A research on the usability and adaptation of additive manufacturing technologies in design and manufacturing of agricultural machinery: rapid prototyping case study for plastic based fasteners

In recent years, computer aided engineering and additive manufacturing systems have been actively used in many different machine design and manufacturing fields. Research areas related to this type of advanced design and manufacturing technologies are among the priority research areas at international level. However, it is seen that the number of scientific researches and practical applications related to such technologies remain in a limited number, especially in the field of agricultural machinery design and manufacture in Turkey. In this context, within the scope of this thesis; the aim of this study is to present a wide range of literature search on the existing national and international level of information technology about the additive manufacturing technologies that are currently in use, to present a broad literature/literature review covering existing scientific studies and to investigate the availability and adaptability of this technology in the design and manufacture of agricultural machinery. In addition, a design review/evaluation implementation algorithm has been developed that uses advanced computer aided design, engineering, reverse engineering, optimization and additive manufacturing/rapid prototyping applications that can be used in the development and improvement of agricultural tool and machine designs. This algorithm has been implemented on a greenhouse plant hanger design based on plastic material used in green house production and suitable for the scope of the study. As a result of the structural optimization of the sample design discussed in the case study, a mass gain of 34.49% was obtained compared to the initial design and the rapid prototyping of the new design was realized step by step and final design outputs were prepared. This study has been structured as a guid and useful source for the sector engineers and researchers.