fig1 illustrates a top view of a baler 10 , the present invention . the baler 10 includes a framework support structure 12 upon which numerous component members are secured and attached , and secures to a slab or a pad . stairs 14 and a gathering deck 16 align and secure to the upper portion of the framework support structure 12 . a power unit 18 mounts on a frame 19 . a high - tech control station , also known as an operator &# 39 ; s console 20 , positions on the gathering deck 16 . a hopper 22 with hopper extensions 24 align to the front of the gathering deck 16 . several chambers , including a compression ram area 25 , a charging box chamber 26 , a bale compression chamber 28 , and a bale exit chamber 30 align horizontally with respect to each other , and position generally beneath the gathering deck 16 , below or adjacent the hopper 22 as illustrated . material to be baled loads in the hopper 22 , and is fed by gravity into the charging box chamber 26 . a compression cylinder 32 and an intensifier cylinder 34 align in the compression ram area 25 to power the compression ram 36 , which forcibly moves the material to be baled from the charging box chamber 26 into the bale compression chamber 28 . after material is compressed , an ejection cylinder 38 shown in dashed lines and an ejection ram 40 ejects the bale . the power unit 18 on the power unit frame includes a number of connected components , including a hydraulic reservoir box , motors and staged pumps as later described in fig8 a - 1g2 . hydraulic manifolds connect to the staged pumps , filters and cooling fans . a plurality of manifold hoses connect to the compression cylinder , the ejection cylinder , the bale release cylinder and the wire strapper . the compression cylinder 32 aligns and secures in the compression ram area 25 , and secures on the outboard end of the deck . the inboard end of the compression cylinder 32 secures to the framework support structure 12 . the compression ram 32 is generally of an open rear box shape which secures to the compression cylinder 32 . the upper leading edge of the compression ram 36 includes a compression ram knife . a shear knife extends across the structure . a charging box chamber 26 aligns beneath the hopper 22 , and includes a left charging box side frame 26a and a right charging box side frame 26b . a charging box flange 72 extends perpendicularly and outwardly from the top of the right charging box side frame 26b . a plurality of hold down adjustors 74a - 74n secure and align to the charging box flange 72 to adjust a hold down bar as later described in detail . viewing assemblies 42 and 44 , such as lexane , locate on inboard walls of the hopper extensions 24 so that the operator can visually view and monitor the interior of the hopper 22 and the charging box chamber 26 . the physical structure of the baler 10 is sold under the name of &# 34 ; selco systems - ii hy - density two ram baler &# 34 ; by selco of baxley , georgia , the assignee of this patent application . fig2 illustrates an end view of the baler 10 where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig3 illustrates a view taken along line 3 -- 3 of fig1 where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig4 illustrates a view taken along line 4 -- 4 of fig3 where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig5 illustrates a view taken along line 5 -- 5 of fig1 where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig6 illustrates a view taken along line 6 -- 6 of fig5 where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig8 a - 8g2 illustrate the hydraulic schematic diagrams corresponding to the power unit 18 and the related hydraulic circuits for hydraulically powering and controlling the baler 10 and including the transducers and flow meters which connect to the programmable controller as later described in detail . fig9 a - 9j illustrate the electrical schematic and electrical connections for the baler 10 . fig9 e is current sensing relays for the solenoid coils of fig9 f , as well as diagnostic . fig9 i and 9j are for the analog transducer connections for the baler . the operation of the baler is controlled by an allen bradly 515 programmable controller . the programmable controller includes the software of the appendix on microfiche and generates displays on the video screen of the display of the operator &# 39 ; s console , a hi - tech control station . fig1 a2 - 10c is a flow chart 100 of the major elements of the software which controls the operation of baler 10 . the procedure is entered at element 102 as a result of applying power to the controller . element 104 determines whether the mechanical hardware is up to speed and functional . this is necessary because the electronic control circuitry of operator console 20 will always be ready before the mechanical components of baler 10 . if the operational mode has not yet been attained , element 106 continues to run the diagnostics , and displays the status to the operator ( see also the applicable screen display shown in fig1 a - 11i2 element 106 returns control to element 104 , which does not permit the program to proceed further until the mechanical components of baler 10 are operational . when baler 10 becomes fully operational , element 104 forwards control to element 108 , which determines whether the operator has entered a change in material on operator console 20 . if such a change has been made , element 11 updates the program operational parameters from the data storage to program baler 10 for the newly selected material . these parameters control ram force , ram speed , further operator video displays , etc . after setting of the material parameters , element 112 determines whether the operator has entered a new strap increment at operator console 20 . if yes , element 114 provides the new strap parameters to the program . these parameters are used to control the automated process of strapping the fully compressed bales as discussed in more detail above ( see also fig8 f ). element 116 receives control after the strapping parameters have been established . this element determines whether the operator has entered a different compression density into operator console 20 . newly entered density parameters are entered by element 118 as necessary . when element 116 releases control , all program parameters have been entered , and the software program has been supplied with all necessary operator inputs . after this point in time , baler 10 can operate essentially in an automatic fashion until such time as the operator wishes to change one or more parameters of the process . the conveyor is turned on by the activation of the appropriate contactor ( see also fig9 a ) by element 120 . as explained in more detail above , this conveyor transports the material to hopper 22 . the conveyor continues in operation until element 122 determines that hopper 22 is full by returning control to element 120 until the full hopper signal is received from the associated sensor . as soon as hopper 22 is sensed to be full , control transfers to element 124 to disconnect the conveyor motor contactor to prevent overfilling of bale compression chamber 28 . element 126 opens the solenoid to compression cylinder 32 to begin forward movement of compression ram 36 ( see also fig8 a - d ). as compression ram 36 is advanced , the movement is monitored for jamming at the shear point by element 128 . this is an important safety feature . if jamming is detected , element 130 reverses compression ram 36 to 55 inches in a attempt to clear the jam condition . control is returned to element 126 which again initiates forward movement of compression ram 36 . assuming that no jam has occurred or has been cleared , compression ram 36 continues forward until element 132 concludes that compression of the bale is completed . this is determined by positional sensing of compression ram 36 ( see also fig9 i and 9j ). elements 132 and 134 retain control as compression ram 36 is moved forward . when the positional sensors indicate that the maximum bale size has been achieved , element 136 determines if the operator selected bale density objective has been met . if yes , control is given to element 140 for strapping and final disposition of the bale . if the density objective has not been met , there is insufficient material in bale compression chamber 28 to complete the bale and control is given to element 138 . element 138 transfers control to element 142 to continue the forward movement of compression ram 36 . the hydraulic system pressure transducer is interrogated at element 144 as a safety feature to ensure that the pressure remains within the safe operating limits . if the maximum safe operating pressure has not yet been reached , element 146 determines whether compression ram 36 has travelled to the end of its stroke . if not , control is returned to element 142 to continue forward movement of compression ram 36 . in this manner , the partial bale is compressed as much as possible before the system admits additional material to complete the bale . if element 144 has determined that the maximum safe operating pressure has been reached or element 146 has determined that compression ram 36 has moved to its maximum forward position , element 148 calculates the partial bale size . element 150 determines whether this comprises a full stroke . if not , element 152 then initializes short calculation . otherwise the stop resistance is set to zero , signifying that the maximum forward travel of compression ram 36 has occurred . these values are used by element 156 , which moves compression ram 36 in the reverse direction to admit more material . this movement continues until terminated by element 160 , which returns control to the element 104 at the beginning of the program . if the density objective has been met as determined by element 136 , the bale is complete and control is transferred to element 140 . element 164 initiates reversal of compression ram 36 to permit strapping and removal of the completely compressed bale . the vent valve is maintained in the open state by element 166 . element 168 monitors the position of compression ram 36 to determine when it reaches the eject position . if not , control is returned to element 164 to continue the reverse direction movement of compression ram 36 . when element 168 determines that the ejection position of compression ram 36 has been achieved , element 170 activates forward movement of ejection ram 40 ( see also fig8 ). the position of ejection ram 40 is monitored by element 172 in conjunction with the appropriate sensor ( see also fig9 ). when ejection ram 40 is determined to be properly positioned for the next programmed strap , element 178 places the strap , and element 180 calculates the position of the next strap to be placed , if any . element 174 determines whether ejection ram 40 has travelled a maximum distance whenever the bale is continuing to be positioned for the next strap . until the maximum distance has been travelled , control returns to element 170 to further advance ejection ram 40 . when the maximum distance has been travelled , element 176 begins reversal of ejection ram 40 . element 184 also begins reversal of compression ram 36 . both rams are continued in the reverse direction by element 184 until the initial position has been reached . at that point the completed bale has been strapped and ejected , and control is returned to element 162 to again begin the program with possibly new operator entered parameters . fig1 a - 11i2 illustrate video displays on the video screen of the operator &# 39 ; s console as generated during operation of the baler 10 . the operator &# 39 ; s control console mounts at either the front or the rear of the hopper . the operation of the baler is intended to be automated and can be as basic as turning the baler on selecting the material to be baled , selecting the density of the material to be baled , and selecting the distances between the wire strappings . the operation of the baler is intended to be automated by a skilled operator who does not have to be in attendance at the operator &# 39 ; s console once operation is commenced , and only needs to be in the immediate area to actuate an emergency shut off switch for whatever reason should such an occasion arise . the baler includes memory storage to generate reports as to the materials baled at specific density and strappings . the machine also provides for preventative maintenance , such as logging fault reports on the screen and flashing messages to the operator . finally , the baler troubleshoots itself by shutting down , providing an audible alarm , visual alarm , and flashes messages on the video display for direction to the operator to correct the trouble . the programmable controller on power up generates the following screen displays of fig1 a - 11i2 on the video display according to table 1 . the programmable controller also generates on the video display an operational view of the compression ram and the ejector ram during operation . the following sensors connect to the programmable logic controller set forth in table 2 . the analog sensors of fig9 i and 9j operate on 4 - 20 ma . if there is a sensor failure , the signal from the sensor drops below 4 miliamps , then one can assume that the sensor is defective . if all of the sensors drop below 4 miliamps , then there is a problem with the 24 volt dc power supply or fuse . the odds of all of the sensors failing at the same time , is remote . at a zero state , the sensors are at 4 miliamps . the analog sensors are for machine control , as well as diagnostics . the diagnostic aspect , as an example , is using the system pressure transducer , the flow meter , and the position transducer to detect any problems with the hydraulic circuitry . if there is flow , but one doesn &# 39 ; t have maximum pressure with the position transducer , one determines that the ram has stopped , then one knows that there is a leak some where . if the leak is not in the plumbing , which an operator could tell , the leak is going to be 1 ) in a valve , or 2 ) in the piston itself ; probably , in the piston seal . this would tell the operator that there is a piston seal leak . then the help screen would display a message to check the machine out for obvious leaks . if there is a reduced flow , which one would determine with a flow meter , such as reduced flow at close to system pressure , where one is checking system pressure to 2400 psi . one checks the flow between 2200 and 2300 psi which should be before the relief valves starts relieving ; and then , if the flow is something less than what it started out , then one can tell that the pump is starting to go bad . if the system is not putting out the pressure , it could also be a defective relief valve . limit switches on the ejector and on the main ram are in the zero position all the way back . if the position transducer says that the ram is back and the ram is not on the limit switch , then one knows that there is a defective transducer . if one is on the limit switch and the transducer says that the ram is out some where , then that is also an indication that there is a defective transducer . the temperature transducer is just controlling the cooling system , which is automatic as long as the strapper pump is on . this also allows the coolant function . the motor current transducers on the # 1 and # 2 main pump monitors the motors for various problems . one can tell , for example , when , actually before one stalls , that one is fixing to stall . the actual flow meters are in the hydraulic lines on the output of the hydraulic pumps . each motor drives 2 pumps , a high pressure and a high volume pump , and there is one flow meter for each pump . the flow meter is after the relief valve . the third motor is the strapper and cooling pump with a high volume and a high pressure pump on it . the high pressure pump goes to the strapper , and the high volume pump is for cooling . the high volume pump circulates the hydraulic oil through the radiators . the position transducer and flow meters tell that there is a stall . when one is pushing material and there is a stall , for example , at the shear point , one backs up , which is indicated on the flow chart , and that is how one knows that there is a stall . when the position transducer senses this condition and the flow meter has gone to zero , meaning that there is relieving , then it is an indication that one has stalled . if one is at the shear point , for example , one backs up and tries again . the system pressure transducer is constantly monitoring the pressure . the main pump current transducers are monitoring the motor current , whole temperature is just controlling the fans basically . various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof . the teachings of the present invention are applicable to balers in general , especially with respect to the video displays generated on the video screen .