Track Maintenance

Clean track surfaces

• Once a month, inspect your tracks for an accumulation of mud, dirt, and other debris. Because the tracks are so low to the ground, it is common for them to accumulate unwanted materials.

• This can create unnecessary friction for the gantry when moving across the tracks, ultimately leading it to bind up if the tracks are not cleaned.

Maintain track alignment

• AgriBot’s tracks need to be very straight and parallel with each other in order for the gantry to move smoothly across them.

• With time, the tracks may move and twist due to a variety of factors such as:

  • Screws becoming loose

  • Thermal expansion and contraction due to large temperature swings

  • Deterioration of supporting infrastructure such as wood posts

  • Supporting infrastructure shifting due to soil expansion and contraction

  • Falling branches, earthquakes, or other cataclysmic events

• Misaligned tracks can cause the system to creak and ultimately bind as the gantry attempts to move across the tracks.

• This can prevent AgriBot from working and even cause damage to other components.

• If you notice your tracks have become misaligned, work to fix them as soon as possible with the following suggestions.

Realigning track plates

• Signs of a misaligned track plate include misaligned track extrusions (see below), twisted track extrusions, difficulty in the gantry moving across extrusion joints, and even visual misalignment.

Realigning track extrusions

• It is possible for a track extrusion to loosen and then become misaligned with an adjacent extrusion.

• Even small misalignments can prevent the gantry from smoothly moving across joints.

• Inspect for misalignment by running your fingers across track joints.