Following on from the launch of the original BagPress in 2013, Samco will showcase its new BagPress 2 at this week’s FTMTA Farm Machinery Show.
This machine incorporates bagging into a 50t/hr crimper.
The crimper is integrated into the front of the bagger and can be left in position when bagging bulk material. Two panels inside the main hopper are brought together hydraulically, to form a new hopper for grain crimping.
This machine can bag forage maize, whole crop, beet and straw mix, chopped grass, potatoes, brewer’s grain, chicken litter, beans, peas and saw dust.
Three augers
The main hopper is fitted with three augers. The main bottom auger is driven from the PTO. It boasts increased flight distance compared with the BagPress 1. A newly designed packer impeller is fitted to the end of the auger, for better bag compaction in dry bulky crops.
The second auger is hydraulically driven, with variable-speed control and an off-centre spiral to increase agitation and to prevent bridging in the main hopper.
The third open-centre auger is also hydraulically driven, with adjustable speed, to feed grain to the flapper impeller ahead of the crimper. This auger is reversible. This is useful during bulky crop bagging, to increase agitation in the main hopper. The bagger is fitted with an independent, twin-pump hydraulic system with on-board controls.
Spinning at speed
The crimper’s toothed rollers spin at different speeds to crush grains through an adjustable gap, depending on the customer’s requirement. These rollers are similar to crushing rollers used in a corn cracker or kernel processor in a forage harvester, but with “extra-fine teeth to ensure that every grain is crushed”.
A stone trap and magnets are fitted before the flapper feeder, to protect the rollers. This can be cleaned out, thanks to an inspection panel located ahead of the feeder.
Samco has notched up two awards for the existing BagPress design, including “The Rural Innovation Award for 2015” and “The Agribusiness Innovation Award for 2015”.
The original machine was designed to allow farmers to store on-farm, high-value moist feed. The BagPress, says the company, reduces the need for drying and is ideal for buffer feeding when supplementing grass.