Air seeder advanced with Vesconite bushings

Vesconite Bearings has received a large order for wear-resistant bushings from a Canadian agricultural manufacturer that manufactures air seeders, among other equipment.

This is according to Vesconite application developer Marius van Zyl, who has been involved in the project since its start.

The project began when an Australian distributor of the air seeder tested standard Vesconite bushings on the pivots on the row units. The distributor then also evaluated Vesconite’s premium bearing material, Vesconite Hilube.

Both materials performed well on the seeder’s two highest-load points.

Because of availability, the Australian distributor supplied Vesconite Hilube bushings on its high-load high-wear pivot points on the planters ahead of the Australian planting season in 2021.

However, from this time on, standard Vesconite will be fitted to these points since this had a longer testing record of reliable performance and is more economical.

Testing of standard Vesconite has also been in progress in Canada through the spring 2022 planting season. The Canadian air-seeder manufacturer is now considering changing all of the pivot bearings to standard Vesconite to streamline production and improve wear across the row units.