To increase productivity and save time bedding down or feeding, Bomford has increased the capacity of its Sila-Bed trailed bale shredder and blower.
The Sila-Bed is a dual-purpose machine that is designed to quickly and efficiently shred and distribute both straw and silage. It can be filled with round or square straw bales, which are shredded and spread over the bedding area, or loaded with loose or baled silage for spreading along a feed-rail or into troughs.
To increase productivity, where bedding down larger numbers of cattle or when working in bigger buildings, for 2011 the Sila-Bed is now fitted with a new design of spout that provides an increased throw. It is also now possible to specify a Bale Post Kit that is fitted to the rear tailgate. This allows longer big square bales to be safely carried, as having cut the strings, the securing chain will hold the bale wads safely in place for an even feed into the shredding rotor.
A new remote tailgate switch has now been added to the rear of the Sila-Bed so that having loaded the bales, prior to cutting the strings and securing the bale in place, the tailgate can be quickly lifted without needing to return to the cab.
The Sila-Bed is designed to carry two 1.5m diameter round bales, and the Bale Post Kit provides added security, especially when transporting them, by ensuring that the second bale can safely loaded and held in place by the securing chain.
The trajectory angle of the Sila-Bed’s discharge chute has been altered so that the maximum spreading range is now increased by 15 per cent to nearly 21m.
In order to handle the heaviest big square silage bales, the Sila-Bed is designed around a heavy gauge 5mm thick box-section chassis. The bale is fed into the 168-blade shredding rotor via an eight-slat hydraulically driven conveyor in the floor of the monocoque body. The speed of the conveyor chains can be easily adjusted from the cab in order to accommodate the differing density of silage and straw bales.
From the shredding rotor, the chopped material is carried to an eight-blade turbine rotor, that is constructed from 12mm thick plate. Depending on bale density and whether the Sila-Bed is being used to spread bedding straw or to feed silage along a trough, the turbine can be run at either 540rpm or at a reduced 270rpm.
For maximum flexibility, the discharge chute can be rotated through 300 degrees and angled from 72 up to 172 degrees, making it easy to swap between downward spreading into a trough or blowing over a wider area for bedding.
For more information visit: www.bomford-turner.com.
