BISO 3D – IN THE FIELD 2020 (PART 3) - LENTIL
PICTURES FROM THE LENTIL HARVEST WITH 3D VARIOFLEX 1070 AIR i
Let’s look at the lentil harvest. In the pictures you can see that the lentil stand can be a very interesting challenge. The value of the crop is really high and the harvest quality is in the first place. Look at our report from the 3D VARIOFLEX AIR i lentil stand harvest. It’s not pea, it’s not soya …
The owners of the BISO 3D headers have a wide range of crops. Lentil is a soft crop lying on the ground and its value is quite high.
We used the New Holland CR9090 SmartTrax from our BISO fleet. We harvested this field in Slovakia, near Sturovo. Behind the combine, you can see the Hungarian hills rising behind the river Danube.
It was a hot day; the soil was dry. Not a typical day for this season.
For the harvest we used the standard BISO 3D VARIOFLEX 1070 AIR I in the 100% FLEX mode. In the picture you can see that the vario table was 60-70% in the front. Our FLEX module is able to work in all vario table positions.
Some areas of the field were full of weed and green material.
As you can see in the photo, some areas were in good shape.
For the combine, it was an easy job for the rotors. The key issue is to get the crop into the combine, i.e. into the header from the ground.
This is a typical picture of the crop – lentil.
… and a second one.
And another one in detail.
The field was not flat. You can’t see it in the picture, but in reality, it is under an angle and not a flat profile. Before that it was the orchard. It is not easy to harvest it with a 7.5m header. We used the 10.7m with a FLEX module.
In such a case the combine capacity is not a limit. All the important is running “in front of the header”.
In many pictures from this harvest, you can see that the vario table is moved to the front. It has no influence on the FLEX module functionality.
On such a field the angle adjustment is very important. You can use the passive approach, this means parallel position of the header´s vario table in relation to the ground, or the more aggressive angle.
In case of a risk of stones, it’s better to move the vario more front (70-80%) to see better what is coming into the combine. You can hear the bigger stones as they “knock” on the stainless header table.
The driver has a very good overview of what is going on in the knife area.
All is stainless – the auger, the vario table and the spring plates of the FLEX module. Lentil harvest is an easy job for the reel. The key job is to provide the flex module and header angle adjustment.
The distance between the double finger and the ground is the key issue during lentil harvest.
It can look like this …..
…. or this. The fingers are touching the ground.
It’s difficult to recognise it from this photo, but this place is far away from “flat”. Or something like flat. In such a case the FLEX module with active air suspension is doing its job.
And the result can be perfect like this …
In this picture you can see that the header angle adjustment is more in the “on top” position. This means not parallel with the ground.
This is possible. But don’t forget the basic rule: “100% FLEX means 100% risk”. But the result is really impressive. We should know that there were no stones on this field and the soil was dry – no sticking on the knife skids and the cutter bar.
Our technology is really not cheap, but if you use it in the correct way, you will get your money back very fast.
The driver of such a big combine has to trust the AUTO mode. Our header is on the same technological level as the modern combines and it is able to help the driver to make a good result.
In the FLEX mode, there is active pressure sensing on the cutter bar, air suspension and the angle adjustment is important as on all vario headers.
In the FLEX mode the cutter bar is going down. It depends on the software set up how much down, but usually “minus 100mm” against the upper position in RIGID mode. In this case you can see a typical feature of our 3D header – the step behind the knife.
The Schumacher double fingers and knife was a standard in 2020. We will keep this option for the next year, too, thanks to good experience in the flex mode. The spring plates behind the knife bar are from high quality material.
In this dry soil, it was possible to go to the limit with the ground pressure without any risk of sticking the soil under the knife area as you can see on the photo. The farmers have more reasons to go down with the knife, but the owner has to calculate with a higher knife wear. Generally, after the rain.
This picture is taken from the cab. You can easily see which position is the header angle adjustment in (35% on top).
If all setups are optimal, the FLEX module is only “sliding” above the ground based on the ground pressure setup (from 2-50kg).
With the FLEX module the 10.7m header looks already „not so big“.
With such headers, you can check the quality of your work very quickly. The real movement of the cutter bar is difficult to see from the cab. This is the reason why you can see the position of the parallelograms on the display of the tablet screen.
… and in real life. In the picture you can see the changes in the header adjustment.
With the 3D VarioFlex AIR i, you can achieve the best harvest quality with a big header and combine.
You can react quickly to the changes of the harvesting conditions.
For the first pass, it is good to move the vario front to see the knife bar well.
Select the FLEX mode and put the header to the ground.
Start with zero angle adjustment (parallel to ground) and if you see that the conditions need aggressive approach, adjust the header angel on top as it is done in the picture.
Adjust the ground pressure if needed. The experience from this year is that the FLEX module is able to run perfectly with the minimum ground pressure of 2kg on the cutter bar skids.
In case you need it, you can switch the side knives ON. No need to remove the standard fully adjustable dividers on the BISO headers. In the photo the side knives are in “parking” position. On the 3D we only have a hydraulic drive.
The target is: Fluent crop flow to the header. The reel is only slightly supporting it.
The area, where you are earning money.
In case of need, you can go in front of the cutter bar with the reel as it is demonstrated in the picture. In a normal flex header, it is only an issue of time when will you have an encounter between the reel fingers and the knife. Thanks to the BISO ReelAntiCollisionSystem it will not happen on the 3D.
You can see a special sensor on the hydraulic ram for lifting the reel up and down. The hydraulic ram is dual. The upper piston rod is managed by the driver, the lower is managed by the AntiCollisionSystem fully automatically.
The driver does not care about the risk. He is going down to the knife area if needed and only a beep from the tablet informs him that some parallelogram was lifted up, moved in the reel contact area and the reel was automatically lifted up too.
The experience with the BISO ReelAntiCollisionSystem is very good with the 2020 software. Thanks to this system, we can use the reel fingers from spring steel which is more powerful than the plastic one.
The strategy of the reel use is heavily related to the individual driver. They don´t have the same approach. In a crop like lentil, the movement of the reel in front of the cutter bar or above the cutter bar can increase the losses with every touch of the reel finger into the lentil stand. Other drivers use a more passive approach and move the reel behind the cutter bar above the vario table. In this position, the reel is only supporting the material flow on the flat vario table without any risk of losses in front of the header.
The BIO farmers have more troubles with the weed and thanks to crop infections they request to cut all crops near the ground.
In this picture you can see the effect of different setup changes during the drive.
In the AUTO mode, the driver can move with vario table, change the header angle adjustment and set up the ground pressure sensors from 2-50kg in the FLEX mode.
Our CR9090 fleet is a SmartTrax version with 4WD. We are running many tests on this model and they works very well. The optimum for this model is a 12.3m header. But the 10.7m header is a perfect and practical compromise for all conditions and transport.
In a field which you don’t know, it is recommended to use the 50%FLEX mode. We are working on this mode for the 2021 season. The FLEX module will not be so aggressive and the risk will be smaller. This mode will be focused on flat crops, for example.
The best way to check the setup is to lift the header and drive a little back with the combine.
In this picture you can see how does the flex module actually work in a normal situation on the combines with big headers. The knife is usually gently copying the ground contour as you see in the picture.
It’s visualised better in the moment of the lifting up of the small header. The FLEX module has an active air suspension with a ground pressure sensing. The knife angle is the same all the time during the movement of the FLEX module. This is unique for the BISO 3D technology.
As it was mentioned already, the 3D headers have different vario tables and typical for them is a “step” behind the knife of the FLEX module. In the RIGID mode, the difference from the CropRanger is very small but the step is there in the 100% FLEX mode. It protects the combine from stones, but on the other hand it’s a little different from the standard header. In the picture you can see a typical situation for harvesting special crops – the material is sliding in to the header with minimum support and help from the reel.
The optimum combine speed is more than important for a fluent feeding.
The reel, side knife and divider in detail.
The side knife is in the parking position and covered by a yellow cover. The knife is not used, but it works as a passive divider if some bigger weed gets above the divider.
If everything is ok, the header is “sliding” above the ground.
… maybe “flying” is a better word.
We can speak a lot about the setup of the header, but the future is the AUTO mode. The driver will preselect the mode and that’s it …
Only the driver can see what is in front of the header, so in the AUTO mode, he will manage the vario table position and he will control the reel.
With the BISO FLEX technology, we have an impressive tool in our hands.
The header in 100% FLEX mode. The knife is in the lower position. All is made of stainless steel, high quality material – the reason is strength, design and a long lifetime.
The first 3 Schumacher double fingers from BISO are special. The reason is a special BISO knife head. The gearbox is from BISO, too. In the sidewalls, we use a standard and well approved design of the drivelines.
In this picture you can see the field profile where we worked with the 3D header better.
Vario table in detail. It is a new, fully adjustable feature. Typical for BISO.
This picture demonstrates perfectly the system of the VARIO table and the FLEX module with the parallelograms in front. The design is very robust.
The FLEX module in detail. Every 90cm, we have a patented BISO ground pressure sensor integrated in the yellow skid of the cutter bar.
Independent air pressure system for the cutter bar suspension. The air compressor is driven by the header cardan shaft.
On all 3D models, the air compressor is on the left side. It is depending on the weather and moisture – sometimes it’s good to check the cyclone of the air compressor filter and clean it.
The drive chains of the auger have automatic oil grease – the left tank in the picture. The water tank, typical for the BISO header, is not missing on the 3D. It’s fully integrated to the splash guard.
The side panels are completely new on the BISO 3D headers.
The lower black plastic cover protects the gearbox belt drive.
The middle auger console. The auger is divided on the VF1070AIRi model. The high quality and performance of the auger is the backbone of our header. During diagnostic, you can connect only one cardan and drive only the left or right side of the auger in case of searching where is a “noise” coming from.
The Schumacher double fingers are fully integrated into the yellow skids with pressure sensors.
During the work, only the yellow skids are slightly touching the ground and sending the information about the ground pressure to the control module.
The header is above the ground and the FLEX module is “going down” to the ground.
Very important is the speed of reaction of the AUTO mode. The system is very fast and has no problem working up to 8km/hour. The problem is that in such a speed, the driver has a problem to follow the things.
We have these reels and augers in production since 2015.
On the VF1070 and VF1230, we use a single frame piece reel. No middle console.
In the picture you can see that the crop flow is fluent.
And the driver has a very good overview.
We have very good experience with the auger with a middle console.
As it was already mentioned, the 3D VarioFlex AIRi works good from the mechanical point of view. Thanks to the tablet in the cab and the possibility of online updates, we have a huge space for product development in the software area. In the price of the header, the BISO customers receive the access to software updates with new features.
We are changing the shape of the spring plates behind the cutter bar this year. Pictured is the old variant.
In this picture you can see the very fine design of the table floor, the FLEX module and the auger.
The plates of the VARIO table are exchangeable.
Another picture from the lentil harvest.
...and a second picture.
...and a third one.
The access to some fields is sometimes very difficult.
As you see the case in the picture. For such a header, the BISO ProfiSteer trailer with a rear steering axle is a very good option and starting to be a standard for the 10.7m+ headers.
All the connecting points for the BISO header drivers are the same as before. A new one is a flap in the floor under the feeder house for an easier connection in difficult cases, as pictured above, or during the night.
Another new feature is the “PARKING mode” in the tablet menu for an easier setup of the header before putting the header on the trailer.
BISO 2020 … and the last photo.
More about the 3D VARIOFLEX AIR I headers: http://navigator.biso.eu/en/en-biso/harvesting-technics/biso-3d-varioflex-air-i/
Leaflet version in ENG for download: http://navigator.biso.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BISO-3D-VARIOFLEX-AIR-i-ENG.pdf
Other interesting articles:
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BISO 3D – IN THE FIELD 2020 (PART 2)
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BISO 3D – IN THE FIELD 2020 (PART 1) |
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PERFECT IN DETAILS (PART 1) |
