John Deere 460M round baler: Machine spotlight

As the adage goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This has rung true for John Deere with its 460M baler which remains one of its best-selling products despite having been around for 20 years with barely any changes made to it.

John Deere said the 460M baler has amassed its audience because of its simplicity and flexibility. The unit is able to bale dry hay up to 1.8m and silage bales up to 1.4m. The diameter is fixed at 1.4m, or 4’6”, hence the machine’s name.

AFGRI, which distributes John Deere in WA, has sold about 15 balers this year in the state. AFGRI representative, Greg Ball, said the 460M baler was the biggest product for the manufacturer.

He said its simplicity and reliability has given it great resale value that makes it highly sought after in the used equipment marketplace.

The 460M was hooked on to a John Deere 6195M tractor at AFGRI’s recent Ride and Drive day in Morawa, WA. The transmission on the 6195M further enhances the baler’s operation as it is able to set engine revs and speed for an efficient baling process; from pickup to compressing and baling to wrapping.

“The pre-set automatic means the operator can set the program on the dash to, say, 3km/h and set the revs so it drives as an automatic,” Ball said.

“It’s easy to use because you set the speed to ensure the bales are ejected correctly.”

The machine delivers dry hay or silage so is flexible around the farm for most needs. The diameter of the bale can also be adjusted up to the maximum 1.4m.

“This baler design has been around for more than 20 years, so it’s very tried and tested,” Ball said.

“It’s simple, easy to maintain and if anything does go wrong, is simple to repair.

“The rear of the baler opens right up so you have plenty of access to fix anything.

“That diamond tread belt is also easy to change with its simple joiners. The belt life is also very long.”

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The belt has a 175mm width and features a diamond pattern for better grip and faster bale starts that prevent slippage and reduce chaffing. The treads are self-cleaning to reduce carryover.

These belts are also staggered and closely spaced to reduce the loss of fine material. John Deere said the belts are now more puncture and tear resistant than other belts on the market, and now possess the strength for heavy shock loads.

The baler uses mega high-flow tyres at 21.5 x 16 that are suited to boggy country and wet paddocks.

It is also capable of twine or net wrapping, providing operators the flexibility to choose between either options to suit different needs.

“The feed at the front is uncomplicated with an open mouth for easy feed and a hydraulic adjustment to change the pickup,” Ball said.

“The pickup is 2.2m wide and will lay down the crop into the feeder before it goes into the vertical forming chamber.”

The chamber is designed for uniform bale density. As the hay enters the chamber from the pickup, the belts turn the hay to form a tight centre and then additional hay is compressed in layers.

John Deere said the process reduces chaffing and loss of crop and maintains the quality of the hay.

The baler comes with JD’s BaleTrak Pro monitor that alerts the operator when there is near-full, full and oversized bales. The monitor sounds an alarm once to alert operators to even-up the bale before it reaches the desired size, and then beeps twice when the bale is at the desired size.

John Deere also offers an optional Tractor-Baler Automation (TBA) system to further improve ease of operation.

The system handles most of the baling process automatically, offering multiple advantages for the customer. It features a single-action-to-bale instead of four; memorises the baling action and produces same diameter bales for constant bale quality without much operator input.

In conjunction with a John Deere ISOBUS tractor, electric selective control valve (E-SCV), and infinitely variable transmission (IVT), the system will be able to stop the tractor when bale size is reached; wrap the bale; open the gate; and then close the gate once the bale is unloaded. All the operator had to do was control the forward and reverse and the steering of the tractor.

If the tractor does not have IVT but has E-SCV and ISOBUS, opening and closing of the gate can still be automated. A single touch on the SCV, brakes, or reverser will disengage the automation when unloading in hilly conditions, for example.

The 460M baler has a reputation for a long lifespan and will generally churn out 30,000 bales before farmers change over and the unit gets passed on to another buyer.

The 6195M row-crop tractor that was used to demonstrate the 460M baler at the demo event was one of the newer M Series models introduced about three years ago.

It has a 6.8-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine rated at 195hp, driving all wheels through a PowrQuad Plus transmission with four gears and four or five ranges to give a 16-speed or 20-speed gearbox.

The engine is unusual because it uses two turbochargers - the first to breathe being a low pressure, fixed-geometry turbo, to quickly compress the intake air and then pass it to the variable-geometry turbo unit to get the pressure right up.

The pressurised air than goes to an intercooler - placed after the turbos rather than the usual practice of preceding them - before being sent into the cylinders. The advantages here are claimed to be higher power output with less nitrogen-oxide emissions.

The idea of having two turbos is that each can work at maximum efficiency but operate at slower speeds for greater durability than a single turbocharger. It means more torque at lower revs, less lag for more response under load, higher overall torque and better performance at higher altitudes.

The result is a torque figure of 880Nm at only 1500rpm.

The 6195M also has front and rear electro-hydraulic diff locks and an independent PTO with 540rpm or 1000rpm drive options from the engine’s 1950rpm.

The cab has full rollover protection and is fitted with a cloth seat with mechanical suspension and optional air suspension. There is also an LCD instrument cluster.

The tractor, which is made in Germany, has a maintenance schedule of 500 hours for oil changes, 1500 hours for the transmission oil and hydraulic change, and a coolant change is required at 6000 hours.