McPherson, Kan.-based Exapta Solutions has released new and upgraded components designed to improve durability, reduce service time, and extend the life of seeding equipment.
The new components unveiled are the Depth Adjustment Plate and Handle, a redesigned Main Pin Kit, a greaseless Firming Pivot Upgrade Kit, and a greaseless Closing Pivot Upgrade Kit.
Depth Adjustment Plate and Handle
Fits All 60/90/N Series Drills
The newly-engineered kit has a handle that now accommodates a thin-walled socket, significantly simplifying installation and removal.
Previously, servicing the axle required disassembling the handle, depth arm, and plate. Now, only the handle and depth arm need to be removed. The Depth Adjustment plate is adjustable in 0.25-inch increments and is twice as thick as the OEM version, preventing wear in the depth slots and helping maintain consistent seeding depth.
Main Pin Kit Fits All
50/60/90/N Series Deere Drills
The redesigned Main Pin Kit keeps the entire row at the correct 7-degree seeding angle, eliminating unnecessary stress and wear on the rest of the row components, which keeps seeding equipment in top shape.
The kit is built for extended life by featuring hardened collared bushings, which increases the surface area for the hardened chrome-finished pin to ride on, reducing stress and friction over time.
Installation and removal are now easier with the updated air hammer tool kit which includes necessary drivers and attachments specifically designed for this pin/bushing which are only available from Exapta.
In addition to the updated air hammer tool kit, the pin itself has a recess on both ends which ensures that your air hammer driver does not slip off the end of the main pin when installing or removing the pin.
Firming and Closing Pivot Upgrade Kit
Fits All 50/60/90/N Series Deere Drills
Growers can upgrade their drill to a Pro-Series-style pivot with the new greaseless kits. The pivot tubes have been increased to 1-1/8-inch diameter, spreading wear over a greater surface area to extend the life of the pivot.
Upgraded seals and bushings are designed to fit the larger tubes, while at the same time performing better than OEM. Once upgraded to the Pro-Series style pivot, customers can reuse the chrome tubes as long as the tube shows no significant wear or scratching.
Replacing the bushings earlier would prevent unnecessary play in the pivot, which can extend the system's life and reduce long-term costs, since the tube is the more expensive component.
Just like the Main Pin, there are also installation and removal air hammer tools specifically designed for seating both the bushings and seals to the correct depth. “On top of that, these far outshine the OEM pivots which require constant greasing either by climbing all over the machine or by installing a costly (but ineffective) greasing system,” the company says.
“Often, the grease lines meant to deliver lubrication to the zerk fitting are either disconnected or damaged — whether from being pinched or pulled loose. As a result, the pivot point receives no grease but is still exposed to the elements, allowing dust and water in. This combination leads to premature wear and failure and that is why we at Exapta have gone with the greaseless option.”
“When we developed our parts for the drill pivots, we targeted increased wear-life and interchangeability to help keep operating costs down in the long term. We did this by designing the main pivots as a hardened steel construction with wider bushings and a longer pin to increase service life,” says Exapta Product Engineer Jon Zeller.
“We designed the firming and closing pivots to give those rebuilding their drills a greaseless option that is compatible with existing OEM Pro-Series parts. This allows for any series of drill to update to the 1-1/8-inch diameter tube for increased wear life over smaller diameter tubes with the option to just replace the bushings, seals, and washers when the time comes.”