The flagship BigBaler models are built in Zedelgem, Belgium, which is home to New Holland’s global centre of harvesting excellence. The BigBaler series comprises four models. Depending on customer requirements bale size varies from 70cm x 80cm to 120cm x 90cm.Pickup
The flagship BigBaler models are built in Zedelgem, Belgium, which is home to New Holland’s global centre of harvesting excellence. The BigBaler series comprises four models. Depending on customer requirements bale size varies from 70cm x 80cm to 120cm x 90cm.
Pickup
New Holland has completely redesigned the MaxiSweep pickup reel.
Two different widths are available, the ultra-wide 2.35m reel for the widest of straw swaths and the standard 1.96m reel, which is more suitable for baling silage.
This reel is kitted out with heavy-duty 6mm coil tines, which have been designed to increase durability on rougher ground.
A useful design
The pickup side shields have an S-shaped design to maintain smooth crop flow.
This design is particularly useful while working in heavy swaths of silage and negotiating tight corners. The pickup reel is on a spring-loaded suspension system.
This is easily adjusted using a simple plate which can be set to allow the right amount of vertical movement to maintain contact with the ground.
Smooth crop flow is also aided through the feed assist roller which comes as standard on all machines within the series.
A new feeding logic is set to significantly improve the baler’s efficiency.
Two contra rotating overshot and undershot augers direct and merge the crop flow towards the rotor.
Rotor and knives
To cater for the broad range of baling operations which customers carry out worldwide, New Holland has developed a host of crop-processing options with different chop lengths to suit particular requirements.
These range from the standard direct flow option to the PackerCutter and CropCutter variants. Depending on the baler model and chop length required, balers are equipped from six knives with a 114mm chop up to 29 knives which have the capability of 39mm chop length.
The CropCutter easy-slide knife drawer moves out to the side which allows easy access for sharpening and replacing.
Control of density
Bale density is an area which the New Holland team has worked very hard on.
The density of bales is continually monitored by three-sided density control. This system combines sensor reading from the completed bales, with continual monitoring of the load on the plunger. If this changes, so does the bale density, and hydraulic pressure on the side doors and the top chamber rail are automatically adjusted to restore uniform bale production.
The heavy-duty gearbox has increased plunger speed by 14% to 48 strokes per minute. This has helped to improve throughput and increase ground speed.
The plunger on the Plus model has also been reinforced to deliver a 50% increased lifespan.
The BigBaler’s gearbox has been strengthened to guarantee up to a 20% capacity increase.
The large-diameter, high-inertia flywheel has increased energy by up to 48% to compensate for uneven swaths so no reduction in ground speed occurs.
To ensure the uniformity of bales, a network of sensors is located at the entry to the pre-compression chamber and these record the intake of crop flow. If one-sided crop entry is detected, the operator is informed via the monitor to drive more in the desired direction, whether it is left or right of the swath.
As correct and uniform bale length is vital, New Holland uses a precision electronic bale length control system. A notched wheel is used to regulate bale length.
This wheel measures precise movement of the bale through the chamber. When the required bale length is achieved, it trips the knotting cycle. This required length is easily adjusted via the control monitor.
Yield sensing
The BigBaler range has been designed with precision-farming features.
The weight and moisture percentage of each bale is continually updated and displayed on the IntelliView IV monitor.
This data has the capability to be stored, downloaded and analysed with PLM Connect telematics precision-farming software to establish accurate yield maps.
These maps can then be used to finetune inputs to maximise yields and minimise input costs.
Bale moisture percentage is calculated via an electric current, which passes through the bale.
Bale weighing is carried out using sensors in the bale discharge chute. Accuracy of weights is currently running at +/-2%.
IntelliCruise system
The IntelliCruise feature controls the tractor’s forward speed through Isobus class three technology. This system has two running modes, charge control mode and slice control mode.
Charge control mode: in charge control mode, the tractor speed is adapted to achieve optimum capacity by using sensor paddles which measure the throughput of crop fed into the stuffer channel and the time it takes to fill it to ensure optimum tractor speed is maintained.Slice control mode: in this mode, the tractor’s speed is adjusted according to bale slice thickness. The system attempts to obtain the exact amount of slices defined by the operator.New Holland claims that this system enables up to 9% more throughput while using up to 4% less fuel. It must be noted that this system will only work through a CVT transmission.
Axle
The BigBaler range comes as standard on a tandem axle on 550/45/22.5 tyres. Different tyres sizes are available with a single axle also an option. Both hydraulic and pneumatic braking options are available. Auto-steer is fitted as standard on the tandem axle.
Visibility
A 3600 lighting package, available with an LED option on all Plus models, has been developed to maintain production right into the night. Optional LED service light strips can be installed around the baler to increase visibility in certain areas.
A rear-mounted camera on the rear top rail delivers footage to the IntelliView monitor.
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