Tru-Vee Disk Inductive Sensing Project

The planting units that John Deere builds have the task of creating furrows on the field, depositing dosified seeds and covering them with fertile soil for them to germinate and develop into plants. The main component for this process is the row unit, which contains special disks in “V” form called Tru-Vee. These disks dig furrows, and they tend to wear with use, as well as getting stuck on pebbles or dirt, preventing their optimal performance. This project developed a solution that can determine the wear that a disk has, as well as processing if the disk is moving. Using CAD design to determine the appropriate location to place the selected sensors, as well as developing an algorithm implemented through NI LABVIEW, with communication through an Arduino card, a solution was obtained providing a correct read of the variation in voltages translated as distance, along with an algorithm that determines disk movement, using only one sensor. The engineers at the company were satisfied with the obtained results at this instance of the project and will use the experimental results to further develop the solution with more robust components and improved implementation, as the solution requires few components and changes an existing mechanical part of the unit.