All-Electric Tractor Being Developed

All-Electric Tractor Being Developed ENERGY Alternative Fuels An all-electric farm tractor called the New World Workhorse is under development by a Missouri-based partnership led by Jim Downing inventor and chief design engineer
We re satisfied that the conceptual problems have been solved and that we ll have a complete electrically-powered modular farm system in the field within a couple of years he told FARM SHOW
The partnership formed to develop the all-electric tractor is also the principle owner of Bear Industries Sedalia Mo which manufactures gooseneck trailers and other farm equipment
Downing has incorporated high frequency alternators gas turbines and solid state control circuitry into the blueprints for a turbine electric tractor which he is confident will work and be economically feasible
This farm tractor of the future is based on an electric power generating unit he explains Electric power for driving its wheels and auxiliary implements is supplied by a gasoline-fired turbine turning a large alternator
Downing predicts the all-electric tractor will pull the largest tillage equipment now built It will be able to do this without slipping thanks to independent induction motors which power the four separate drive wheels Power flows to the wheels without differential slippage Today s tractors not being electrically powered supply power instead to the spinning wheel he explains
Threshing heads cutters windrowers pickers and every other imaginable piece of auxiliary equipment will attach to either the front or back of the unit by way of forklift-like hitches Truck beds bins and tanks of every sort will either be carried or pulled When pulled carrying beds may form a land train in which each trailing vehicle is separately powered - by its own drive wheels connected by electric cable Electric power is fed by simply plugging in to the vehicle ahead Variable speed control of each pair of wheels and of each auxiliary implement will be achieved electronically through variation in the frequency of independently supplied alternating current At all times the turbine-alternator will run at a constant speed and while running never requires throttling An infinite number of speeds forward or reverse will be available - while the operating speed of the auxiliary implement or implements will be separately controlled through cyclo-converters
In short the mobile unit Downing has designed is the basic building block for a complete system of modular agricultural equipment The same mobile unit can serve as a power-generating heavy tillage tractor before breakfast a combine until after lunch and a heavy duty forage harvester before supper and then a 200 kilowatt standby generator overnight Downing explains At different seasons of the year the vehicle can be variously configured as a tractor pulling plow bottoms as a single-pass planter and chemical applicator small-grain combine or as a roadgrader or snow-blower
Downing first considered the use of D C electric motors and generators but abandoned them because they were too bulky heavy and costly He also explored but gave up on hydraulics: Hydro-static devices provide either high torque with low speeds or high speeds with low torque but it s impossible to obtain high torque over a wide speed range without the use of a transmission Needing individual wheel motors with a very broad speed range Downing also considered steam turbine engines They would work but their efficiency with variable speed operation would be terrible
His solution: A C electric power with cyclo-converters which provide variable speed control of alternating current In checking with manufacturers of cyclo-converters Downing was told that while it was theoretically possible to use them to control high-frequency A C current on mobile machinery manufacturers warned that cyclo-converters may be expensive
Undaunted Downing is satisfied he figured out a way to make them work economically: Electric power is the key to making a farm equipment system modular A modular system is the key to lowering costs of farm machinery and the cycloconverter is the key to mobile electric power Here s a recap of key features incorporated into the blueprints of his all-electric tractor: It s powered by a turbine engine has four wheel drive and has no transmission or clutch It has completely variable speed forward and reverse with a material transfer tunnel which runs through the base of the tractor It has a standby generator capability and can be equipped with several completely independent variable speed forward and reverse with a material transfer tunnel which runs through the base of the tractor It has a standby generator capability and can be equipped with several completely independent variable speed slave motor circuits for modular implements Solid state electronic controls are modular for easy maintenance Drive motors and gear reducers are self contained totally enclosed and modular All motors are 3 phase AC induction Downing believes his all-electric power system when perfected can be sold for much less overall cost than buying a separate machine for each job All machines will be modular and self contained allowing quick interchange of parts and implements You ll be able to switch from one machine to another in a matter of minutes Implement design can be much simpler because drive slave motors can be placed where the job must be done and not where the drive shaft dictates Implements can be much more compact and efficient due to this increased design flexibility Downing and his partners welcome inquiries on their New World Workhorse from anyone interested We ll keep you posted on latest new developments Meanwhile interested parties can contact: FARM SHOW Followup Virgil Clar Bear Industries Box 1625 Sedalia Mo 65301 ph 816 827-2000

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