Latest News - January 07
17.01.07 - BEAT THE BLOCKAGES
Simba’s Components Division is offering a new ‘Blockage Monitor’ which helps drill operators avoid mistakes like bare patches and thin crops when drilling. The system will be offered as an option on all the company’s drills, and for retro-fitting to any other make.
The ART 100 Advanced Blockage Monitor incorporates ‘smart’ seed flow sensors that detect both blockages in the seed pipes and unexpected changes in the rate of seed flow, and sounds an alarm in the tractor cab when either occurs.
It uses stainless steel sensors positioned unobtrusively in the seed pipes to measure the seed flow, and can handle seeding rates of between 5,000 and 10 million seeds/minute, so it can be used with crops ranging from beans to grass. The sensors themselves are resistant to corrosion, so the drill can be used for ‘combined drilling’.
When they detect a blockage or a variation in seed flow rate the sensors sound an alarm within one second and identify the number of seed pipe on the digital control panel in the tractor cab.
The ART 100’s technology converts electrical signals to optical versions which – combined with case design and materials used – avoids electrical noise and static electricity, so the system always ‘reads true’ and is not prone to false readings.
“Bare patches or areas of crop that are thinner than planned can cause expensive reductions in overall yield”, says Colin Adams, head of Simba’s Components Division: “We think this monitor will help arable farmers achieve more consistent crop establishment, which will make subsequent crop management easier”.
The system typically costs £1,748 for a three metre drill, up to £3,988 for an eight metre model.
