Photo by Tom Campbell

Keith Harmeyer, Batesville, Ind.; Cody McKinley, Winamac, Ind.; and John Andruch, Lake Village, Ind., (left to right) mount the six engines on the quarter-scale tractor that turned heads at a contest earlier this year.

A Purdue University student team received several first-place awards, including one for overall performance, and finished second overall out of 30 university teams in the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Ill.

It is the highest overall finish ever by a Purdue team.

Team adviser John Lumkes, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, says the Purdue team took a no-holds-barred approach and was the only team able to design and build a tractor with six 16-horsepower engines. Weighing less than 900 pounds, more than half of the tractor’s weight was from the engines, he said.

The tractor utilizes lightweight, electric steering; electronic throttle control for each engine; and an electric reverse gear using a Geo Metro automobile starter motor. The driver uses a joystick and an onboard computer to steer and operate the tractor, and the computer also collects data and maintains safe operation.

The tractor will automatically send messages to a cell phone if safe limits are exceeded and, if necessary, an operator can remotely stop the tractor by calling a cell phone located onboard.

The contest has four components: written design report, team presentation, static design judging, and performance — the last element consisting a multi-stage tractor pull.