Grainswest - Tech 2022

Tech 2022 Grains West 16 PERSON PLACE & THING Pawluski uses 3D printing technology to manufacture RcFarmArm units that fit common tractor models such as the John Deere 6215R, pictured here. we’ve gone along. We keep redesigning to make it better. Our original starter system was just two little actuators that moved the key 45 degrees, but we found that in some tractors, ignition switches need 50 degrees to shut the tractor off. Customers were having a hard time getting it set so that it would do all three functions of the key, so we came up with a better design for that. Another reason for the redesign was some keys need to turn 120 degrees to get the starter to en- gage; they have four stages instead of two or three stages. We came up with one [version] that you can set all three points on par to the key [positions], so it can be easily adjusted. GW: There’s a lot of convenience in being able to control a tractor remotely. Are there other factors that inspired you to make the RcFarmArm? VP: Farm safety is a big inspiration be- cause my grandfather had lost a hand and his arm in two farm accidents. One thing I always hated about running the auger, the greenback, any of these things, is you seem to always be running around the tractor and the machine to shut it off. Especially when something goes wrong and there’s two of you. Some- times the second person doesn’t exactly know what buttons to press because they’re not all laid out the same, or the keys are on the column or the corner post behind you. RcFarmArm puts safety in your hand. If something goes wrong, you just calmly press the button. GW: It sounds like creating the initial tech was the easy part. How do you keep up with demand and make updates to the RcFarmArm? VP: The cost of manufacturing and mak- ing design updates is prohibitive. Without 3D printing, this product would never have existed. In March of 2021 I had the first part printed by someone with a 3D printer. The commercial 3D printer we now have allows us to do things we couldn’t do before. We can print pieces like ball and socket joints as one piece. The sky is the limit; we can do just about anything we can think of. GW: Would you say this is a family company? VP: It’s a family company for sure. My older daughter does a lot of paperwork, emailing, organizing and ordering parts. My younger one does more in the assem- bly, sandblasting and hands-on work. My wife Christina does the bookkeeping and every other task no one else does, so she’s pivotal. My mother-in-law comes and helps wire and build things as well. She loves it. GW: What stage is the RcFarmArm at with production and order fulfilment? VP: We’re in full production now. We’ve had really strong sales and I’m confident that it’s going to pick up as we get closer to harvest. Right now, we’re trying to move from built-to-order to having stock ready built for the most common tractor models. GW: Did you ever imagine something you started tinkering with as a hobby would turn into a thriving business? VP: Not at all. When I posted a video of the initial build on Twitter, it wasn’t even a product. I put the video on Twitter and had about 40 people message me wanting to do it to their tractors. Then Trevor Scherman from ScherGain reached out to me. He’s another ag product inventor. He told me, “You’ve got something here. You have a really good idea. I don’t know why nobody else has done this. You have to run with it.” That validation from him pushed me to go further. GW: What has been the most exciting part for you in this whole process? VP: Being able to create something out of thin air with 3D printers. Second is the recognition that my ideas of changing and hacking things actually had mer- it. That these early thoughts are going somewhere brings recognition to my creativity.