Agritechnica novelties
Grimme presents new bunker harvesters
The Agritechnica highlights for Grimme this year are their new 2- and 4-row bunker harvesters. It will be presented by the German brand on Monday 4 September at its own farm near Cloppenburg. The harvesters, together with other novelties, are part of the 'Big 5', with which Grimme has started a campaign since May.
Grimme shows 3 of the machines, the Big 5 adorn, to the press in Germany. This in the run-up to the Agritechnica. The most eye-catching is the all-new Ventor 4150. A 4-row bunker harvester that is built according to the idea of the trailed SE harvester. It has mounted 2 of these building lines mirrored on a modified beet harvester frame. With this it wants to serve large arable farmers and contractors who now work with several trailed harvesters.
Replacement for other self-propelled vehicles
The Ventor has a 15 ton bunker and is powered on 4 wheels by a 530 hp engine. Deliberately no caterpillars, because this causes a lot of wear, especially during road transport. It has learned a lot from that in the past. The machine is partly a replacement for the SF 150-60 and Tectron self-propelled vehicles that have disappeared from the program. Empty, the machine weighs 29 tons. 19 tons of this rest on the front axle and 10 tons on the rear axle. With a full bunker, the total weight is therefore 44 tons. That's hefty, but, according to the company, the market demands larger machines with a larger bunker. The price is also hefty at €650.000.
Fold up most of the work
Engineers have been working on the machine since 2012, which has not yet been shown in its final capacity. That will only follow the Agritechnica. The folding mechanism caused the most headaches. When unfolded, the machine measures at least 5 meters. The hedgehog belts fold down for transport and the bunker collapses. Because the harvester runs at a fast pace, you can still harvest along windbreaks and other obstacles. The machine will then protrude about a meter.
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The Ventor is essentially 2 SE machines built together in a mirrored arrangement. After the hedgehog belts, the product comes together again.
Harvesting in a dog walk
There is also a special piece of technology involved in harvesting in a dog walk. The harvesting head can move to the left and right, while the 2 fall-through mats move with it. The harvester then throws the product a little further onto the belt.
The fall-through mat also moves in height, so that the fall height does not increase. The Ventor is on 900/70R32 tires at the front and 900/60R38 at the rear. They are necessary to bear the weight. Grimme has in mind that users of the machine spend a lot of time on the road. Tires are then the best option. With 4-wheel steering, the harvester turns remarkably tight. Good 6 meters.
Zero series in 2018
A haulm topper does not hang in front of the harvester, because it has a fall-through mat. In extreme situations, however, that clapper is required. Grimme is still thinking about that. The harvesting head is ahead of large steel wheels, which are already familiar from the Tectron. A zero series of 2018 machines will be built for 5. Now 2 prototypes are running in practice. The new CCI 1200 terminal will be installed in the cabin. Electronics takes over a large part of the adjustments. The Ventor is also well equipped with cameras.
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The Evo 290, not yet in its final styling, is an SE 260 with 20% more cleaning surface, 3 driven wheels and a 9 tonne bunker. There is still plenty of room to build AirSep.
Evo 290 on 3 wheels
Also new is the Evo 290, the successor to the SE 260. It has 3 driven wheels, so that harvesting can also take place under extreme conditions. This undercarriage bears the name Trisys. "Dutch users ask for that," says product specialist Dirk-Jan Stapel.
The machine can be equipped with a 9 tonne bunker or a 5,5 tonne non-stop unloading bunker. Previously, the maximum capacity was 6 tons. In this way it also meets questions from practice. VarioDrive, the hydraulic-mechanical drive for the harvesting mats, can also be found on the Evo. The sieve area has been increased by 260% compared to the SE 20. Just like on the self-propelled vehicle, electronics take over many functions from the driver.
Where is AirSep?
What is striking is the large space that falls behind the tandem wheelset. AirSep is also 1 of the Big 5 novelties, as it announces. However, in practice it did not yet show it at the press demonstration. There is a good chance that the AirSep system will soon be featured on the Evo 290. It will finally be commercially available from 2018, after Grimme showed the Spudnik technique for the first time at Agritechnica 2013. The first 150 units have already been sold. The technique not only removes stones from the product flow, but also clods.
Electronic sorting by cistern
The brand also presents a more accurate sorting capacity on the PowerCombi cistern. In addition to a reading table and PU cleaning rollers, it is equipped with a Field Potato Sorter (FPS) from manufacturer Tomra. Paddles knock clods, stone and other junk out of the lot. To do this, the potatoes are first sorted into 2 sizes. The bantam is cleaned of rubbish using a standard clod separator. The machine has a maximum capacity of 100 tons per hour, claims the manufacturer.
The other novelties, which fall outside the Big 5, are somewhat smaller in view of the other news. For example, the SoftFlow option will be introduced on all conveyor belts. These are moving PU fingers that limit fall heights. They can also be mounted on existing tires.
beet harvester update
No major changes are made to the Rexor beet harvester. The most innovative is Speedtronic, a load-dependent speed cleaning of the cleaning turbines and elevator. This means that the driver has less to worry about at the machine. The unloading belt has been slightly adjusted for the 2017 harvesting season.
The Multi-chipper topper has flails that also work between the beets, so that slack leaves are removed. In addition to Opel wheels, driven harvesting shares can also be chosen. A welcome option for the Netherlands. The ProCam camera system provides a 360 degree view around the rear of the machine.
Niels van der Boom
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