
New, Patented Machine Developed to Re-Bind
Cotton BalesBy Linda Cooke July 21, 1997Broken cotton bales cost the industry
up to $14 million annually in lost time and money. To help solve this problem,
U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists
have designed a new machine that re-bands cotton bales quickly and at less
cost. Cotton bales weighing about 500 pounds are held together by six or eight
restraining bands made of either wire or steel. These bands break on about 2
percent (400,000 bales) of the cotton bales produced in the United States. If the breakage occurs at the cotton gin, the entire ginning operation
stops. It normally takes four people working about 30 minutes to completely
repackage the bale. If breakage occurs after bales leave the gin, damaged bales
must be re-shipped to a gin equipped with an expensive bale press. The new re-banding machine enables a single operator to fix individual bands
in about 10 minutes. Several models of the ARS-patented machine have been
tested, including manually operated and automatic models, to meet industry
requirements. The machine is expected to be commercially available in the fall
of 1997. The July issue of Agricultural
Research, the monthly publication of USDAs
Agricultural Research Service, contains
a report on the re-banding machine and its significance to the cotton industry.
The magazine story is available in PDF format on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul97/ Scientific contact: W. Stanley
Anthony, ARS
Cotton Ginning
Laboratory, P.O. Box 256, Stoneville, MS 38776, phone (601) 686-3094, fax
686-3094, [email protected] U.S. Department of Agriculture | |