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”.
The machine was destined for a farm in Canterbury where it would be front mounted on a 160hp tractor to cut ‘green crop’ mustard, with the residue then incorporated in one pass by a set of rear discs.
The GMF 500 is based around a heavy duty centre section with two rotary blades, and hydraulically folded wing sections carrying one blade each, to give a 5m working cut and 2.4m transport width.
The driveline consists of shaft and 250hp rated gearboxes, so no belts to slip, and the ability to push on at speeds from 5-7km/h and achieve large daily output.
In the intended configuration the machine will be allowed to ‘float’ on the front linkage of the tractor, ground following is controlled by four out-front castor wheels and cutting height is set using a rear roller system.
Lateral oscillation is taken care of by up to 20 degrees of float achieved through the folding mechanism’s hydraulic rams. – Mark Daniel
