Direct contact
Massimiliano Casini-Cherici +49 (0) 7303 - 92874 - 26 casini-cherici@ttv-gmbh.de
These days, the agricultural engineering sector is characterised above all by high-tech solutions, and the complexity of this technology has meant that there has long been a shortage of skills in this area, as has already been seen in other technology sectors. Field robots and GPS-supported tractors are conquering farming and marking a digital revolution.
Although this sector is relatively small compared to the mechanical engineering or automotive sectors, Germany is one of the leading countries in this field in terms of technology, with an export share of over 70 %.
There is a good reason behind this change towards increasing productivity. The world population is continuing to increase, and people need to be fed. According to estimations by the UN, the number of people living on earth will increase from the current figure of around 7.5 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050.
A combine harvester can harvest 100 tonnes of grain every hour, supplying a city with bakery products all day long. But even these impressive figures aren't enough to feed the growing world population.
Therefore, it is up to the agricultural engineering sector to further increase the productivity of the machines and to use digitally supported technology to increase efficiency in land management.
The agriculture industry also has to face major societal challenges, with consumers from industrial nations increasingly demanding organically produced products while the amount of available agricultural land is decreasing.
The requirements in the field of agricultural engineering are clear: Increased productivity, more output, larger area throughputs and increasingly intelligent solutions with assistance systems for the operators of agricultural machinery. There is no magic solution here though, as it is also important to ensure a very good price-to-performance ratio in an extremely competitive world market.
The variety of products used in agricultural engineering is huge. These products range from tractors and sowing machines to harvesting equipment, combine harvesters, feeding technology and soil-cultivating machines right through to manure technology and small tractors such as those used for managing the land in vineyards.
This wide variety of products and the high strains put on the technology call for maximum quality and individual solutions, both from the machine manufacturers and from the suppliers of components and assemblies on the market. These high demands also mean that the number of engineers employed in agricultural and forestry engineering has almost doubled over the last 5 years, making it an increasingly interesting profession with excellent career opportunities, including the chance to work abroad.
Over recent years, we have further established ourselves as a specialist in agricultural engineering, with our two competence fields of seals and slide bushings. For us, typical challenges include applications relating to drive trains, transmission gearing, ring gear seals and axles. Standard products from stock are often not adequate in dealing with the enormous strains cause by mud, heat, cold, sand and dust, and the increased land management and the introduction of multiple annual harvests mean that more strain is automatically being put on the materials.
This clear development has lead to the strategic decision to set up a separate development area for customer-specific product solutions, with substantial capacity to support our customers. We have an experienced team of specialists in the fields of technology and engineering working in this new area, and we attend to every conceivable detail of a project. Material properties, material composition and
design make sure that the media are kept permanently and sustainably separated from one another and that the elasticity and functionality are retained even under extreme
weather conditions.
Over recent years, we have further established ourselves as a specialist in agricultural engineering, with our two competence fields of seals and slide bushings. For us, typical challenges include applications relating to drive trains, transmission gearing, ring gear seals and axles. Standard products from stock are often not adequate in dealing with the enormous strains cause by mud, heat, cold, sand and dust, and the increased land management and the introduction of multiple annual harvests mean that more strain is automatically being put on the materials.
This clear development has lead to the strategic decision to set up a separate development area for customer-specific product solutions, with substantial capacity to support our customers. We have an experienced team of specialists in the fields of technology and engineering working in this new area, and we attend to every conceivable detail of a project. Material properties, material composition and
design make sure that the media are kept permanently and sustainably separated from one another and that the elasticity and functionality are retained even under extreme
weather conditions.
A solution for every current requirement.
Sector
Agricultural technology/agricultural machinery
Problem
Leakage due to wear and thermal overloading.
Project
To improve the abrasion behaviour and the temperature resistance of NBR shaft sealing rings.
Usage
Sealing the distributor unit on harvesting equipment and soil cultivation machines. For global use in agricultural engineering technology combined with customer-specific external and internal media.
Reqirement
Defining a material for improving the wear or abrasion behaviour and increasing the temperature resistance.
Test/test setup
Three durability test benches were fitted with shaft sealing rings and rotor shafts, and are put into operation under completely identical conditions (speed, pressure, clockwise/anti-clockwise rotation, standstill, time etc.) but with different materials.
Usage conditions in the field were simulated by means of inadequate lubrication at points, as well as external impact from defined dirt using a mud box.
Result
Taking into account the price-to-performance ratio and the achieved results, the customer opted for the ttv-HNBR compound out of all the tested NBR, HNBR and FPMn materials following evaluation and discussions with our technicians.
The outstanding abrasion behaviour of this material, even compared with that of FPM, is what brings particular added value. The resulting longer service life not only makes up for the increased price compared to NBR, but when combined with the increased temperature resistance, also provides the possibility of increasing the speed and therefore the operating speed of the machines.
Advantage
No leaks after 1080 hours.
