Claas will be showing off its new Claas Disco mower range with a new mower bed called the Max Cut at this year’s FTMTA Farm Machinery Show. Other Claas machines on display will include a new Jaguar 870 self-propelled silage harvester, Lexion 650 combine harvester and models from the Arion 600 and 400 range of tractors, along with a new Atos smaller tractor.

The new range of Disco mowers includes 28 trailed and mounted models with working widths ranging from 2.6m up to 9.1m. A front and rear mounted 3200 model will be on show.

Claas claims that the coupling and uncoupling of its mounted mower range has also been significantly improved thanks to details such as lower linkage mounts, Kennfix hydraulic couplers and better access to the drive shafts.

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The mower bed is the big attraction and it is made from two pieces of steel plate, which Claas claims gives maximum strength. The Max Cut will be fitted to all Claas mowers for the 2015 season.

The mower bed is pressed during manufacture into a waved shape. Claas claims that this has allowed the cutting disc modules to be mounted very low and at the front of the bed. Claas claims its specially formed discs create an enlarged cutting area and give a better quality of cut.

The Max Cut is bolted instead of being welded together. Claas claims that this gives high torsional strength. The company says that it achieves the strength of welded seams without placing heat stress on the steel during with welding.

The mower beds are fitted with wide cutterbar skids with a spoiler effect aimed at guiding dirt and foreign material backwards to give a clean cut. Claas says the system increases the carrying capacity, protects the ground and prevents wear. Topping or high-cut skids are also available.

The drive system of the Max Cut disc cutterbar has been designed so that it can be run at 850 rpm instead of 1,000 rpm in light conditions such as topping. This is possible because of the high knife speed. According to Claas, this means that fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 20%.

The Claas Safety link design protects the mower gearbox in the event of a smash. The system means the cutting disc is held in the module by a bolt and cannot fly off when the module has sheared.

Claas says the module can be easily replaced quickly. Replacing the blades is done by the tried-and-tested quick blade change system which is fitted to all models.

Silage wagon

While Claas won’t have a model from its latest Cargos 8000 range of silage pick-up wagons at the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show 2015, the company will be keen to talk to farmers and contractors about the machine, which will be on demonstration in Ireland throughout the 2015 silage harvest.

The Cargos 8000 is considered to be dual purpose machine. It was principally designed to be used as a forage wagon and the pick-up and chopping unit can be quickly and easily removed, and a blanking plate fitted, so that it can be used as a silage trailer.

Claas claims the Cargos 8000 wagon is more suited to maintaining high outputs in the heavier crop conditions in countries such as Ireland. There are three models – the 8500, 8400 and 8300. The 8400 will be in action in Ireland this year with a load volume of 35.5 cubic metres.

The new design features a heavy duty drive system, with a hydraulically driven pick-up and the option of a hydro-pneumatic suspension system. From the pick-up, the crop is fed into the cutting and loading system by means of an 860mm diameter rotor. This is fitted with nine rows of tines in a helical pattern, which are bolted on for ease of maintenance and replacement if necessary. The chopping chamber contains a bank of 40 newly designed double blades. These are twin-edged so that they can be turned to reduce the time spent sharpening. The blades have adjustable pre-tensioning.

The Cargos chopping chamber has a hydraulically lowered drop-floor that is lowered automatically if the unit is overloaded. It has a new lowered floor conveyor that can be hydraulically pivoted 90° downwards for blade changing. It can also be pivoted upwards for improved unloading.

Three different control terminals are available for the Cargos 8000, ranging from the Communicator II Isobus terminal, the smaller and simpler operator terminal or the Isobus cable control unit, which allows the Cargos to be used with an external Isobus terminal.