Laboratory Measurement of Planter Seed Spacing and Velocity of Fall of Seed under Simulated Condition

Desired number of seed held in each cell of metering plate in inclined metering mechanism is necessary for proper seed distribution. Using software for the improvement in design of metering mechanism and determination of the best combination of operational parameters in laboratory test for distribution and accuracy of seed spacing is fast and reliable. A solidworks software system was used for evaluating seed spacing uniformity for paddy seed. The drawing of various components and assemblies were prepared in the solidworks software. The laboratory results showed that the optimum number of seeds picked up by each cell of metering plate was improved; there was no interference detection on the laboratory setup of planter; the development cycle was shortened and design cost was reduced. For picking optimum number of seeds per cell of metering plate in solidworks simulation, the metering device performed better at 45° inclination angle and 2.5 to 4.5 km/h forward speed of laboratory planter setup. The results showed that seed spacing obtained through simulation were the same as theoretical analysis and two to three paddy seed were picked up by each cell.