Watch: Kverneland delivering innovative machines

The Kverneland brand is bulging with new machines across all the ranges. The most notable machine is the non-stop baling combination in the FastBale. On the back of this development, Kverneland has produced the 6000 series of fixed- and variable-chamber balers at its factory in Italy. The original Kverneland or Vicon balers are now in Kuhn colours. It looks like these new balers will be in action very soon in Ireland. Kverneland is enjoying great success with its mower range, and it has developed a new pneumatic suspension called QuattroLink that it says acts like the suspension of a sports car.

Kverneland 3336 MT mower with QuattroLink suspension concept

The all-new Kverneland 3336 MT is a 3.6m mounted mower conditioner. Kverneland says the new suspension concept delivers constant ground pressure and hydraulic adjustment of overlap. The 3336 MT suspension concept is a next-level development of the already known Kverneland suspension concept. The mowing unit is suspended by four arms that allow it to float independently over the field and adjust accurately to ground contours. Ground pressure is easily adjusted from the tractor seat, hydraulically and with an easy-to-read pressure scale on the mower for guidance.

The suspension also provides the 3336 MT with non-stop breakaway protection across the full working width, with no limiting factor on the left-hand side of the mower. The four-arm suspension concept uses the same suspension principles known from sports cars. The manufacturer says this ensures constant ground pressure during working operations.

Compensate

During mowing operation, the carrying arm always remains even to the ground, giving the mowing unit the freedom to instantly compensate and float across uneven ground contours.

Product specialist Paraic McCarthy says this design provides the mower with constant ground pressure when going up and down the field, or adjusting sideways to field contours. He added that the advantages are obvious, as it leads to less damage and faster regrowth from the stubble with minimum soil in the swath.

When lifting the mower on headlands, only the mowing unit is raised, while the headstock remains in a fixed position. This provides the 3336 MT with a level ground clearance of 500mm across the full working width. The mowing unit is lowered evenly without one side touching the ground before the rest of the mower.

Hydraulic adjustment of overlap

The 3336 MT allows the operator to hydraulically adjust the overlap from the tractor cab. The adjustable overlap is designed as a telescopic arm, directly into the suspension. The telescopic arm allows the mower to be moved in or out. From operating a mower for some years, it seems like a nice feature for opening up fields, or working in oddly shaped fields.

Vertical transport has proven to the be the trend for mounted mowers, but the challenge with larger mower conditioners is typically that weight is centred on one side of the tractor. The complete weight of the 3336 MT is spread evenly on both rear tyres, with a 50/50 balance. Kverneland says that this means the tractor is not sliding to one side during transport. The mower folds hydraulically for transport and the telescopic frame arm moves to the lowest overlap position, to reach a transport height of 3.6m. Optionally, the right-hand protection guard hydraulically folds into transport position.

FastBale is put through the paces

Kverneland seems to be taking its time with this new-concept machine. The testing and development is well down the road and we might see it in action next year in Ireland. The concept of the machine is that it is totally non-stop process. Baling and wrapping are carried simultaneously, much like most combination machines.

The innovation is the pre-chamber. The pre-chamber design allows for the bale to be started in the first chamber and filled to around two-thirds of the finished bale size. This bale is then transferred to the second chamber where the bale is finished to its preset density. Once the bale is full, the crop flow is diverted back to the first or pre-chamber to make the next bale. The net wrap is applied to the finished bale in chamber two. The tied bale moves on to the wrapper for film application. This all happens uninterrupted with no clutching or stopping the machine.

Kverneland devised a wrapper frame mounted on a parallel linkage. This allows the wrapper to be lowered to meet the completed bale leaving the chamber. It simply rolls on to the wrapping platform. The twin satellite wrapping arms rotate in a vertical plane. Once complete, the wrapper is lowered, and the rear wrapper roller is then raised, gently releasing the wrapped bale on to the ground. The latest enhancements to the FastBale include a bale tipping kit to place bales on their side after being released from the wrapper, and the development of a film-on-film applicator kit for those looking at this technology.

Net loading

The net is loaded in between the two chambers, in the middle of the machine. To help with this, Kverneland has designed a low-loading point. A hydraulic ram lifts the net into a position that allows the operator slide it across to the netting system. A spare roll of net can be carried in this arm also.

Output

Kverneland says that over 100 bales per hour are achievable with the FastBale. A lot of that will depend on conditions. Wrapping 100 bales per hour will require at least three rolls of wrap, with a twin dispenser that will require one change of the wrap spools.

Kverneland 6000 series baler

Kverneland says the new system has been simplified in a number of ways enabling a significant reduction in elements needed, with the complete elimination of potentially troublesome feed rollers. Net is fed directly into the bale chamber by an injection arm in a flat movement angle to keep the net tight at all times, with no interference from wind or crop buildup.

Kverneland also claims that the PowerBind system provides one of the fastest net wrap actions available with a very low loading height. Welcome news for most of operators as climbing platforms is never easy.

Intelligent Density 3D – new operator experience

The new Intelligent Density 3D system provides three pre-configured bale densities for straw, hay or silage available from the menu of the control box. Each is tailored with different settings for the core, middle and outer layers of the bale. Product specialiast Tim Comer says this will make the changeover from different crop materials much easier, limiting the risk of mistakes. It is still possible to customise the density of each of three separate zones with a choice of diameter and pressure to match specific operator requirements.

Kverneland says it offers the widest range of variable chamber balers available in the market with two model lines.The 6616 and 6618 are designed specifically for operation in drier crop conditions like straw and hay, while the versatile all-purpose 6716 and 6720 models are equally at home in silage, hay and straw.

Bale formation

The weaving motion in the swath to make a square bale has also been automated by Kverneland. The chamber now sends a signal to the control box on the density of the bale formation in each side of the machine. This signal is sent to the baler’s drawbar, moving the pick-up across the swath as required to make an even bale. The driver can watch as the baler redirects itself over the swath.