PLANTER TEST BENCH

摘要

The most important aspect on which reporting is done after testing of a planter, is to predict the placing of the seed in the soil. If the spacing is incorrect, it will cause losses to the farmer. Today's modern planters can indicate how much seed is sown per hectare or per row, but it cannot indicate whether the seed is distributed evenly. What method can be followed to monitor the seed placing? To plant and monitor the growth wil take too long. The test will have to be done in the laboratory. The traditional test procedure was to mount the planter over a moving greased belt and to capture the seed as it leaves the planter. The seed and spacing was then measured and the result were processed further. This traditional method has many shortcomings and it was decided to develop a more technologically advanced test apparatus. The apparatus that is under development uses 15 laser beams that covers a surface of 100mm x 200mm, to determine where and when the seed the seed goes through the surface. The data is collected on a computer by means of an A/D card and special software written for the application.