Designing the Sowing Unit of a Seeder with an Anchor Furrow Opener

Abstract

Energy- and resource-saving technologies have recently been of a particular attention when cultivating agricultural crops. Zero soil treatment or No-Till (direct sowing) is one of the promising technologies. The research aims to substantiate the design and technological parameters of a redeveloped sowing unit of a furrow opener seeder. The simulation modelling and calculation of the technological process were carried out using the Flow Vision software package. The calculated draft resistance of the anchor furrow opener in the virtual tillage bin was 364 N. The results of the strength calculation were processed using the software package APM WinMachine. Strength calculations have shown that a support with a fixed anchor furrow opener resists load during operation and does not deform. The anchor attachment point is the area under stress with sufficient strength, which margin factor is above 3. The maximum displacement in the stressed area (anchor tip) is 0.035 mm. Direct sowing laboratory and field tests showed that at an average depth of 6.1 cm, the standard deviation was 3.6 and the variation coefficient was 6.8%. Virgin soil tests at an average depth of 4.9 cm revealed a standard deviation of 5.2 with a variation coefficient of 12.3%. The developed sowing unit with an anchor furrow opener is recommended for production.