LE²GRO

Lightweight multi-material boom to increase the performance of large-area fertiliser spreaders

One way of increasing efficiency in agriculture is to increase the width of agricultural machinery without increasing its mass and thus the resulting field compaction. As part of the LE²GRO project, a large-area fertiliser spreader with a lightweight design was therefore developed together with a suitable near-series production process. Together with the project partner Thoenes Dichtungstechnik GmbH, the tape braiding process established at ILK was extended to more cost-efficient hybrid yarns. For this purpose, a software tool was developed to derive the manufacturing parameters of the braiding process for hybrid yarns from the previous structural design. In addition, inline process monitoring of the fibre angle was integrated into the production process to ensure consistent production quality of the hollow profiles. A semi-automated joining process was designed, implemented and tested to connect the individual profiles to the supporting structure of the fertiliser spreader. The functionalisation of the hollow profiles achieved in this way enables the substitution of metallic supporting structures and thus replaces complex manual welded constructions with efficiently manufactured, functionalised lightweight hollow profiles. Together with the project partner Rauch Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH, a fertiliser spreader in fibre composite construction was implemented, which is currently tested in operational stability tests.

Photo of a fertiliser spreader attached to a tractor. In the background: green landscape and cloudy sky. — Middle section of a fertiliser spreader in fibre composite construction.

Period

01.01.2021–30.04.2024

Project partners

Funding

Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Technology Transfer Programme Lightweight Construction (TTP LB)
Funding code: 03LB2002C