Best-In-Class Planter Row Unit Dotson Iron Castings, Mankota, Minnesota


Weldment


Material: Ductile iron. Process: Green sand. Weight: 122 lbs. Dimensions: 35 x 14 x 32.5 in. Application: Planting seeds.


• T e part replaced 30 stamped steel parts with six assembled ductile iron castings. T e casting provider used solidifi cation modeling to validate the soundness, and the tooling was CNC machined from aluminum billet to provide accuracy and repeatability. T e castings were cleaned on a trim press.


• T e new planter with ductile iron row units is engineered for more stability and dimensional accuracy, as well as more vertical travel. It nearly doubled planting speed, to 8 mph, and improved seed placement accu- racy to 99%. T e savings in assembly time ranged from 5% to 10%.


May/Jun 2013 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 25


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