Design refinements required for commercialization offarm equipments

摘要

For maximizing the efficiency of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation water,the improved, efficient and reliable farm equipment are required in adequate number which can beachieved by commercializing the potential research prototypes developed by various organizations inthe country. In the present scenario the artisans and small scale manufactures, who are majorproducer of the farm implements, still continue to fabricate/produce the traditionalimplements/machinery and the users have no alternative except to use these for various agriculturaloperations. The efforts of research and development organizations are left at the stage of producinga functional prototype. In order to make available the improved agricultural machinery to the users,these should be available in the open market as off the shelf product. On the other hand the artisansand most of the small-scale manufacturers do not understand the manufacturing drawings and canfabricate the prototypes by copying the sample piece. In many cases where the manufacturers havetaken some research prototypes for commercialization, the quality and performance has not been upto the mark as the copying is done from the functional design in absence of production design andproduction technology. The other important reason for production of non-quality implements hasbeen non-development of production process/technology for manufacturing and use of hammer andchisel techniques is followed in most of the cases. The research was focused on the development ofproduction designs/technologies for the 10 selected prototypes for rice, groundnut and horticulturewhich are major crops in the operating area of the centre and produce them for pilot introduction andcommercialization. Sufficient focus was made in developing manpower in manufacturing technology.This paper discusses the details of development of production designs and processes, productiondrawings, specialized tooling with advanced manufacturing technologies and technologies for themanufacturing activities of selected research prototypes viz., tractor cultivator mounted speed planter,paddy seeder, and helical puddler leading to commercialization and popularization.As a result six prototypes viz., rotary power weeder, groundnut harvester, groundnut thresher, tractorcultivator mounted seed planter, cono weeder and paddy drum seeder have been successfullycommercialized through the manufacturers. Out of the 420 prototypes produced 355 prototypes weresold out to farmers / institutions / organizations in different parts of Tamil Nadu and India. Productiontechnologies and toolings for mass production of ten prototypes were prepared.