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Krone's folding cutter-bar.
First previewed at Agritechnica 2019, Krone has release further details of its folding front mower cutter-bar.
Described as a world first for a disc mower, the maximum working width of the EasyCut F400CV Fold is 4.04, said to be suitable to complement mounted/trailed rear mower or a butterfly combination set-up.
The novel layout sees a hydraulic slewing gearbox folding the two outer discs into the space between the tractor wheels to reduce the width of the mower to under 3m for transport. The driveline remains connected and the discs stay in the cutting position. In the paddock, the discs fold back to the working position, are hydraulically locked and the side guards are lowered.
Easily folded from the tractor seat, Krone says the wider working width eliminates the risk of the tractor running on previously cut grass, but also provides a large degree of overlap with rear mounted mowers, so eliminates uncut strips of grass, particularly on turns or curves.
In other Krone news, the Krone EasyCut TC Connect is a new development aimed at broadacre Australian and American farms, allowing two trailed mowers to be coupled to the same tractor, knocking down 13.08m of crop in a single pass.
Developed for use with the company’s EasyCut TC 400 and TC 500, when the TC 400 is matched to the company’s F320 CV/CR front mower, the working width of the combination is 10.3m. This increases to 10.7m with a F360 CV/CR and 11.1m with the F400 CV Fold.
Suitable for Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF), the cutting width of the EasyCut TC500/F 320 CV/CR is 12.2m. Wider widths are also available, namely 12.6m with an F 360 CV/CR and 13.08m (40cm overlap each side) with an F 400 CV Fold.
Said to be particularly beneficial in sensitive crops, such as alfalfa, Krone says Australian and American farmers often operate the front mounted EasyCut F 400 CV Fold together with two EasyCut TC 400 rear mowers, producing three identical swaths for uniform wilting. Each model can also operate as a solo machine.
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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