Where would I go to find a retired mech-e to work on a project for a non-profit? 2

[Emmette Kelly]

I run a farm animal rescue, and need to find a retired mech-e, who would be willing to work on an interesting project for the rescue.

I contacted some engineering colleges to see if a student might be interested in the project, but have not yet found anyone.

I figure that a currently employed engineer would not have the time to spare for this, but a retired one might.

Where could I go to locate someone in Massachusetts who might want to help? We need to design an implement for a backhoe that we just bought.

Thanks
Christine

 

[IRstuff]

There are probably TONS of job shops that have retired engineers on their call lists for stuff like this, particularly in the Mass. vicinity. You should be able to find temp agencies that specialize in temporary and contract engineering.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[MJCronin]

Describe .... in detail ...... your interesting project, Christine .....

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[Emmette Kelly]

We need to design a new front bucket for the backhoe. The standard bucket is doing some things that are problematic.

If you are interested, I'd be happy to have you out to the farm to show you the issue, and introduce you to the cows.

 

[Artisi]

Think you need to be a little more specific in what you require - it's currently meaningless.

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)

 

[MJCronin]

So .... We take a tiny step closer to the problem definition ...

You are interested in a new front bucket for the backhoe that is unlike your existing bucket ...

HHhmmmmmmm ......

Christine, I am beginning to suspect that you have an MBA ...

With twenty or thirty more postings, we may be able to understand this !!!!

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[Strong]

"The standard bucket is doing some things that are problematic."
What is the task and what is problem in simple explanation??

Is this to clean the barn, load manure into a spreader, or some other pleasant task?

Search: front loader accessories for farm use

https://www.bing.com/search?q=front....69i57.15425j0j1&pglt=299&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=U531

Walt

 

[MJCronin]

Hey ....

Only twenty eight more postings until Christine adequately describes her back hoe problem !!!

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[Emmette Kelly]

I'm not looking to solve engineering problems on this forum. I asked where I could find a retired mech-e, who would be able to analyze a backhoe bucket system, and come up with a better solution for our application. I hoped someone would refer me to a professional organization, a Facebook group, or maybe an actual person in New England. I was not looking for design details and suggestions from this forum.

And yes, I did an extensive search to learn about backhoe front loaders, and the stuff that was for sale for these pieces of equipment. There's nothing to do what we need it to do.

Of course, you all could give the standard answer that so many on the Inet offer up when someone asks a question.

Read the manual.

 

[3DDave]

The trick here is that you are looking for help in finding an engineer - the people here are not skilled at doing that because when they want one - there they are. Same problem asking doctors how to find a doctor. They can tell you how to tell if you have found a good engineer or a bad one, but recruiting agencies are the ones with skills in finding.

Here, on the other hand, you may find solutions to the given problem.

For problem solving on a farm - check with other farms.

 

[IRstuff]

https://lmgtfy.app/?q=temp+agency+mechanical+engineers

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[Artisi]

Christine, mech-e covers a very wide scope of engineeting- what people are trying to do is get an idea of the basic problem, it's a bit like "how long is my piece of string?"

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)

 

[dvd]

You might have some luck contacting the American Society of Mechanical Engineers -

https://www.asme.org/

Also, maybe try Agricultural Engineers -

https://www.asabe.org/

start at the top

 

[Emmette Kelly]

Now I understand.

Hey I'm a liberal arts graduate, so engineering thinking is kind of foreign to me. I appreciate your patience.

Here's one issue.

If you are using a snowplow to move material, the plow has a trip edge on the bottom so if you hit a manhole, or pothole, or raised section of pavement, the edge will fold back under spring pressure, and prevent damage to the plow, the front end loader,

and the pickup truck that it's connected to.

This works because the plow itself is almost perpendicular to the surface of the pavement.

Backhoe buckets have no trip edge. If you added one like the kind on a snowplow, it won't work.

If you are moving dirt with a backhoe bucket, the scraping surface is almost parallel to the surface being scraped. If you hit a rock, or a manhole, or anything else, that sort of a trip edge will not trip because of the orientation of the bottom of the bucket and trip edge to the scraping surface.

Any good ideas on how to rig up a trip edge on such a bucket that would still allow material to enter the bucket?

 

[MacGyverS2000]

The purpose of a plow head, however, is to clear (relatively) light snow/debris from a surface at a (potentially) high rate of speed. The trip edge on the plow head also rotates fairly easily over an obstruction since it is essentially a vertical panel with no depth.

On the flip side, you shouldn't be moving at a high rate of speed while driving a tractor. Putting in a trip edge on a bucket is significantly more difficult as the bucket has depth... any obstruction hit will dump your entire contents, and that assumes your tilt axis is high (which it has to be, else the obstruction is either going to be ripped out of the ground or a mass of tractor is going to come to a teeth-grinding halt in a split second).

I think a high tilt axis is the only (safe) way to go, and you'd have to balance the spring stiffness with how much load you can expect to handle combined with how minor (major?) of a perturbation you expect from objects in the path.

If you're trying to smooth a field, use a standard plow head... if you're trying to carry material between points, use a bucket. Trying to make a catch-all solution may be an exercise in frustration (though it may be an interesting project for a bored Mechie).

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[SwinnyGG]

Any good ideas on how to rig up a trip edge on such a bucket that would still allow material to enter the bucket?

Emmette,

The members of this forum have a lot of collective experience, and to a man what we enjoy is solving problems.. If you can get to a point where we understand what you're actually trying to do, we'll be able to give you much better guidance (by either suggesting a solution or being able to refer you to the right type of engineer to design something for you).

As opposed to asking about certain features... give us a broad view of the problem you are trying to solve.

You want to add a trip-edge-like feature to a loader bucket... but WHY do you want to do that?

What material are you moving with this loader? In what conditions? The more information you give us, the more help we can give you in return.

In short, telling us what's wrong with the current bucket doesn't help us find a solution unless we know why it's wrong.

 

[glass99]

Emmette: You might actually be looking for a retired mechanic as much as a retired engineer. Like someone who can come out and weld a bit on to fix your issue.

Are you in the Boston area or in western Mass?

 

[Strong]

Perhaps an inexpensive trip edge would work for your situation:

Search: front end loader bucket trip edge

https://www.bing.com/search?q=front.....69i57.11337j0j1&pglt=43&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=U531

Tractor Bucket Ski Edge Turf Tamer Skid Protector by Pocono Metal Craft (John Deere Green)

From <

https://www.amazon.com/Tractor-Protector-Pocono-Metal-Craft/dp/B07N31WN4W>

R2 Manufacturing
Edge Tamer

From <

https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer>

Walt
A Mechanical Engineer in MA with some farm and tractor experience!

 

[Emmette Kelly]

Strong.

Could you please email me at wrenchhead303 atte gee male dotte comme?

Thanks

 

[btrueblood]

Better idea - don't try to scoop dirt or manure in a space with vertically protruding hard metal bits (manhole covers and such). Instead, dig the manhole cover up, and jackhammer the supporting pipe to lower it to be level or below the asphalt/concrete grade.

Local dairy farm where I sometimes go to shoot feral pigeons uses a sluice system to send manure to the pit, and a sand recovery device that piles the cleaned sand in a smooth-surfaced bunker for the backhoe to scoop and spread back onto the cow beds/mangers. Same farm collects methane from the manure pit and burns it in a big diesel engine to generate electrical power...