For the 2023 season, the QUADRANT EVOLUTION launched in 2021 will have a new drive train with a newly developed flywheel, and can also be factory-equipped with a new front-mounted chopper from Müthing. Another innovation is the hydraulic drive to the pickup and POWER FEEDING SYSTEM.
The CLAAS QUADRANT has become one of the best-selling square balers in Europe since its introduction in 1988. In addition to the high stability and reliability of the machines, customers particularly value the low operating costs. CLAAS QUADRANT square balers are in use all over the world – from baling conventional crops such as barley and wheat straw or hay and grass silage to corn straw and sugar cane.
In 2002, exactly 20 years ago, CLAAS introduced the pioneering and successful FINE CUT technology to the QUADRANT series. With initially 49 and later 51 knives instead of the usual 25 on the ROTO CUT, an unrivaled theoretical cutting length of just 2 cm could be achieved. The result was easier bale breakup for the end customer, a higher bale density and direct use as litter for poultry houses and dairy cow cubicles. Thanks to its shorter chop length, FINE CUT straw is significantly more absorbent than conventionally chopped straw.
The QUADRANT EVOLUTION series presented in 2021 comprises the three basic models 4200, 5200 and 5300. For model year 2023, the QUADRANT 5200 and 5300 types will have an optional hydraulic drive for the pickup and POWER FEEDING SYSTEM (PFS). While the speed of the 5-row pick-up, which is controlled on both sides, is constant at 135 rpm, the speed of the PFS feed roller can be adjusted from 200 to 250 rpm depending on the operating conditions. The increased maximum transmittable torque of the hydraulic drive of 1,000Nm is also fully available for reversing the pickup and PFS at reduced speed.
Another new feature is the hydraulically fully automatic folding pick-up guide wheels. These swing out automatically when the pick-up is lowered and swing in fully automatically when the pick-up is raised. This means that prior to driving on the road, the driver does not have to dismount to manually fold in and lock the guide wheels.
To cushion load peaks, especially when baling irregular swaths, and thus protect the power train of the baler and tractor, the mass of the flywheel on the QUADRANT 5200 and 5300 has been increased. Due to the new design, the inertia of the flywheel has been increased by 46% on the QUADRANT 5200 and 44% on the QUADRANT 5300. In order to effectively protect the drive against overload in extreme situations, a slip clutch which provides optimized automatic overload protection can be ordered as an alternative to the standard shear bolt protection.
