RapidMade is teaming up with OSU to develop a new way of creating industrial-grade carbon fiber-reinforced 3D prints.
In many industries, new equipment is often a double-edged sword. Although technological advances bring many advantages, new equipment requires large investments from business owners in order to stay competitive while frequently leading to the end of manufacturer support for older equipment. This can put small business owners in a bind as old equipment becomes prohibitively expensive to maintain, while newer models require too much upfront capital for their business to afford to compete.
Few industries feel the bite of this process harder than the agricultural industry. In a business landscape where smaller farms already find it difficult to compete with large operations, it can often become impossible to cover the costs of maintaining discontinued equipment. Moreover, the specialty parts required by the agricultural industry are almost always difficult to obtain in rural areas.
Industrial-grade 3D printed replacement parts
RapidMade is hoping to change this by developing a way for rural communities to affordably produce their own replacement parts. As part of a partnership with OSU, we are looking at a new method for using carbon fiber to reinforce nylon 3D printed Multi Jet Fusion parts. Along with this, the project also aims to create custom design software to allow agriculture businesses to get the most from this new technology. Lastly, we are putting together plans for self-contained 3D printing centers that would provide everything rural communities need to 3D print their own replacement parts for agricultural equipment at a fraction of the cost of traditional technologies.
To read more about our plan for increasing the accessibility of custom 3D printing, take a look at the new white paper we just published on the topic by clicking the button below.