Electric excavator a world first
Signalling changing times, the construction and agricultural machinery maker JCB has begun producing the world’s first fully electric mini excavator.
So a multi-faceted mixer-feeder bucket that can cut, mix and discharge might prove useful for those looking for better stack/clamp management, or just to mechanise feeding in irregular-shaped or old cattle yards.
This describes the Emily Melodis mixer-feeder, distributed by Ag-Attachments, that comes with a heavy-duty bucket in a range of sizes from 0.9 to 7.5cu.m.
These units suit operation on telescopic handlers or loading shovels, allowing them to be manoeuvred into tight spaces typically inaccessible to tractor/mixer wagon combinations. They suit grass and maize silages, PKE and minerals.
In the base of the bucket a dual-helix mixer screw is driven from either end to reduce dynamic loads. Discharge of the mixed ration is via a guillotine-style gate at one end of the machine.
There’s a choice of upper attachments: either a basic hydraulic grab or a hydraulically driven rotor that cuts upwards and deposits material in the bucket. The resultant stack face is smooth, well-sealed and remains consolidated, so resisting secondary fermentation and spoilage.
In operation, dry materials are loaded first, followed by the grass and maize silages. The bucket is ‘crowded’ back to the vertical position, with a load mixed in two-three minutes. Typically, a 3cu.m bucket has enough capacity to feed 30 to 35 animals dependent on their age and size.
Construction is heavy duty, with high-wear areas done in Hardox steel or optional stainless-steel liners.
