Control of sowing seeds of row crops with electrified seeders

Abstract

The research was conducted to determine the qualitative and energy performance indicators of a precision seeder with electric drives for working tools, equipped with a seed distribution control system that allows remote control of the seeding unit. The experiments used seeders MC-8 with drive through a gearbox from a 180W DC motor FL57BLS04 and seeders ТС-М-4150А with a seed distribution apparatus produced by «MaterMass» and driven through a gearbox and chain drives from a 220W brushless motor FL86BLS. The pulse power supply SDR-960-48 was used to power the seed distribution apparatus motors. The quality of operation of the seed distribution apparatus when using seeds of various row crops was determined by the method of recording the time intervals between seed ejections from the distribution disk using a seed sensor installed in the furrow opener. When changing the rotation speed of the seeder's distribution disk from 20 to 60 rpm, the coe cient of variation of seed ejections varied from 0.15 to 0.35, and the power consumption ranged from 30 to 110W. The power consumption for the fan drive did not exceed 2.5 kW, and the total power consumption of the electric motors for driving all the seed distribution apparatuses and the fan was 4.0 kW. For the ТС-М-4150А seeder, the power consumption for driving the seed distribution apparatuses is slightly higher and amounts to at least 3.0 kW in operating modes. A control and management system for seeding with a domestic electri ed seeder based on the Arduino Uno board was proposed. Its program includes two subprograms that take into account the speed of movement of the seeding unit, based on which the rotation speed of the distribution disk and the number of skips and duplicates are determined. The use of electri ed drives and seed distribution control systems in precision seeders allows for stepless adjustment of the seed sowing rate and control of the sowing process from the tractor cabin.