Tree Seedling Planter
Tree Seedling Planter
Major Qualifying Project, Winner of 2020 Mechanical Engineering Provost's award
Major Qualifying Project, Winner of 2020 Mechanical Engineering Provost's award
WPI, 2020
WPI, 2020
The Major Qualifying Project is the Senior Capstone Project for all students at WPI. My team and I set out to design a Tree Seedling Planter. We wanted our design to mechanically dig holes, separate saplings, pick & place saplings into the holes, and finally pack soil back around the sapling. All of these features were to be driven by the rotation of the main axle. This would allow the planter to be pulled by all sorts of farm equipment as there is no external power needed.
The Major Qualifying Project is the Senior Capstone Project for all students at WPI. My team and I set out to design a Tree Seedling Planter. We wanted our design to mechanically dig holes, separate saplings, pick & place saplings into the holes, and finally pack soil back around the sapling. All of these features were to be driven by the rotation of the main axle. This would allow the planter to be pulled by all sorts of farm equipment as there is no external power needed.
We researched existing designs, modelled our machine, and analyzed every part in excruciating detail to ensure that everything would work as expected. We conducted analysis using ANSYS as well as hand calculations. Following the design process we intended to build a prototype. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we were unable to build our prototype as we had planned. However, we still won the Provost's award for best Mechanical Engineering MQP of 2020. We were very honored to win that award and hope that Professor Cobb continues this project into the future.
We researched existing designs, modelled our machine, and analyzed every part in excruciating detail to ensure that everything would work as expected. We conducted analysis using ANSYS as well as hand calculations. Following the design process we intended to build a prototype. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we were unable to build our prototype as we had planned. However, we still won the Provost's award for best Mechanical Engineering MQP of 2020. We were very honored to win that award and hope that Professor Cobb continues this project into the future.
If you would like to read more about our work, there is a link below to our E-project report.
Side View
Digging Mechanism
Drive Mechanism and Hole Filling Wheels
Tree Storage and Funnel System