The modern agricultural market is facing multiple challenges such as an increasing population to get fed up combined with a shortage of skilled labor and a limited availability of farmland. An extended level of automation is the answer to these challenges enabling precision farming and durable, long-lasting machines which operate both, reliable and energy efficient. The oldest movement in the world - Linear movements on the next level In tractors, seeders, harvesters, and sprayers, many movements are already automated. Linear movements are most often driven by hydraulic systems, which are complex, bulky, and require regular maintenance. As part of the fluid technology, hydraulic systems depend on oil to perform the necessary movement. Fluids, combined with the many components involved result in a risk of fluid leaks. Electric linear actuators, on the other hand, can perform the same tasks as hydraulic systems while having lower space and maintenance, and offering additional features in terms of control and positioning. While hydraulic systems were designed purely to perform linear movements, it is primarily features such as intelligence and communication capability, as well as precise positioning that are needed to offer additional features and overcome current challenges - and this is only possible with the help of electric linear actuators. How electric linear actuators improve overall agricultural efficiency and enable precision farming: While a simple linear movement with two positions (e.g. opened/ closed or folded/ extended) can be performed by both, hydraulic and electric technology, electric linear actuators operate more reliable and enable precise positioning of countless positions within the total range of motion. Precision: Driven by a rotative DC motor with integrated encoder, finest movements and adjustments can be performed, and controlled acceleration and deceleration as well as motion profiles can be realized, allowing precision farming to optimize the use of resources and the fields. Installation effort: Brushed or brushless DC motors are connected to a system by just a few cables. Integrated solutions where the motor control is included into the motor housing even reduce the required cabling, making the installation very easy compared to hydraulic or pneumatic systems. Durability: Packed in a robust and compact design, electric linear systems have less weak points than hydraulic solutions and are free of maintenance. Additionally, when adding integrated electronics with bus or Industrial Ethernet communication interfaces, operating data can be monitored and analyzed, allowing an optimized operation and predictive maintenance which further extends the system´s service life. Typical applications where electric linear actuators replace hydraulic driven movements in agricultural applications are: • Dosing and positioning of crops to keep a uniform seeding result • Dosing of fertilizer depending on the tactor´s speed • Movement and adjustment of the harvester header, depending on the crop • Control of the crop ejection Besides the “necessary” tasks to be performed during field work, features such as the definition of speed ramps for smooth start and stop movements, low cabling requirements, and a high efficiency allow additional linear movements to be economically automated by electric linear actuators, for example: • Automatic adjustments within and around the tractor cabin for additional comfort • Opening and closing tasks on the tractor or tanks Dunkermotoren linear motor solutions to meet the strong requirements in agricultural technology Dunkermotoren GmbH, a brand of AMETEK, is specialized in energy efficient rotative gearmotor development and market leader for integrated BLDC motors. The manufacturer from the black forest in Germany has combined this knowledge and the benefits of its smart BLDC motors with the linear actuator technology to develop durable and reliable electric linear motor solutions meeting the strong requirements of the agricultural market. The latest CAHB electric cylinder has been designed especially for the use in harsh environments. With IP protection classes up to IP 65 it can withstand dust and dirt without problems and can operate in an environmental temperature from -40 to +85°C. The integrated electronics can easily be programmed in C to define various positions, speed ramps, operating modes and critical thresholds. Thanks to various bus interfaces such as CANopen, Profinet, EtherCAT and EtherNet/IP the communication to a higher-level board control is made easy, and features such as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance become possible, to enable an optimized operation and reduce downtimes. In terms of energy efficiency, the CAHB completes the already efficient BLDC motor by using a ball screw version, to even minimize friction and maximize the system´s overall power. Conclusion: Efficient agriculture is achieved by precision farming, enabling a high degree of resource- and, thus, cost efficiency. Precise and energy efficient electric linear actuators are crucial in achieving this. Anyway, they must not only perform a simple movement, but must be aligned with the strong requirements of the agricultural market, in terms of durability, robustness, communication capability and control. Dunkermotoren offers with its CAHB electric cylinder maintenance free solutions with a high IP protection and integrated control electronics with various bus and Ethernet interfaces in a space saving design, enabling to perform all linear movements of mobile agricultural machines such as Seeders, harvesters, fertilizers, as well as autonomous agricultural robots. All those characteristics lead to a higher efficiency in the overall agricultural operations. The possibility to precisely adjust the harvester depending on the crop to be collected or the amount of fertilizer to be spread enables economical use of costly resources. Energy efficiency, on the other hand, allows more energy and, thud, cost to be saved, while paving the way for battery-driven, autonomous applications which might be able to combat the skilled labor shortage. Finally, durability leads to a smooth operation with less downtimes which, of course, is directly reflected by a systems output and productivity. Downloads: With linear movements straight towards efficient agriculture (PDF)

Autonomous agricultural robots (agri-bots) as a means of combating the rising food demand and skilled labor shortage in the agricultural market The rising dust from the harvester pulling in the barley on a hot summer day is a familiar image, but what happens when there is no worker on hand to harvest the crop? What is clear is that the increasing food demand of a growing population, combined with a continuing skilled labor shortage can only be met by an increase in autonomously operated systems. In the intralogistics market, the topic of autonomy has been at the center of developments over the last years. This know-how can now be applied to automate repeating tasks within the daily agricultural work. Dosing, gripping, adjusting, placing - these are all tasks which are all performed both in industrial environments as well as in agriculture. Whether it is handling plastic granulate or seed, raw material or harvesting foods, the material product is not of importance for the technology behind the application. As a result, existing concepts from industrial automation can be easily transferred to agricultural technology. This is where Dunkermotoren has focused its efforts and offers many years of experience. Smart BLDC motors with integrated electronics have been used for the operation in autonomous guided vehicles in the intralogistics for many years and can now be used to realize the smart farming concept with just slight adjustments to withstand the harsh environmental conditions in agriculture. The base of autonomous agricultural robots The basis for the autonomous execution of motion tasks are decentralized controllers and the networking of cloud-based platforms. Intelligent electric motors with CANopen or Ethernet interfaces provide crucial data for the robot's movement. Thanks to movement parameters defined in advance, the analysis of this data results in the desired reaction of the robot. In which situation the robot must perform, drive or position in which way is defined via its MotionCode. MotionCode, Dunkermotoren’s motor control program, drives the robot and tells it what tasks it must perform or what position to move to. It is running directly on the integrated electronics of the motor that are built into the gearmotor housing, thus saving valuable space in the design of the bots. Programming is easily done in C or can be taken over directly by Dunkermotoren specialists from the IIoT brand nexofox. If several robots are in use, nexofox also allows the monitoring of entire fleets. Friction, wear, travelled and planned routes can thus be precisely evaluated. In the event of planned maintenance, the current location and the state of your system can be precisely determined. Thanks to cloud connection and the integration into existing systems, data access is possible remotely from any location. You can concentrate on your core business, while Dunkermotoren and nexofox take care of the rest. This way, we jointly contribute to the realization of new Smart Farming concepts and make sure that the rising food demand is covered in the future - despite a shortage of skilled workers and a growing population. TEnergy Efficiency as extra Benefit Imagine a farming or feeding robot on your networked farm of the future. What must your system look like in terms of functionality? In addition to autonomy, future-proof concepts must be space-saving and withstand the harsh environmental conditions on the farm for the long term. To meet the increasing requirements in the area of energy efficiency, operation should also be as energy efficient as possible. Since the electronics of the smart Dunkermotors are integrated directly into the motor housing, the agricultural robots can be designed to be particularly compact. In addition, the electronics take over wide areas of data monitoring and evaluation, which results in free computer capacity of your overall system and energy savings with the same range of functions. There is yet another advantage however: By integrating them into the motor housing, sensitive electronic components are protected from environmental influences. The housing itself is made of steel or aluminum. Thanks to optional coating, the entire drive can achieve a protection class of up to IP69K. This makes your autonomous system ideally suited for use in barn or field work. Last but not least, the electric motors have a high power density, which means that small motors with high efficiency can be used. This reduces the energy requirements of the agricultural robots, allowing them to travel further distances and providing you with true cost savings. Whether in animal farming or in tough field applications - let us work together to realize robust and trend-setting solutions for agriculture. Author: Jan Maurath, Key Account Manager Segment Motive, Dunkermotoren GmbH Downloads Press release (PDF)