R&D

Mr. P Nageshwar Rao speaks at the Agricultural Innovation Conference and Exhibition held at HAU, UK
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Mr. P Nageshwar Rao speaks at the Agricultural Innovation Conference and Exhibition held at HAU, UK

TAFE entered into collaboration with Harper Adams in June 2018 to develop advanced technological, agronomic and educational solutions for the delivery of sustainable food production around the world.

Recently, the National Centre for Precision Farming (NCPF) at Harper Adams University successfully hosted its first Agricultural Innovation Conference and Exhibition on July 03, 2018.

The event which was sponsored by AHDB and supported by Agri-Tech West, started with a keynote speech from LEAF Chief Executive Caroline Drummond MBE. She said: “In terms of where innovation is going in agriculture, it’s exciting times.”

Mr. P Nageshwar Rao from TAFE R&D was amongst the speakers for the event. He shared TAFE’s history and the situation in India and said: “Precision farming in India is still in a nascent stage; unique challenges will require tailored solutions in this market.

“We believe by 2025, in India, adaptation of technologies like imaging, FMS, mobile apps, autonomous in agriculture space to be at par with global standards.

With regards to hearing about HFH, Mr. P Nageshwar Rao added: “When I heard about a tractor without a driver, I said this is where we need to jump to join hands together.”

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TAFE sponsors SAEISS Tractor Design Competition - 2018
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TAFE and SAEISS inspire young minds to design tractors

Nurturing young minds is an essential part of TAFE’s journey of Cultivating the World. With the significant increase in the tractor industry’s growth, it is evident that farm mechanization is a key factor in the success of our country’s agricultural sector. Encouraging the youth of the country to take more interest in farming and empowering them with knowledge on the industry is essential to accelerate this growth.

SAE INDIA Southern Section (SAEISS) has been organizing a Tractor Design Competition (TDC) since October 2016 for the undergraduate engineering students of India. The competition was launched by SAEISS in the presence of Mr. Cuneyt Oge, SAE International and gives engineering students an opportunity to understand the customer requirements, design, build and test various tractor models, including a 17 hp tractor. The engineering students have to design, manufacture, assemble, and prove their tractors before a team of technical experts.

This year, the SAEISS Tractor Design Competition was sponsored by TAFE, and Simpsons, and engineers from both TAFE and Simpsons conducted three workshops on the various aspects of tractor design. Each team submitted their design report which was evaluated by the chief judges Mr. C. Varadarajan and Mr. S. Nakkeran. The judges visited the colleges of the 22 registered teams in March 2018 for a preliminary inspection and gave feedback which significantly helped the teams enhance their tractor designs.

The finals of the competition was hosted by SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) at their Kattangulatur campus, Chennai from 21st to 23rd June, 2018. The competition included design report presentation, and technical inspection of the tractor for both safety and performance. Out of the 22 registered teams, 16 teams demonstrated their tractors in maneuverability and durability tracks. The team from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore was the overall champion and SAEISS TDC – 2019 was launched during the valedictory function.

This tractor design competition is a first of its kind in Asia with a primary objective to encourage interest in the design of tractor and to improve students’ employability. In addition to building technical competencies, student engineers learn to prepare business cases for the project, behavioral competencies like communication, team work and leadership skills.

Tractor Design Competition 2018 was inaugurated by Mr. S. Sriraman, Chairman, SAEISS and Senior Vice President (R&D), TAFE on June 21, 2018. He appreciated the hard work put in by students and their faculty advisors to reach the finals and told students to make use of the opportunity to discuss various aspects of design with the Industry experts during the course of this event. Dr. D. Kingsly Jeba Singh, Dean, School of Mechanical Engineering., SRMIST, and Mr. P. S. Rajamani, Whole Time Director, Simpsons, Chennai also attended the event as guests.

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Venkateswaran K, Elango. R, Bhagwat Nagalwade, from TAFE R&D COE participated and presented a technical paper in the Fluid Power Technical Seminar (FPTS)
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TAFE R&D presents paper on enhanced new product development

Fluid Power Society of India conducted the Fluid Power Technical Seminar (FPTS) in Bangalore on June 19 and 20, 2018. Venkateswaran K, Elango. R, Bhagwat Nagalwade, from TAFE R&D COE participated and presented a technical paper in the seminar.

The paper presented was titled “Methodology Adapted in Hydraulic System Simulation to Enhance New Product Development” was well received by the audience and committee members, and awarded a certificate and shield for the paper.

This paper focuses mainly on simulation driven product development as one of the methods to reduce lead time for concept creation, concept optimization and to reduce the product development cost. It is detailed into three major categories:

1) Overview of model based system engineering in product development

2) Simulation methodology demonstration of a hydraulic system through AMESim software, and

3) Challenges faced by OEM

This paper presents the methods used in modeling of a tractor hydraulic system with assumptions and meeting the performance requirements. It elaborates the modeling of each sub system and validation of subsystem. The paper also explains the identification of critical factors, sensitivity study and Design of Experiments (DoE) on performance parameters and its ability to size for the given product specification through simulation.

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Vibroacoustic optimization in a tractor cabin
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TAFE R&D team’s methodology reduces tractor cabin noise

TAFE‘s Research and Development team has published a technical paper – ‘Simulation for tractor cabin vibroacoustic optimization’, authored by Mr. Shaikh Mohammad Asif, Mr. V Ravindran and Mr. P Nageshwara Rao in SAE’s Mobility Engineering Magazine, March 2018 issue.

The paper explains how the use of experimental and FE structural modal techniques was used to identify the root cause of the booming noise in a tractor cabin, and evaluated the potential solutions before the prototype was produced. Modal techniques were convenient to apply, and useful to identify the structural/acoustical natural frequencies of a tractor cabin. The test results were used to identify structural problems and validate FE models, which then helped evaluate potential solutions and gain insight to test results.

Since operators prefer to drive more comfortable tractors, these studies will provide an essential insight that will help design optimal tractor cabins and deliver comfortable tractors to customers. Kudos to the team on their achievement!

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S. Ravikant - Principal Member, presented a paper titled "Prospects of IoT on Tractors – Farming solutions"
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TAFE’s R&D is ‘Future Ready with IIoT’

The Fluid Power Society of India (FPSI), established in 1973 is a body that promotes fluid power knowledge and technology. TAFE participated in a recently conducted seminar by FPSI on the topic “Future Ready with IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) – applications in Fluid Power”. Part of TAFE’s R&D Hydraulics team, Mr. S. Ravikant – Principal Member, presented a paper titled “Prospects of IoT on Tractors – Farming solutions” at this seminar. He spoke about the importance of IIoT with regards to tractors and how it is revolutionizing the tractor and its capabilities.

He was accompanied by Mr. R. Elango – Senior Member and Mr. V. Vijayakumar – Member from Hydraulics Team. The seminar was well attended by engineers from component manufacturers and end users interacting with fluid power. The seminar also featured focused sessions on “Fundamentals of IIoT”, “IIoT application for Fluid Power Components” and “IIoT application by Fluid Power End Users”.

Congratulations to the Hydraulics team for its continuous efforts in learning and development in their journey of ‘Cultivating the World’.

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TAFE at SAE's Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress
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TAFE R&D showcases its findings at SAE COMVEC

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited’s (TAFE) journey over five decades has been one that has always been focussed on the customer. It caters to the diverse needs of the customer from all around the world by providing relevant solutions. With a farm-to-lab approach, TAFE keeps stride with the dynamic needs of the customer with a proactive and keen interest in R&D.

This understanding was on show at SAE’s latest edition of the Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress (COMVEC) when TAFE’s Mahendra Mohan PR – Senior Member (Transmission), R&D, presented a paper titled “Minimizing Tooth Mesh Misalignment in Heavy Duty Tractor Transmission”. With the theme of ‘connectivity’, the gathering is a global assembly of both on and off-road professionals. It’s a great platform facilitating valuable interaction amongst the community of engineers, supply managers and executives.

Tooth Mesh Misalignments originate primarily from its torque transmitting components such as spline connections, gears, shafts, bearings and housing. Mahendra Mohan’s paper is a case study of two factors influencing mesh misalignment: (1) bearing offset and (2) gear hub, as an initiative to minimize the amount of tooth mesh misalignment on gear pair. Advanced driveline analysis tools were used to analyze and calculate the amount of misalignment on the gear tooth mesh. The optimized gear pair showed more than 40% reduction in tooth mesh misalignment and more than 10% reduction in peak contact stress during initial design stage.

The paper was well received by the delegates. We wish Mahendra Mohan all the very best for all his future endeavours and congratulate TAFE R&D for consistently facilitating such papers – a sign of a learning organization!

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