South Australian engineering company, Kilic Engineering (KE), has taken another iterative step in its plan to automate its BunkerStacker range.
“As part of KE’s unshakable commitment to its products generating value for customers, we are constantly on the lookout for technology that will improve the experience for the operators and owners of KE equipment,” KE managing director Jason Kilic said.
“In 2024 we were presented with an opportunity to trial technology aimed at optimising product flow to the main BunkerStacker conveyor belt which aligned with the technology plan we have for the KE BunkerStacker range,”he said.
The KE BunkerStacker is used in the Australian agricultural sector to unload trucks through the grain harvest period and deposit their payload into open storage bunkers. Activity during the harvest period is often frantic and in many parts of Australia the competition for grain is intense.
In addition to being competitive and having to move grain quickly, grain handlers operate in regional sites where labour is increasingly scarce.
Related stories:
- Kilic Engineering designs underbelly for its Roo
- Kilic Engineering turns expectations into reality
- Kilic Engineering delivers the goods for CBH harvest
“Adding automatic features to KE machines helps our customers face these challenges. Simplifying operation could mean less staff for our customers or open opportunities for the recruitment of less experienced operators,” Kilic said.
“Automation is also aimed at delivering consistent performance of the machines so that use of the design capacity of up to 750 tonnes per hour is maximised making an automated machine potentially faster than when run by an operator and, ultimately, our customer more competitive,” he said.
KE fitted electronic equipment to a new machine and retrofitted equipment to a machine that was already on a customer site. It then began running trials separately with both machines.
The trials tested the automated control system across two products typically handled by KE BunkerStacker machines – canola seed and wheat grain.
“Fantastic results,” said Kilic when asked how the trials proceeded.
“In both trials the automated system delivered faster trailer unload rates than when the machines were controlled manually and, what was really exciting was the operators quickly adapting to the technology and using their time off the controls to perform sampling tasks, housekeeping and positively engage with truck operators,” he said.
KE expects to perfect this and other aspects of its technology plan so that automation is featured on a select number of machines scheduled for 2025 manufacture.