More productive, more efficient and easier to operate, is the battle cry of the new Claas Lexion 8000/7000 series of combine harvesters.
Set to debut to growers at Henty Machinery Field Days, the demonstration model hit Melbourne's shores at a dealership conference held earlier this year.
While it may have been parked next door to retired Sea Shepherd flagship, the MY Steve Irwin, Claas claim the only mission for this machine is to raise the bar for harvesting performance even higher.
Claas Harvest Centre product manager for Lexion Steve Reeves said the 8000/7000 delivers 10 per cent more capacity than the existing 700 range, which he said was already acknowledged as the world's most productive and efficient combine harvester.
This is not a new series - it's effectively a new machine. Every aspect has been re-engineered to meet the needs of today's grain producers - increased efficiency and ease of operation...
- Steve Reeves
"This is not a new series - it's effectively a new machine," he said.
"Every aspect has been re-engineered to meet the needs of today's grain producers - increased efficiency and ease of operation and reduced downtime and operating costs."
Mr Reeves said this second generation of machines used and improved upon Lexion's unique hybrid threshing and separation system, first launched in 1995.
"In the new series Lexion we have completely increased the heart of our machines," he said.
"It has dramatically increased in capacity, gained by increasing the diameter of the threshing drum from 600 millimetres to 755mm, about 27 per cent bigger in actual size.
"We have maxed out as well the feeder drum, which feeds our rotors.
"That has also allowed us to increase the size of the concaves, so the main threshing part of the machine is 20pc bigger in the new series."
Mr Reeves said an accelerated pre-separation system smoothly accelerates crop flow to 20 metres/second across all concave areas, meaning 70 per cent of separation occurs before the crop even reaches the twin longitudinal rotors.
"Combined, these improvements optimise crop flow and separation efficiency whilst reducing power requirement," he said.
Mr Reeves said the Lexion includes the Claas Cemos auto machine optimisation system along with integrated telematics as standard features.
