Designing a Tractor Lift

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Designing a Tractor Lift

• Engineers in Development

Final Presentation Tuesday, December 14, 530 PM
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Client

• Mark Novak
• AgrAbility Project
• 460 Henry Mall
• UW Madison
• Madison, WI 53706
• menovak_at_wisc.edu

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Problem Overview

• Farmers are an essential part of our economy.
• The average age of a farmer is 53.
• As the average age of farmers increases, so does
  the number of farmers with disabilities.
• It is difficult for many of these farmers to get
  into the cab of their tractors.
• Some forms of aid do exist, but they are often
  inadequate or too expensive.

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Problem Statement

• Our task is to design a mounted platform lift
  that will safely transport a farmer with limited
  mobility from ground level to the tractor cab.
  The lift needs to be safe, reliable, and
  accessible by a non-disabled person.

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Criteria

• Safe
• Reliable
• Durable
• Cost-efficient
• Easily operated by one person
• Allows people without limited mobility to access
  the tractor
• Motor operated by tractor battery

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Brainstorming Systems
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Brainstorming Platform
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Our Design Overview

• Our design was made to be used with the John
  Deere 9420T tractor series.

The lift will ride up the stairs using a power
screw and a guide rail.
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Our Design Safety

• The platform has safety rails.
• The grip-strut floor prevents slipping.
• The kill switch braking system prevents an
  accident incase something breaks.

• The extending platform ensures that the farmer
  does not need to step over large gaps.

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Our Design Reliability

• The power screw has been proven to be very
  reliable and long-lasting.
• Guide rail keeps the weight distributed.
• The weather resistant materials drastically
  reduce wear and tear over time.

• Our design doesnt have a lot of
  parts, so there is less that can go wrong.

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Our Design Versatility

• The lift is usable by both handicapped and
  non-handicapped people.
• A person with limited mobility would ride the
  lift up using the controls on the lift.
• A person without limited mobility would walk
  through the lift and up the stairs.
• Controls in the cab of the tractor can be used to
  raise or lower the lift for ground clearance.

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Pictures of Final Design
2D view of platform with dimensions
2D view of lift with dimensions
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Pictures of Final Design
Front View
Side View
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Testing the Lift

• Methods of Testing
• Amount of Weight the lift is able to hold
• Should be at least 500 lbs in real life
• Speed of the lift
• Should be roughly 10 seconds
• Results of Testing
• We found that the lift would easily be able to
  lift the necessary weight.
• The speed was approximately 14 seconds, which was
  found to be a good, safe speed.
• Difficulties of the testing process.
• The weight was difficult to scale down to our
  model.
• Our model was a lower quality then the real life
  model (plastic stairs).

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Pricing

• 6ft Power Screw 1,100
• Powder Coating. 600
• Piping..160
• 26x26 Platform...150
• 5HP Motor...400
• Miscellaneous.500
• Electronics
• Nuts and Bolts
• Total estimated Cost of parts...2,910

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Pros and Cons
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Conclusion

• It is necessary that farmers are allowed to
  continue their farming.
• Tractor lifts are vital for some farmers to do
  this.
• Our lift is a safe reliable alternative to what
  is on the market now.

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• Questions?
• Comments?