Applications of Open Source 3-D Printing on Small Farms

Abstract

Abstract: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.

Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing with 3D Printing on the Toy and Game Market

“…It is unclear if the inconvenience of 3D printing yourself will not overcome the convenience of producing exceptionally low cost but high value bespoke products in one's own home; however, it is clear that it will have an impact on global value chains [63,64]. There have been a number of studies concluding that 3D printing will continue to have an increased impact on society [65,66] both in the developed and developing world [67,68]. It is clear that 3D printing will play a major role in the rapidly emerging business models based on open source hardware [69] and open innovation [70].…”

Design Optimization of Polymer Heat Exchanger for Automated Household-Scale Solar Water Pasteurizer

“…To reduce the costs of the household-scale solar water heat pasteurizers, digital additive manufacturing with fused filament RepRap-class 3-D printers can be applied to all of the components labeled r in Figure 5, including the fittings, absorber and CPC base. The filter holder, as well as all of the fittings, could also be 3-D printed on a small system [77]. Finally, the tubing, pipe insulation, thermostatic valve, and cover sheet can be purchased from local retailers, as they are all relatively low-cost components.…”

Prospects of applying 3-D printing to economics of remote communities

“…3-D printing has already come into common use (Wohlers and Caffrey, 2014): it has been put to work, for instance, in jewelry and spectacle manufacturing (Rayna and Striukova, 2016), and it was recognized to be advantageous for the sustainable development of rural communities based on small-scale organic agriculture (Pearce, 2015).…”

“…These applications have focused primarily on issues related to communities in warm climates in the global south. For example, most small farmers in the developing world use labor-intensive agricultural hand tools and there has been some indications that superior tools can be developed and 3-D printed improving the efficiency of agriculture in the developing world (Ishengoma and Mtaho, 2014) and recent developments have indicated this could be happening (Pearce, 2015).…”