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Swiss farm machinery company Lisibach Maschinenbau latest offering - SF 132.
While New Zealand might not have the hills associated with Switzerland, the concept of a self-propelled round baler makes an interesting proposition.
Over in Europe, Swiss farm machinery company Lisibach Maschinenbau, already known for buiing static maize balers and wrappers, has pulled out the stops to meet customers special requests, with their SF 132, whose wide tyres and low centre of gravity, allow it to operate on slopes of a “buttock-clenching” 45 degrees.
Described as compact, manoeuvrable and with a low weight of around 6.0 tonnes, the high-output machine is said to be ideally suited to working in small or wet fields, typical of the region.
Power for the project is supplied by a 4.4- litre Perkins 92kW/132hp four-pot block – hence the 132 designation. Configured with front wheel steering, all four wheels are powered, while the four-range hydrostatic transmission offers a maximum speed of 40 km/h. With an overall length of length of around 5.0m and a height and width of about 2.5m, the centralpivoting chassis allows the machine to turn sharply on headlands. Operation is via an armrest mounted joystick, with the cab providing heating, air conditioning, a Grammar air suspended seat, radio and a cooled drink holder.
The SF 132 is the fourth machine that Lisibach has built, since making the first for its own contracting business in 2005, utilising a Welger RP235 baler. That same baler was used for the contractor’s second machine in 2013, with another machine built in the same year for a Swiss farmer, based on a Kuhn I-Bio baler/wrapper combi. The latest incarnation is mated to a Kuhn FB 3135 fixedchamber baler. Dairy News understands that Lisibach charges around €250,000 (NZ$455,0000) for the SF132, without the price of the baler.
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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