New FENIX 3000/6

FENIX 3000/6 semi-mounted combined cultivator and seed drill

Cultivator

A front-mounted drag with spring arms ended with replaceable tips evens the soil surface in front of the disc section and removes the traces left by the tractor wheels. The approach angle of arms towards the soil is controlled mechanically by means of turnbuckles.

Behind the drag, there are two rows of toNew FENIX 3000/6othed discs known from ARES units, having a diameter of 460 mm. The discs are manufactured at the largest UNIA factory in Grudziądz. Each disc is protected by rubber shock absorbers and has double-row maintenance-free bearings, which ensures comfortable work without the need for lubrication.

– The working tools used in FENIX 3000/6 has been designed and manufactured by Unia Grudziądz based on many years of manufacturing and operational experience – says Michał Stachlewski, Commercial Director at UNIA.

The spacing of the disc rows is as wide as 82 cm. This allows you to work on fields with large amounts of crop residues, e.g. in the case of maize harvested for grain. Combined with the working speed of 15 km/h, perfect covering of crop residues is guaranteed. With such a high working speed, massive, profiled side deflectors play an important role by preventing the soil from getting beyond the unit’s work area.

The working depth of the discs can be adjusted even during FENIX 3000/6’s operation from the driver’s cab by controlling the operation of hydraulic cylinders. The whole system is based on an independent suspension of the disc section on a parallelogram.

Behind the cultivation disc section, a tyre roller is mounted. – A special, unique design of the tyre roller ensures optimum agrotechnical conditions for sowing. At the same time, thanks to four wheels with a size of 500/45–22.5 and a diameter of 1,040 mm, the comfort and safety of transport on public roads is much higher. The remaining tyre roller wheels have a diameter of 800 mm and are used only during the unit operation. Optimum adjustment of the tyre roller to soil conditions is aided by individually set hydraulic cylinders with an individual setpoint – says Sławomir Jaskuła, Product Manager at UNIA.

Seed drill

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill has 40 double-disc coulters with a diameter of 300 mm mounted in a “V.” Behind them, there are very large ground-following and pressing wheels with a diameter of 350 mm and a width of 78 mm, which make it possible to set the drilling depth very precisely. The time required to change the working depth of all 40 coulters is less than 5 minutes. The coulter pressure is changed centrally via hydraulic cylinders.

– Large ground-following and pressing wheels also provide very good following of ground bumps. Thanks to that, the seeds are placed at a desired depth and have optimum contact with the soil. The coulters are pressed by a strong spring, which translates into a constant minimum pressure of 40 kg per each coulter. It does not decrease even at high working speed of 15 km/h – says Sławomir Jaskuła, Product Manager at UNIA.

The spacing of the disc coulters is 15 cm. Such a large distance between the coulters allows you to work on fields with large amounts of crop residues and in stony soils.

Behind the double-disc coulters with ground-following and pressing wheels, individual spring scrapers are mounted to rake the soil from the interrows, leaving minidepressions. Water, which is scarce on many European fields, may accumulate there. Each set of stripper fingers has its individual screw adjustment.

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill has massive hydraulic side markers which fold quickly along the machine. This solution makes it easy to drive on public roads and to fold the machine to the transport position.

Precise pneumatic sowing

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill has a large grain tank with a capacity of 3,000 l. This minimises the time intervals between subsequent charges and thus increases sowing efficiency. The tank can be accessed using a platform ladder located at the front of the machine. Thanks to the tank frame, the tarpaulin protecting the tank interior against moisture can be easily unrolled. Inside the tank, there are robust screens on which a large BIG BAG can be placed.

At the bottom of the tank, there are two chutes through which the seeds go to two sowing devices. These precision components are driven by an electric motor controlled by a radar sensor which reads the exact unit speed in the field and makes the sowing independent of the wheel slip. The electric drive of sowing devices also makes it possible to quickly and easily change the sowing rate, even during operation. There are no problems with carrying out a calibration test at stops as you simply enter the relevant data into a computer, place a seed container and press the button on the drill.

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill is capable of sowing seeds in kg/ha rates. During sowing, the rate can be either increased or decreased from the computer desktop by tapping the plus or minus symbol, which each time means changing the rate by a fixed percentage value.

– Precision row sowing following conventional, simplified or direct tillage is carried out by means of a pneumatic sowing system using state-of-the-art sowing devices. Two grain distributors ensure highly uniform drilling in all coulters. In order to sow fine seeds, it is enough to lock the sowing roller filler using a small lever, which takes only a moment – says Sławomir Jaskuła, Product Manager at UNIA.

The seeds are transported to the coulters by a fan driven by a hydraulic motor with an oil flow of 24 l/min. It is powered by a pump placed on the tractor PTO. The independent hydraulic system of FENIX 3000/6 also includes a radiator with a thermostat and an oil tank with a level indicator and a temperature sensor. The air pressure in the sowing system is controlled by a pressure gauge visible from the driver’s cab.

The grain collected from the tank by two sowing devices goes into separate systems where it is carried away by the air generated by the fan. This way, seeds go to the distributors. As the seed drill is divided into two 3-metre sections, it is possible to carry out sowing using only half of the drill – all you have to do is close one of the sowing devices.

Wires to all 40 coulters come out from the left and the right distributor, 20 wires from each of them. Each distributor has Combi valves for automatic sowing interruption mounted on two wires for the purpose of setting up tramlines. The stopped grain goes back to the distributor and thus the number of seeds in a single row is increased. However, it is possible to apply a percentage decrease in the sowing rate using a computer, so that the fixed rate of seeds per hectare remains unchanged after stopping the sowing in two coulters.

Müller Elektronik computer

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill is equipped with a Müller Elektronik computer called DRILL CONTROL. It has the following features:

processes the speed data transmitted by the radar, thus maintaining an unchanged rate of seeds per hectare regardless of the wheel slip,
sets up tramlines,
informs the user about the rate of sown seeds in kg/ha,
counts the covered hectares and the amount of sown seeds – field history records,
informs the user about the seed level in the tank and triggers the low-level alarm,
makes it possible to prepare the sowing devices for the calibration test at a stop – it is enough to enter the necessary data.

The E-DRIVE function allows you to change the sowing rate during sowing! This very useful system comes in handy when setting up tramlines or working on mosaic fields. The sowing rate can be either increased or decreased by tapping the plus or minus symbol, which each time means changing the rate by a fixed percentage value.

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 combined cultivator and seed drill is equipped with a set of hydraulic solenoid valves controlled by the UniControl controller which supports the automatics of hydraulic systems involving the sequential operation of their circuits. It is enough to press a button and the machine unfolds or folds itself. It may also automatically change the position of markers at the headlands.

Transport on public roads

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 can be driven on public roads. After the field work, the side wheels of the shaft as well as the cultivation and sowing disc units are hydraulically folded to the vertical position. Thanks to that, the transport width does not exceed 3 m.

After folding, the machine is based on four very wide road wheels which ensure high stability during transport, even on poor quality dirt roads.

UNIA FENIX 3000/6 has a number of additional protective features allowing a completely safe transport on public roads. These are: