Tractor, harvester IT comes of age
Over the last halfdecade, digital technology has appeared to be the “must-have” for tractor and machinery companies, who believe that bringing IT to tractors and farming will offer its customers huge benefits.
In many cases the size of the machines dictate that they have complex hydraulic and mechanical systems to fold the machines from transport to work and back, while also eating up a surprising amount of time.
Grassland specialist Kuhn has addressed this latter issue with a redesign of its latest 13m wide tedder, allowing it to be ready for transport in 25 seconds – said to be about half the time taken by its predecessor.
The machine features a new single-movement folding mechanism which works directly off a tractor spool valve without needing any control box or electronic sensors.
Transport and storage are also improved thanks to a reduction in length to 6m, while a reversible drawbar allows it to be hitched to a greater variety of tractors.
The GF 13003T replaces the outgoing GF 1301 and offers operators improvements centred around new rotors, tines and the fast-fold system.
Still equipped with 12 rotors like the previous machine, internal upgrades are said to reduce wear, while the mounting system and improved contour following characteristics is said to reduce the
risk of soil contamination.
New 10mm diameter tines are equipped with springs that have increased from 70mm to 80mm diameter, that work in conjunction with an anti-tine loss system and hydraulic tine height adjustment to effectively double the expected lifespan of the previous tine format.
In operation, the weight of the chassis is supported by large transport wheels, while the small diameter rotors are suspended separately on individual wheel equipment, enabling each rotor to adapt to the ground contours, meaning soil contamination is reduced and tine tip wear is less severe.
