Upgrades to Claas’ Variant 400 series of variable round balers are set for release next year.
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The Variant round baler has had significant improvements made to its intake, crop flow, wrapping and maintenance systems which the company says will make the range more powerful and reliable.
The Variant 485 model produces a 0.9 to 1.8 x 1.2 metre bale while the Variant 470 delivers 0.9 to 1.55 x 1.2m bales.
Both are available with Claas’ Rotofeed or Roto Cut cutterbar options.
Claas product manager, Luke Wheeler, said the two models feature a new star rotor structure that turns through 360 degrees instead of the 180 degrees as on the current models.
“With 14 knives, the rotor achieves 6000 cuts a minute, ensuring material is evenly distributed to create uniformly-shaped bales.
“This is an advantage when baling narrow swaths,” he said.
A crop press developed for Claas’ Jaguar forage harvesters and Quadrant square balers, is also available for the pick-up.
“The dual roller crop press is suspended and can be mechanically switched between four different settings,” Mr Wheeler said.
“It allows the intake to be quickly adjusted to suit different conditions and ensures a more uniform and faster crop flow, allowing higher operating speeds.”
The Variant Pro specification features an extra-large 2.35m wide pick-up with hydro-pneumatic suspension.
“In these models, the cutting floor automatically drops when there is a risk of blockage,” Mr Wheeler said.
The two oscillating castor guide wheels that steer the pick-up have been reinforced and can be folded when using the XXL pick-up to reduce the transport width.
The balers get edge-to-edge net wrapping as standard, as well as an overhauled netting or twine intake.
“A new plate assists with the insertion of netting or twine into the chamber, which means the tying process will start properly,” Mr Wheeler said.
A new spiral roller ensures netting stretches right across the bale during tying and the balers can be specified with a wider 1.3m netting trough to lay the netting over the bale edges.
Other improvements include a reinforced front frame for low-wear belt guidance and a wide oil lubricating brush to coat all chains while a central automatic lubrication system is an option.
The pivot for the tailgate has also been redesigned to speed up bale discharge.
“The tailgate can be opened and closed quickly, allowing bales to be discharged in less than six seconds,” Mr Wheeler said.
