Baler-wrappers are machines designed to produce high-quality forage, in accordance with the requirements of sustainable agriculture. Their complicated structure, and significant loads occurring during operation, prompted the creation of systems for controlling the machines’ processes and measuring the most important work parameters, in this work. The compaction control system is based on a signal from the force sensors. It allows for detection differences in the compression of the bale and additionally protects against overload. The method of measuring the swath size, with the use of a 3D camera, was presented. Scanning the surface and travelled distance allows for estimating the volume of the collected material—making it possible to create yield maps (precision farming). It is also used to vary the dosage of ensilage agents, that control the fodder formation process, in relation to the moisture and temperature of the material. The paper also deals with the issue of measuring the weight of the bales—securing the machine against overload and collecting data for planning the bales’ transport. The machine, equipped with the above-mentioned systems, allows for safer and more efficient work, and provides information about the state of the crop in relation to a geographical position, which allows for further inferences.
The progressive technical development of agriculture and the desire to increase the efficiency and quality of agrotechnical processes related to soil cultivation forces the use of more and more complex automation and robotisation processes in agricultural technology. The article introduces the reader to modern control systems for automatic hoeing tools and presents a modern control system for a baler-wrapper, the project of which (POIR.04.01.04-00-0067/18) is implemented by the authors in the Łukasiewicz Research Network Industrial Institute of Agricultural Engineering consortium with the Metal-Fach company. One of the reasons for the automatisation of agricultural machinery is the departure from chemical methods of cultivating crops, due to the growing awareness of consumers who want ecological and thus healthier products. The influence of automation on organic farming was characterized and its general principles were presented. The automatic cultivators were divided based on the kinematics of the tool movements they operate on the basis of machine vision. The results of the baler-wrapper tests were presented, confirming the validity of the designed control system. The authors summarized the main advantages and disadvantages of the systems for correcting the position of working tools of machines, considering the profitability of this type of investment on the example of weeder and a baler-wrapper. The article adopts the hypothesis that the development of agricultural automation has a positive effect on the development and popularity of organic farming.
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