•
LAMMA PREVIEW
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
JANUARY 2017
Specialised vegetable planters
Italian company
Ferrari
is
looking forward tomeeting
vegetable growers at LAMMA on
outdoor
Stand G57
, where they
will be exhibiting specialised
vegetable planting equipment.
Premieringwill be the Ferrari
Fast Block square block
transplanter, which has been
developed specifically for the UK
market. The Fast Block will be of
particular interest to growers
who are looking to replace
traditional older style planters
still popular amongst British
farmers. Themachine combines
simplicity of use with speed and
neat planting quality (diamond
pattern, even planting depth,
even plant spacing). The
machine opener is only 70mm
wide.
In addition to the Fast Block,
Ferrari will also be showing the
Ferrari FMax module planter and
the Remoweed automated
weeder.
Further to advancements in
the company’s Auto-Touch HMI
controls, which have seen the
introduction of Pro-Series
control features including
safety, diagnostics and
maintenance features for more
efficient running andminimal
downtime,
Tong
is set to
showcase the latest model of
its market-leading Caretaker
mobile grader, featuring the
new advanced HMI control
system on
Stand R37
at
LAMMA.
Available as an option on all
its latest equipment, Tong’s
Pro-Series controls can be
specified as part of the Auto-
Touch HMI control system,
adding a level of control and
system intelligence that brings
users advanced system
monitoring and reporting.
And tomake it easy for
visitors to see how the new
controls canmake a difference
when specified as an option on
the latest Caretaker, Tongwill
be offering demonstrations of
the Pro-Series HMI control
features on their Stand at
LAMMA, with an interactive
control panel, whichwill
simulate typical operating
situations, and show how
these can be quickly controlled,
adjusted and rectified directly
from the touch-screen.
“Our Caretaker grader is
continuously developing to
ensure it offers efficient and
advanced handling tomeet
the demands of progressive
potato and vegetable
growers,” says NickWoodcock,
Sales Manager at Tong
Engineering.
“Andwith our new pro-series
controls, we are introducing
advanced technology to the
vegetable handling industry to
make equipment control,
diagnosis, problem solving and
maintenance, much quicker
and easier than ever before.”
16
Specialised vegetable
planting equipment
Ferrari’s Fast Block square block transplanter has been developed specifically
for the UKmarket.
Tong to showcase latest Caretaker
and Pro-Series controls
NewAVRmachinery on show
The latest model of Tong’s market-
leading Caretaker mobile grader,
featuring the new advanced HMI
control system.
AVR
introduced lots of new
machinery in 2016, including
the new All Conditions Control
(ACC) option on the Puma 3
harvester, and new crop
handlingmachinery like the
Cobra storeloader and the
Falcon receiving hopper. The
company will be presenting
these at LAMMA on
Stand
G59
, alongside their GE-Force
cultivator and Ceres 400, 4-row
plantingmachine.
The new ACC option on the
Puma 3 harvester is designed to
enable optimal harvesting
under all conditions. This front-
end enables growers to dig up
the potatoes without putting
any pressure on the ridges,
because the diabolos hover
above the ridges. This can be a
great advantage under difficult
harvesting conditions.
The ACC front-end is a single
broad front-end, with 8 large
(900mm) driven disks. The
depth is adjusted by two corner
sensors, whichmonitor the
movement of two skids. The
diabolos can be hydraulically
controlled from the cabin, to
regulate the depth.
One of the new features of
the Cobra store loader is the
hydraulic wheel drive. The
counterweights are placed on
the side so that there is no
closing below the conveyor belt
to avoid soil accumulation. The
control system (CAN bus) with
touchscreen and robust keypad
was developed from scratch by
AVR.
The conveyor belt is
electrically-powered, and the
machine is easily accessible for
maintenance and inspection.
The continuously variable
speed of the hydraulically-
drivenwheels ensures a
uniform distribution and
constant flow of potatoes in
the storage unit.
