Flat Face Quick Couplings for Increased Performance in Agriculture
Hydraulic systems are commonly found in a wide variety of sectors which use various machinery and equipment to fulfil different requirements. Earth-moving machinery, vehicles with trailers, oil and gas extraction equipment, industrial complexes and agricultural machinery all need hydraulic couplings which guarantee correct operation and operator safety. A key feature in hydraulic quick couplings is the versatility to responding to this wide range of operating conditions.
Detailed design and well-organised production processes result in efficient solutions which can benefit any sector, thanks to the intrinsic quality of the quick couplers. In the case of flat face quick couplings, the major benefit is to combine the speed of coupling/uncoupling operations with a flat face valve system, spring mechanisms, safety locks and special gaskets which can eliminate the loss of fluids altogether when male and female connectors are separated.
This system benefits all sectors because:
·
it guarantees that the machinery operates at the correct hydraulic
pressure
·
facilitates the cleaning of the couplings
·
cuts the costs linked to the replacement of lost fluid
·
makes the workplace safer, preventing workers from coming into contact with potentially
dangerous substances and from making the workplace unsuitable to do their work
In some sectors, however, flat face quick
couplings offer additional benefits. In agricultural applications, for
example, you have to change equipment multiple times throughout the working day
by coupling and uncoupling the hydraulic lines. In this case, it is
essential that:
·
the operations are carried out quickly, without the need to use specific tools or
special procedures
·
there are no fluid losses which contaminate the soil, not just for environmental reasons, but from
a good commercial standpoint because the land is the main agricultural resource
and if it becomes contaminated, it could have serious repercussions on the
business
In the agricultural sector, however, there is
still a widespread use of mushroom-head quick couplings (known as
poppets) which do not offer the same benefits as the flat face versions. Poppets were, in fact, the very first
technology employed for quick couplings and are still widely adopted because
they make it possible to quickly couple and uncouple hydraulic lines.
Indeed, in many cases, this is sufficient for users who do not see the need to
sustain the costs of adopting more recent technology.
Another aspect concerns the regulations
governing international standardisation. Whereas in other sectors there are
standards to be followed to standardise their presence on the market, in the
case of connecting equipment to farm machinery, a standard has not yet been
declared which contemplates the use of flat face quick couplings.
Manufacturers of farm machinery, tools and quick couplings are working to
ensure that the enhanced technology offered by flat-face couplings is
recognised through a specific ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) standard in this area of application as well.
It is therefore important to fully understand
the added value that flat face quick couplings bring to agriculture by
preventing fluid leaks that may contaminate the soil. Flat face quick couplings facilitate all
operations that are carried out by farm workers on a daily basis. Contact us to find out more about the quality of flat
face quick couplings by Stucchi.