Tag Archive for: Accuracy

Combining maximum accuracy with minimum drift

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Combining maximum accuracy with minimum drift: Techneat unveils 2 battery powered additions to its pedestrian sprayer line-up.

Cambridgeshire based manufacturer Techneat Engineering has added 2 new eco-friendly models to its range of world class pedestrian sprayers, with both the Pro-Espray and Prodrift machines offering groundcare professionals a step forward in performance with significant environmental and economic benefits.

Combining maximum accuracy with minimum drift

Combining maximum accuracy with minimum drift

New for 2024, the Pro-ESpray represents a major improvement in battery powered electric sprayers – offering unrivalled performance, fingertip controls and built-in safety features.

Key features include a high-capacity Li-on battery and diaphragm pump specifically designed to offer excellent flow and pressure outputs. The Pro-Esprays’ control systems are based on the companies well established engine driven SPPS model, offering operators individual three-way boom section controls.

Superior sprayer accuracy is combined with triple nozzle holders on a choice of 3 or 4m boom options making the Pro-ESpray a very effective machine, with both noise exposure and vibrations practically eliminated for maximum operator comfort. Advanced safety features include a built-in auto brake, emergency stop and a resettable fuse to protect the operator.

Completing Techneat’s new line-up is the Prodrift. The Prodrift keeps spray drift to an absolute minimum whilst maintaining maximum accuracy and offers operator’s unparalleled manoeuvrability due to its unique 3-wheel set up.

Using a high-power Li-on battery to power a 12v pump supplying 4 spray nozzles mounted into a spray hood, the Prodrift has 2 fixed rear wheels and a front mounted, single pivot wheel enabling it to spray up against boundary edges with a tough roto moulded boom cover and flexible integrated skirt retaining all spray drift. This enables the machine to be used in both critical areas and perform in less than favourable weather conditions.

Pressure control is easy to adjust using a highly visible pressure gauge and the Prodrift also offers a simple handle bar mounted on/off switch, low decibel noise output and low vibration levels for improved operator comfort and performance.

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GKB SP100 improves accuracy and efficiency

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GKB SP100 improves accuracy and efficiency: The Course Manager at Longniddry Golf Club in East Lothian has praised the versatility delivered by their new GKB SP100 topdresser, following its delivery in September 2022.

Replacing an older, heavier unit that was difficult to manoeuvre around the 18-hole links/parkland hybrid course, the SP100 mounts onto their existing ProGator for fast, accurate and efficient dressing of the greens, tees and approaches.

David Drummond joined as Longniddry Course Manager in May 2022, and after a quick assessment of the machinery in the shed, the GKB Sandspreader was one of the first investments to support him and his team of five. “Our previous topdresser was showing signs of age and as a bigger unit that needed a heavy tractor, it wasn’t really suited to our current requirements. With this is mind, I spoke to local dealer Thomas Sherriff & Co about a vehicle-mounted unit” explains David. “Because we only have one utility vehicle, whatever we went for needed to be easily demountable and while I’d not had first-hand experience of the GKB machine before, we looked at it and were instantly impressed.”

“It’s a great set-up, very robust and the controls are all nice and simple. One particular feature we really like is the ability to adjust the distance of the spinning discs on the SP100 which gives us more control over the amount of dressing we apply.”

Offering a range of adjustable parameters, the SP100 is the smallest unit in the GKB Sandspreader range but doesn’t compromise when it comes to capacity – offering a 1m3 hopper which David says has significantly improved the efficiency of the operation. “The hopper is really easy to load using our compact tractor and can hold a good amount of material which results in fewer re-loads, saving all-important labour time.”

David continues, “The SP100 was out on the very first day it was delivered and has so far carried out operations on the greens, tees and approaches and moving forwards it’ll be critical to our ongoing maintenance programme.” He explains that the SP100 will be in use for spring renovations in February and following this it’ll be out at least once a month until October – possibly even conducting some work on the fairways.

“We’ve been really pleased with both the machine and the service and support we’ve received from Sherriff’s throughout and after the purchase process. The team and I now look forward to putting it through its paces in the very busy season ahead.”

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John Deere technology improves accuracy and efficiency

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John Deere technology improves accuracy and efficiency: The 2022 Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year says the technology packed into his John Deere R962i has simplified applications without compromising on the size of the tank.  

Steve May, arable foreman at Fromant and Sanders in Kislingbury, Northamptonshire, has a 6,200-litre tank and 36m boom on his trailed machine, pulled by a 6215R AutoPowr.

John Deere technology improves accuracy and efficiency

John Deere technology improves accuracy and efficiency

The biggest trailed John Deere sprayer available at the time of purchase in 2019, Steve opted to stay loyal to the brand after being impressed with his previous model, the M740.

“The R-series sprayers are already high spec, so a lot of the features I needed came as standard,” he says. “This is our third John Deere sprayer, but this one was a big step up in terms of technology, size and width.”

Twin Select nozzles, one fixed and one quad rotating, means that Steve can alternate between them from the cab, cutting down on the manual changes.

He has been particularly impressed with the PowrSpray system, which boasts separate pumps for filling and spraying. “The filling system on this sprayer is just fantastic,” he says.

“The filling pump has a 1,200-litre/min capacity, so I can fill the tank in around five minutes,” he explains.

Setting how much water he wants on the screen, Steve can depend on the system to fill the sprayer on its own, and he has the option to use the ‘active pause’ function to slow the speed of filling while the chemicals are added.

Altogether Steve sprays 810ha, which is split between the home farm and contracted work and crops grown include wheat, barley, oats, oilseed rape and beans.

“The tractor and sprayer both being John Deere means everything is integrated really nicely, which makes my life easier,” he says.

“I use the tractor’s Greenstar RTK guidance to put the tramlines in, which means I can spray everything with autosteer,” Steve says.

Previously, Steve worked on SF1, meaning he had to correct the guidance lines as he worked. “Now they are perfect throughout the season,” he says.

The 6215R is fitted with 710/70 R42 tyres for the winter and 480/80 R46 rubber in the summer. The sprayer has 710/70 R38 spec for the winter and runs on 420/80 R46s in the summer.

Overall, Steve has been impressed with the R962i’s performance.

“The technology is very clever but on a simpler level it’s easily manoeuvrable for such a large implement, and the axle suspension smooths out the ride.”

Steve has been so impressed that the farm has already placed an order for John Deere’s new R975i which has a 7,500-litre tank and is expected to arrive on farm in time for 2023 spring spraying.

“It’s pretty much the same machine, it just has a bigger tank which will give us a bit more capacity, particularly in the autumn when we’re doing pre-emergence,” Steve says.

“We’re putting 200l per hectare on when we’re spraying pre-emergence herbicides so obviously the more liquid I can get in the tank, the further I can get around in a day.

“I think the new sprayer comes in somewhere around 90 acres per tank load, whereas our current model does 75 acres per tank load.”

Tank size is key because he needs the capacity to avoid having to make journeys back to base to refill.

Although there are a couple of satellite water tanks at his disposal, not having to rely on them so much will provide a significant time saving.

Steve fought off stiff competition to be named Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year, securing his win after impressing the judges in all three rounds.

“It’s not really about driving a tractor or sprayer – it’s about having the knowledge and ability to do the best job you can with what you’ve got,” he explains.

“The judges focus on how you set up your equipment, processes and paperwork to be as precise as possible, because this leads to efficiency, which in turn leads to environmental gains.

“Finding out I had won was fantastic.”

Steve is BASIS and FACTS qualified, and made the final six of the Syngenta-organised competition in 2018 but 2022 was the first time he has taken the top prize which includes a trophy and a trip to Agritechnica 2023.

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Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

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Overmarking accuracy makes the difference: Five minutes into a demo of the Turf Tank One, Haileybury School Grounds Manager, Andy Richards, knew he needed one.

Andy, who has been at the private school for three years, was sceptical about the overmarking ability of the robot, having looked at alternatives over a three-year period. But, the accuracy, quality of the lines and undulation capabilities sold it to him.

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

With 20 sports pitches split between football, rugby and lacrosse to mark and athletics in the summer, Andy’s primary focus was initial marking. During renovations and changeovers between sports, he found his skilled groundsmen were removed from crucial maintenance for up to two weeks.

To combat that, he had to become over reliant on using contractors. This became a costly exercise and was not as flexible as determining your own pitch line-marking schedule.  So, when Andy weighed up the costs for the initial marking against having the accuracy of the Turf Tank One all year round for consistent and regular over-marking, the robot more than justified itself.

“My main concern has always been overmarking because I never thought GPS robots were accurate enough to overmark. So, when we had the demo from Turf Tank, overmarking was the major thing.

“To be honest, because I’d seen so many other GPS markers, either push ones or robots, I was sceptical. But we within five minutes of seeing the Turf Tank in action on the demo, I said I’d buy it because I was so impressed with the quality and precision of the line.

“I’ve used laser markers in the past, and I genuinely thought we’d still use one on our first team rugby and football pitch. But it would be hard for most people to tell the difference between the two, which has been a massive eye opener for me.”

For Andy, utilising the Turf Tank One is also a direct response to the skilled labour shortage in the turf industry, and it was a primary consideration of the school when weighing up their decision.

“Skilled labour is difficult to get, and line marking is a technical job. So, in some ways, that is what got it over the line with the Bursar because we are short staffed, it’s hard to get labour, and it’s hard to get skilled labour.

“To take out one of your most skilled jobs and give it to a robot is almost a no brainer. I’ve got someone now from a different field of expertise, but very keen to learn, and we can now send him out with the robot, and within two hours, he can mark out a running track, a lacrosse pitch, discus, javelin and shotput before break time. And it’s done accurately and perfectly, and it’s just unbelievable because it would have taken one or even two skilled groundsmen until lunchtime. Now I can use their skills and time to improve other areas of our maintenance programme.”

Since receiving their robot in December 2021, Haileybury has seen the full benefit. For example, marking six rugby pitches has gone from taking three people over two days to one person in two hours. Likewise, facilitating a last-minute request for a lacrosse pitch took 15 minutes to line, whereas before, it wouldn’t have happened.

These advantages, along with the service from Turf Tank’s Alex Robinson and Liam Pindred, have led Andy to give some simple advice to anyone considering GPS line marking: “Buy a Turf Tank. I honestly can’t see a downside of it.”

For more information on the Turf Tank One or to have a demonstration contact alex@turftank.co.uk (southern UK) or matt@turftank.co.uk (northern UK).

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BLECavator improves speed and accuracy

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BLECavator improves speed and accuracy: Dales Sports Surfaces are the world’s leading suppliers of indoor and outdoor bowling surfaces.

With an increasing number of clubs looking to convert over to artificial greens, recent investment in the required equipment has seen them take delivery of a BLECavator from Charterhouse Turf Machinery. Their new BV145 works hand-in-hand with other equipment from the BLEC stable to speed up and improve the accuracy of installing the foundation layers.

BLECavator improves speed and accuracy

BLECavator improves speed and accuracy

“We’re getting an ever-growing number of enquiries from clubs who are wanting to install artificial turf because of the costs involved with maintaining natural turf, and a lack of skilled greenkeepers to look after them” explains Managing Director of Dales Sports Surfaces, Richard Steadman. “Knowing we needed to invest in a couple of pieces of machinery to make this work easier and more efficient, I spoke with Charterhouse Turf Machinery who suggested we look at the BLECavator.”

The BLECavator is a one-pass ground preparator – levelling, raking and rolling simultaneously. The BV145 model has a 1.5m working width and cultivates the ground to depths of up to 18cm, using adjustable tines to lift and screen stones and debris. Burying the undesirable material and raking the ground level, the soil is then compacted by the rear-mounted roller ready for the next stage of preparations.

Richard purchased the BLECavator, together with a Redexim Turf Stripper, in June 2019 through their local dealer, FG Adamson & Son. The pair of new machines were recently put to use on a conversion project at Malmesbury Bowls Club in Wiltshire. “The first thing we did was remove the existing surface with the Turf Stripper before we installed the new drainage system. We then used a BLEC Laser Grader to grade the base level and followed up with the BLECavator to apply a stone/cement layer. Finally, we re-graded the base to a level tolerance ready for installation of the green.”

“The BLECavator is a well-built multifunctional tool that is nice and easy to set up and does a fantastic job of stabilising the soil and stone.” Richard concludes, “With the increase in conversion projects we’re seeing, we now have a fleet of machines that work really well together to speed up the process and improve the accuracy and quality of the finish.”

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Intelligent Marking’s Unrivalled Accuracy At SALTEX

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Intelligent Marking’s Unrivalled Accuracy At SALTEX: Intelligent Marking will be exhibiting the industry-leading Intelligent One (IO) robotic line marker on stand G085 at SALTEX 2019.

The IO is the leading robotic line marker in the industry for accuracy, labour saving and productivity. Intelligent Marking is the only company to provide a base station with their robot which ensures a line accuracy of +/-1cm.  The IM robot will overmark lines with supreme precision and mark out new pitches with ease.

Intelligent Marking's Unrivalled Accuracy At SALTEX

By utilising a high accuracy GPS system, the Intelligent One can be used anywhere with unprecedented reliability, while matching the marking speed of any robotic line marker available. It is not reliant on a cellular network as operated by other robots and so does not incur expensive annual contract charges.

The Intelligent One can mark an 11-a-side football pitch from scratch in just 20-25 minutes. The robot can also line for rugby, hockey, athletics and any other chosen sport in a similar time. It will mark out a 400m running track in under two hours with numerous templates for other track and field events available.

Bespoke templates are simple to load and can be easily changed in seconds to suit your site.  Once saved, it is then available at the touch of a button to be overmarked time and time again. The robot is stable on every natural and artificial surface and can work continuously due to interchangeable batteries. The machine is economical to use and the amount of paint can be controlled depending on the preferred nozzle size.

IM recommend their own brand of paint; ProStripe to deliver excellent professional standard lines, every time.

For further information or an on-site demonstration please contact:

Intelligent Marking UK Distributor

Ian Robson

ian.robson@imr.eu

Mobile: 07779 270501

Please visit the website: www.prosportukltd.com or www.intelligentmarking.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Unrivalled Accuracy From Intelligent Marking

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Unrivalled Accuracy From Intelligent Marking: Intelligent Marking will be exhibiting the industry-leading Intelligent One (IO) robotic line marker on stand G085 at SALTEX 2019.

The IO is the leading robotic line marker in the industry for accuracy, labour saving and productivity. Intelligent Marking is the only company to provide a base station with their robot which ensures a line accuracy of +/-1cm.  The IM robot will overmark lines with supreme precision and mark out new pitches with ease.

Unrivalled Accuracy From Intelligent Marking

By utilising a high accuracy GPS system, the Intelligent One can be used anywhere with unprecedented reliability, while matching the marking speed of any robotic line marker available. It is not reliant on a cellular network as operated by other robots and so does not incur expensive annual contract charges.

The Intelligent One can mark an 11-a-side football pitch from scratch in just 20-25 minutes. The robot can also line for rugby, hockey, athletics and any other chosen sport in a similar time. It will mark out a 400m running track in under two hours with numerous templates for other track and field events available.

Unrivalled Accuracy From Intelligent Marking

Bespoke templates are simple to load and can be easily changed in seconds to suit your site.  Once saved, it is then available at the touch of a button to be overmarked time and time again. The robot is stable on every natural and artificial surface and can work continuously due to interchangeable batteries. The machine is economical to use and the amount of paint can be controlled depending on the preferred nozzle size.

IM recommend their own brand of paint; ProStripe to deliver excellent professional standard lines, every time.

For further information or an on-site demonstration please contact:

Intelligent Marking UK Distributor

Ian Robson
ian.robson@imr.eu
Mobile: 07779 270501

Please visit the website: www.prosportukltd.com or www.intelligentmarking.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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