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“Each of these machines are designed to provide maximum performance, easy maintenance, and the reliability you expect from CLAAS,” says Product Manager Matt Jaynes. “By listening to the needs of our customers and bringing our brightest thinking into research and development, CLAAS is providing customers with a truly innovative portfolio of tools in the baler and hay market.”
The product updates include:
- The VARIANT 500 series round baler will initially include six models in both ROTO CUT and ROTO FEED formats. Each of these models have received improvements that provide growers with reliable, easy to maintain machines with optimized baling density and improved net wrapping.
- The CLAAS QUADRANT square baler is used around the world and is well known for its high stability, reliability and low operating costs. The QUADRANT 5300 series has been given comprehensive technical upgrades, such as a hydraulic drive pick up and an optimized bale chamber. In addition, the QUADRANT has now received the designation to be part of the EVOLUTION series.
- The DISCO 9300 TREND mower is designed to be a powerful, high-output mower without a conditioner, delivering the highest cutting quality and maximum operational efficiency. The large working width of 29 ft 2 in or 29 ft 10 in, the low power requirement of only 150 PTO hp, and the simple operation without a monitor make mowing very easy and efficient.
For more information on each product, see below or visit the company website at www.claas.com.
VARIANT 500 Series Round Baler
The VARIANT 500 series includes six models featuring both ROTO FEED and ROTO CUT formats. Each model provides growers high reliability, easy maintenance, optimized baling density and improved net wrapping.
More knives for VARIANT 565 RC and 585 RC
The product range includes the VARIANT 565 RC and 585 ROTO CUT (RC) with heavy duty components such as reinforced drive chains, a strong cutting rotor with 8 mm double-tine stars and special knife protection for professional farms with high utilization and primary use of silage. In contrast to the two other VARIANT RC models VARIANT 560 RC and VARIANT 580 RC with the tried-and-tested 14-knife cutting mechanism, these two balers are now equipped with a 17-knife cutting mechanism with a theoretical cutting length of 2.3”. The standard PRO rotor drop floor can be lowered hydraulically to clear blockages at the push of a button from the tractor cab, while the knives are automatically depressurized. To prevent blockages in advance, the PRO rotor drop floor compensates for uneven swaths by being able to lower itself by up to 1.2” and automatically return to its original position. An acoustic signal warns the driver before the rotor is blocked, so there is enough time to reduce the driving speed.
Optimized SMART DENSITY Pressure Control System with Soft Core
A key focus for CLAAS engineers has been the new baling pressure control. This includes a new hydraulic control block with two independent lines for both belt tensioning arms. This means that the position of the tensioning arms and thus the baling pressure can be measured and set independently. In the outer portion of the bale a higher density leads to better protection from the weather. The new density management system also allows you to control the density of the of the bale core. This is a nice feature for those who want to produce soft-core bales, for example when baling hay. The dimensions and baling pressure of the soft core can easily be adjusted for all operating conditions. The newly developed control software optimizes the baling process, so that perfectly formed bales leave the chamber, even under difficult operating conditions or in uneven windrows.
Standard Binding with Edge Covering
Looking at the new tying system, the first thing that catches the eye is the ideal position of the net roll, which is 10” lower than in the previous generation and enables easy and safe roll changes. The net roll always remains clean since it’s sitting on a roller so that dirt or crop residue directly fall out. A rubber roller underneath the roll of net wrap enables an adjustable stretch depending on the net wrap used. Thanks to the new net brake, which is independent of the roll diameter, an improved feed plate and the new knife release guarantee a reliable and trouble-free completion of the tying process under all operating conditions.
The tried-and-tested comfort net wrap for the fully automatic binding process has been carried over from the previous series in the VARIANT 500. The same applies to the extra-wide COVERED XW net wrap, which is 51” wide to cover the edge of the bale. Thanks to the comfort wrapping, the high belt rotation speed of up to 10 ft/s and the rapid ejection process downtimes are minimized.
QUADRANT EVOLUTION Series Square Baler
The CLAAS QUADRANT square baler is used around the world and is well known for its high stability, reliability and low operating costs. The QUADRANT 5300 series has been given comprehensive technical upgrades along with the new designation of EVOLUTION.
20 Years of FINE CUT Technology
In 2002, exactly 20 years ago, CLAAS introduced FINE CUT technology to the QUADRANT series. With 51 knives instead of the usual 25 on the ROTO CUT, an unrivaled cutting length of just 2 cm was achieved. The result was a higher bale density and easier bale breakup when used for bedding. With its shorter chop length, FINE CUT silage stimulates the rumen action and minimizes feed residue in feeding stations. FINE CUT straw is also significantly more absorbent than conventionally chopped straw.
New Pick-Up with Two Cam Tracks
The highlight of the QUADRANT EVOLUTION is the heavy duty (HD) pick-up with two cam tracks for maximum torsional resistance and exceptional strength. The pick-up runs particularly smoothly thanks to highly resilient components borrowed from the CLAAS JAGUAR pick-up. These also enable reduced noise levels and minimal wear costs.
The pick-up includes five rows of tines and 18 double tines per row, which ensure high throughput and excellent raking quality. The fifth row of tines allows the pick-up to rotate more slowly, while the speed of the PFS roller has been increased. The feed roller has also been given extra paddles which can be removed when harvesting long-stalked crops. The spring mounted PFS feed roller compensates for uneven swaths. All these innovations enhance raking performance and throughput while ensuring gentle, loss-free crop pick-up.
Hydraulic Drive for Pickup and PFS Roller Crop Press
For optimal crop pick-up, the QUADRANT 5300 balers have a hydraulic drive for the pickup and POWER FEEDING SYSTEM (PFS). The separate protection of the pick-up and PFS additionally boosts performance. The speeds of the pick-up, the PFS and the rotor are matched to each other. The advantage for QUADRANT customers: Evenly compacted, rock-hard bales with hard edges no matter what kind of swath.
Optimized bale chamber with additional HD components
The bale chamber has also undergone performance-enhancing modifications. The optimized top bale chamber plate ensures rock-hard bales right to the edges. Continuous straight bale chamber side plates compact the bales more evenly.
Factory-fitted side knives and deflectors reduce material build-up in the ram guide area when baling straw, corn or sugarcane – further increasing operational safety and reducing the cleaning effort. The closed bale chamber design guarantees particularly square bales, right through to the edges.
Additional Hardox HD components such as HD bearings for the ram guide, with up to four times the service life, further reduce wear in the bale chamber and the knotter area. These extremely robust and durable components combined with the massive pick-up with double cam track minimize wear. In an internal test involving 40,000 bales per machine under extreme conditions, the new design combined with the more wear-resistant components was found to reduce wear by up to 40 percent.
DISCO 9300 TREND Mower
The DISCO 9300 is designed to be a powerful, high output mower without a conditioner, delivering the highest cutting quality and maximum operational efficiency. The large working width of 29 ft 2 in or 29 ft 10 in, and the low power requirement of only 150 PTO hp along with the simple operation without a monitor make mowing very easy and efficient.
MAX CUT with Color-Coded Blades
The robust, permanently lubricated MAX CUT cutter bar with its bolted, torsion-resistant design has been proven in the market since 2014. It is maintenance-free and the special wave shape enables the large satellite wheels to be placed well to the front, engaging at two points.
On the DISCO 9300, each cutter bar has eight contra-rotating mower discs. Uniform disc spacing ensures an even cutting pattern. The wave-shaped one-piece base plate is made of a 5 mm thick steel profile and creates a dirt-removing tunnel effect in connection with the skids. The specially hardened intermediate pieces are shaped differently for converging and diverging mower discs in order to enable both an effective cut as a counter blade and a maximum overlap and thus an optimal crop flow without streaking. The MAX CUT mower bar is equipped with the quick knife change system. Red marking on the left-turning blades makes the tool-free quick knife change even easier.
Exemplary Accessibility and Easy Maintenance
Due to the protective curtains that fold out wide, there is excellent access to the cutter bar for all maintenance needs. The caps and mower blades of the counter-clockwise rotating mower discs on the new DISCO mowers are painted red. As a result, replacement blades can be immediately assigned to the appropriate mower discs. The practical blade box is divided into three compartments for red and black replacement blades as well as used blades.
High-quality washers made of brass or plastic and stainless steel screws on the protective curtains and holders prevent the turning and attachment points from rusting and thus guarantee a long product life and excellent value retention. All greasing points are clearly and permanently marked with the appropriate intervals.
