KUBOTA TECHNICAL REPORT No.54 JANUARY 2021

In Japan’s agriculture, farmland consolidation has accelerated due to a decline in the number of farms as a result of the aging of the population and the abandonment of farming. As the area of cultivated fields per farm increases, agricultural machinery is required to further improve work efficiency and save manpower and labor. To respond to such exigencies, Kubota has developed the Head-Feeding combine harvester “DR 6130 A” equipped with a large 130 horsepower engine. The harvester features an automatic operation assist function in addition to a major improvement in work efficiency. This paper describes ① the development of a thresher with improved crop adaptability, ② improvement of cleanability brought about by the side plate opening mechanism of the grain tank, ③ the automatic operation assist function.

• Combine Harvester
• Adaptability
• Cleanability
• Autonomous Driving
• Driving Control

Through Kubota’s market surveys, it was determined that despite the growing popularity of zero- turn mowers, there is still a large consumer base for lawn tractors in North America. Because of this, the T90-Series lawn tractor was developed as an updated version of the T80-Series. Over time, many of Kubota’s competitors surpassed the T80-Series in performance and specifications. Therefore, the challenge of the design team was to create a high-quality lawn tractor that exceeded the performance of competitor machines and reignite sales of the T-Series. By redesigning almost every aspect of the T80-Series including the frame, engine, mower decks, steering and operator controls we were able to achieve our goal. Once the new T90-Series was introduced into the market in 2018, sales for the T-Series lawn tractors more than doubled compared to 2017 total sales.

• Lawn Tractor
• Performance
• Turning Radius
• Comfort

Processing of soft leafy vegetables such as spinach (removal of unnecessary roots, cotyledons, and lower leaves) accounts for 44%1) of the total working hours (from seeding to shipping), and the work is carried out by employed workers. On the other hand, since the processing of soft leafy vegetables requires delicate handling, there is a conventional machine for this purpose, but it has been difficult to save labor by mechanization. Therefore, we aimed to reduce the labor component of manual processing and improve work efficiency by maximizing the root cutting accuracy and the cotyledon and lower leaf removal rate by developing a machine for this task. This paper describes the features and processing work performed by the spinach conditioner. At the same time, we will introduce the development technology.

• Spinach
• Soft Leafy Vegetables
• Processing
• Removal of Lower Leaves
• Removal of Cotyledons
• High Efficiency

Climate change and in consequence a shorter time period for optimum planting conditions demanding an efficient solution. Instead of using more planters the possibility to improve situation, is a machine, which is able to plant at high speed. Hence development of high speed planter was required and the traditional speed range of 7 to 9 km/h was raised up to 18km/h. Beside the speed target higher precision in respect of spacing (planting distance from one seed to the other) was achieved. To reach this task the Optima planter was changed from a vacuum system to a pressure system. The new system, Optima SX, is highly efficient and does not need complicated techniques. By increasing the working speed customers get 30 to 40 % more efficiency without additional resources. A high level of standardization puts KVG in a position to reach proper margin at attractive prices for our customers.

• High Speed Planter
• Spacing
• Interrupter
• Pressure System
• Vacuum System

Our leading product, 03・07・V3 series which are Kubota vertical water-cooled diesel engines covering the power range of 19-56 kW are installed on many machines. In Europe, where these engines have penetrated the market, a new emission regulation (StageV) came into effect from 2019. Accordingly, we have developed new models that comply with StageV and improved product appeal in response to customer’s requests for conventional models. Here we describe our approach to meeting customer’s requests by expanding the line-up, and by decreasing downtime.

• StageV
• Expansion of Engine Line
• Increase in Engine Output
• Decreasing Downtime
• DPF

A compact track loader (CTL) is a compact construction machine that is used in the North American market. It has good running ability on rough terrain, high mobility and versatility. In addition, it can perform a wide variety of attachment tasks. In recent years, this market has continued to expand, and Kubota has also steadily expanded its sales volume since launching the CTL in 2010. This time, Kubota released the SVL65-2, the lightest in the Kubota range in order to expand CTL’s product line. Its weight is significantly reduced while maintaining excellent habitability as good as that of SVL75-2, which is the current model in the upper class. Moreover, SVL65-2 can perform smooth simultaneous movements of loader arm, bucket, and AUX hydraulics because we developed a highly evolved hydraulic circuit and an advanced multifunction valve that are superior to those of the SVL75-2.

• Compact Track Loader
• Weight Reduction
• Advanced Multifunction Valve

In recent years, in addition to a product’s work performance, a quality appearance is becoming an important evaluation point for users of both agricultural and construction machinery. Among them, the weather resistance of the coating is the most important factor for retaining a quality appearance. In order to prevent deterioration of the appearance of products that are used over an extended period of time, it is important to examine the types of coating, and the coating systems, and furthermore to evaluate the durability (weatherability) correctly. However, since a long-term outdoor exposure test takes too much time, it is necessary to perform an accelerated test that is highly correlated with outdoor exposure. This time, we have defined a unique KUBOTA accelerated test method by examining the test conditions using a xenon accelerated testing apparatus.

• Coatings
• Appearance Quality
• Weatherability
• Outdoor Exposure
• Accelerated Test

A lot of damage to T-pipes located in water pipelines have been reported in investigations conducted after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. On the other hand, the use of earthquake-resistant joints has become widespread, but conventional flange joints are still predominantly used where the T-pipe branch joins another pipe. It was thought that the cause of the damage was that the joint strength and water tightness required during earthquake was insufficient. Isolating valves have to be replaced when performance deterioration occurs because these valves are vitally important in order to cut off water pressure in an emergency. That being the case, large-scale construction works were needed, and consequently there are some issues related to construction. In order to address these issues, we developed flangeless T-pipes and isolating valves with high-strength joints sufficient to resist an earthquake and with an easy valve replacement function.

• T-pipe
• Isolating Valve
• Flangeless Joint
• Lateral Load
• High Pressure Water Sealing Performance
• Construction Method for Replacing Isolating Valve

In order to develop a municipal waste incinerator which met the customer requirement for rapidly reducing the environmental burden and lifecycle cost (LCC), utilizing combustion analysis technologies has been imperative. However, there were two problems in conducting combustion analysis. First, it was impossible to take into account several hundred combustion reactions that take place inside an incinerator. Second, 3D numerical analysis, which was necessary to examine the performance of the actual incinerators, requires huge computational resources. To solve these problems, identifying the main combustion reactions and choosing an adequate numerical combustion model were conducted based on the results of a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) combustion test in the experimental reactor. As a result, it was found that 3D numerical analysis could be applied in incinerator design. The validation results for this combustion analysis method in an actual incinerator test are also described in this article.

• Municipal Waste Incinerator
• Combustion Analysis
• Combustion Reaction
• Combustion Test
• Three-dimensional Analysis

Water treatment plants using river surface water as raw water have found it necessary in recent years to cope with the rapid changes in the turbidity of raw water due to climate change. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the importance of preparing for large-scale earthquakes has also been emphasized. At the same time, the declining population has led to a decline in water bill revenues and a shortage of technical staff. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has set “safety” “resilience” and “sustainability” as the ideal image of water supply in its new water supply vision. To achieve it, we have developed ceramic membrane filtration equipment (FILCERA HD) with dramatically improved responsiveness to changes in the turbidity of raw water. This equipment takes advantage of the characteristic of the membrane filtration method, which facilitates the automation of water treatment. This paper introduces the design concept, performance and durability evaluation.

• Water Purification
• Ceramic Membrane
• Membrane Filtration
• High Turbidity
• Stable Operation
• Backwash
• Durability
• Earthquake Resistance