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 workforce. In the ¼ Scale Tractor Design Competition, students are challenged to harness the power and torque of a specified stock engine in order to maximize performance in the tractor pull.

Design Fundamentals

Design fundamentals such as strength of materials, static, weight transfer and power transmission are major factors considered as the student engineers design the tractors frame, drive train, hitch, clutch, weight brackets, steering components, brakes and operator station. Although the size and shape of the ¼ scale tractor is similar to that of a typical lawn and garden tractor, very few parts are used directly from a commercial machine.

Fabrication Techniques

Student engineers gain practical design experience by participating in this project, they will also obtain valuable experience as they fabricate, build and assemble their own designs. It is no longer acceptable in industry for design engineers to simply throw their designs "over-the-wall" and assume they can be easily manufactured. Through hands-on experience with numerous fabrication processes, students gain an awareness of the capabilities and potential pitfalls in the design for manufacturability and design for assembly.

Time Management and Team Environment

With a project of this size and magnitude, the student engineers' skills in communication, teamwork and time management will be greatly challenged, and developed through necessity. By working on this project, a student engineer can show potential employers that they can excel and perform under adverse conditions and pressures.