The Kansas State University quarter-scale tractor A team placed second overall at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. This is the 18th time in the last 19 years that one of the university’s teams has won or placed in the top three at the event.
The competition was June 2-5 in Peoria, Ill.
This year’s A team — juniors and seniors — in placing second overall out of 26 entries, scored first in both 1,000-pound pulls; first in test and development; and second in written report, oral presentation and three performance events — pulling, maneuverability and durability. The team will be recognized at the society’s annual meeting in July in Orlando, Florida.
The university’s quarter-scale tractor X team — freshmen and sophomores — placed first overall, taking first in pulls, and second in presentation and written report.
“This was just another outstanding result from the diligence and effort put forth by our students and their advisers,” said Joe Harner, head of the biological and agricultural engineering department.
Unique design features of the 2016 A-team tractor included the students designing their own transmission and working with a company in California to manufacture it based on the specs they’d provided. Another was their design of adjustable front-to-back weight ballasting and left-side-to-right-side weight ballasting, based on steering wheel position.
A panel of industry experts judge each design for innovation, manufacturability, serviceability, maneuverability, safety, sound level and ergonomics. Teams submit a written design report in advance of the competition, and on site must sell their design in a formal presentation to the panel. Finally, machines are put to the test in two performance events — three tractor pulls and a durability course.
Team advisers are Pat Murphy and John Kramer, both adjunct professors; Dan Flippo, assistant professor; Edwin Brokesh, instructor; Lou Ann Claassen, administrative specialist; and Jon Zeller, research technician, all biological and agricultural engineering; and Jim Schmidt, Manhattan, biological and agricultural engineering alumnus and department advisory board member.
Local students of the team are: Zachary Stejskal, biological and agricultural engineering, A team fundraising chair, Bison; and Lars Peterson, biological and agricultural engineering, A team fundraising chair, Lindsborg.