Additive Technologies for Production and Repair of Agricultural Equipment

Introduction. The article raises the issue of repairing modern agricultural machinery. Because of increasing the complexity of the design of machine components, there is a problem of failure of their parts. Manufacturers often do not sell these parts separately that makes it impossible to repair failed machine components. In this case, the purchase of a machine component assembly is required. The problem of supplying service parts is very significant. This significantly increases the repair time that negatively affects the agricultural production profitability due to the extremely limited time for farming operations. A solution to the issue of supplying service parts, reducing the cost of repairs and breakdown time is in the independent production of parts using additive technologies.Aim of the Study. The study is aimed at examining the complete cycle of additive manufacturing using 3D scanning, 3D printing, and vacuum casting in silicone molds to reduce the renovation cost of technical equipment for agriculture.Materials and Methods. Additive manufacturing is a technology for creating three-dimensional objects through layer-by-layer building. In this technology, there are used a computer, 3D printer and 3D scanner. The 3D printer, based on the CAM model data, distributes the material on the construction surface, and through various sintering or mel­ting technologies, gives the shape of the future part. A 3D scanner allows creating a three-dimensional model of the finished product for subsequent improvement, modernization, expansion or simply copying with the possibility of subsequent printing. In addition to the production of parts by 3D printing, vacuum casting of polymers into silicone molds is very popular. This technology can use prototypes printed on a 3D printer or obtained using a classical production method as a master model.Results. To study the state of the issue, we have used research materials of the Design and Rapid Prototyping Technology Center “RAPID-PRO” of the National Research N.P. Ogarev Mordovia State University. Analyzing the statistical data over the past 5 years, we have concluded that the demand for all types of work in the additive manufacturing cycle has recently become urgent. There is a trend of increasing demand for 3D scanning and reverse engineering services.Discussion and Conclusion. The use of additive technologies makes it possible to produce quickly the parts of any complexity and therefore to reduce significantly the time for scientific research and design. At scientific, educational and industrial institutions special sectors, there should be created areas and centers, equipped for working in the field of additive manufacturing. However, the lack of trained personnel, the lack of basic know­ledge about additive technologies and skills in using the equipment significantly reduces the speed of implementation of these technologies at the repair facilities of the agricultural sector and requires retraining and training of specialists.