| Welcome to the Seed Terminator Society NEWSLETTER September '17 Thank you for joining us at the Seed Terminator Society for our second Newsletter for 2017 This week marks 1 year since we picked up the first multi-stage hammermill and took it to a farm for lab testing. Thank you to everyone who has helped get Seed Terminator here, your overwhelming support has blown us away. It has really concreted our plan to get the best technology to as many farmers as possible as quickly as possible and as economically as possible. We've had expressions of interest from across Australia and the globe for this new technology. 2017 will be a limited release, that both closes the gaps in delivery from 2016, and prepares the foundation for commercial release in 2018. Our Australian manufacturers Nylastex Engineering and CGS Engineers are manufacturing 40 Seed Terminators for the 2017 season. Domestic sales will be focused on Western Australia with 23 units allocated across the state for delivery this month. This centralised distribution allows us to build our fit-up, install and field support program around CGS Engineers and regional dealerships. The local and regional aligned dealerships with their expert and experienced technical support under the proven network infrastructure is important allowing the technology to get to as many farmers as soon as possible. A colour blind approach is integral to our values at Seed Terminator and we have reflected that in the selection of regional dealerships with Case IH, John Deere, New Holland Agriculture and Independent Dealerships all represented. This measured release will give us the ideal platform to allow us to launch into 2018. With interest from Canada, North America, Europe and Africa our plan is to have Seed Terminator tested in these conditions in 2018 to assess suitability, initiate discussions and consider the opportunity. Research & Development Test Stands Image above: Pitot tube with hot wire anemometer to measure the air flow, torque transducer to measure torque, dustpan and broom to measure kill! This year we built three test stands to test a range of variables including power, kill and airflow as well as understanding our Multistage Hammer Mill. Unlike my PhD research (here) where I was able to model the pure impact process in a cage mill, there is no way of physically modelling the complex combination of shear, crushing, attrition and impact in the hammermill nor the operation of the screen, which classifies the material for size. We know it works from the physical results and leveraging 30 years of research into hammermills but we currently don’t have the benefit of being able to model it, the insight we gain from our test stands is integral. So far it is only showing drop 15-20% air flow lower than empty and no load power is showing even less than expected. The South Australian Grains Industry Trust is using one of these test stands to trial the Seed Terminator against a range of crops including Wheat, Canola, Lentils, Beans, Chaff laced with Ryegrass, Broom Grass, Turnip, Prickly Lettuce, Medic, Tares, Wild Radish, Bifora, Bedstraw, Marshmallow and Wild Oats. We spent some time at their Bute office with Prue Adams from Landline last week and we were assured results weren’t far off being released. Other R & D activities We will continue to lead the field with our research and development and are investigating different mill concepts that may suit different conditions, crops and weed species as well as investing in modelling software to predict particle motion and breakage. Concept design Since the inception of the Multi-stage Hammermill concept 3 rd June 2016 we have had to be bold. We knew that there was 30 years of research showing that hammermills could kill a range of weed seeds in chaff. Hammermills work on the concept of using shear, crushing, attrition and impact to reduce material size until it is small enough to pass through a screen. Research had shown that small screen sizes were needed to ensure seed kill, this limited capacity. Even though the concept of milling on-board a harvester has been around for a very long time (patents as early as the 1960’s) no hammermill has made it to commercial production on-board a harvester. The concept of the multistage hammermill was to alleviate this issue of capacity by splitting the processing down into three stages starting with large openings and moving to the small openings needed to ensure seed kill. This was just a concept and I had no way of predicting the performance of a multistage hammermill. I came up with a way of leveraging the research data available in a statistical model to predict performance and ultimately had to make the bold move and build it. Together with Nylastex Engineering Solutions (Adelaide) we came up with a plan using CNC turning with live tooling to create the Aero-ImpactTM elements. We came up with a case hardening technique to maximise wear life and a CNC machined hub and spindle design for the flail hammers. CGS Engineers (Kojonup WA) helped me come up with a mechanical drive that was simple; belts, shafts and gearboxes. We came up with a novel way to transition from the rectangular exit of the harvester sieve into the central feed of the Multistage Hammermill. This transition was steep and smooth (Smooth-Feed TM ) to prevent material blockages. 2017 Updates Thanks to the knowledge gained over the 2016 harvest in our maiden year we have upgraded to a custom made German gear box, CNC machined custom spindles with fully sealed bearings with labyrinths and a high capacity V belt drive (doubling the capacity of the mechanical drive compared to 2016 model)! We look forward to keeping you briefed on the 2017 fit up, until next time. Cheers, Nick WHAT'S NEW? Seed Terminator Fact Sheet Click on the link to be taken to our website and a downloadable Fact Sheet Capacity Testing on Seed Terminator @ 2500RPM Check out this video showing chaff material being terminated at 2500RPM Want to get your hands on a Seed Terminator? Register your interest for 2018 harvest on our website here We have a YouTube Channel Keep up with the latest videos on Seed Terminator on our YouTube Channel Seed Terminator's maximum capture Our very own Dr Nick Berry briefly explains the Seed Terminator's Maximum Capture feature 'you cant kill a weed seed you don't catch' VISIT SEED TERMINATOR |
Welcome to the Seed Terminator Society | |
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Thank you for joining us at the Seed Terminator Society for our second Newsletter for 2017 | |
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This week marks 1 year since we picked up the first multi-stage hammermill and took it to a farm for lab testing. Thank you to everyone who has helped get Seed Terminator here, your overwhelming support has blown us away. It has really concreted our plan to get the best technology to as many farmers as possible as quickly as possible and as economically as possible. We've had expressions of interest from across Australia and the globe for this new technology. 2017 will be a limited release, that both closes the gaps in delivery from 2016, and prepares the foundation for commercial release in 2018.
Our Australian manufacturers Nylastex Engineering and CGS Engineers are manufacturing 40 Seed Terminators for the 2017 season. Domestic sales will be focused on Western Australia with 23 units allocated across the state for delivery this month. This centralised distribution allows us to build our fit-up, install and field support program around CGS Engineers and regional dealerships. The local and regional aligned dealerships with their expert and experienced technical support under the proven network infrastructure is important allowing the technology to get to as many farmers as soon as possible.
A colour blind approach is integral to our values at Seed Terminator and we have reflected that in the selection of regional dealerships with Case IH, John Deere, New Holland Agriculture and Independent Dealerships all represented. This measured release will give us the ideal platform to allow us to launch into 2018.
With interest from Canada, North America, Europe and Africa our plan is to have Seed Terminator tested in these conditions in 2018 to assess suitability, initiate discussions and consider the opportunity.
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Image above: Pitot tube with hot wire anemometer to measure the air flow, torque transducer to measure torque, dustpan and broom to measure kill! | |
This year we built three test stands to test a range of variables including power, kill and airflow as well as understanding our Multistage Hammer Mill. Unlike my PhD research (here) where I was able to model the pure impact process in a cage mill, there is no way of physically modelling the complex combination of shear, crushing, attrition and impact in the hammermill nor the operation of the screen, which classifies the material for size. We know it works from the physical results and leveraging 30 years of research into hammermills but we currently don’t have the benefit of being able to model it, the insight we gain from our test stands is integral. So far it is only showing drop 15-20% air flow lower than empty and no load power is showing even less than expected.
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The South Australian Grains Industry Trust is using one of these test stands to trial the Seed Terminator against a range of crops including Wheat, Canola, Lentils, Beans, Chaff laced with Ryegrass, Broom Grass, Turnip, Prickly Lettuce, Medic, Tares, Wild Radish, Bifora, Bedstraw, Marshmallow and Wild Oats. We spent some time at their Bute office with Prue Adams from Landline last week and we were assured results weren’t far off being released.
| |
We will continue to lead the field with our research and development and are investigating different mill concepts that may suit different conditions, crops and weed species as well as investing in modelling software to predict particle motion and breakage. | |
Since the inception of the Multi-stage Hammermill concept 3rd June 2016 we have had to be bold. We knew that there was 30 years of research showing that hammermills could kill a range of weed seeds in chaff. Hammermills work on the concept of using shear, crushing, attrition and impact to reduce material size until it is small enough to pass through a screen. Research had shown that small screen sizes were needed to ensure seed kill, this limited capacity. Even though the concept of milling on-board a harvester has been around for a very long time (patents as early as the 1960’s) no hammermill has made it to commercial production on-board a harvester.
| |
The concept of the multistage hammermill was to alleviate this issue of capacity by splitting the processing down into three stages starting with large openings and moving to the small openings needed to ensure seed kill. This was just a concept and I had no way of predicting the performance of a multistage hammermill. I came up with a way of leveraging the research data available in a statistical model to predict performance and ultimately had to make the bold move and build it.
Together with Nylastex Engineering Solutions (Adelaide) we came up with a plan using CNC turning with live tooling to create the Aero-ImpactTM elements. We came up with a case hardening technique to maximise wear life and a CNC machined hub and spindle design for the flail hammers.
| |
CGS Engineers (Kojonup WA) helped me come up with a mechanical drive that was simple; belts, shafts and gearboxes. We came up with a novel way to transition from the rectangular exit of the harvester sieve into the central feed of the Multistage Hammermill. This transition was steep and smooth (Smooth-FeedTM) to prevent material blockages.
| |
Thanks to the knowledge gained over the 2016 harvest in our maiden year we have upgraded to a custom made German gear box, CNC machined custom spindles with fully sealed bearings with labyrinths and a high capacity V belt drive (doubling the capacity of the mechanical drive compared to 2016 model)!
We look forward to keeping you briefed on the 2017 fit up, until next time.
Cheers,
Nick
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