Using CAD software in designing agricultural machines

IT technologies are increasingly used in various industries. The rapid development of IT technologies makes it possible to use them in places where they were unimaginable yesterday. They are used not only in scientific research and leading industries, but also in such conservative ones as agriculture. Computer systems are used on modern models of agricultural machines and equipment. With each new model, their coverage of the number of working bodies and processes expands. Therefore, the manual work of the service personnel is transferred to the work of control and correction. This has a positive effect on the development of machinery for agricultural production. The introduction of the latest technologies not only improves their quality, but also speeds up the process of creating new models. In order to reduce the time from development to production of series agricultural machines, manufacturers use not only modern production technologies. They also implement and use modern computer software – CAD software, which are not only used to design new equipment. They also make it possible to research the reliability of equipment and its working bodies even at the development stage, without the need for lengthy tests in real working conditions. To do this, manufacturers need specialists who are either able to use such computer software immediately or who can learn it in a short time and use it in their professional activities. The purpose of the research is to develop a methodology for designing models of working bodies, such as cultivator paw, and assemblies of working bodies of machines using SolidWorks software. The article discusses the use of modern CAD software in the design of agricultural machines using the SolidWorks program as an example. As an example, the model of the universal arrow paw of the cultivator is taken. The CAD software makes it possible to optimize the structure by predetermining its dangerous zones.