Modular solutions for crop protection: precision farming with HYDAC systems

The prerequisite for a good harvest and secure yields in agriculture is successful crop protection. Agricultural machinery such as field sprayers and hoeing equipment play a central role here. Their hydraulic functions need to be able to be precisely controlled to ensure good quality work. With HYDAC Implement Control and HYDAC Ground Control, we offer you the right system solution for every machine function. Find out more here.

23/09/2024 3 min Share article on LinkedIn Facebook Xing Copy page url

Topics & Products Agricultural & Forestry Machinery Mobile working machines

Optimize your agricultural machine with our versatile modular systems

For field sprayers, seed drills, or hoeing equipment—use HYDAC systems to implement clever work functions. Contact our experts directly about your project.

Increasing efficiency in crop protectionConserve resources and optimize yields with innovative systems

When it comes to crop protection, farmers can choose between two methods, mechanical and chemical crop protection. Both have their advantages and are represented on the market. With our HYDAC system solutions for agricultural technology, we take these processes to the next level—with precision, dynamic performance, and flexibility.

To help you reduce development times, we offer you ready-to-use solutions that are standardized but can still be individually adapted to various machine requirements. Find out more about HYDAC Implement Control, our tailor-made hydraulic solution for mechanical weed control, and HYDAC Ground Control, the innovative system for automatic boom guidance in field sprayers.

Tillmann Gaub, Application Engineer for Agricultural Machinery, HYDAC Mobilhydraulik

In the future of agriculture, there will be no avoiding mechanical weed control and more precise and intensive soil preparation. We'd like to support and shape this transition with agricultural technology. As a modular system, Hydraulic Implement Control offers the right solution, from hoes to seed drills. Designed as a modular system, it can be flexibly configured and is available in countless equipment variants, making it the perfect fit for your application.

HYDAC Hydraulic Implement Control—the basis of our electrohydraulic systemsPrecise and dynamic control: lay the foundation for increased crop protection and optimized mechanical weed control

The modular hydraulic control block

Depending on the machine and attachment, there are various functions that need to be controlled with precision and highly dynamic performance. This requires a constant pressure supply. This can be achieved with an accumulator or directly with a fixed displacement or variable displacement pump. A proportional pressure control valve in the base module is used to generate a virtual load-sensing signal, which in a figurative sense charges an accumulator or regulates the pump's flow rate and pressure. It can also be used as a complete electronic load-sensing system.

In general, the hydraulic control block consists of a complete system with an input module or basic module, a locking plate, and any function modules required, such as a:

Steering module
Accumulator charging module
4/3 directional module
Cylinder module
Pressure control module
Proportional module

These function modules can be flange-mounted to the hydraulic control block's base module. The sequence of modules depends on the control task, as does the use of directional poppet valves, check valves, proportional valves, pressure control valves, and pressure compensators on the module. The system can also be supplemented with accumulators and filters with or without an indicator (visual, electronic).

With a clever connection system

Each module disk on the hydraulic control block is individually screwed on with four M8 cylinder head screws. The screws on the following module disks are mounted using threaded sleeves. This system offers decisive advantages:

Only three screw lengths are required for the entire system
No clamping length problems
Simple connection of aluminum and steel
Screws are secured against loosening

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HYDAC Ground Control—the automatic boom guidance system for field sprayers

To distribute fertilizers and crop protection products in a targeted manner, a field sprayer's boom must be guided at the optimum height above the crop. And that's not all—if errors are not corrected, the mechanical stress on the components increases, reducing their service life. For this reason, an active and automatic boom guidance system is required that cleverly compensates for vehicle movement and terrain conditions.

How HYDAC Ground Control works in your field sprayer

Conventional solutions

Conventional solutions are based on position control via throttle controls. The disadvantage: The rigid hydraulic coupling of the towing vehicle and boom, through which the towing vehicle's inclination is transferred to the boom. A correction is only made after a deviation in position has been recognized. This leads to an inaccurate application.

The HYDAC solution

To avoid this loss of position, our experts have developed an innovative solution: HYDAC Ground Control decouples the boom from the towing vehicle. The pressure control valve regulates its position in combination with additional sensor information. Thanks to these factors, significant stabilization is possible with HYDAC's active, automatic boom guidance system—the towing vehicle's inclination is immediately compensated and there is no deviation from the setpoint. This means that no correction is necessary. As a result, HYDAC Ground Control is highly dynamic even if the terrain changes.

Tried-and-tested hydraulics combined with intelligent control technology

The minimized use of components in the HYDAC Ground Control automatic boom guidance system enables maximum performance with significant installation space savings. Thanks to the effective control, you also avoid fluctuations in the distance between the boom and the crop. This increases the accuracy of the work and protects the environment. The hydraulic decoupling also has another benefit—by reducing or avoiding the transmission of movement to the boom, you significantly increase your working speed. Tried-and-tested hydraulics combined with intelligent control technology: HYDAC Ground Control, consisting of hydraulics, electronics, and software, provides you with an efficient system that reduces your development costs and shortens the time-to-market.

Are you looking for a solution but your application hasn't been listed?Work with us to find the right system for your requirements

Benefit from our HYDAC experts' extensive knowledge: after taking holistic approach to your machine, we advise you on the optimum system design. The result is a modular system already tried-and-tested in series production that is able to make a signification contribution to improving machine functions in a variety of applications.