SCHOOL EDITION 1 MARCH 2023 - Flipbook - Page 18
18 FARM WEEK
MACHINERYNEWS
NOVEMBER 23 2017
A
new wider 5.5m trailed Combi
Disc will be on show for
the first time on the OPICO
stand at LAMMA 2018, extending
this versatile and popular range of
multi-purpose cultivators.
With a new option to add twin
600mm V-Profile rollers, this latest
5.5m version will offer a high
output, all-round machine designed
to subsoil, surface cultivate and
consolidate in one pass, with the
roller adding optimal weather-proof
consolidation.
Adaptability
and
ease
of
adjustment are key features of the
popular Combi-disc range, with
both the depth of the subsoiler
legs and discs being hydraulically
adjustable from the tractor seat,
allowing the operator to make
accurate and easy adjustments from
the comfort of the cab.
Unique to the 4.5m and 5.5m
folding versions, is the ability to
First showing of wider 5.5m Combi-Disc at LAMMA
LEFT: New HE-VA Trailed Combi-Disc.
hydraulically lift out and fold up
the sub-soiling legs. This feature
allows the Combi-disc to be used
effectively to work down ploughed
land, using the two rows of discs
and the press roller. When the
Subsoiling tines are not in use a
lower horsepower tractor can also
be put to task incorporating stubble
and crop residues. Finally, the discs
can also be hydraulically lifted out
of work, whilst leaving the tines in
place, enabling the machine to be
used as a subsoiler.
Commenting, James Woolway,
OPICO’s Managing Director said,
“These extremely flexible machines
are becoming increasingly popular
due to their adaptability, ease of use
and high work rate. We are delighted
to add the new 550 Combi-disc to
the range to satisfy the demand for
a wider working width, achieving
even higher work rates.”
The 550 Combi disc offers:
q Nine shearbolt or hydraulic
reset tines, which subsoil to a
400mm depth, with quick-change
replaceable points;
q 370mm leg stagger minimising
horsepower demand;
q 510mm diameter scalloped Sabre
discs which follow the subsoiler legs
to cut and mix to a depth of 125mm
(5”). The two rows of opposing
discs are hydraulically adjustable
and, as they are pushed deeper
in the soil, the angle of the disc is
automatically altered, increasing
their aggressiveness, to thoroughly
mix and chop crop residues;
q 700mm single V-Press roller, or
optional 600mm Twin V-press roller
for weatherproof consolidation;
q hydraulic folding with a transport
width of 2.61m and automatic
transport locks;
q lights as standard.
The new 550 Combi Disc starts at
£60,828+ VAT.
Innovative new machines from McConnel
McCONNEL put the spotlight on four innovative new
products at Agritechnica 2017.
Held in Hannover, Germany from 12-18 November,
Agritechnica is one of the most prestigious agricultural
shows in the world and was the perfect showcase for
McConnel’s state-of-the-art Power Arm, Remote Control
and Arable technology.
The event saw the full international launch of four new
machines:
Agribuggy A280 – McConnel’s new self-propelled sprayer.
Light, compact, and highly manoeuvrable with a greater
power to weight ratio and better fuel economy than
any of its rivals, the Agribuggy’s unique low ground
pressure design and mechanical drive technology enables
operators to go where other sprayers can’t – delivering
safe, productive working earlier and later in the year than
rivals.
PA4830 VFR and collection flailhead – the most advanced
compact Power Arm in the world with Variable Forward
Reach. Featuring a completely new VFR armset designed
TOOL: CLAAS Cemos Auto Threshing adjusts the threshing concave
clearance and the threshing drum speed in tangential threshing units, adapting
automatically to the prevailing threshing conditions.
Claas wins one gold
and four silver medals
T
HE German Agricultural
Society again invited entries
for the Innovation Award as
part of Agritechnica 2017. The aim
of the awards competition is to
draw attention to groundbreaking
innovations in the world of
agricultural technology. Claas won
one gold and four silver medals
this year.
Gold for Cemos Auto Threshing,
another module which contributes
to the automation of the combine
harvesting process. This new
assistance system provides
fully automatic adjustment of
the threshing concave clearance
and the threshing drum speed
in tangential threshing units,
adapting dynamically to the
prevailing threshing conditions.
In this way, the threshing
process in the threshing unit is
continuously and automatically
optimised to its technical
performance limits.
RIGHT: As a
fully suspended
half-track
tractor, the
Axion 900 Terra
Trac combines
the advantages
of a tracklaying
tractor with
the more
convenient
drive
characteristics
of a
conventional
standard
tractor.
Claas was awarded a silver medal
for the following innovations:
Axion 900 Terra Trac – the
first half-track tractor with full
suspension of the entire machine
CEMOS for tractors: a new,
dialogue-based driver assistance
system for optimum adjustment of
your tractors and implements.
Culti Cam stereoscopic row
camera for mechanical hoeing
Large Vehicle Alert System which
warns car drivers of agricultural
machinery in road traffic.
The new system transmits
telemetry data of agricultural
machinery and tractors in road
traffic to assistance/navigation
systems and smartphone apps
in the vehicles of other traffic
participants in real time.
This way, car and truck drivers can
be proactively informed about and
warned of the position and status
of agricultural machinery on their
way.
exclusively for the 30-series, the PA4830 boasts 4.8m
reach and 30hp hydraulics and has been designed to
enhance comfort, visibility and precision. Operators
can extend the arm 0.9m forward and 0.9m backward,
positioning the attachment at any point along the cutting
range. It comes with a specially converted flailhead which
allows debris to be collected as it cuts.
The world’s first all-electric Power Arm – customers
will get their first look at the prototype of a truly nextgeneration machine – the new e-Swingtrim. With a choice
of 3.2m and 3.5m reach, the Swingtrim is compatible
with the new Mini Motion control set and features an
innovative ‘swing-over’ armset that allows operators to cut
on either side of the tractor.
PA7275 Tele-VFR – The first 75 Series machine with
the new Telescopic Variable Forward Reach armset.
The heavy-duty 75hp Power Arm series comes with an
innovative hydraulic cooling system and oil tank that have
been designed to improve performance and meet the
needs of busy professional contractors.
McCormick X6.440 VT-Drive
wins new technology award
T
HE practical application of
new technology in the form
of a continuously variable
transmission
has
been
recognised by a prestigious
Tractor of the Year the award.
Presented at the Agritechnica
international machinery show in
Germany last week, the finalists for
this much sought-after accolade are
judged on paper and in the field by
24 agricultural machinery specialists
from across western and central
Europe.
Out of five short-listed finalists for the
award, the 130hp McCormick X6.440
VT-Drive was judged the best entry
in the category covering four-cylinder
multi-purpose tractors of 70hp or
more.
Other categories in the awards,
which are supported by farm tyre
manufacturer Trelleborg, cater for
larger and specialist vineyard/orchard
machines.
Apart from the compactness,
manoeuvrability and overall build
integrity of the McCormick X6.4, the
judges highlighted its VT-Drive system
as providing the advantages and
benefits of a continuously variable
transmission in a size of tractor
commonly used on mixed enterprise
farms, by dairy and other livestock
farmers, and in horticulture.
Normally, such technology is confined
to more powerful arable cropping
tractors; and the award is especially
satisfying for McCormick engineers
because the new transmission is their
first attempt at such a design.
Ray Spinks, sales director and
general manager at AgriArgo, the UK
LEFT: The new McCormick X6.440
VT-Drive won a prestigious Tractor of
the Year award at the Agritechnica
international trade show in Germany.
and Ireland distributor for McCormick
tractors, explains that with a
conventional gearbox, speed control
is regulated by the number of gears
available.
“Even with the most generous manual
or powershift gearbox, operators can
find themselves being unable to drive
at the optimum speed for a particular
task,” he notes. “But VT-Drive combines
mechanical and hydraulic drive in a
way that delivers infinitely variable
speed control and ultra-fine speed
adjustment, so the optimum speed is
always available.”
To drive the tractor, the operator
selects forward or reverse with the
shuttle, then uses either a joystick
or the accelerator pedal to move off
and speed up or slow down – engine
revs and transmission ratio are
automatically balanced by the control
electronics according to the load on
the tractor.
When a fixed engine speed is needed
to operate a pto-driven implement or
a consistent ground speed is required
for a particular operation, appropriate
modes can be selected that instruct
the control system to manage the
powertrain accordingly.
“Apart from providing the ground
speed precision that can optimise
the quality of an implement’s work or
deliver extra output, a tractor with
VT-Drive is very simple and also very
comfortable to operate because there
is less for the driver to think about,”
says Ray Spinks.
The Tractor of the Year judges
also noted the McCormick tractor’s
suitability for loader work involving
repeated forwards and backwards
shuttling, which can be a strain on a
conventional tractor’s clutch, and the
touch screen interface that can be used
to set-up and select various features.
The McCormick X6.4 VT-Drive is
available with three engine outputs
of 111hp, 120hp and 130hp, each
‘boosting’ by 10hp for arduous pto
work and transport duties.
The 130/140hp X6.440 VT-Drive
– winner of the Tractor of the Year
2018 award – will be displayed at the
LAMMA agricultural machinery show
in January 2018.