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Baling on it

McHale will have a selection of wrappers on display at the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) Farm Machinery Show in Punchestown, along with a wide range of other machinery for both the farmer and contractor.

This range has recently expanded, according to the company, to include mowers, rakes and balers, but wrapping is still the main priority for the company that has been a key player in wrapper development for the last 30 years.
One of the McHale highlights is the fully automatic V6760 baler, which is the highest-spec machine in the V6 range, which is Isobus compatible with the option of using McHale’s ISO-PLAY 7 or ISO-PLAY 12 terminals, to allow the operator to experience the highest level of customisation and machine performance. Building on the current V6 range, McHale has added the following features to the V6760:

Profi-Flo pick-up
McHale has created its highest output pick-up for the V6760. The new Profi-Flo pick-up has been designed to increase crop intake through more efficient crop flow and has been engineered to ensure end users are operating with a high-performance pick-up that is designed to suit various working conditions.
The new tapered feed channel encourages the crop to flow from the pick-up, towards the rotor and into the bale chamber, maximising throughput. To reduce maintenance, all Profi-Flo pick-ups are fitted with a heavier driveline which reduces chain load and increases chain life.

Customers can choose between a five-tine bar cam track pick-up or, the optional, 6-tine bar camless pick-up which has increased in width. Behind the tines, customers will notice a number of changes to improve the flow of crop into the chamber. The newly designed lateral feed augers direct the crop into the large diameter rotor which allows for maximum throughput. McHale has also introduced the Adaptive Intake which has been specifically designed to allow the intake area to automatically adjust up and down to changes in material flow. The design of this intake area has a number of advantages: it automatically adjusts to the volume of crop, which allows the machine capacity to be maximised in light and heavy rows/swaths; the intake area automatically adjusts to allow the machine to better handle uneven and lumpy rows/swaths; better crop intake; and less chance of blockages occurring.

1,000RPM gearbox
A 540rpm gearbox is equipped on the V6760 as standard. To optimise machine performance, a 1,000rpm gearbox is available as an optional extra, which provides the following advantages: the 1,000rpm gearbox results in an increase in PTO speed with a substantially reduced torque; this reduces the sharp loads on the drive line, providing the clutch setting with 10 per cent more capacity which reduces the risk of blockages and provides more throughput; the option to select a lower PTO speed (if available) on the tractor for easier restarts in the unlikelihood of blocking; and for lower tractor engine speeds and best fuel efficiency, the 1,000rpm gearbox can be run at an optimal speed range of 900-1000rpm.

Intelligent Chamber Control
This increases the opening and closing speed of the chamber, which helps to contribute to higher productivity of the machine. The variable chamber opening height has also been adjusted to suit the bale diameter and increase the ejection speed of the bale for maximum output and operator comfort.

Electronic variable density pressure regulation
This results in increased bale density, due to the higher loads exerted on the bale at optimum stages of the bale formation.

Load cell bale shape indicators
These are fitted on each door lock and measure the bale load on each side, and displays accurate bale shape feedback to the operator.

Hydraulic bale kicker
This lowers or raises as the chamber door opens or closes, allowing the bale to be ejected with more momentum, clearing the door swing zone.

New net system
This has a larger brake, allowing for 25 per cent more stretch, which improves performance when baling in high densities.

Auto unblock
When connected to an Isobus tractor, the V6760 will auto unblock by lowering the drop floor automatically once the software detects a blockage. Once the operator restarts the PTO and the blockage clears, the drop floor will automatically rise to its original position.

Automatic drop floor reset
This comes as standard on the V6760 when using Isobus or an ISO-PLAY terminal. If a blockage occurs, the operator can press one button on the control console which lowers the floor. After the PTO is re-engaged and the blockage is fed through, the drop floor will automatically rise, and the knives will reset to their original position.

Automatic knife drop feature
This is available on the McHale V6760 and can be enabled by the operator using the control terminal in the cab. This allows the operator to chop the crop until the bale is almost complete, at which point the machine will automatically drop out the knives. Depending on the feeding method, this improves fodder distribution, keeping the bale neater when the net is removed.

Knife cleaning cycle
On the McHale V6760, to ensure effective operation and a consistent chop length is achieved, the operator can set a knife-cleaning cycle to run at desired intervals. This prevents the knives getting jammed when not used for prolonged periods.