Claas has taken out the Machine of the Year award in the combine harvester category at Agritechnica this year with its revamped Claas Lexion 700 series.
The “Machine of the Year” titles are awarded each year by a jury of 19 technical journalists from eight European countries, alternately at Agritechnica in Germany and the SIMA trade fair in France.
Altogether, 16 pieces of machinery received awards for their categories, with the Fendt 1000 Vario tractor ultimately snapping up the Machine of the Year 2016 People’s Choice award.
Claas has made several feature upgrades to its new Lexion 700 range including a new 4D cleaning system and automatic crop flow monitoring, both of which were awarded silver medals at Agritechnica 2015 for innovation.
The 4D cleaning system is a step up from its previous 3D system and has been specifically developed for combine harvesting work on uneven fields to provide continuous feeding of return pans, preparation flows and the sieve when going up or downhill.
The system comprises of two components: slope –dependent rotor flap control and automatic fan control. Machines fitted with 4D cleaning will feature an additional; third pair of rotor flaps.
The active control of the rotor flaps depends on the transverse or longitudinal tilt of the machine, and the current burden on the separation and cleaning elements. In this process, the rotor cover plate segments facing the downward slope are automatically opened or closed as necessary.
To allow early identification of critical peak loads, Claas has developed an automatic input flow control that monitors and synchronises the rotational speed of the motor, APS threshing mechanism and Roto Plus residual grain separation.
When a problem arises, the feeder housing, the attachment and the grain tank discharge system are shut off immediately and automatically, while the attachment brake is also activated; resulting in a brief interruption instead of a full breakdown.
In addition to the award-winning features, Claas has also upped the power and grain tank capacity for its Lexion 700 series, with the largest model – the Lexion 780 now offering a maximum of 626hp and a capacity of 13,500-litres.
In keeping with emission standards, Claas has changed its engine supplier from Cat to Mercedes-Benz for the Lexion 700 to fulfil Tier 4 emission requirements without compromise on power and efficiency.
Claas has also changed the dimensions of its straw choppers on the new models. The diameter of the drum on the Lexion 700 has been increased by 5cm to produce a more even chopping length and more uniform chop intake and guidance.
Claas combine harvester product manager Klaus Schäfer says the award cements Claas’ position as no.1 in Europe for combine harvesters.
“This award is both a commendation and an inentive for the entire team of collegaues involved with the Lexion,” he says.
In addition to the Machine of the Year award for the Claas Lexion 700, Claas also took home five silver medals for:
- 4D Cleaning system, which allows for thorough cleaning of the combine harvester even on slopes.
- Automatic crop flow monitoring system which helps the driver identify crop flow problems at an early stage.
- Claas Multi Crop Cracker MCC Max – a new condition system for maize silage in the Jaguar forage harvester.
- Automatic press control system for the new Claas Quadrant balers that ensures bales of uniform density irrespective of the quality of the baling material is produced every time.
- Claas field route optimisation system that helps farmers optimise working passes for every field and accurately forecast the processing time required. Claas says this can result in a 6 per cent reduction in processing time on field.
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