are grouped into five categories of prints: hand tools, food processing, animal management, water management and hydroponics. The advantages and shortcomings of applying 3-D printing to each technology are evaluated. The results show a generalizable technical viability and economic benefit to adopting open-source 3-D printing for any of the technologies, although the individual economic impact is highly dependent on needs and frequency of use on a specific farm. Capital costs of a 3-D printer may be saved from on-farm printing of a single advanced analytical instrument in a day or replacing hundreds of inexpensive products over a year. In order for the full potential of open-source 3-D printing to be realized to assist organic farm economic resiliency and self-sufficiency, future work is outlined in five core areas: designs of 3-D printable objects, 3-D printing materials, 3-D printers, software and 3-D printable repositories.
EPrint Type: | Journal paper |
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Keywords: | small farms (en), 3-D printing (en), agricultural tools (en), distributed manufacturing (en), farm equipment (en), intensive agricul- ture (en) |
Subjects: | "Organics" in general |
Research affiliation: | France > INRAe - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement |
ISSN: | ISSN: 2297-6485 |
DOI: | 10.12924/of2015.01010019 |
Related Links: | https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02119671/document |
Project ID: | HAL-INRAe |
Deposited By: | PENVERN, Servane |
ID Code: | 41287 |
Deposited On: | 12 Aug 2021 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2021 10:37 |
Document Language: | English |
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