SKF Solutions for Increased Productivity and Sustainability Benefits
October 22, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
SKF has a wide range of technology that can be applied in the Agriculture Industry to increase productivity, lower operational costs and deliver sustainability benefits.
Solutions are typically aimed at extending machine component service life and reducing maintenance, both of which contribute to less stoppages, more reliability, and more machine availability. All of this results in longer operational hours for tractors, combines and attachments in the agriculture industries. Emphasis is also put on designing solutions with minimal lubrication needs. Where needed, the use of automatic centralized lubrication systems provide accurate and timely lubrication to all key rotating, sliding and oscillating positions on the vehicles and equipment. This reduces the use of lubricants, reduces component wear and reduces ground contamination from oil and grease, thus contributing to environmental care and sustainability. Advanced new mechatronics solutions offer greater productivity through ergonomic benefits while consuming less power than traditional hydraulic systems.
SKF Agri Hub increases productivity with less pollution
The SKF Agri Hub is a completely new product used in rotary discs for land tilling. SKF field trials indicate an increase in productivity of up to 150% and a reduction of the total cost of ownership by up to 30%. Furthermore it is lubricated and sealed-for-life saving an estimated 500 kg of grease per machine, over 10 years, that could leak from conventional designs. It is reliable for an estimated 10 farming season and is relubrication- and pollution-free and easy to install. The SKF Agri Hub is a single unit, replacing traditionally up to 15 separate components and is expected to reduce OEM costs in management and overhead by up to 90%.
The SKF self-lubricating axial spherical TX plain bearing and a specially developed seal virtually eliminate the need for maintenance in this steering linkage application. The unit also provides increased load carrying and extended service life.
There is no need for standstills for relubrication and the risk of bearing failures due to improper, or lack of, lubrication is virtually eliminated. It is also environmentally friendly; there is no grease leakage and thus contamination of land is avoided. This solution provides higher reliability and improved productivity.
Operating in temperatures from -20 to +50 degrees Celsius and designed for 300,000 operating cycles in an environment of straw, stones, fertilizers, mud and high pressure water cleaning, the SKF solution outperforms previous designs in this application.
More operator comfort and safety with SKF mechatronics solutions
Global positioning systems (GPS) are widely used in Agriculture Industry, saving time and up to 10% fuel due to no more overlapping by harvesters. Their success is partly due to SKF sensor solutions that are coupled to the GPS.
The SKF sensor solution is in the steering column of the tractor and is coupled to the GPS. It enables the farmer to drive to a starting position and then engage the GPS control for automatic steering while mowing. If the farmer sees obstacles in his path, or needs to turn at the end of the field, he simply turns the steering wheel. This disengages the GPS steering and puts the farmer back in control. When the obstacle is avoided or the turn is made the farmer can re-activate the GPS for the next part of the mowing process.
Continuous variable transmissions (CVT) are used today in many tractors. Although there are many advantage of CVT, especially when mowing, one main issue of this new technology is that the traditional mechanical brake in emergency situations, like mowing downhill, can sometimes be no longer fully effective. This is because if the tractor loses power there is no engine brake possible and the forces involved can be too high for a farmer to apply a hand operated mechanical brake. SKF has developed an electromechanical actuation system that can get power from the battery and provide an effective emergency brake function in all critical conditions for the farmer.
Solar Power, Mechatronics and Economics
August 12, 2008 by Steve Meyer · 2 Comments
At the recent Semicon show the big buzz was about the emerging Solar Energy industry. Lots of “new” products, lots of buzz. The big semiconductor machinery manufacturers who view crystalline solar cells as a stimulus to the demand for machinery and silicon have put in a lot of effort. The main goal? Get the cost of the solar cells down to where electricity produced with silicon is comparable to the cost of electricity generated by fossil fuel.
And, in fact, the industry is getting there. The current estimates are that solar power is costing about the same as peak demand consumer power, $.23/kWh. And with the current wave of investment and scale up, something which the semiconductor industry has always done well, there is serious forecasting that the cost of solar electricity will continue to fall. Read more
Electric Linear Actuators–The Mechatronic Choice
July 18, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
If you’ve not looked at electric linear actuators lately, you may be missing out. Today’s electric linear actuators exemplify mechatronic principles as well as offer more power than earlier versions, with advances in other features including force and load capabilities, and control.
By Randy Bowman, Market Manager –
TECHLINE™ Div., Linak
Crystal McGrew, Marketing Communications
Rapid technological advances and changes in environmental, safety and ergonomic requirements have increased the options and capabilities available in motion control systems. Despite these
advances, though, the temptation to stay with previous choices can be strong. In some industries, there are biases toward certain motion systems, either because of limited knowledge about alternatives or because of precedent. For example, hydraulic powered motion is traditionally the standard in the agriculture industry, pneumatics in certain process industries, and highprecision stepper motors and linear guides in automation. However, motion industry advances have made it necessary for companies and engineers to re-evaluate current choices and biases, and make an educated decision as to what may be the best overall option for the application.
The LINAK® LA36 actuator suits industrial, agricultural and marine environments. It offers a maximum force of 2200 lbs and maximum speeds of 6.3 ips. It operates with either a 12 V, 24 V, or 36 Vdc motor with protection class IP66/IP69K, mechanical overload protection, integrated brake with high self-lock ability, and built in end stop switches.
Read more
Commerce and Creativity
July 10, 2008 by Steve Meyer · Leave a Comment
Everybody knows the story of the electric light. Thomas Edison in the shop with his workers trying to come up with the solution for a filament that would last more than a few minutes under load. The first patent issued for an electric light went to Woodward and Evans in Canada. Many other people demonstrated electric lights, but none were commercially viable. Short life and high cost. But Edison concentrated his creativity on a version that would be more cost effective. Read more
Motors, R&D and Politics
February 23, 2008 by Steve Meyer · Leave a Comment
The “Green Revolution” is under way. Regardless of how you rationalize it, there is a lot of activity around reducing the amount of energy being consumed in almost every aspect of American life. For the most part, its well intentioned. As good stewards of the resources we have, we should use them responsibly.
Energy conservation has been an active part of the mechatronics world for some time. The variable frequency drive, now a $1B+/year product is marketed and sold because of its ability to reduce electrical consumption in about 1/3 of all applications. So we who are part of the drives and controls community have been in the vanguard of energy conservation for many years. An often overlooked fact. We’ve been “Green” for decades. Read more
What is Mechatronics?
December 17, 2007 by Steve Meyer · 4 Comments
It seems as if one of the “new” buzzwords in the industrial controls arena is mechatronics. What was for years, motion control, was reinvented as mechatronics for a variety of reasons. In part, the motion control term didn’t communicate the mechanical nature of the problem. And that is a very important distinction to consider. Good motion control solutions come from good mechanical design. It is almost impossible to fix a mechanical design with high performance motion control hardware. But an elegant mechanical solution with good motion control technology is a beautiful thing indeed. Read more
Energy and Politics
December 8, 2007 by Steve Meyer · Leave a Comment
Yeah, we’re going to get into the “Green” technology issue. But I want to consider the public policy side of energy conservation. This is at least as big a topic and will require several installments, but for today, we’ll talk in terms of motors and controls.
My clothes washer quite recently. The centrifugal switch on the dual winding ac motor got clogged and the motor burned out. It would cost about half the price of a new machine to replace the motor if I did the repair. And we would still have a 12 year old washing machine that had some problems. Read more
