Claas has developed a series of innovations for its Jaguar 900 range of self-propelled forage harvesters.
First is the redesigned V-Flex chopping cylinder, available as an option to the V-Max system. In combination with the V-Flex knives, it is said to offer smooth running and longer service life, while increasing throughput and chopping quality.
According to the company, crop flow is more consistent, especially when for chop lengths above 12mm, while the high knife stability and triple bolted connection mean that the distance between the cylinder and shear bar can be reduced.
The knives are angled at 10deg to the sheer bar, with an extended 23mm anti-wear coating to provide additional wear resistance.
“Thanks to their unique features, the V-Flex knives are currently the most durable on the market,” explains Stefan Look, product manager. “That means that our customers spend more time forage harvesting as they don’t need to resharpen the knives as often. Reduced setup times, longer knife service life and reduced fuel consumption improve the performance and efficiency not only of our Jaguar forage harvesters, but the entire harvesting chain as well.”
Riveted accelerator paddles are said to ensure uniform crop intake and the knife sharpening operation has been reconfigured. As well as the knife sharpening and individual shear bar adjustment, users can now choose a combined function which is said to be completed in just one minute.
The V-Flex is available with 20, 24, 28 or 36 knives and can be configured to work with half or a third of the total blades. A set of half knives can also be specified to double the chop length. All variations of the V-Flex can be used in combination with the MCC Classic, Max and Shredlage corn crackers.
Corn crackers
Adjustments have also been made to the company’s range of corn crackers. The differential speed on the MCC Classic and MCC Max has been increased from 30 to 40%. Additionally, the Classic is now optionally available with a 190-sawtooth profile for small kernels such as sorghum.
The compartment now offers more space for fitting and removing the corn cracker, making it easier to change rollers and leading to less downtime.
Corn silage processing score
Users will now be able to determine processing intensity in the field, with an app-based solution to measure the corn silage processing score (CSPS).
A one-litre sample of chopped material is collected and divided into five samples on an A4 tray. These are then photographed with a smartphone and analysed, with results sent back to the app within a few minutes.
This enables the corn cracker settings to be adjusted, even while harvesting is underway, to meet the desired processing quality.
Pick up adjustments
On the Pick Up 300 header, the shape of the auger has been adjusted and equipped with four offset paddles. This is said to ensure uniform crop flow, while also improving throughput.
An extended dust screen now covers the entire working width, which reduces soiling in the intake and cylinder housings, as well as capturing crop fragments to reduce losses.
Additional new features include a new Carraro rear axle with a load capacity of 9t and ten-hole rims in the Power Trac variant to enable four-wheel drive to be engaged when under load.
Wheel spacers of 460mm on the standard axle, and 620mm on the Power Trac are also available to widen the track width.
In the cabin, double-clicking a button on the CMotion lever enables automatic trailer changeover for the Auto Fill system, which directs the crop stream to a preset position at maximum speed to ensure minimal losses.
For more information go to www.claas.co.uk