Kuhn bags tech award
French company KUHN has won a EIMA Technical Innovation Award for its Baler Automation Technology.
The GF 13012 and GF 17012 Gyrotedders allow users to ted up to 15ha per hour, with the GF 13012 using 12 rotors to cover 13.0m working width, and the GF 17012 using 16 rotors to cover 17.2m.
For improved headland clearance the two outer sections on both machines are supported and held in place by self-reeling tension straps which enable all 12 or 16 rotors to be lifted in one motion. The straps reduce stress on the main chassis and individual rotor sections, and ensure the machine remains stable across its full width – particularly when operating in rough terrain – and act as safety guards, which helps to reduce the weight seen in previous models.
When folding into the transport position an auto-reel device, similar to those used to tension car seatbelts, automatically winds the straps away.
Rotors on both models are raised hydraulically at headlands using transport wheels to provide high ground clearance, and allowing the tedder to travel over previously windrowed crop without fouling.
The rotors respond to uneven terrain using Kuhn's novel Ground Save Control system which allows the rotor train to move independently of the carrying frame and sees the weight of the chassis being supported by the large transport wheels; the small diameter rotors are suspended separately, to follow changing ground contour without scraping the soil and contaminating the crop.
Rotor height is said to be easily adjusted via a single lever located at the top link position, and individual rotor pitch angle is adjusted easily without tools. Both tedders use Kuhn's case-hardened, forged steel Digidrive system for reduced maintenance, allowing the machines to fold to a compact transport size of 2.4m wide x 6.5m long and 2.68m high for the GF13012, and 2.4m wide x 7.5m long and 2.68m high in the case of the GF 17012.
