Hydraulic controlled bucket QA?

   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #1  
C

CDN Farm Boy

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
1,384
Location
Ottawa Ontario
Tractor
Kubota B3300SU
I'm looking for ideas to convert my Kubota pin-type QA bucket to hydraulic controlled.

I change back and forth between bucket and forks a lot and am looking for ideas to make my life easier and my need to switch between attachments will only grow over the years. I've talked to Jery at Tach-N-Go + INNOVATIVE ATTACHMENTS about one of his but I'm looking for other thougths & options.

I've seen a couple different posts on converting a SSQA to hydraulic and if I had that style, it would be done by now. But I don't and am not interested in converting at this time.

The floor is open for ideas..........
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #2  
Don't have much of a drawing pgm on this 'puter, but I'll try to explain one of my "brain farts" -

Make new lower pins for the tractor half (I'm assuming you're talking about the QA where uppers are "U" shaped, you drive up, lift and the attachment is picked up by upper pins in the "U") -

Make the new lower pins long enough for a pointy end (self-centering) that will stick out enough to get full diameter in both holes in the lower bushings.

These pins would ride in a long enough "carrier" to be trapped when they are retracted.

Small "floating" cylinder between the two lower (new) pins, supported in a "cage" that will allow a bit of side-to-side movement; if you use a normal cylinder, the body would need to move to one side far enough to insert/retract the pin that's attached to the body of the cylinder.

Cylinder stroke should be just enough to fully engage both pins, and retract them far enough so you don't damage the "pointy ends" of the pins. I would use the smallest diameter cylinder that has a rod nearly as big as your pins. Otherwise a stubborn fit may bend the cyl. rod when extending.

You would need a little flex in hose arrangement since the cylinder BODY would move about 4-5 inches from full engagement to full retraction, and stroke would need to be 8-10 inches - varies with the size of your gear.

For this to work, each pin should have some sort of "shoulder" and a stop, so that when one pin retracts far enough to release, it forces the other pin to retract, instead of pulling the "easier" pin too far.

Like I said, no drawings (yet), for now this is just another of the dozen or so "brain farts" that constantly roll around in my head til they "come to the top of the pile"... Steve
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Your idea is quite clear to me, infact, I've had the same one. Yes, that's the style of QA I'm talking about.

The design of your idea quite simple and would be easy to execute but the problem lies with trying to find a cyl to fit within the available space and having enough travel. I need a minimum travel per pin of 5" (6" would be nicer) and have a maximum extended length of 24". Finding a 12" travel cyl with an extended length of 24" isn't going to happen unless there are magical cylinders that I'm not aware of. Even a 10" travel measuring 14" closed / 24" extended seems tough to find
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #4  
Maybe a shorter stroke cylinder, some knuckle joints, and a bellcrank? (Think ancient, control-line model airplane parts, sized up)

since you shouldn't need anywhere near the force even a small cylinder can give, using the advantage of a short arm on cylinder and longer TWO arms connected to the pins, would give you the travel you need, if necessary mount the cylinder at right angles to pin travel...

Downside of that approach might be side loading in whatever you use for pin slide mechanism... Steve
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #5  
I've thought about this many times also, but instead of hydraulic using a 12V linear actuator so as to not tie up my aux hydraulics.

I don't have pics, but if you look at how the handles work there is a pivot that you could attach directly to. The pivot is closer to the center of the tractor when "open" and further away when "closed". Just mount a cylinder with the proper stroke between the 2 and you would be golden.

ac
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #6  
avc8130 said:
I've thought about this many times also, but instead of hydraulic using a 12V linear actuator so as to not tie up my aux hydraulics.

I don't have pics, but if you look at how the handles work there is a pivot that you could attach directly to. The pivot is closer to the center of the tractor when "open" and further away when "closed". Just mount a cylinder with the proper stroke between the 2 and you would be golden.

ac
Click to expand...

Some skid steers use these 12v linear actuators.
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #8  
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
As said, talking about the pin style not SS.

Steve, you are right about the linear actuators being slow. I never thought about using them so I just did a quick search. 0.2" per second on some...at no load. Yikes! That would make for a full min to move a 12" stroke. 0.07" per second at full load -- no way is that going to work. And the fully retracted length is much longer than on a hyd cyl. Ballpark of 1.5 times the stroke length at full compression.
 
   / Hydraulic controlled bucket QA? #10  
I'm not done flogging this horse yet, but neither am I very close to doing it to my 580B (still working on remotes front/rear, articulation for a Samurai cutter, pin-on QD for front bucket, repairs, ad nauseum) -

But any time I can steal while having coffee, eating, etc, I try to put to good use - and since this particular mod will help both of us (and probably lots of lurkers :=) it would help if I had an idea of your welding/machining capabilities, either owned or accessible - some of my "brain farts" aren't as simple as others... Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
 

Footer Links 1

Top