Goughs Engineering designed this special application Bale Grab attachment for one of our long established clients to improve the process efficiency of a specific application.

This attachment is compatible with the Goughs Engineering Fieldchief  950G/H Quick Coupler which allows Work Tools to be shared with another machine.

The application involves dunking bales into a solution called "Goody Water" in order to use the bales for compost. The Bale grab has been designed with a top clamp to fully support the bale, minimizing the chance that the  bale would break open during the operation. The design features a box section structure with a hydraulic top clamp. The bale is carried on a set of spike tynes and  retained by a set of  curved tynes attached to the top clamp. 

The system requires the bale to rotate 90 degrees in the forward position with the loaders lift arm above the container. To established that the Bale Grab would provide enough lift height a 3D Computer model was created to prove the design. As this product is likely to be a one off, one factor to consider is to improve its serviceability. To do this we used existing pins from our  938G/H Log Forks and  Rams from our 320D Excavator tilt buckets. Replaceable bearings, seals and grease nipples should ensure that the moving parts have a longest possible life.

The client is not only pleased that the system improves the time it takes to pre-treat the bales, but also the reduction in aerosols in the air that could result in unpleasant odors.