New Claas tractors, corn head demonstrated at show

BOONE, Iowa — Farmers at the Farm Progress Show saw a new generation of Claas tractors in three ranges.

The Arion 6 lineup includes two models — 6.160 and 6.190.

“There are three models of the Axion 8 — 8.240, 8.270 and 8.290 — and this is the first time we’ve had the Axion 8 range go over 300 horsepower,” said Tanner Whipps, Claas tractor product specialist.

“We have a new engine management system that is called dynamic power,” he said. “The 8.290 tractor will go up to 313 horsepower.”

There are seven models of the Axion 9 series, starting with the 9.330 up to the 9.450. This series ranges from 326 to 450 horsepower.

“This is the most tractors we’ve ever had at the Farm Progress Show,” Whipps said. “I shipped 13 tractors to be here this week and we are excited to have the ride and drive so farmers have the opportunity to drive them.”

The new generation of tractors feature lots of updates.

“We spent a lot of time, energy and effort going to farmers not only in North America, but globally to get feedback,” Whipps said. “We wanted to know what farmers are struggling with for their equipment.”

The exteriors of the tractors have a new design.

“But these are not just a facelift for the machines — it is a completely new generation of tractors,” Whipps said.

Claas tractors feature FPT engines and CMATIC CVT transmissions.

“Something new for us this year is the Cemos Auto Droop,” Whipps said. “Throughout the day the Cemos Auto Droop is learning and it will help make the tractor more efficient.”

Another new feature is the Auto Load Anticipation.

“As you are going through the field doing tillage and the blue control valve is used to put the disc into the ground, the tractor is reading that in the background,” Whipps said.

“The tractor is checking the torque sensors and the speed sensors and learning that the blue cylinder means it should expect a load,” he said. “So, the tractor will rev up the engine in anticipation of that load to increase the performance.”

Farmers will find a completely redesigned cabin for the Arion and Axion tractors.

“One of the key things when we were developing the tractors was operator comfort,” Whipps said. “The seats are new and they include heating, ventilation and massage functions to keep the operators as comfortable as possible.”

“But the big updates are in the sound level in the cab, which is super quiet,” he said. “The cabin is rated at 67 decibels, so it is just as quiet as driving your pickup down the highway.”

In addition, changes were made to the transmission and driveline to make the cab a little quieter.

“We also spent a lot of time and effort in developing the cab suspension system for a smooth and nice driving experience,” Whipps said.

The 22 LED lights provide 56,000 lumens.

“We can light up what we need to and the Claas logo is lit on the front of the tractors,” the tractor product specialist said. “We are the first company to do that.”

Especially Midwestern farmers, Whipps said, have been asking for increased hydraulic capacity.

“The Axion 9 tractors have a capacity of 98 gallons per minute with a twin-pump hydraulic system,” he said. “So, it can handle some really big planters.”

‘A Mean Head’

Claas also introduced the Rovio 5 Series combine header at the show. This header will integrate with the Lexion and Trion combines and is available in 12-, 16- and 18-row models with 30-inch row spacing.

“The header has a 530 millimeter feed auger to get more throughput out of the machine,” said Matthew Poling, Claas combine product specialist. “As machines are getting bigger and bigger, they need larger heads.”

The gearboxes have independent auger speed from the picker speed.

“As you are encountering different conditions, you can control the picking speed of the knives pulling the corn and ear down, but also maintain the speed of the auger feeding the machine,” Poling said.

“As guys pick higher moisture corn or have dirtier conditions, they can set the head to get the most bushels per acre so they can get the most done in the shortest amount of time,” he said.

“When you get into down corn conditions, this head has side extensions that you can move up and down easily with a simple pin,” the combine product specialist said. “There is a down corn auger that can be retrofitted.”

“You can have the slidable wing and the auger in tandem which is somewhat unique,” he said. “A lot of brands have one or the other, but we have both in one unit because we want one head that can be used in as many conditions as possible.”

There is a break in the flighting on the auger of the new header.

“If you have a single auger, it only has one point to throw the ears into the machine,” Poling said. “But because we have it offset, it is feeding the corn twice per rotation, so now you have better crop flow into the machine.”

Wishbone sensors are independent of GPS.

“It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally you get into conditions where you lose GPS signal,” Poling said. “So, you will always be able to trail the rows when the signal is not as strong.”

The Auto Contour feature provides height sensing.

“When you encounter uneven terrain, it will pick up and lower the head to maintain a constant height as you go through the field,” Poling said.

“There are independent row clutches so instead of having one clutch for the whole head, each row has its own clutch as well as the whole head having a clutch,” he said.

New plastic bushings control the snout height.

“They are easy to set, I set all 16 rows in about three minutes,” Poling said. “The head also has lights that you can set for the combine to control, to have them on all the time or off all the time.”

“This is a mean head that will pick some corn,” he said. “The heads are available now to farmers and I can’t wait to see more of them in the field.”