Claas is certainly no stranger to the baler market and first introduced the Rollant round baler back in 1976, 42 years ago. This round baler was the first roller based system on the market, essentially the foundation of today’s fixed chamber balers.

The latest baler in the Rollant range recently revealed by Claas has a stronger chassis, new rollers and offers the option of either net or film wrapping.

New rollers

The new Rollant 540 produces bales that have a diameter of 1.25m (4.1ft) and a width of 1.22m (4ft). The updated round baler has a completely redesigned baling chamber including 15 new rollers that are manufactured from 4mm thick steel plate. These rollers have a serrated profile which according to Claas helps to maintain optimum bale rotation even under moist conditions. The machine is fitted with new hardened stub shafts, 50mm in diameter. These stub shafts are located on the input drive side of the baler. All bearing and power transmission functions are performed via these stub shafts. The new stub shafts are now bolted to the roller body, and can be individually replaced if necessary. Claas are now fitting the rollers with new double race bearings. The drive sprockets now use a roller spline system.The rams for the back door are located horizontally on both sides of the baler, to reduce the pressure and stress exerted on the tailgate and ram components, for maximum bale density, pressure of up to 180 bar can be applied.

All of the baling rollers on the Rollant 540 are driven from the left hand side of the baler. Each roller has a direct drive, and according to Claas this results in a “uniform force distribution to the rollers with a lower power requirement”.

Chain lubrication

The updated Rollant comes with beefed up running gear, including both chains and sprockets. The main drive and rotor are fitted with 35mm(1.25 in) chains while the tailgate rollers are driven with a 25mm (one inch) chain.

To help reduce the stress on the chains, Claas has manufactured roller sprockets that are larger in diameter. As a result, more of the chain will be in contact with the sprocket teeth at any one time.

The chains are lubricated via an eccentric pump. The lubrication interval can be altered from the control terminal. All the lubricating nipples of the MPS and tailgate are combined on the right-hand side.

Pick-up reel

The Rollant 540 is fitted with a 2.10m wide pick-up reel. The pick-up has two lateral feed augers that feed the material into the rotor. The baler’s optional chopping mechanism has 15 knives and according to Claas these knives have “a theoretical cut length of 70 mm”.

The knives can be swung in from the cab, and have individual protection against collisions with foreign objects. If a blockage occurs, the cutting floor can be lowered via the control terminal in the cab.

Net or film wrapping

The updated Rollant baler offers the user the choice between applying net or film wrapping. A user friendly ramp on the right side of the machine makes the task of loading the wrapping system that little bit easier. A replacement roll of either film or net can also be carried on the baler. For operating the baler, Claas have offered a choice between three options, the Claas Communicator, the Operator terminal or the ISOBUS terminal.