Keto 51
I posted couple photos with the title “New project” a while ago. In the photos was the hydraulic block of a Keto 51 harvester head. Might not tell much if you’re not already familiar with this kind stuff though. Manufacturers website.
Here is also a video of it in action to give a better idea of what it does. (10MB Quicktime)
The video originally comes from the Kronos videogallery but as it’s not available there anymore I have provided a local copy.
Target here would be to build a working system around a used Keto 51 harvester head. That would include building the electronics that control the hydraulic valves and also the rest of the hydraulic circuitry needed like the pump.
The electronics consists of a few different modules connected with CAN bus. The main brains of the system runs on top of the ADS Graphics Client Plus board. This module runs Linux with the RTAI real time system. Basically Linux runs as a low priority task on top of the realtime scheduler so it doesn’t disturb the parts needing more real time response. User interface and file IO for example are left for Linux to handle. For user interface a 320×240 pixel EL panel is used. This board should have plenty processing power and resources for future needs.
Another module is for controlling the hydraulic valves and reading sensors in the harvester head. This module should be situated in the head itself to minimize the wiring needed. This module should have the capability of controlling about 15 on/off solenoids and also possible expansion room for couple proportional outputs. For input two quadrature encoders need to be read and some inductive proximity sensors.