Development of a portable greasy wool yield instrument

Abstract

This report summarises development of an innovative X-ray-based portable yield instrument for measuring greasy wool samples. The aim was to produce a yield measurement within 30 seconds on a single midside sample, with an accuracy and precision similar to that obtainable with conventional fleece testing methods (approximately ± 1% accuracy and 95% confidence limits of ± 3 to 4%). The development spanned some 5 years and progressed through several interesting  phases, from a standalone X-ray device, to an integrated three-component instrument in which data was transmitted directly to the OFDA2000 classing software.

A working commercial prototype was produced and tested. The evaluation revealed satisfactory performance on core material and on New Zealand fleece samples, but there were some calibration issues with Australian fleece samples that, whilst almost certainly capable of resolution, could not be achieved without further work. The capital cost of the proposed instrument had by that stage significantly exceeded the original specification. At the time the work was commenced, there were several million onfarm measurements being performed annually across Australasia, but due to economic factors, these numbers had fallen to probably less than 1 million in 2005. It was therefore considered that further refinement could not be justified in this economic environment. The project was thus suspended, and a
decision made to make the results publicly accessible.

Citation

"Development of a portable greasy wool yield instrument", Peter Baxter, Gavin Wallace, Report 01, Commercial Technology Forum, IWTO Cairo Meeting, May 2006