How HPE reduced the impact of agricultural machinery on vineyard soils by 40%

Challenges & Objectives

Founded in December 2020 by Grégory Hiard, HPE has quickly established itself as a key player in the design and prototyping of specialised machinery. Initially focused on providing services to renowned manufacturers, the company has, since its inception, harboured a strong ambition: to become a manufacturer of its own machines, meeting very specific industrial needs.

This ambition has come to fruition with the development of the Vini-Track, the first machine in the WINNCH range, designed to address the environmental and technical challenges of the wine-growing sector.

 

The main challenges:

 

  • Soil conservation: traditional machinery, which is too heavy, causes harmful soil compaction
  • Effectiveness of organic treatments: contact plant protection products require uniform application; in the event of rain, rapid re-treatment is crucial to prevent diseases such as mildew
  • Accessibility: after a downpour, waterlogged ground makes the use of conventional machinery difficult, if not impossible

DV DIGITAL solution

To address these challenges, HPE has designed the Vini-Track, a vineyard machine designed entirely for difficult terrain and narrow rows:

 

  • Extended contact area, three times greater than that of traditional tyres, to protect soil biodiversity
  • Reduced weight (3 tonnes), 40% less than a standard machine, suitable for the narrow rows (90 cm to 1.10 m) found in Burgundy, Champagne, Médoc…
  • Independent steering tracks allowing for different movement modes (crab, carousel…) with a turning radius of just 1.05 m

To design the Vini-Track, HPE relied on Siemens’ flexible SMD Bundle comprising Solid Edge & NX, deployed with the expertise of DV DIGITAL:

  • No instability, even with large assemblies
  • Comprehensive tools to cover the entire prototyping cycle (mechanical, hydraulic, surface, electronic, rendering, etc.)
  • Seamless integration with immersive visualisation tools such as JT2Go, facilitating co-design with customers

Pour répondre à ces contraintes, HPE a conçu le Vini-Track, un engin viticole 100 % pensé pour les terrains difficiles et les vignes étroites :

 

  • Surface de contact étendue, 3x supérieure à celle de pneus traditionnels, pour protéger la biodiversité du sol
  • Poids réduit (3 tonnes), soit 40 % de moins qu’un engin standard, compatible avec les rangs étroits (90 cm à 1,10 m) rencontrés en Bourgogne, Champagne, Médoc…
  • Chenilles directrices indépendantes permettant différents modes de déplacement (crabe, carrousel…) avec un rayon de braquage de seulement 1,05 m

Pour concevoir le Vini-Track, HPE s’est appuyée sur le Bundle flexible SMD de Siemens constitué de Solid Edge & NX, déployé avec l’expertise de DV DIGITAL :

  • Aucune instabilité, même avec de gros assemblages
  • Outils complets pour couvrir l’ensemble du cycle de prototypage (mécanique, hydraulique, surfacique, électronique, rendu…)
  • Intégration fluide avec les outils de visualisation immersive comme JT2Go, facilitant la co-conception avec les clients
Illustration du contenu
Testimonial

Testimonial

  • The idea was to design a machine capable of operating where others cannot, whilst protecting the ground and ensuring excellent manoeuvrability. Siemens solutions are the best in class for large assemblies. Thanks to them, we were able to avoid the technical limitations encountered with other software

    Grégory Hiard

    Founder of HPE

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