What implement are you looking at that you want to dissect it to this degree?
I am trying to understand the capabilities of my tractor and to match them to implements I might buy, copy or design. I am trying not to be specific, but I will give an example. I will build a ripper after hunting season so that in the spring I can rip an area, then use the loader to move the dirt to a new area. I will buy the rippers and build the rest.
My standard approach is
- Ask my self some questions like: How many rippers do I use? How wide should it be? How large should the tubing be?
- Understand what my tractors capabilities are. This is useful from now on as long as I own the tractor.
- I have no ballast in my tires
- Tractor weight is 7,130 lbs without the front loader
- Front loader weighs 1,350 lbs
- I have 15.5-38 R-1 tires
- Width is 83 inches to the outside of the rear tires
- I have about 54 drawbar HP
- Understand how the soil conditions influence my tractors capabilities. My soil is clay. As I go deeper it turns from clay to clay and rock. This is useful as long as I live in this house. In the future I can quickly reasses the new soil conditions because I have done it once.
- Take a look at what I can purchase for concepts
- How are the purchased items rated. Are the ratings enough for me to know the forces involved. So far most don't give me a clear answer.
- See if there is anything in my area I can measure
- Look at material I have
- hand sketch and asses the loads and determine if my existing material is sufficient. I think in this case my material will be close enough. I calculate all the time at work and have some preset mathCAD and excel sheets that can give me answers. It does not take me long.
- If the material is not sufficient as it sits can it be reinforce well enough or do I have to buy material. It is my plan on the boxblade project to reinforce.
- Determine costs of build vs buy. I know what material I want in my purchased item because I have done the reasurch up front and can now quickly asses what the effect of a larger or smaller item would be so that if I find something used and it is a good deal I can snatch it up knowing what I am getting into. Will what I buy be as good as what I build.
- If I decide to build I can decide if the hand sketch is sufficient to build from or do I want to put it in 3D to work out some details and run FEA on it.
I posted the PDF document because it helped me to understand my tractor, the soil, and implements. Perhaps it will not be helpful to most, but I have to believe that it can be helpful to someone else. Even in my profession, people consider me to be more detailed than most. Also more successful than most. So most people would consider this approach as too much. I am OK with that. I have to understand and plan. This is both a benefit and a hinderance.