Regular maintenance and servicing of machines are a guarantee of their proper operation for a long time. This is obvious but in the flurry of daily duties not everyone and not always remembers and applies it. Therefore, we remind you:
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MACHINES!
It is best to follow the guidelines of machine manufacturers, who usually include a table of maintenance operations with their intervals. If you don’t have such a chart, it’s worth consulting with your supplier or dealer, who will be happy to tell you what to take care of and how often and in the right way.
Today we want to give you a hint on how to care for and service various types of plant cutting machines. What to pay special attention to, so that they serve you without major failures for as long as possible. Crop cutting machines are increasingly common on horticultural farms, and their use significantly improves the process of crop production. Due to the very wide assortment of plants that require cutting you can use many different machines, the common denominator and the most important goal of which is to make clean cuts of plant stems. To be able to achieve this it is necessary to service them properly.
BLADES AND KNIVES
The key element on which the quality and condition of the cut depends is the blades and knives. They are the ones physically used for pruning, and if they are in poor condition the cutting will be poor, the cutting site will be ragged, which can and will affect the health of the plants, and the cutting efficiency may be reduced.
HOW TO SERVICE MACHINE CUTTING ELEMENTS?
First of all, the manufacturer’s recommendations should be followed in terms of ongoing maintenance during use. In the case of slate knives, they are most often equipped with specially prepared holes for lubricating the blades, which are marked so that they can be easily found. Regular lubrication of such blades ensures that they run lighter and smoother, treats overheating and keeps cutting efficiency and quality at the highest level. Regular lubrication of such blades has a positive effect on their service life and significantly reduces their wear. It is worth keeping this in mind and lubricating such blades regularly. Another equally important activity is regular cleaning of the blades. When cutting stems, the knife is in contact with a lot of sap that flows from them, and regular cleaning of the blades after work will significantly affect the maintenance of the knife in good condition, as well as the quality of the cut. We recommend that you clean the blades of these residues after each day of cutting. Such an action, first of all, easy to carry out because the residue does not have time to dry, which often leads to the formation of a layer that clouds the blade and becomes extremely difficult to remove. Regularity in this case gives tangible benefits, because cleaning is much faster and more thorough. In a large proportion of cases, slat blades are made in such a way that they do not require sharpening. However, if your machine has blades that need sharpening, in which case we recommend checking the sharpness of the blades and sharpening them regularly. It goes without saying that a sharp blade is necessary to make a clean and even cut. The slat blades are usually driven by various types of gears that provide their movement. Pay attention to whether the power transmission used in your machine requires lubrication. If so, remember to lubricate them regularly, which will also affect trouble-free operation. In addition to slat blades, we can find other types of solutions for cutting and shaping plants in cutting machines. There are often knives, analogous to those found in lawnmowers so their service is quick and easy and basically limited to cleaning and sharpening. We can also find segmented blades, most often in machines designed to form a ball or cone. The principle of their operation is most often analogous to slat blades while differing in the method of transmission. Most often they use a type of drive belt so we need to ensure that it is properly stretched and that there is no mechanical damage to the belt, which can lead to its breakage. This type of blade may also have various types of idler wheels that may require lubrication.
ENGINES
The cutting elements are driven by motors. The most common are internal combustion engines, but we also encounter electric motors, both battery-powered and electric. Hydraulic motors can also be found, but they are rare. For the most common internal combustion engines, it is important to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, first and foremost making sure to use the right quality fuel and engine oils. It’s a good idea to check spark plugs or other components that can affect its operation from time to time.
GEARBOXES AND V-BELTS
The transmission of power from the engine to the blades is usually carried out using gears, which we have already mentioned, as well as V-belts. In the case of the latter, it is worth checking the degree of their tension, as well as any signs of mechanical wear.
DMUCHAWS
Often plant-cutting machines use blowers to blow the cuttings into containers or bags. It is also worthwhile to regularly inspect these units and check for signs of various types of cracks or other mechanical damage, and the blowers themselves, which provide a rush of air, whether they make sounds indicating damage to the rotating components and whether they provide adequate air draft.
If these units are equipped with lubrication points, then such lubrication should be carried out regularly. It is impossible to describe all the points that should be inspected in all available machines designed for cutting. In this text, we have tried to collect those most commonly used and requiring regular inspection. Certainly, regular maintenance and checking the condition of your plant cutting equipment will translate into longer life and trouble-free operation.
