Tractor Pulling

The concept of tractor pulling is based upon who can drag the sled the farthest on a dirt track which is generally 300 feet long with 2 white lines on each side as boundaries. Touching a white line is causing immediate disqualification from the event. The order in which competitors will hook to the sled is assigned by drawing numbers. Each competitor has two attempts to make each pull, if they do not make 100 feet in their initial attempt. Once the competitor makes his or her pull it is measured within 100th of an inch. These distances are recorded and results are based upon those distances. In case that more then 1 competitor travels beyond 300 feet, a famous "Pull Off" occurs. Based on the sled operators judgment, another weight will be added or a faster gear will be selected to increase the speed of the box, which makes the sled harder to pull. There are many different classes of the vehicles that are used in tractor pulling events among which are for instance Super Farm Tractors, K&N 4x4 Trucks, Diesel Super Stocks etc.

Our UW-Madison 1/4 Scale Tractor Pulling Team would like to thank all of our sponsors for their financial and resource support throughout the year. If you would like to become a sponsor of the Badger Pulling Team, contact our Business Manager.

Again, the UW-Madison team is in the process of funding, designing, and building a ASAE 1/4 Scale Tractor for the ATPA National Competition.

Please visit Team contacts to meet our members and view their resumes.

Current Topic: Objectives

Providing Students Professional Experience, Education and Fun

ASAE, the Society for Engineering in Agriculture, Food and Biological Systems, is interested in providing students from all engineering disciplines professional experience, education and fun. ASAE organizes a national student design competition based upon the concept of designing, fabricating and testing a ¼ scale pulling tractor.

The design competition is arranged to be both educational and fun for the students. There are four main judging categories: a Written Design Report, a Team Presentation, an Individual Design Judging Competition and a Performance Competition. The performance competition, the highlight of the event, is comprised of a multi-stage tractor pull using a progressive sled.

Through involvement in the competition, students gain practical experience in the design of drive train systems, tractor performance, fabrication techniques, analysis of tractive forces, weight transfer and strength of materials. In addition, they also develop skills in communication, leadership, teamwork, fundraising and test and development.

Design Experience and More

One of the primary concerns of industry today is that engineering students of all disciplines are entering the workforce with too little practical knowledge or design experience. Student design competitions and projects are an invaluable way to prepare students to be effective professional engineers when they enter the... Full Objectives article...

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