New Vicon series promises improved bale consistency

Improved performance and bales of more consistent shape and density across different crops are promised from a new generation of Vicon big square balers.

The LB 200-series machines introduce a volume-based intake system to ensure the bale chamber is properly filled for every stroke of the plunger, but keep their predecessors' novelty of a choice of bale depths.

The LB 8200, equipped with a 2.1m wide-swath pick-up, produces 80cm wide bales; the larger LB 12200, which has a 2.3m-wide pick-up reel, has a 120cm wide chamber. But both models will produce bales either 70cm or 80cm deep to suit different haulage and storage circumstances.

Key to the improved performance of the machines, says Vicon, is the new intake system. Instead of delivering material into the chamber according to a fixed sequence of feeder fork strokes, sufficient material is gathered to fill the depth of the chamber before it is transferred from the pre-charge section.

There is a single feeder fork to pre-compress and transfer the crop; it operates on a continuous cycle with spring-loaded wedges used to retain crop in the pre-chamber. Once sufficient material has been collected, the wedges are released, which allows the feeder fork to move through an extended stroke to push the ‘wedge' of crop into the main chamber.

Operators who have used early examples of the balers this year say it is now impossible to tell which way up the bale was made because the top is packed as tightly as the bottom. Vicon emphasises that the feeder design allows the balers to perform as well in light swaths as in heavy ones, and getting forward speed just right is no longer a factor.

The Vicon LB8200 and LB12200 are designed to produce straw, hay and silage bales. A helix rotor with auger flights at each end helps transfer material from the pick-up reel and can be fitted with blades to slice the incoming crop.

Shaft drives are used throughout, together with a cam-type overload clutch. Reducing PTO speed to allow the clutch to re-engage should enable the machine to clear any blockages.

An innovative feature of the knotting system allows some slack in the twine to reduce tension on the billhook.

A simple machine function monitor is available, along with a more comprehensive instrument - Autoform - that provides detailed information on the bale formation process to help the operator achieve top performance.