McHale always have a little something tucked up their sleeve for the Ploughing and this year they have no less than three new new machines to present to the world, with the major item being a driven axle on the Fusion 4 baler.
This new development has been in demand for some time, according to the company, and they have been working on it for the last couple of years, with machines being field-tested in the north of the island of Ireland.
The actual axle unit is made by the Finnish company Black Briun, which is well known for equipping logging trailers with powered axles and enjoys a strong reputation in the Nordic countries.
Control is the key
However, it is not simply a case of bolting the axle on and plugging it into the rear of the tractor – it needs to be controlled and it is here that a little bit of magic is required.
The axle (two separate stub axe units in reality) is fed by the same hydraulic feed that operates the baler functions and may be activated in three different ways.
McHale have made it known that they have enthusiastically embraced ISOBUS, and while the system has been generally used for informing the operator of what is going on with the baler, in this application the company has taken the next step.
McHale deploys TIM
The first is that the driver may simply switch it on via the ISOBUS screen, though this manual control is supplemented by two further cues from the tractor.
One is that, on detecting that the tractor is having to increase RPM, the system cuts in; the other is that when tractor wheel slip exceeds a threshold, oil flow is directed to the drive units.
For safety purposes, the system cuts altogether when forward speed exceeds 12kph, such as when returning to the road for transport.
In addition to the drive units, McHale have increased the tyre size on the Fusion 4 baler to 710/25. These are supplied by Vredestein, who designed the tread pattern for just this purpose.
The Fusion 4 has been particularly appreciated in hilly regions and soft soil, where it has become one of those options that, once used, the operator wishes never to return to a standard baler.
