Design of an electro-mechanical

power transfer system across

heavy machinery joints

POETS/John Deere

An ME 470/ECE 445 Collaborative Project

ME 470 Course Coordinator: Blake Johnson
ME 470 students: Thomas Stephens, Dingyu Peng,
Heting Fu, Sumanyu Singh
 John Deere is interested in
WIRELESS power transmission…
• How might wireless power
transmission improve this
machine?
• Is it possible?
• Can we transmit ~1kW of
power?
• They would like us to
research this possibility.
John Deere 1470G forestry harvester with crane
Project History: Spring 2018
• ECE 445 and ME 470 teams collaborated on
this project
• ME 470 team created a ball-and-socket joint
• ECE 445 team created LRC circuits for
resonant testing
• Circuit to convert DC to AC in the transmitter
+
• Circuit to convert AC to DC in the receiver
• Teams tested efficiency of power transmission

=
vs. joint angle
• Both teams produced final reports
• Reports are available to review their work
 Fall 2018 Possible Project Goals (ME 470)
• Construct robust testing rig
• Refine joint design
• For improved testing of electrical power transmission
• For improved mechanical wear
• Investigate heat production
• Considering different materials/geometry to dissipate heat
• Develop stabilization system for mounting circuitry
• Gyroscopic system?
• Active control system?
• Specialized linkage?
• John Deere is funding with a $1500 project budget for
ME 470
• They may be willing to purchase additional materials for
the project
 Interested? Questions? Contact us!
• Blake Johnson, ME 470 Course Coordinator
• bejohnso@Illinois.edu
• Alec Verone, ME 470 Project Coordinator
• averone2@Illinois.edu

• ME 470 students:
• Thomas Stephens, thsteph2@Illinois.edu
• Dingyu Peng, dpeng4@Illinois.edu
• Heting Fu, hfu6@Illinois.edu
• Sumanyu Singh, sumanyu2@illinois.edu