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While much of the baleage in New Zealand seems to be baled and wrapped in combi-style machines, there still seems to be a place for standalone machines which follow the baler around the paddock.
Specialist Irish manufacturer McHale has seen huge success with its Fusion machines, and says it made sense to use the wrapping technology from this series to develop the new Orbital machine.
The heart of the machine is the patented, high-speed vertical wrapping ring. This results in increased stability for the film dispensers, meaning the machine can run at about 40rpm and apply six layers of plastic to a 1.25m diameter bale in about 25 seconds. This achieves output of 100 bales per hour.
This certainly seemed, pre-Christmas, to be the case in a Waikato paddock where the first machine in NZ was being demonstrated by product specialist John ‘JP’ Chapman. He believes this high output allows the machine to work alongside two balers with ease.
In operation, the machine is offset to the right of the tractor and once contact is made with the lift arm, a fully automated cycle takes place, firstly with the bale being lifted into the wrapping ring. A patented-design sees the forward roller ‘dropping’ to allow a smooth transition from the ground to the wrapping position and a resultant lowering of the centre of gravity, which helps promote stability on sloping ground.
The vertical wrapping ring carries twin 750mm film dispensers, equipped with film break monitors to notify the operator. It also cleverly automatically slows bale rotation speed to allow one applicator to finish the job, while ensuring consistent overlap.
Once wrapped, the bale is gently lowered to the ground, with the option of a vertical tipper to place the bale on its strongest face.
The Orbital can wrap bales from 1.1 to 1.45m diameter, by way of its patented tip roller; that can be adjusted to maintain a position to ensure dispensers stay central to the mid-point of the bale to ensure the correct overlap is maintained always.
Film loading is accessed via the left-hand side through a safety gate. After the first film roll is replaced, an index button automatically brings the second dispenser into position.
The Expert Plus control console oversees all machine functions throughout the wrapping cycle, as well as recording individual jobs, daily and seasonal outputs, and monitoring any fault or failures.
Weighing 1850kg, the Orbital is equipped with 480-45R17 tyres to carry the combined weight of the machine and up to two bales. It is said to require a tractor of only 50hp and a minimum oil flow of 35L/min.
Although Irish manufacturer McHale used the September 2022 Irish National Ploughing Championships to showcase the latest updates to its baler/ wrapper combination, it’s taken until recently for the first example to arrive in New Zealand.
Following three years of testing with clients worldwide, Ireland-based manufacturer McHale has added a bigger model to its range of variable-chamber round balers with the new V8 series.
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Dominant in the New Zealand baler/wrapper combi market, the McHale Fusion Series distributed by Power Farming Wholesale has been popular with contractors and large-scale farmers for many years.
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