Oil Palm Bulletin No. 67 (November 2013) p11-16

Development of Half-track Articulated Tractor for Peat and Soft Ground

Abd Rahim Shuib*, Mohd Ramdhan Khalid* and Maizan Ismail*

MPOB has recently redesigned the traction mechanism of the standard articulated tractor to get the optimum mobility on soft ground soils and peat areas. Blending the concepts of an articulated half-track and a traction mechanism, this prototype transporter shows a good potential to operate on soft ground. Since 1980s, many fabricators/importers had tested and evaluated their full track transporters/machines. The feedback received from the end-users pointed to the high maintenance cost of the track and transmission system as the major factors hindering their adoption. With the issues identified, MPOB started the development of a new track transporter with emphasis on compactness of the transporter design and material selection during fabrication with the aim of getting a reliable transporter for peat areas.

MPOB telah menghasilkan satu mekanisme pencengkam yang boleh dipasang pada traktor bersendi untuk mendapatkan pergerakan yang optimum di kawasan tanah gambut. Dengan mengadunkan konsep traktor bersendi dan mekanisme pencengkam, jentera prototaip pengangkut yang dihasilkan ini terbukti boleh beroperasi di tanah lembut/gambut. Sejak 1980-an, banyak pengeluar dan pengimport jentera telah memandu uji serta menilai jentera jenis bertrek. Maklum balas daripada pengguna adalah kos penyelenggaraan yang tinggi terutamanya sistem trek dan transmisi. Berpandukan maklumat ini, MPOB telah membangunkan sebuah jentera yang menekankan kesesuaian saiz reka bentuk dan pemilihan komponen di dalam fabrikasi untuk menghasilkan sebuah jentera yang ekonomik untuk kawasan tanah gambut.




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