Performance tests of three-point mounted implement guidance systems: II. Results

Side-shift and disk-steer implement guidance systems were tested for differ ences in performance during cultivation on fields with 0 and 5% side slope. Test speeds were slow (4.8 km/h, 3 km/h) and medium (8.0 km/h, 5 mph). Tes t path shapes included a tractor ramp, implement ramp, sine and curve. Perf ormance measures included tractor positional error, implement positional er ror, torque from side forces on the cultivator non-swiveling coulter, and t ravel speed Relatively few significant differences between guidance systems were detected, and most of those involved interaction with path shape. The refore, no clear conclusion could be reached indicating one guidance system was better than the other. There were no differences between the effects o f the two travel speeds on the performance measures directly related to the implement guidance (implement positional error and the torque on either co ulter) indicating that for future experiments only one of the travel speeds need be included. The implement positional error distributions indicated t he side-shift system kept a higher percentage of errors within the +/-3 cm (+/-1.2 in.) and +/-5 cm (+/-2.0 in.) acceptable error bands in the test si tuations where the rows were mostly straight (tractor ramp, implement ramp and sine path shapes), while the disk-steer system performed better with th e +/-3 cm (+/-1.2 in,) acceptable error band in the rest situations were th e rows were mostly curved. Both implement guidance systems performed well i n keeping the implement centered between the crop rows as at least 80% of t he implement positional errors were within the +/-5 cm (+/-2.0 in) acceptab le error band. The torque from side forces on the non-swiveling, residue-cu tting coulters of the side-shift system were less than or equal to, not gre ater than the torque for the disk-steer system.