New CLAAS LINER units complete swather range

CLAAS has announced the release of four new swather units – the LINER 1900, 1800 TWIN, 1700 TWIN, and 320, to complete its already comprehensive swather range.

The German forage harvesting specialist already manufactures 20 different single, twin or quad-rotor rakes with operating widths ranging from 3.5 to 15m.

The LINER 1800 TWIN (8.4m) is a brand new model, while the 1900 (8.05m) and 1700 TWIN (8.45m) are the successors to the existing 1750 and 1650 models.

CLAAS Harvest Centre Product Manager for CLAAS JAGUAR and Greenline, Luke Wheeler, says all three are high performance twin-rotor swathers.

“They feature a trailed, fully floating rotor suspension that is controlled via a ball head for maximum freedom of movement,” he says.

“This innovative design allows the rotors to adapt to any ground contour, ensuring a clean raking performance and high feed quality.”

Other features include a friction clutch that gently cushions peak loads and double U-bent tines.

“The tine brackets have a set bending point so that if they hit an obstacle, only the affected tine arm is bent, leaving the swathing drive undamaged,” Wheeler says.

The tines have a thickness of 9.5mm, making them robust yet flexible, he adds.

“Their specially-developed shape ensures gentle and reliable operation, so that even large forage quantities are picked up tidily without soiling the material.

“This simple technology means the driver can maintain the desired operating speed, even in difficult conditions or over small obstacles.”

The new LINER 1800 and 1700 TWIN models have telescopic arms, providing the option to lay single or dual swaths. An optional swath guard ensures even tidier operations.

When folded, the main guard is automatically pivoted via a parallelogram, which reduces the transport height.  Alternatively, the swath guard can be locked in the transport position to produce a wide swath.

A hydraulic folding function for the swath guard is also available.

All three new swathers have four-wheel running gear on both rotors as standard.

The wheel configuration has been positioned as close as possible to the tines to ensure clean raking and minimal soil contamination.

The positioning of the main chassis at the rear, which is fitted with large tyres, ensures excellent stability during transport or operation on slopes.

Optional six wheel configurations and wheel weights are available to further improve stability.

Standard active steering allows steering locks of up to 80 degrees, providing the required manoeuvrability in small fields. There are two hole positions available to the driver for the adjustment of the steering.

A high lift height of up to 50 cm allows the CLAAS LINER swathers to run over transverse swaths at the headlands. With dual swath laying, even a 55cm ground clearance is possible.

The transport height of the three models is under four metres in the transport position, which means no tine arms need to be removed before driving on the road.

The driver can switch from the operating to the transport position from the cab.

All models have a maximum permissible transport speed of 50 km/h.

CLAAS adds the fourth new model - LINER 320, is a single-rotor swather that is ideal for smaller areas and hillsides.

It has a working width of 3.2 m and is fitted with eight tine arms, each with three spring tines.

“Its three-point mounting and lightweight design makes the LINER 320 the ideal entry model for smaller farms where work regularly takes place on awkwardly-shaped fields or on difficult hillsides,” Wheeler explains.

As with all CLAAS swathers, the four new LINER models feature a hermetically-sealed, maintenance-free rotor dome with eight, 12 or 14 tine arms with continuous lubrication of the cam rollers in an oil bath.

With PROFIX brackets as standard, faulty tine arms can be replaced directly in the field with minimal effort.