Kuhn unveils 14.5m mower for high HP harvesters
With most forage harvester manufacturers offering machines touching 1000hp, the logistics puzzle has always been ‘dropping” grass and pulling into a swath big enough to feed the “beast”.
Kuhn has launched two mower-conditioners for use in delicate crops like lucerne or alfalfa, where leaf loss can be a major problem if conditioning is done by traditional flail type designs.
The new FC 9530 R and FC 10030 R triple mower conditioners use rollers conditioners combined with FC 3125 RF and FC 3525 RF front models to handle crops gently.
The Squareflex rollers enable adaption to the most fragile plants via a profile that ‘pinches’ the crop in a gentle and constant motion to minimise leaf loss. Roller pressure adjustment is simply by a screw adjuster which acts on torsion bars, with a maximum pressure of 500kg per linear metre.
The manufacturer says the large roller diameters promote crop flow and reduce the risk of wrapping. The lower roller is driven by two gearboxes and a maintenance-free drive system, while the upper roller is driven by a gear train.
Overload protection allows the rollers to open to pass foreign objects picked by the cutting unit, limiting the potential for damage.
The new GMD 8730 disc mower’s improved features include a larger cut and changes in the frame geometry to create greater overlap and a flatter cutting angle. Also, left and right mower units can be lifted independently, Flexprotect polyethylene side guards deflect when hitting objects and the machine can be stored vertically.
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