TamaAssist Articles
An important point that many twine users may not appreciate is the type of knot that their baler makes, which have a critical impact on how strong the twine actually is. There are two distinctly different types of knots used in large square balers; the Deering type knot and the Cormick type knot.
The Cormick knotting system actually makes a ‘double diameter’ knot, commonly known as a bow knot (loop knot) with tails of different lengths, which usually avoids any slipping of the twine inside of the knot.
The Deering knot, by comparison, can start to slip very easily, causing friction inside the knot that can start to burn the twine, which is the starting point of the knot pulling through or the twine breaking in extreme conditions. This burnt part of the twine slips out from the knot and is more likely to break as the strength of the twine has degraded due to the friction.
Twine used in a Deering type of knotters will only be able to retain up to 55% of its tensile strength, the knot works as a knife against the twine.
So, we can clearly say that the ‘strength’ properties of any twine will be different depending on which type of knotter it is being used in. This knowledge immediately changes the accuracy of the information a producer quotes when stating the ‘knot strength’ of their twine unless full details of which type of knot it was tested in and under what conditions.
Simply using a value called ‘knot strength’, without qualifications on which knot and what conditions it was tested, is definitely not the way do determine twine strength or quality.
The ‘strength’ of knot made in a Cormick type of knotter will retain up to 70% or more of the tensile strength of the twine, the knot strength is higher because the angle between the twine and the knot is more open.
knot strength


TamaAssist Articles
For the past 15 years, Tama Group has developed their range of round bale netwrap in a direction of advancing technology. New, higher specification raw material and modern manufacturing methods have created lighter weight netwrap that maintains the same high strength, a greater strength than ‘standard’ netwrap, which then allows roll length to be increased significantly without becoming too big or heavy, and with less plastic means less waste afterwards. This technology is now being used in Tama’s development of new and more efficient Baler Twines, which will bring huge benefits to users of Big Square Balers. Tested and validated
The new LSB twine has undergone extensive testing during its research and development phase, with wide-spread field trials and many hundreds of tonnes already used commercially in a ‘volume-trial’ of the product throughout Europe. The respected German testing house, DLG Test Center of Technology and Farm Inputs, validated Tama LSB in their own large scale test using a number of different current model Big Square balers, with great success.
Tama are Europe’s largest and most advanced twine producer and, using technologies developed in their ‘state of the art’ manufacturing plant in Hungary, have created a new twine which has the same high strength of the ‘130’ and a significant increase in the length of twine in each pack. This new twine, called Tama LSB will now is now a ‘universal’ twine able to be used in the tough high-density baling and offer the longer length to reduce the need to re-load the baler as frequently. TamaTwine Plus LSB Power 2600 Pack
The LSB twine has also been formulated to bring flexibility to the yarn, very important when forming a good, uniform knot shape, which will avoid slipping or pulling open in the action of a double-knot system baler.
Relative strength
A more accurate way of benchmarking the quality of a twine is to understand what is called the ‘Relative Strength’, where the efficiency of the twine yarn is measured as a factor of the Tensile Strength against the ‘real’ runnage (m/kg). In this way, it is possible to give a much clearer indication of one twine against another, important when choosing which twine to use in which baler.
This worked as long as the stated runnage was an accurate and true reflection of the actual runnage. Nowadays, however, no twine manufacturer describes his product with the ‘real’ runnage, for
example ‘Type 130’ is always no greater than 115m/ kg, so you have no idea exactly what you are buying.
Real length per pack…or just a guess ..?
Traditionally, the method to categorise twine is the ‘type number’ reference, such as ‘Type 130’, for example. This originally described the runnage, or metres per kilogramme (m/kg) of the twine in the spool and meant you could easily calculate the length of the spool, by weighing the spool, calculating the metres per kilogramme.
In a series of tests by the respected DLG Test Center –Technology and Farm Inputs department in Frankfurt, Germany, Tama LSB length was checked and confirmed the real run length as an average of 1445.7 m per single spool. This confirms the guaranteed minimum stated length of 2,800m/pack.