Three-dimensional printing may be closer to reality on your farm than you might think.
Local Motors, an Arizona-based company drawing upon the work and ideas of scores of engineers, has released its Strati, a 3D-printed car. While not every piece of the vehicle -- which more resembles a dune buggy than a standard automobile -- is "printed," the majority of its body and mechanical parts were produced using this new process. The company's engineers are also working on new ways to use the technology for vehicle manufacturing in new ways, some that could have major implications for farmers and some of the tools and implements they use every day.
Local Motors doesn't just work with 3D printing; the company manufactures specialty vehicles like the Rally Fighter, a street-legal off-road desert racer, and a motorcycle inspired by classic sport bikes from the 1970s. But, these machines -- like the 3D-printed Strati car -- aren't manufactured in a large factory. Once commercially available on a wide basis, Local Motors will deploy everything needed for a microfactory, or small facility; these materials typically fit in large, highly mobile shipping crates. Upon arrival, the customer does the initial assembly and begins making repairs using 3D printers and more conventional tools.
"The idea behind a microfactory is quite simple -- transform an existing structure into an efficient facility that hosts the necessary personnel for a vehicle development program and provides space for the production of vehicles," according to a Local Motors report. "The goal with the Mobile Factory is that Local Motors can ship the unit anywhere in the world and have a facility to be able to rapidly prototype and produce a small quantity of products."
These smaller, mobile facilities could, in theory, be on every large farm where on-site tool and part manufacturing would make farming more time- and cost-efficient. They're the linchpin of a system of on-farm manufacturing that may be as close as a decade away.
"I think it's very feasible that things like tractors will be able to be 3D-printed in the not-so-distant future. The technology is becoming more and more practical every day. My opinion is that one day, a farmer would be able to own a 3D-printer, and print parts and tools from his own shop," Local Motors media specialist Kate Hartley says. "He'd need a little help from some designers and the Internet, but I certainly think it's possible."
While some companies are working with new ways to 3D print using materials besides plastic (namely steel), the primary feedstock for the process, there are also ways to use existing materials in the process with which Local Motors engineers are currently working. For example, mechanical engineer Nick Bauer recently developed a way to use a 3D printer to produce a template for making a windshield for the company's Strati car. The process was altogether different than what's considered typical for 3D printing now.
"I used software to make wooden slats and made a 3-dimensional object, then built a cellular core between the slats with foam and put fiberglass on top to make a mold," Bauer explains. The plastic sheet is heated, and I had seven people push it into the mold while it was cooling. I trimmed it out and made a windshield."
While body panels and windshields may seem more likely candidates for 3D printing, Local Motors engineers are also working with printers to produce powerplants for their electrical vehicles. Batteries similar in design to traditional lead-acid batteries have parts that can and are being printed. They're working with smaller batteries for smaller vehicles, but one day, printing a battery for your pickup or tractor may be something you can get done in your farm shop.
"It's a plastic printed box. Currently, the specs are to achieve 40 amps of continuous draw, 37 volts, and 8.8 amp-hours per pack," says Local Motors engineer Phil Haasnoot of the battery on which he's working: Two currently help power the company's Cruiser bicycle/motorcycle hybrid. "I'm printing cell spacers. Then I can mock it up and see how we want to line the cells up and how to wire them with copper wire."
The implications of being able to produce products like these in the farm shop or in a microfactory on the farm are huge, and not just because of the obvious convenience, efficiency and long-term cost savings 3D printing can provide. Local Motors Director of Program Management Pete Stephens says it could ultimately help improve crop health, especially when deployed with other technology available to farmers.

"When I think of farming and 3D printing beyond the typical applications, I first think of fairings for crop handling as implements go through the field. Depending on plant height and health, a farmer could customize those fairings to guide plants out of the way, or into the harvesting machine with more customization," Stephens says. "I also think of topography mapping tools where farmers could print their farms in 3D and plan out their strategies on these models. Printing temporary location welding jigs for assembling frames would be helpful as well. Until we get these tools into farmers' hands, it is hard to tell what will come out of it."

Ultimately, tools like these are best utilized when drawing upon farmers' ingenuity in the farm shop. Collaborating with one another, Stephens says there are few limits on where this technology can lead in terms of its utility on the farm.

"What I really would like to see happen is a 'white label' version of our website for farmers. I see it being a great place for farmers to share ideas and collaborate. So many good ideas come from farmers, and these ideas stay local to the community rather than spreading worldwide," he says. "The only ideas that really go viral are the ones picked up from big OEMs. The farmer rarely gets noticed for these ideas."

Source: agriculture.com