XtraBlatt Issue 02-2017

1 Dr Klaus Martensen is Krone development manager
for round and large square balers as well as forage
wagons.
2 For the first fixed chamber round baler, the floor
scraper chain from the Optimat manure spreader
got a new role as spike chain in the baler, forming
bales within an enclosed sheet steel housing.
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3 A prototype from 2000: the self-propelled Combi-
Pack 1500.
4 Between 1977 and now, Krone has built almost
100,000 round balers.
Dr Martensen: The Ultima is based on the semi-variable
bale chamber with preceding bunker. And this first nonstop
baler-wrapper combination on the market won the
next Krone Agritechnica gold medal. The difference to the
prototype is the cutter rotor. This originated in the forage
wagon. During the net wrapping procedure, the rotor packs
the preceding bunker full. The pre-packed material is then
pressed into the newly emptied bale chamber in a single action
which avoids loss of density. We achieve the same bale
density as a comparable solo machine, the procedure is
continuous and the Ultima so achieves 50% more throughput.
With that, we were trend setter at that time.
XtraBlatt: The Fortima was also presented at the 2011 Agritechnica
as Vario Pack replacement. Although it wasn’t
completely new …
XtraBlatt: Latest development with round balers is wrapping
in plastic sheeting. What are the advantages?
Dr Martensen: Krone has had the Comprima with sheet
wrapping on the market for two years now. An advantage
is that the sheeting lies snug around the bale, keeping bale
shape and achieving a very good coverage. Additionally,
the procedure allows faster unwrapping, with the only
waste the plastic sheet. With frost, for instance, it can be
difficult to separate netting from bale surfaces. A negative
factor is the high price of sheeting. Despite this, I see the
share of plastic sheet wrapping with round baling already
at almost 20%, with a strongly increasing tendency. Incidentally,
we are the only manufacturer that runs the sheeting
though at full width, exactly as with netting, and this
reduces sheeting loss.
Dr Martensen: Yes. The Fortima variable round baler was
based on proven technology through face-lifting the Vario
Pack. The design was modernised and the model equipped
with the latest electronics. As with the Comprima, the pickup
is camless. Two years later there came the Round Pack
as Fortima. During the 2012 harvest in eastern Germany,
a world record was established with a Comprima F 125 XC
achieving a baling performance of 149/hour in a field featuring
long continuous swathes of wheat straw.
By 2013, the aim of offering professional customers still more
performance led to the Comprima X-treme. The innovation
here featured more robustness and, in the combination,
more throughput performance through faster bale transfer
and wrapping procedures. Nor should we, however, forget
the Bellima, also introduced in 2011.This is a further development
of the KR, the first generation of Krone round balers.
XtraBlatt: What trends are developing now? How is it
possible to get more performance from balers?
Dr Martensen: The TIM system, i.e. Tractor Implement Management,
whereby the implement quasi steers the tractor,
continues to offer a lot of potential for relieving the operator
and increasing performance. It’s also possible to get
more throughput from modern headland management
solutions. Throughput performance involves driving speed,
i.e. performance of pickup and chopper, and knife sharpening
once daily or hydraulic blade group control with
26-knife cutter. However, in the same way, more material
has to be compressed according to HDP. The question is:
does the HDP system pay with round balers? It’s my opinion
that the trend moves towards compact, robust machines
with reduced servicing requirement and reliable performance
through the short harvest period.”
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