Technology: John Deere sharpness reaps Agritechnica awards
From the 311 innovations section entries, three of the five gold medals and 10 of the 44 silver medals went to John Deere and partner companies.
Agritechnica, in Hanover, Germany, November 10-14, is the biennial meeting place for the agricultural machinery and equipment industry, attracting farmers, contractors, dealers and traders from all over the world.
Two years ago, 450,000 visitors attended, including 107,000 from outside Germany.
It is the world’s innovations showcase for manufacturers, and has proved a great opportunity for John Deere to reap the benefits of continuing high investment in research and development, aided by industry partners and service providers, along with technical universities and research institutes that work with John Deere.
The John Deere ProCut is the company’s 2015 gold medal winner of greatest interest to Irish farmers, with many of the company’s self-propelled forage harvesters used in this country.
ProCut will monitor and adjusts the spacing between the knives and the shearbar of a forager’s cutting drum, on-the-go.
High precision sensors incorporated in the shearbar continuously measure the spacing between knives and shearbar, and monitor the sharpness of the knives.
Agritechnica innovation judges said this system offers great benefits, because it always indicates the best time to adjust the counter-blade and sharpen the knives, and also recommends the number of grinds to be applied.
With these elements always in their best condition, fuel consumption drops, and so do the costs for knives, counterblade and grinder.
