Producers are increasingly seeking technology. Not that indecipherable technology, but that which is tangible and indisputable, simple to recognize and which brings tangible results. It is known that agribusiness moves the country's trade balance, remaining one of the main responsible for economic stability. It is also a fact that, in recent years, conditions have been extremely favorable for Brazilian producers. But it is impossible to deny that, if it were not for the tireless work on agricultural research and innovations by agribusiness companies and the investment by Brazilian producers in new work formats, the result would not be the same.
It is this entrepreneurship that makes Brazil a country with a lot of room to advance. The challenge now is to find technologies to grow profitably and at the same time sustainably. Focused on these objectives, Case IH presents to the market the new concept of excellence, Efficient Power, a set of technological solutions developed for rural producers to obtain the best profitability from their crops.
These solutions result in better energy and productive use of machines in the field. Reducing production costs and gaining efficiency are the key points to offset the various difficulties we face, such as global competition, high local costs, tax burdens, logistical and bureaucratic bottlenecks. As a provider of agricultural machinery solutions, the brand invests in research and development of new products with the aim of reducing this concern. Efficient Power is nothing more than the structured search for innovations during product development, aiming for maximum energy efficiency in equipment.
The latest launches are improvement models - the new lineage of Puma tractors, from 140hp to 185hp, illustrates this evolution well. For the first time in Brazil, the medium power segment now has technological resources previously available only in high power segments. The main tool developed within the Efficient Power concept for this product was the APM automatic productivity management system, a great novelty in the sector. In addition to tractors, the concept of Efficient Power is also applied to all product lines and you can follow the details here.
In this article, I want to present how some of these new features work in the field and generate savings. It is worth mentioning that the development of the solutions presented here (APM System, CVT and Smart Cruise) is possible especially because the Efficient Power concept is inserted from the conception of each product, it is a new development philosophy. All of this is the result of investment in medium and long-term research, which also involves a team of experts focused on the constant search for results, understand why.
REAL ECONOMY - EFFICIENT POWER
AND ITS ENERGETIC RETURN
Make agriculture increasingly profitable, with investments in the right technologies, ensuring profitability. This is the true meaning of the Efficient Power concept. Agribusiness companies have a great opportunity to improve their production performance through the correct use of technology, and productivity gains are directly linked to this.
CANE HARVESTERS - SYSTEM
SMART CRUISE AND MULTI ROW
It is estimated that in the operations of a sugarcane harvester, for example, fuel can reach 37% of the total cost. In other words, any reduction, no matter how small, has a major impact on profitability. One of the solutions presented, already tested and approved by the market, is Smart Cruise, used by sugarcane harvesters and which automatically controls the rotation of the machine's engine, generating savings of up to 25% in fuel consumption.
Smart Cruise is software specially developed by Case IH that improves the fuel consumption of harvesters in situations with lower load demands. The technology aims to automatically adjust the harvester's working rotation, based on the load required by the operation, enabling a reduction in consumption. It also acts in situations where the machine is idle, such as, for example, in cases where the harvester is stopped for more than 15 seconds, headland maneuvers, transportation, among others. In these situations, Smart Cruise automatically reduces engine speed, contributing to fuel savings.
Unlike other fuel saving solutions available on the market, Smart Cruise does not present operational losses as the hydraulic system is less demanding. The primary extractor reaches working speed even with the system activated, with no need for the operator to reduce engine speed, thus ensuring real savings.
In the sugarcane segment there are also Multi Row harvesters, which are already a reality and make it possible for the first time to harvest sugarcane in various spacings, such as two rows of 1,4m or 1,5m, through an exclusive system of line and power dividers. This system, associated with Smart Cruise, creates a reduction in costs and consumption per ton harvested never before seen in the sugarcane sector.
TRACTORS – APM SYSTEM
APM (Automatic Productivity Management) has a direct impact on increasing productivity and reducing fuel consumption. This automatically selects the correct transmission ratio for carrying out the activity, always aiming for the ideal relationship between performance and fuel consumption, providing savings of up to 20%.
In the case of Puma tractors from 140 to 185, the operator selects the desired speed and the system is responsible for adjusting the gear that is most appropriate for a given operation, thus achieving the appropriate speed for each type of soil and implement being pulled. , optimizing machine performance. If there is overload at any point, due to the soil being more compacted, for example, the tractor reduces gear and then returns to the ideal gear, automatically. This adaptation directly reduces fuel consumption. This is a big new addition to the market in the medium power segment and was already available for the larger models in the family, the Puma 205 and 225.
The same technology was already available on Magnum tractors from 235 to 340, and Steiger articulated tractors from 450 and 550, with an important difference. While on Puma tractors the APM automatically controls the best gears for the operation, on Steiger and Magnum tractors the APM system regulates both the gears and engine speed. In practice, the operator determines the work speed and the tractor will calculate the rotation and gear appropriate for the work, regardless of the conditions of the field or activity. In both cases, activation is done with the simple push of a button.
In Graph 1 it is possible to see an example of a consumption map of a Puma 225 in soil preparation operation, made by the AFS precision agriculture system, during tests on a client's farm. The upper half of the area, predominantly blue, was made with the APM system turned off, while the lower part of the area, predominantly yellow, was made with the APM system on. There is a significant drop in fuel consumption when using APM. The APM system brings increased productivity, reduced consumption and simplified operations to agriculture.
GRAIN HARVESTERS
POWER PLUS CVT SYSTEM
The third example is the Power Plus CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) drive system., which consists of the application of CVT systems to drive the industrial system of the 7230, 8230 and 9230 harvesters. Two drives of this type are used in the machine: one for the rotor and another for the feeder and cutting platform. Power Plus CVT drives result in the efficient transfer of power from a mechanical system with the convenience of variable hydraulic control (Graph 2).
These drives are robust and have several variable speed ranges, in addition to offering the additional benefit of transmission of drives with cardan shafts, thus replacing a series of belts, pulleys, bearings and bearings found in other systems available on the market. In this way, the CVT generates great efficiency in the transmission of energy between the engine and the machine's power components, estimating up to 92% efficiency in energy transmission. This way, it requires less engine power to drive the industrial system and, consequently, less fuel.
Furthermore, the rotor's CVT allows a gain in harvest availability and ease of operation, as it allows the direction of rotation to be varied at any time, with the machine in high gear. In cases of bushing, reversing is done at the touch of a button in the cab and the harvester returns to work in less than two minutes, without the need for the operator to leave the cab.
The CVT system is also revolutionary due to its simplicity of maintenance. By drastically reducing the number of belts, pulleys, bearings and bearings, there is a huge reduction in the number of items for maintenance and lubrication. Fewer items to change, maintain and less risk of downtime during harvest. From a lubrication point of view, in 1.200 hours of work, for example, the system allows six times less lubrication than in another system available on the market. Case IH 230 Series combines require only 82 lubrications at intervals, while another system requires 471 lubrications.
Therefore, the Power Plus CVT system has impacts on consumption, productivity, availability and maintenance. All innovation technology only comes about through investment, research and work in the field. Case IH's concept of Efficient Power is no different, it was only possible through interaction and understanding between everyone involved, from its conception to the final product. This type of technology requires complete integration of the vehicle and its systems, it is not something that simply adapts to a current product. For this reason, Case IH created the Efficient Power concept, which covers all areas of the company. More productivity, less fuel, less maintenance and more availability.
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