John  Deere  7230R  Tractor

John Deere donates the annual use of a new 7R tractor to support the teaching and research efforts of the Machinery Systems Engineering Group at the UW.  The tractor is equipped with latest Greenstar Precision Faring tools. 

John Deere 7800 SPFH
Miller Pro 8015  Wagon

John Deere self-propelled forage harvester equipped with fuel flow sensors and inoculant application system.  Can be equipped with either windrow pick-up and non-row sensitive corn headers.  Donated by John Deere Ottumwa Works

Miller Pro side-dumping wagon equipped with Weightronic load cells between wagon and running gear.  Used to weigh loads of forage or biomass during experiments to quantify forage harvester performance or for anaerobic storage studies.  Donated by Miller St. Nazianz. 

H & S 7 + 4  Forage Box

This is an H & S Mfg. 18 ft. forage box - both front and rear unload - with Digi-Star load cells between wagon and running gear.  Used to weigh loads of forage or biomass during experiments to quantify forage harvester performance or for anaerobic storage studies.
Picture

Bale Weighing  Trailer

Mobile bale weighing system capable of weighing all sizes of large round and large square bales with scale capacity to 4000 lbs.
Picture

Skid-Steer Bale Boring Tool

This boring tool for collecting samples from hay or biomass bales - 2 in. diameter core by 24 in. deep. Tube is located at center-line of SSL so operator can more easily view the boring tube.  This project was the output from a Senior Design Project by Kody Habeck and Shane Williams.   Awarded 2nd Place in ASABE AGCO Student Design Competition - 2009.

Skid-Steer Bale Boring Tool

This boring tool for collecting samples from hay or biomass bales - 2 in. diameter core by 24 in. deep. Tube is located at offset from center-line of SSL which is a simple design but more difficult for the operator to view the cutting tip of the boring tube.

Three-Point Bale Boring Tools

The original UW Bale Boring Tool.  This boring tool for collecting samples from hay or biomass bales - 2 in. diameter core by 24 in. deep (left) or 4.5 in. diameter core vy 28 in. deep (right). Coring tools can mount on tractor 3-point hitch or special SSL mount.  Great view of coring tool tip, but less versatile in terms of height adjustment and maneuverability.

.

Pilot-Scale Silo Bagger

This is an Ag Bag CT-5 compost bagger modified to produce 5 ft. diameter pilot-scale high-density silo bags.  Modifications were made to the plunger and tunnel; plus the backstop, tension cable; and loading conveyor were added.  Used to create pilot-scale silo bag of forage and biomass to quantify storage characteristics of these materials.  Donated by Ag Bag.

Plot Harvester

This Fox model 6244 self-propelled forage harvester has been modified to collect samples from windrows for studies on drying rate of forage or biomass crops.
Picture

Allis-Chalmers Grain Cart

This is actually a Brent grain cart but was "restored and modified" to Allis-Chalmers colors.  Grain cart is equipped with load cells so that quantity of grain from test plots can be quantified.

Forage Conditioning Test Fixture

This fixture allows compaisons of many different conditioning systems - both roll and impeller type - under controlled conditions.  Conditioning systems can be rapidly changed and important variable such as roll force and clearance can be easily and rapidly changed.  A wide variety of roll conditioniong types are available including rubber rolls, rolls, ti-core rolls etc.

Use this link to see research results.

Loader or SSL Bale Weighing Tool

This device uses two bending beam load cells from Digi-Star to weigh bales with greater mobility than stationary bale weighing systems.  It has features to allow the operator to know when frame is in vertical position to insure accurate weight measurement.

Drawbar  Hitch  Dynamometer

The drawbar hitch dynamometer uses two dual axis Differential Bending Beam-Neck Down (DBND) load cells from Digi-Star.  Each load cell is equipped with strain gauges to measure both vertical and horizontal loads.  The hitch pivots freely on the load cells to align with the line of pull.  Digi-Star instrumentation allows for monitoing of vertical or horizontal draft as well as real-time capture of the data at 10 Hz.  This project was the output from a Senior Deisgn Project by Brandon Nigon, Scott Dietsche, and Chris Strehemel.