Massey Ferguson aiming to level the playing field
MASSEY FERGUSON is to make its robust levelling system called ParaLevel available on their 250hp rated Activa S 5- and 6-walker combine models from next season. The system uses parallel linkage for machine levelling whilst allowing the fitting of wider tyres but maintaining the important 3.5m width for road transport.
The ParaLevel system improves safety and enables the operator to enhance performance by reducing losses and improving the sample quality from hilly areas,” he explains.
With adjustable concave and speed setting, the rotary separator used on these combines further optimises separation with a gentle action on the straw and grain. The 4.3m-long straw-walkers have four steep steps and 210mm-high ‘active walls’ — punched grids — to increase the open area.
Excellent cleaning from the large grain pan and optimised air-flow results in a clean sample in the 8,200 litre capacity grain tank. The system provides automatic levelling across slopes of up to 20pc on the standard 4WD unit and 15pc on the optional 2WD specification using a parallel linkage.
The clever system connects the front wheel hubs to the chassis via a lower triangularshaped bracket and a link arm above, thereby forming a parallelogram-shaped linkage.
The design means that there is no need for cumbersome assemblies to turn the entire final drive units — it moves only the hubs.
This offers the advantage of allowing the combines to be equipped with wide tyres and still remain within the permitted transport width limit of 3.5m - for example, 800/65 R32 tyres on the MF 7345 Activa model.
Both models also benefit from a high capacity hydrostatic pump.
This generates higher torque and hydrostatic power which, along with the four-wheel-drive rear axle, helps the combines to climb the steepest slopes, thereby increasing harvesting efficiency.
Also new for next season is a constant speed function where operators can select two speeds via the multifunction lever simply by pushing the lever to the right.
The combine will seek and maintain this speed until a correction is made by the operator.
This makes combining much easier and allows the operator to focus on everything around him.
Both models are equipped with the automatic cropsetting feature. This feature monitors all the main combine functions and provides automatic machine settings for 15 different crops.
All the operator needs to do is select the crop on the coloured touchscreen and the system automatically places the key functions such as the threshing cylinder speed, concave setting, sieve setting and fan speed to default positions.