The newly released McHale Fusion 3 Plus can apply plastic to the barrel of a bale instead of twine or net wrap.
Four years of product design by McHale engineers has resulted in an improved system for applying plastic to keep a bale together as it passes from a baler to the bale wrapper.
Known as ‘film on film’, this process is increasingly replacing the traditional method for making silage using twine or net wrap to hold the bale together followed by applying plastic to promote fermentation.
McHale’s Fusion 3 Plus film on film technology adds value by placing more plastic on the largest surface of the bale with the ability to stretch approximately 20 percent.
“This stretch ratio is higher than what can be achieved with net wrap or twine,” explains McHale Sales and Marketing Director Martin McHale.
“As a result the material is kept tighter which ultimately results in better bale shape.
“As the plastic is being stretched it expels more air than net wrap would and as a consequence this results in better silage quality,” McHale says.
In addition, the technology leaves farmers with less plastic waste on feed out during the winter as plastic is used to both bind the bale in the bale chamber and to wrap the bale.
“This reduces the time needed to feed the bale and avoids the unpleasant and time consuming job of separating the twine or net wrap from the plastic before the plastic can be recycled,” McHale says.
“Overall one form of waste results in feeding time being reduced.”
McHale adds over the last four years, the company’s development team has been working with the Fusion plus concept in various countries and in different climates.
“In the development of the McHale Fusion 3 Plus system, we realised changes in temperature and sunlight could affect the chamber wrapping film.
As the day got hotter or cooler the film was either overstretched or under stretched. This in turn would cause reliability problems and result in inefficient film use.
McHale solved the problem with a patented application system which adjusts the breaking force on the roll of plastic in-line with working conditions.
The new system allows for a continuously variable stretch which can adjust to changes in the day automatically without the operator having to adjust any settings.
The McHale patent film application system ensures consistent film stretch, reliable film application and delivers optimum bale shape and bale density.
The system also reduces or eliminates the chances of film breaking due to overstretch on a hot day.
A fully automatic machine, the McHale Fusion 3 Plus is is controlled by the new McHale i Touch Control Unit which has a colour 7 inch touch screen monitor.
The monitor boasts a colour graphic display and a number of physical buttons at the side of the screen to control machine functions when hands may be dirty.
The i Touch monitor also features a camera to monitor wrapper operation.
McHale says over the last decade Fusion machines were supplied as standard with 23 knives.
“The chopper unit on the McHale Fusion 3 Plus is fitted with 25 knives to give better chopping,” he says.
“The McHale Fusion 3 Plus offers the option to upgrade the chopper unit on the machine to a selectable knife system, which provides 3 options: engage and chop with a bank of 12 knifes, or with a bank of 13 knifes.
“Should fine chopping be required the operator can choose to engage both knife banks, which will give a 25-knife chopper system capable of delivering a chop length of approximately 46mm.”
The McHale Fusion 3 Plus can also use net wrap and the switch over process is very simple. If the operator is doing hay or straw the switch back to net wrap is simple and user friendly.
“From what we are seeing once farmers have experienced the increased silage quality which the film on film system delivers they do not want to move back to more traditional methods,’ McHale adds.
“Silage quality is improved and the job is much easier as there is only one form of plastic waste to deal with.”
The McHale brand is distributed in Australia by PFG Australia and will be available in the country early next year.
Click here to find McHale balers and bale wrappers for sale.