Automation Studio™ gives us the confidence that we need to improve existing designs (Kansas, USA) Great Plains Manufacturing, a subdivision of Kubota Corporation, produces and manufactures agricultural implements, such as grain drills, planters, tillage tools, and hay equipment. All of our implements use hydraulics provided by the tractor to power the numerous functions of each machine to accomplish the task required. We have used Automation StudioTM for about 4 years now, but in the beginning, we only used the software to document our hydraulic schematics after we built and tested the circuits on the actual implement. Recently we have shifted to using Automation StudioTM to design and validate the hydraulic circuits before we actually build anything in the shop so that we are certain the system will work as designed. We are also now able to provide documentation to the shops to ensure the products are built to the correct specs and according to drawings provided by Engineering. But more than just being a valuable tool for the initial concept and design of a product, we had a situation in which Automation StudioTM helped us troubleshoot an existing design that was not working correctly. We were able to use Automation StudioTM to confirm and validate an existing hydraulic system that was giving us problems. The ability to simulate not only the hydraulic circuit but also the mechanism design allowed us to make design changes faster and with greater certainty than the typical trial & error methods used before. By using the built-in electrical library, we were also able to set up a reciprocating control circuit so we could see the motion of the entire system without having to start and stop the simulation at specific intervals. We brought in coordinate points from another 3D CAD software to build our mechanism in Automation StudioTM, which allowed us to simulate the actual hydraulic cylinder and with the correct loading for that situation. By analyzing the simulation graphs, we concluded that our design was within specs and we had enough factor of safety built in. By seeing real time outputs of hydraulic flow and pressure, Automation StudioTM gave us the confidence that we needed to implement the new design. I attended Automation StudioTM in-person training in Houston, TX in October of 2019. There I learned how to really use the software to get the most out of its capabilities, not only for design and simulation, but communication throughout all of our different departments, such as service, tech support, sales, etc. The training class was small enough that I was able to get all my questions answered and really dive deeper into topics that fit my specific applications. Automation StudioTM is more than just a 2D hydraulic schematics software, but rather a complete package that includes electrical and mechanism simulations that allows faster-to-market designs and concepts with greater accuracy than typical 3D CAD packages are able to do. Our plan is to expand the number of engineers that use Automation StudioTM at Great Plains and across the other divisions within Kubota Corporation, such as Land Pride and Kverneland. Jason Eikleberry Product Design Engineer Great Plains Mfg.