SKF South Africa’s latest agricultural innovation, the Agri Hub for seed discs and furrow openers, again sets the benchmark for trouble- and maintenance-free operation.The lasting performance and time and resultant cost saving benefits of the rugged Agri Hub, developed by SKF for disc harrows with independent discs on planters, has resulted in farmers specifying the units when they purchase new implements. Based on the previously launched Agri Hub, the Agri Hub for seeding discs is ideal for smaller applications such as seed coulters and furrow openers. “Although we have to take the various factors that place load on a bearing into account, furrow openers, which only remove the top dry layer, going to a depth of 10 to 15cm, as well as seed coulters, do not place a heavy load on bearings. So we realised that a smaller bearing would be ideally suited to these two applications and we have subsequently discovered a third application for the smaller Agri Hub, namely markers,” explains SKF Key Accounts Manager – Agriculture, Charl Engelbrecht.

SKF delivered the new Agri Hub to agricultural distributor, Bolt & Engineering, Klerksdorp, for testing just before the 2012 planting season. Testing was done by Bolt & Engineering Sales Representative, Michael de Waal, on Boeta de Waal’s farm, Koedoesdraai, located near Leeudoringstad in the North West. Both variants were tested in conjunction with La Pina Coultiers with great success. Charl emphasises the importance of field testing. “The Agri Hubs work under extremely harsh conditions – rough terrain with dust, stones, mud and water - and these conditions cannot be accurately replicated in a controlled environment. The only way to test the ruggedness of the Agri Hub units is out in the fields.    

Charl also points out that the seal is a fundamental part to a bearing and therefore a high quality seal that prevents the ingress of foreign materials is vital to bearing life. The latest Agri Hub is fitted with a special 5-lipped hermetic seal which ensures that there is no lubricant loss so that the bearing will not run dry over the life span of the Agri Hub. Central to the sealing principle is the ‘mud block’ seal and special labyrinth, which provides dynamic sealing making the Agri Hub impervious to the ingress of foreign materials.

The renowned reliability of the larger Agri Hub is making fitment of the newly developed smaller Agri Hub  an easy decision for farmers, as acknowledged by Boeta. “We did not have a single bearing failure on our large Agri Hub units over five seasons and 4500 hectares so when the OE units on our three furrow openers kept on failing during the previous planting season, we did not hesitate to replace them with the new smaller Agri Hub from SKF.”

Boeta elaborates: “Because the bearings on the OE units kept opening up, the grease leaked out causing the bearings to run dry and fail. My Son-in-law, Japie Venter, was forced to replace the failed bearings with spares, a fifteen minute exercise every time a bearing failed.” Japie also had to do bearings repairs in the field. “This interruption to our planting process wasted a lot of time, not to mention the costs of repairing and replacing the seized bearings,” adds Japie.

“Because we have a limited planting window, we cannot afford unexpected breakdowns in the field. We have to keep two steps ahead by eliminating every possible equipment breakdown and failure risk; one way of doing this is by using only quality and proven parts,” continues Japie. “So we fitted twelve new Agri Hub units, six for seed coulters and six for furrow openers, and successfully completed last season, planting 1500 hectares on each of the Agri Hub variants without a single bearing failure. As the Agri Hub’s 5-lipped seal cannot be pushed out, the bearings remain lubricated. We realised substantial savings in time and money because, in addition to no breakdowns or costly replacments, the maintenance-free Agri Hubs require no grease.”                      

In closing, Charl says that these maintenance-free, plug-and-play Agri Hub units will save the farmer valuable time and money as the risk of breakdowns due to bearing failure is eliminated and no time is wasted on greasing. “Although the farmer faces an initial capital outlay when fitting the Agri Hub units, he will realise a return on investment in no time and enjoy all the benefits of low cost of ownership over the life time of the units.”