Six patents are currently pending in relation to the development of the COMMANDER and the product represents 4 years’ of engineering investment and effort.
Totally new development
HARDI has developed a totally new construction and design for the chassis, tank and liquid system. At the start of the project, the development team focussed on four key areas for the end user; these were capacity, user friendliness, precision and safety.
Functional design
All the elements of the sprayer are integrated into the sprayer design and divided into work and spray zones. In the design of the work zone, user friendliness and safety have been given top priority. All the operating handles for water filling, chemical filling and the safety locker are within reach of the operator.
SafeTrack trapeze steering system. Precise and safe
The patented SafeTrack steering system is designed in such a way that steering and tracking with the rear wheels takes place through a special trapeze steering system, instead of a conventional drawbar tracking system.
- The SafeTrack steering system gives the following advantages:
- The turning radius is reduced to 6 metres, resulting in improved manoeuvring possibilities and less crop damage in turnings, etc.
- Dynamic electronic stability control – the computer system constantly monitors sprayer stability during steering movements and can intervene, if necessary. This gives far better stability compared to steering drawbar designs.
- The trapeze steering system has a geometric shape allowing more space for a larger tank and thereby more capacity, in addition to greater flexibility in the choice of track width from 1.5 m to 2.25 m.
- A further advantage of the trapeze steering system is that because the drawbar does not move, this provides greater space for a larger and well designed oper-ating zone at the front part of the sprayer.
New LookAhead pressure regulation
The pressure regulation valve is a completely new development and comprises very large capacity with an extremely fast response and regulation time.
New filter system - EasyClean suction filter
On the new COMMANDER the capacity of the new filter has been increased by more than 100%. In addition the EasyClean suction filter contains a number of user-friendly features to provide increased safety, for instance an easy and comfortable one-handed grip of the filter - avoiding any possibility for error in operation.
In recognition of this development, HARDI has been awarded a Silver Medal at SIMA 2005 for the new EasyClean suction filter.
New CycloneFilter
The pressure filter is a further development of the HARDI self-cleaning filter, and features larger dimensions and increased capacity. The liquid rotates around the filter element, reducing the need for service thanks to the self-cleaning function.
New ChemFiller
The new ChemFiller is an integrated part of the new COMMANDER sprayer, and its capacity is three times faster than any other system.
The ChemFiller is lowered from the left side of the sprayer to the required working height and works with a Vortex - a rotating liquid current - where larger quantities of powder agents are quickly dissolved and sucked up into the tank.
When the ChemFiller is opened, the lid is used as a working table and provides fur-ther safety when handling plant protection chemicals.
Comprehensive boom range
Three boom types are available: DELTA from 18 to 28 metre, FORCE from 24 to 36 metre and TWIN FORCE air assisted from 18 to 30 metre.
Sprayer computers
The new COMMANDER is available with two alternative “Easy to use” sprayer com-puters - the HC 5500, which is an advanced computer that is used, for instance, when the sprayer is equipped with SafeTrack, and the more cost effective HC 2500. Both computers are modular and developed with user friendly, logical menus and functions.
European innovation
The new COMMANDER has been entered as a European innovation at the AGROMEK 2005 exhibition and been awarded three stars for the COMMANDER concept and two stars each for the CycloneFilter, self-cleaning pressure filter and EasyClean suction filter.
The new COMMANDER trailer sprayers will be available in limited numbers during 2005 and only to specific pre-selected markets.