Abstract

The present applied research describes the design and construction of a planter automated in
the process of planting seeds in a tray. Data is collected prior to the investigation of field like:
Process of sowing in trays, necessary human talent, production and types of seeds used.
Everything mentioned above composes the manual seeding process, to achieve this process is
efficient automation is done by applying the mechatronics, so it is part of a mechanical modeling
in a CAD software, taking into account the seeding process are established parameters for such
modeling, taking into account the dimensions of the trays, the materials and the type of drive of
the machine. Subsequently, the machine is controlled taking into account The type of drive,
which in this case will be pneumatic and electric, creates a control panel for manage the process,
this whole system is programmed on a free platform so that it can be edited without the need
for licenses. With the results it was proposed that automated seeding produces more seedlings
in a shorter time, being a more efficient process both in production and resource human.

1. Introduction
The cultivation of certain seeds, from sowing to the packaging, requires a large amount of labor,
which Increase your production costs. [1] [2] The work of manual sowing demand labor with
experience, so that the seed is placed in a correct position and at the proper depth, since
depending on the quality of the planting and of the seed will obtain a good germination and the
development of the plant. [1] [3] The high costs associated with poor availability of this type of
workforce in developed countries have promoted the introduction of automatic equipment and
semiautomatic to mechanize this forced labor. [4]
However, their performance, although of great benefit, does not comes to match the quality
levels achieved with the manual sowing. There are more complex seeds sowing by focusing on
the mechanization of sowing, due to its size, shape and consistency. By On the other hand,
tolerance for the uniform separation of seed, which directly affects the yield and quality of the
harvest. [5]
The stage of punching, filling and sowing, in a process Technological cultivation in trays for a
nursery dedicated to the production of seedlings, is the most important. [6]
Nata mentions that a study has been possible about the general process used in the production
of vegetable seedlings which consists of disinfection of trays, filling, sowing, seed capping,
transfer of tray, and extraction. For which they propose a semi-automatic sowing, that is, part of
the process is done manually and the rest in a way automatic, reaching a high increase in
production. [7] [8]
However, for this study, what has been sought is achieve complete automation of the process
sow to obtain better results as soon as production.
2 Mechatronic Design
Based on the data collected in the field, determined that the area of greatest interest is punching
and seed placement, these operations comprise 65%, both in operators and in procedure, while
the remaining 35% corresponds to areas such as substrate loading, coating placement and
removed from tray. [ref]
The performance requirements set for the equipment are:
• Transmit linear movement.
• Position and align the transport mechanism.
• Power transmission for punching and
placement of seeds.
• Control of air flow.

From interviews with experts and research related to the area it was determined that the
alternatives More feasible are the following: A. Nozzle sowing system and guided by a
mechanism of 4 bars. See figure 1 B. Chain-guided power transmission. See figure 1 C.
Transmission of movement by sprocket. See figure 1 D. Guidance of mechanisms through axes.
See the Figure 1 E. Vacuum generator by ejector. F. Positioning by stepper motors. 2.1.
Mechanical design Figure 1 shows the mechanical design of the automatic seeding machine, the
same one that presents all the characteristics presented in the section previous.
characteristics presented in the previous section.

Figure 1. Mechanical structure of the seeding machine automatic.

Table I shows in detail the components of the section A of the previous figure with its respective
material and mechanical properties. Also, in the figure 2 you can see the location of each of said
components in the mechanical structure.
Table 1. Mechanical components.
No. Element Material Resistance to the fluencia
(MPa)
1 Structure ASTM To36 250
2 Fixed link AISI 1018 370
3 Link of entrance AISI 1018 370
 4 Cylindrical axis AISI 1018 370
5 Link Supporter Aluminium 145
6061-T4
6 Link Coupler Aluminium 145
6061-T4
7 Tube of dosaje Aluminium 90
6063-T4
8 Bar of punching Aluminium 145
6061-T4

Figure 2. Detail view of the planting set

2.1.1. Planting set
The sowing set consists of the tube dosing, dosing nozzles and bar punching The dosing tube
connected to the vacuum pump exerts a maximum pressure on the walls of 600KPa, they
support a compression force due to the vacuum generator, the cross-sectional area of said walls
is 676mm2 since each side of the dosing tube measure 26mm and assume a cube, then you have
to compression force on the wall is 405.6N.
To determine the theoretical limit values, the design effort, taking into account the material of
the which will be manufactured the dosing tube, the effort of calculated design is 24MPa, taking
into account a safety factor of 2. The following is calculated theoretical strength that will support
the element, being this 30,42KN, which compared to the calculated force is 75 times larger so
the design is safe. [ref safe design]
The punching bar exerts a normal effort of 50KPa (value obtained through experiments), which
is the value of the effort exerted by each wall multiplied by 11, which is the total number of
projections the bar has, each one has a transverse area of 445.56mm2 , he calculates that the
force required for each punching is of 22.28N, the same that will be called force P1. The bar has
11 sections, due to the distribution of the tray, therefore, is analyzed as a beam with Simple
supports at their ends, see figure 3.
Figure 3. Free-body diagram of the punching bar. The total length of the bar is 274mm and they
are applied 11 punctual forces P1 along it, with a symmetric separation. From the diagrams of
bending moment it is determined that the critical moment is of 8540.76N-mm.
With the data in Table 1 it is determined that the effort The resulting design is 48.33MPa, for a
factor of security of 3. [ref equation] Then applying the equation of the bending moment,
maximum and each of its derived equations, taking into account that the punching bar has a
square section the following results are obtained:
• Maximum bending effort of 8540.76 N-mm.
• Height of 8mm and base of 20mm.
• 213.33mm3 section module.
• Effort of 40.04 MPa.
• Security factor of 3.62.
The seeding mechanism consists of 4 elements, where the entry and follower link have a length
of 140mm, the fixed link a length of 107mm and the coupling link a length of 100mm, the same
ones that comply with Grashoft's law. The input links are placed on a rigid axis, whose function
is to transmit the power from the actuator electrical, this axis is under stress combined, so the
analysis is done according to the theory of the distortion energy.
The strength to which each entry link is subjected is 7.5N, said force is determined from the
weight of Each element that supports (Punching bar, Tube of vacuum, links). In addition, there
is a third force which is the equilibrium counterweight of the axis. For the design Static is
considered the axis as a beam with supports simple at each end as shown in figure 4.

Figure 4. Free-body diagram of the cylindrical axis.

The shaft has three point loads, the first two corresponds to the links that are 30mm and 330mm
of the reference point and the third one corresponds to the counterweight that is 184mm from
The reference. With the bending moment diagram determined to From figure 4, it is established
that the critical moment it is 2617N-mm.
To determine the diameter of the axis, Eq. 1 is used. Ec. 1
Where:
S: Sum of axial effort and bending stress.
Sy: Resistance to the fluence of the material.
Ss: Torsional shear stress
Sys: According to von Mises-Henck's theory equal to 0,577Sy.
It is determined that the diameter will be 8mm, with this data it is established that the effort on
the shaft due to bending and strain due to torsion are from 52.06MPa and 39.78MPa respectively,
with one factor of 4.28 for the cylindrical axis.

Figure 5. Free-body diagram of the input link The free body diagram shows a beam in cantilever
with a point load, from this it obtains the diagram of bending moments, the same which sets a
critical moment of 1050 N-mm. For that the design is safe a factor has to be fulfilled of security
3. With the data in table 1, determine the following results:
• Design effort is 123.33MPa.
• Height of the link is 1.5.
• The resulting section module is 9.38mm3.
• Effort to which the link is subjected is 111.94MPa.
• Security factor 3.30.
The design of the follower, coupler, auxiliary and fixed are similar to the input link.
The results for each of the links are detailed in table 2.
Table 2. Design of the mechanism of movement
Link F [N] Mmáx (N- (MPa) h (MPa) N
mm)
(mm)
Supporter 7,5 1050 46,67 2.5 33.6 4.17
Coupler 14,5 551 46,67 2 29,51 4,74
Fixed 89,9 28350 123,33 4,15 85,05 4,35
Note: F (Strength), Mmax (Maximum Moment), (Design Effort), h (Height), (calculated effort),
N (calculated safety factor).
For the fixed link an initial safety factor of 2 is used.

Figure 6. Deformation analysis of the planting set Figure 6 shows the analysis of the set of
sowing with the actual torque applied by the motor on the axis and the pressure exerted by the
substrate generate a minimal deformation in the fixed link, while
generates a maximum deformation in the links coupler, follower and in the planting set, being is
0.1mm, the same that is negligible and that proving that the design is safe and Meets all
requirements.
2.1.3. Selection criteria of the engine
The torque required for the movement of an engine is given by the sum of the torque of
acceleration and working torque, being the torque of acceleration directly proportional to the
total inertia of the system to be moved, multiplied by the speed angular, and inversely
proportional to time required to accelerate the system. On the other hand, Load torque is directly
related to the external forces and bearing radii. [ref equation] The inertia of the motor and
reducer is 120e-7 Kg.m2 and the inertia of the sowing mechanism added to the load is of 48,1e-
3Kg.m2, added this determines an inertia total of 48,11e-3Kg.m2. The angle of displacement is
170º, due to the sowing mechanism and the type of movement that should perform, each phase
takes 3 seconds and the acceleration is given in 500ms, with these data it is established that the
The angular velocity of the load is 11.33 RPM. The friction force exerted is 22.75N, taking
account that the coefficient of friction of the bearing is of 0.35 [ref, cardona] and the load exerted
on the bearing It is 65N. With the data detailed above it is determined that The load torque is
2.312N.m and the torque of acceleration is 0.114Nm, therefore, torque The required motor is
2.43 N.m, for which select a motor with 20 watts of power and a couple of retention of 4 N.m.
2.3 Electronic design and control
2.3.1 Electronic design
The electrical / electronic elements that make up the The design of the drill machine are: a)
Actuators electrical: For the activation of the mechanisms of sowing and transport of trays DC
motors is used with step control (PaP) PaP motors have additionally reducing boxes to raise
their torque performance and soften starting loads and I stop at the 7 motor shaft, so they also
have drivers own designed to ensure optimal performance of the actuators.

Figure 7. Electronic diagram

2.3.2 Control design Constitutes the intangible essence of the machine, allows operate in a
coordinated way the systems (mechanism and equipment) that make up the planter, all this
managed through the Arduino control unit Mega in which a sequence of algorithms is loaded
programmed in "C" language which allow the functions required by the user are carried out in
the process of machine operation. With the algorithm activated on the control card the operator
must Just press the buttons with the legends of: "Waxing" and "start" to start the process of
sowing, the sequence of activation of the commands shows on the LCD screen. Once the
process has started planting, the control unit activates the PaP motor that activates the pinion-
rack mechanism for this way to place the tray in the punching position, Then the signal is sent
to the PaP motor of the sowing mechanism and the solenoid valve for suction of seeds and
subsequent placement within substrate holes in the tray; this process is repeated by 22 times until
completing the matrix of 242 cavities that has the tray. This is summarized in the flowchart of
control.
3 Tests and results The first test is intended to determine the efficiency of the sowing process
to certain vacuum pressures and in this way find the best system configuration for planting and
absorption of seeds.
Figure 8 shows the efficiency of the process planting at a pressure of 0.1MPa, where there is a
41% of cavities without seeding, 59% of cavities sown and 0% cavities with excess.
Figure 8. Vacuum test test at 0.1MPa.
Figure 9 shows the efficiency of the process planting at a pressure of 0.2MPa, where there is a
7% of cavities without seeding, 87% of cavities sown and 7% cavities with excess
Figure 9. Vacuum test test at 0.2MPa.
In figure 10 you can see the efficiency of the sowing process at a pressure of 0.3MPa, where
there is 4% of cavities without sowing, 86% of cavities sown and 10% of cavities with excess.
Figure 10. Vacuum test test at 0.3MPa.
In figure 11 you can see the efficiency of the sowing process at a pressure of 0.4MPa, where
there is 8% of cavities without sowing, 82% of cavities sown and 10% cavities with excess

Figure 11. Vacuum test test at 0.4MPa. According to the figures presented, it can be affirmed
that the ideal pressure for better process efficiency is a pressure of 0.2MPa that results in 87%
of seeds sown. For the second test it is taken as configuration by defect the results of test 1,
being the Default parameters the following:
• Suction height 2mm.
• Vacuum pressure 0.2MPa.
• Broccoli Seed. Table 3 shows the number of seedlings planted in different periods of time
through a manual method with 4 operators.
Table 3. Manual production tests
Operators Time Trays seeded Plants Equivalent
[min]
4 15 4 968

4 30 8 1.936

4 60 16 3.872

4 120 32 7.744

4 240 64 15.488

4 480 128 30.976

Table 4 shows the number of seedlings planted in periods of time similar to the table previous,
but now with the automated method and using 2 operators.
According to the results shown in tables 3 and 4, has the number of seedlings planted with the
automated method is 25% higher with respect to the manual method in the same period of time
and using 50% of the operators.
3 Conclusions
The design of the sowing mechanism through a 4-bar linkage presents an innovation in its
operation that allows the punching of the substrate and the placement of the seed in a single
operation; The benefits of this design are reflected in the construction of a more compact
machine and lower cost The pressure ejector must be in a range of 0.3Mpa to 0.2MPa to achieve
the maximum efficiency of the module of sowing that is 87% of cavities sown, taking into
account this configuration, the sowing module for real tests, evaluating the Efficiency of planting
in an automated module vs a manual method, you get that the method automated is 25% more
efficient and with the 50% reduction of personnel with respect to the method manual.