Harvests can’t wait. Neither can production lines or the parts required for the repair and maintenance of tractors and other farm equipment. In the volatile agricultural industry, downtime due to waiting for equipment and spare parts to be made or sourced in far-reaching supply chains costs farmers and OEMs big money .
For farmers, failure to capture revenues or market opportunity with broken or inadequate machinery is all too common. For OEMs, producing original equipment and spare parts by traditional manufacturing methods can consume valuable resources and profit.
The good news is more and more new farming equipment is coming online that leverages technologies such as GPS, automation, sensors — and yes, even 3D printing — to maximize productivity of equipment and reduce maintenance costs. But the truth is few farm operators and agricultural producers work with new or state-of-the-art equipment. While recent figures aren’t available, the average age of existing tractors in the U.S., for example, was estimated at about 25 years in 2010, according to NIOSH.
For older farm equipment, finding a suitable replacement part can be difficult due to time and cost tradeoffs, limited availability, product obsolescence or after-market compatibility issues. Simply put, a custom spare part may be needed.
For the production of new equipment or the maintenance of existing equipment, OEMs and suppliers alike must continue to advance their technologies to keep pace with the demands of farming where speed, flexibility and efficiency rule. That’s where 3D printing as a form of additive manufacturing comes in.
Whether you start with outsourcing one part to Stratasys Direct Manufacturing® or develop your own additive manufacturing program with Stratasys 3D printing technologies, we have a solution for you.
Functional prototypes, end-use parts, components as well as tools, jigs and fixtures can be produced faster and cheaper with 3D printing — without sacrificing quality.
Compared to traditional manufacturing, 3D printing brings a number of advantages with time and costs leading the way. Additive manufacturing provides a clear advantage over the production lead times (often weeks or months) and high development and production costs associated with traditional manufacturing methods. Conventional methods include casting, CNC machining, forging and welding as well as plastic fabrication practices like injection molding and thermoforming.
Using 3D printing, both on-demand end-use parts and customized parts can be produced in far shorter development and production lead times than traditional manufacturing and fabrication methods. Production lead times are typically within days for on-demand parts, which also eliminates the need to maintain and store excess inventory while avoiding excessive equipment downtime. Likewise in similar time frames, the rapid prototyping capabilities of 3D printing means that customized end-use parts, tailored to the specific tractor or equipment model, can be quickly designed and produced.
The bottom line? Using Stratasys 3D printing technologies versus conventional manufacturing methods can reduce costs by 60% to 90%, with comparable reductions in production lead times.
Large or small, complex or simple in design and geometries, a wide range of agricultural-related equipment can be produced with 3D printing. Examples include tractor parts such as light and mirror housings and arm rests. Fertilizer and sprayer equipment parts include nozzles, brackets and gears. Think performance and durability on par or greater than with parts produced with conventional manufacturing methods.
To meet your application requirements, Stratasys offers a broad range of 3D printing technologies with distinct features and performance capabilities.
For instance, large parts require FDM® technology (fused deposition modeling). FDM is suitable for basic parts and tooling in low-volume production runs.
The wide material portfolio of FDM addresses a range of applications such as fenders, component housings and brackets. Materials such as carbon-reinforced nylons and ABS thermoplastics bring strength and rigidity. The strongest of Stratasys FDM thermoplastics, ULTEM™ 1010 resin renders end-use parts with high tensile strength and high thermal capabilities.
Small- to medium-sized parts are ideal for Stratasys Selective Absorption Fusion® (SAF™) technology in large quantities. Polyamide-based materials such as Stratasys PA12 produces durable parts that stand up to exposure to chemicals and temperature conditions. With a high dimensional accuracy at a low cost-per-part, SAF applications include gears, air vent grills, control panels, grab handles and door hinges.
Stratasys P3™ (programmable photopolymerization) is an advanced form of DLP (digital light processing) 3D printing technology. Strength, aesthetics and accuracy – no matter the size or geometric complexity of the part – are the hallmarks of P3.
The versatile portfolio of P3 materials tackles a range of indoor and outdoor applications. For example, Somos® WeatherX™ 100, a UV-stable DLP polymer that holds ups to weather conditions and chemical exposure, is ideal for end-use components and parts for tractors and other outdoor vehicles.
As these examples show, today’s 3D printing technologies and advanced materials produce durable, long-lasting parts. From prototype to production, Stratasys 3D printing offers a viable solution for on-demand spare parts as well as the rapid prototyping and production of custom parts and components for tractors and other agricultural equipment.
