The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) seeks to increase both the sustainability and the productivity of smallholder rice farms, but the adoption of this methodology is constrained by local access to appropriate mechanical equipment. Valuable information about real difficulties in the adoption of SRI was collected through communications with five field partners. Two primary mechanization obstacles were identified, that is, the availability and performance of a roller component on a push seeder and a rotor component on a push weeder. The potential of additive manufacturing (AM), and especially material extrusion three-dimensional (3D) printing (ME3DP), to assist in overcoming the identified obstacles was assessed for two cases while considering both local prototyping and low-volume production. A simplified cost model was used to compare with the cost of manufacturing both in the United States and locally in the field. The acquired data suggests that in specific cases current ME3DP technology can more rapidly provide functional parts, accelerating the design cycle and lowering cost by about a factor of 10 relative to local fabrication routes. In the case where mechanical performance is critical and dimensional precision and surface finish are not, wire arc metal AM appears promising, but it is not as economical as fabrication by traditional means in the field.

中文翻译：

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评估增材制造以提高小农农业的可持续性和生产力

水稻集约化系统 (SRI) 旨在提高小农稻田的可持续性和生产力，但这种方法的采用受到当地获得适当机械设备的限制。通过与五个现场合作伙伴的沟通，收集了有关采用 SRI 的真正困难的宝贵信息。确定了两个主要的机械化障碍，即推式播种机上的滚筒组件和推式除草机上的转子组件的可用性和性能。增材制造 (AM)，尤其是材料挤出三维 (3D) 打印 (ME3DP) 在帮助克服已识别障碍方面的潜力在两种情况下进行了评估，同时考虑了本地原型制作和小批量生产。一个简化的成本模型被用来与美国和当地的制造成本进行比较。获得的数据表明，在特定情况下，当前的 ME3DP 技术可以更快地提供功能部件，从而加快设计周期并将成本降低约 10 倍（相对于本地制造路线）。在机械性能至关重要而尺寸精度和表面光洁度不重要的情况下，线弧金属 AM 似乎很有前途，但它不如传统方法在现场制造经济。相对于本地制造路线，可加快设计周期并降低成本约 10 倍。在机械性能至关重要而尺寸精度和表面光洁度不重要的情况下，线弧金属 AM 似乎很有前途，但它不如传统方法在现场制造经济。相对于本地制造路线，可加快设计周期并降低成本约 10 倍。在机械性能至关重要而尺寸精度和表面光洁度不重要的情况下，线弧金属 AM 似乎很有前途，但它不如传统方法在现场制造经济。