Page 11 - Vol.39-No.9 issue

CROP CULTIVATION

VOLVO PENTA ANSWERS THE KARL FOR

KUHN’S AUTONOMOUS SOLUTION

Having proven itself in ARTEC’s Volvo Penta’s vast industry expertise ers are extremely demanding, but it soon
self-propelled sprayers, Volvo Penta’s and experience with ARTEC’s production became clear that the engine platform fully
D5 engine was the obvious frontrun- machines proved invaluable in developing meets their expectations. I’m pleased to
ner to help the KUHN Group develop a KARL’s layout. Located at the front of the see we have established an e!ective part-
new era of ultra-e"cient, autonomous robot, where it receives maximum airflow, nership that can benefit di!erent parts of
solutions for farmers – while expanding the cooling system was optimized to ensure the KUHN Group as illustrated with the
their partnership even further. the most reliable performance in dusty ap- KARL solution.”
plications, such as when working on dry soil. “Agricultural machinery is changing, as
With no need to cater for an operator, robotized solutions become the future of
the D5 literally sits at the very heart of farming, and we accept the challenges,”
the 2.5 m (w) by 4m (L) by 2.3m (ht), concludes Anders Konradsson, Vice Presi-
5.8-tonne KARL. Situated in a low, central dent Global Industrial Sales at Volvo Penta.
position, rather than upfront as with ordi- “KUHN is rightly engaged in these discus-
nary tractor designs, it provides important sions with its customers, and we are proud
benefits in terms of the center of gravity to support its transformation through the
and weight distribution. Soil compaction KARL prototype presented at Agritechnica.”
With its ability to perform all the typ- is further reduced by the absence of an In addition to the KARL robot and ARTEC
ical tasks of an agricultural tractor with- operator and the use of electrically driven sprayers, KUHN Audureau’s SPW Intense
out requiring an operator to be onboard, skid-steer-style tracks. self-propelled feed mixer manufactured in
KUHN’s KARL autonomous multifunction- ARTEC’S F40EVO spreader France has also been recently upgraded to
al field tool was one of the highlights at powered by Volvo Penta’s D8 engine run on Volvo Penta’s D8 Stage V engines.
Agritechnica 2023. Behind the prototype
machine’s latest state-of-the-art so"ware Self-propelling prophecy
and electronics, is a more familiar piece Electric drivelines are not the usual ar-
of engineering – the powerful and relia- rangement in agricultural vehicles but allow ADVERTISERS’
ADVERTISERS’
ble Volvo Penta D5 in-line four-cylinder for much easier autonomous tool control.
diesel engine.
INDEX
“Our D5 is coupled with a variable-speed INDEX
Since 2016, Volvo Penta has been the generator that powers an electric traction
main engine partner of the French self-pro- driveline,” explains Benjamin. “Once we’d Aviagen ..........................................
pelled sprayer manufacturer. The fuel-e#- ensured the engine could handle the stress ...................Inside Cover (English)
cient D8 and D5 units proved themselves of driving the rotor, this diesel-electric in-
on ARTEC’s F40 EVO and RS20 designs re- Arab World Agribusiness ............3
spectively. The company was therefore the
obvious choice when engineers from the Arab World Agribusiness ..............
OEM, and its KUHN Group parent, decided .....................Inside Cover (Arabic)
to scale up the original KARL prototype,
with proven Volvo Penta technology and PMFAI ...........................................5
its flexible platform.
“As an engine partner, rather than just
ADVERTISE IN
an engine supplier, we provided input to ADVERTISE IN
this project at an early stage, around two
THE ARAB WORLD
years ago,” explains Benjamin Deysieux, THE ARAB WORLD
Business Engineer, Volvo Penta. “The fact stallation couples the reliability of a Vol-
AGRIBUSINESS
that the D5 was already used with great vo Penta engine with simple, flexible and AGRIBUSINESS
success on ARTEC’s self-propelled spray- super-high-e#ciency power distribution.
MAGAZINE AND
ers helped drive the decision, but another No doubt this system will become increas- MAGAZINE AND
major reason was that its 5.13 liters from ingly common on medium-sized machines
PROMOTE YOUR
four big cylinders make numerous power in the future – just one more reason why PROMOTE YOUR
nodes available, all the way up to 238 hp. this project represents the agriculture of
Today it o!ers 172 hp, with lots of power tomorrow.” PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
and torque at low RPM. But, as this pro- Volvo Penta is the right choice
totype may eventually gain some weight,
we have plenty of latitude to provide even “We use Volvo Penta’s D5 and D8 en-
more power from the same installation and gines for our self-propelled sprayers and
footprint.” have had a good experience,” says Thierry
Leroueil, Director at ARTEC. “Our custom-
Vol. 39 No. 9 9
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