While true no-till direct-drills do a great job in good conditions, in northern Europe we generally need something capable of working when things are less than ideal. With the latest 8.0m trailed incarnation of its T-SEM drill, SimTech hopes to have a machine for all seasons. It claims the new 800APT is equally at home working on stubbles, in min-till conditions or into ploughing
With a French hopper and metering system, coulters designed in New Zealand, tines manufactured in Italy and a frame built in the UK, SimTech’s new trailed T-SEM drill might seem something of a multi-national mongrel. But it’s in drawing from engineering enterprise from all over the globe that the company says it has found an answer to the perennial problem of getting a drill to work in all conditions. Working from front-to-back, we take a closer look at the 8.0m 800APT:
Up front, plain opening discs mounted in pairs are used to cut through surface trash. Coil-springs help maintain a constant downforce while providing some breakback protection. These are carried on three separate toolbars (one central and the two wings) to marry up with the drill’s three coulter-carrying frames. Toolbar depth is set and adjusted with six hydraulic rams which are plumbed into one circuit that has an in-built pressure-relief valve. These are raised for folding and unfolding and then are pressurised by the operator as the drill moves into work to ensure an even loading at the correct working speed
