Seed drill monitor

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

Hello Everyone, I have never used an Arduino, I have a seed drill on my farm, the monitoring system is beyond repair and I would like to have a go at making one myself if I can. It will need to monitor 3 shafts and give a warning if any of them stop and give an rpm readout on a fan again with a warning if it stops. A bonus would be a way of working out the area sown by counting shaft revolutions on the seed mechanism x distance x width. A 12v supply is no problem from the tractor and on the machine. Extra bonus would be a wireless connection between the machine and the readout in the cab. Is this possible both for the Arduino and me a a complete beginner? I'm a reasonable mechanic and have wired in some electric gates but haven't done electronic/digital stuff before.
Thanks

James

2

Can you post a link ¿ where would it get power? From the battery on the vehicle?

3

Are any of the sensors still functional?

4

What you describe should be perfectly possible and well within the capabilities of an Uno. My main concern would be the possibility of dirt and moisture affecting your system - especially the sensors.

You have not said how you will detect whether the shafts are turning.

As with any project, develop it (and your knowledge) in small steps. Get the different parts working separately (for example detecting a single shaft) and only joint everything together when you have all the pieces working properly on their own.

For the wireless part have a look at this Simple nRF24L01+ Tutorial.

...R
Planning and Implementing a Program

5

There are several 12v outlets on the tractor so no problem getting some more power. The existing sensors are a magnet on the shaft then some sort of switch in close proximity, I presume when the magnet passes the switch it creates a current that the control box translates into a warning if it can't detect it.

6

Jobjobbed:
There are several 12v outlets on the tractor so no problem getting some more power. The existing sensors are a magnet on the shaft then some sort of switch in close proximity, I presume when the magnet passes the switch it creates a current that the control box translates into a warning if it can't detect it.

The "some sort of switch" may be a hall-effect sensor that produces a pulse every time the magnet passes. You could create an Arduino program that measures the time between pulses and if it is too long then you can assume the shaft is not rotating.

Are there electronic components in the "some sort of swtich"? Maybe you can post some photos of the system? See this Simple Image Guide

...R

7

I would add that a seed drill is a vastly different environment than a workbench for an Arduino. If you decide to go this route don't skimp on the enclosure for the electronics - think waterproofing. And shock/vibration mounting. And condensation. A ruggedized Arduino or something from Industrial Shields might be more applicable than a hobbyist-grade device.

Just sayin'.

8

I agree with dougp and think that the wire connection should be screw Terminals and not the friction connections of an UNO.

9

dave-in-nj:
I agree with dougp and think that the wire connection should be screw Terminals and not the friction connections of an UNO.

That is certainly appropriate for the "production" version but for development and learning I reckon a regular Uno will be perfectly suitable.

...R

10

Jobjobbed:
Hello Everyone, I have never used an Arduino, I have a seed drill on my farm, the monitoring system is beyond repair and I would like to have a go at making one myself if I can. It will need to monitor 3 shafts and give a warning if any of them stop and give an rpm readout on a fan again with a warning if it stops.

If it stops, the rpm will be zero. What do you really mean?

A bonus would be a way of working out the area sown by counting shaft revolutions on the seed mechanism x distance x width. A 12v supply is no problem from the tractor and on the machine. Extra bonus would be a wireless connection between the machine and the readout in the cab. Is this possible both for the Arduino and me a a complete beginner? I'm a reasonable mechanic and have wired in some electric gates but haven't done electronic/digital stuff before.
Thanks

James

The drills go up and down, right? Could sense and count that.

Are you no-till farming?

11

Jobjobbed:
Hello Everyone, I have never used an Arduino,

Big question to me is if you want to treat this as a major learning exercise or not?

This isn't a school assignment so it's okay to hand you code.

12

Until we get some more information on just what a seed drill is, we are only guessing.

I concur with Robin2 that the sensors are probably Hall effect , possibly gear-tooth, but the meat of the sensor would be usable unless damaged.

sensing rpm is pretty easy so that part can be done in a few hours.

but in my experience automating machinery, there are usually multiple stops, multiple conditions, multiple sensors.
all is possible with an Arduino, but in order to help, more data is needed.

as for the board of choice.....
in most cases, the vast majority, I would recommend an UNO, but when a guy is doing one task, I would move to the NANO with the screw terminal board. vibration can ruin your day.
second, although the UNO is better at prototyping, I would offer that if you are really only doing one thing, then develop on the same parts you will be using.

I would get this board, and instead of soldering on the header pins, just solder the NANO to the board.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/322349808192

13

I got the impression that an operator would be controlling the machine using readouts as info.

14

GoForSmoke:
I got the impression that an operator would be controlling the machine using readouts as info.

I got the impression there were multiple 'drills'
and fans to cool the motors
and some placement based on distance
that ran autonomously
with an option for a remote in the cab.
all this is possible for a beginner, but I do expect it will some work.
if one is seeding, I would assume a very shallow hole
and each sensor listed seems to be well withing the abilities of any sort of Arduino.
as for the readout in the cab, my first thoughts are a cheap WiFi tablet, that part becomes super simple.

15

Just watched a video of a seed drill. best to watch a vid to get an idea.
you have one roller that is towed behind the tractor that both measures the distance traveled, but also spins all the gears and gizmos.

the work is done by two blades, more like the bow of a boat that separates the water. that is the 'drill' part

there is a hopper that has the seeds and a gear,
as that roller spins, it spins the gear and one seed at a time falls into the gap. then the seed falls into a tube that lets it find it's way to the gap in the dirt.

that roller that is spinning.... there is a way to make the gear spin faster so it drops seeds closer together. there is a way to let it drop larger or smaller seeds, and I suspect higher or lower quantities of seeds.

The vid I watched was all mechanical, but I can see that if the seed gear is not spinning,no seeds are dropped.
if something gets stuck, things are not working properly.

Based on what I saw, this is a beginner project and pretty easy.

watch shaft rotation, easy
watch fan rotation, easy
watch distance of travel as a wheel rolls on the ground, easy
send wireless values, easy
receive on remote, easy.

This seems like the basics are not hard to do.
I think that once it is working, and if there is a desire, one could count seeds falling and even seeds per foot...

this

16

dave-in-nj:
Just watched a video of a seed drill. best to watch a vid to get an idea.
you have one roller that is towed behind the tractor that both measures the distance traveled, but also spins all the gears and gizmos.

the work is done by two blades, more like the bow of a boat that separates the water. that is the 'drill' part

there is a hopper that has the seeds and a gear,
as that roller spins, it spins the gear and one seed at a time falls into the gap. then the seed falls into a tube that lets it find it's way to the gap in the dirt.

that roller that is spinning.... there is a way to make the gear spin faster so it drops seeds closer together. there is a way to let it drop larger or smaller seeds, and I suspect higher or lower quantities of seeds.

The vid I watched was all mechanical, but I can see that if the seed gear is not spinning,no seeds are dropped.
if something gets stuck, things are not working properly.

Based on what I saw, this is a beginner project and pretty easy.

watch shaft rotation, easy
watch fan rotation, easy
watch distance of travel as a wheel rolls on the ground, easy
send wireless values, easy
receive on remote, easy.

This seems like the basics are not hard to do.
I think that once it is working, and if there is a desire, one could count seeds falling and even seeds per foot...

this

That's a pretty accurate picture, perhaps the word 'drill' is misleading, but it's what the farming world calls it, planter might be a better word. My drill is towed behind the tractor, a ground drive taken from the wheel spins a fluted metering wheel which sits in the bottom of a hopper full of seed. This drops seed into an airstream which them blows the seed to a distribution head with 16 holes, each of which leads to a spike dragging through the soil, seed drops in the groove is covered over then hopefully it grows. If the drive to the metering wheel stops no seed is delivered, if the fan providing the air flow stops or slows too much below 3000rpm it can block with seed, either scenario means no seed in the ground. I can't tell from sitting in the tractor if this happens, hence the need for a monitoring system. A very useful addition would be a blockage sensor on the individual seed tubes. An airflow detector perhaps, I don't think a light sensor would work because of dust and some seed has a herbicide coating on which would clog an optical sensor. Would seed flowing along a plastic tube create a static charge?

17

the basic request was to monitor shaft rpm. and the shaft has a magnet.
As Robin2 poined out, that is the generic description of a hall-effect sensor. and a very simple thing to use for RPM
any Arduino would be able to read that value and report RPM

the description of the fan is in order. some fans have outputs, some do not.
and shaft can have a means of detecting RPM, lots of options there.
again, any arduino can do that at the same time as the shaft RPM

if you have a short tube installed after the seed is dropped, there should be a way to sense the passing of the seed. and regardless of any static generated, it would be grounded out by the rest of the machine.

as I see this, the roller on the ground will make some 30-40 revolutions per acre. so, one would expect that if you dropped a see every foot, you would drop 6 seeds per revolution. at about 5mph, you would drive an acre in about 2 minutes. probably 1,000 - 2,000 seeds per minute. still in the range of any Arduino.

since you mentioned wireless, and up to this point, all the inputs to which I listed are digital, there is no need for analog inputs. an ESP8266 only has about 9 digital inputs. up to this point, you would need at least 2 for the seed counting, and one for the rest. wifi out is not that hard and you can use a really cheap WiFi tablet to display the readings. again, this is more or less in the beginner range of difficulty.

so far, the seed counter is the only thing that is a mystery. But there have to be reliable ways to make that happen because the technology is pretty low tech.

18

Should I just buy a basic beginner kit and have a go at a few simple projects?

19

Jobjobbed:
Should I just buy a basic beginner kit and have a go at a few simple projects?

Yes, start with the basics, if you can help yourself (get code started etc) then you usually have better luck getting help

When you get your starter kit look around on the site and get a couple of hall effect switches and magnets to practice with

Good luck, much more advanced now than when i was a kid and we rode on a walkway on the back of the drill and watched everything manually

20

Jobjobbed:
Should I just buy a basic beginner kit and have a go at a few simple projects?

My thoughts are that you have a specific example in mind.
beginner kits are nice for the walk through of each of the code examples, so they give you a hands-on approach.
but, the shaft sensor is really the first step.
as was noted, it is probably a Hall Effect sensor
This is a good video to show the three basic types. HALL SENSORS
quickly, One type is analog, closer you are, the stronger the signal a second has to have the magnet (+) side to turn on and then it must have the (-) side to turn off. the third is the one you probably have, it turns on when the magnet is near, then off when it goes away. you need to understand the 3 types or you will go krazy thinking it is not working.

if you want to learn the basics, I would agree with Robin2, the UNI is the most common board to learn with and there are a lot of plug in boards, called shields, that just plug in and save time.

if you have one specific goal and do not expect to use it as a hobby, then my point of view is to learn what you need to get the job done.

We tell people to create a sketch, list all the points that are inputs, and list all the points that are outputs.
then create your parts list and how things go together.

if this is your first project, the best learning, in my humble opinion, is doing what you need and want to do.
but do it as a learning process and expand as you learn.

as a note, if you can turn on an LED, you can turn on the world. Just as they say that every journey starts with the first step, an LED turns on with an output of a completed circuit. so does a motor, a relay a fan a light and pretty much every output you can think of.

if you get the inputs to work, and your logic to work and an LED to work, then the next step is just to make that signal do what you want it to do.

Since I am on a rant.... I have long thought that 'starter kits' should be designed for a type of work.
a stepper motor stater kit, or a basic motor starter kit
a communication starter kit with different types of devices
a sensors starter kit, also with different types of sensors.
a displays starter kit with different displays

that way, one can put the kits that align with the project