Start Me Up

Left: Kuhn says its new VB 7100 balers feature the fastest tailgate operation on the market

Baling up to 30 tonnes of hay per hour, with minimum downtime, Kuhn says the balers in its new VB 7100 series set a new standard in round baling

Kuhn’s new round baler series can produce bales of up to 140kg per cubic metre in straw, at a rate of 30 tonnes per hour in various crop conditions, the manufacturer says. The VB7100 series comprises two models – the 7160, which can produce bales from 80–160cm in diameter, and the larger 7190, which can produce bales up to 185cm wide. Kuhn says the VB 7100 balers feature the fastest tailgate operation on the market. Within four seconds the bale is ejected and the tailgate is closed again. With a 230cm pickup with five rows of tines, the unit intake has options of either a 14 or 23 unit cutting rotor while its bale chamber, built with four belts and three rollers, helps ensure fast, secure and consistent bale formation in any crop conditions, even in silage. Both models use Kuhn’s i-DENSE system – an intelligent twin tension arm system that uses moisture measurements to automatically adapt the baling pressure to the individual crops and crop conditions, without the driver interfering. Good crop flow is assured through its integral rotor, with tines made from Hardox wear plates, while wear-resistant chains and 50mm spherical roller bearings fitted onto the main driven rollers help ensure the unit is hard wearing. The net binding system can be loaded from both sides of the machine, with the net sliding easily from storage into the binder without having to lift the entire roll – and the operator can replace the net while standing on the ground. Weighing almost 4.4 tonnes, the balers need tractors of a minimum of 120–130hp (89–97kW) to operate, and are ISOBUS compatible – with a user interface that can be displayed on any ISOBUS terminal, or on CCI 50 or CCI 1200 terminals supplied by Kuhn.

built to last

Durability and adaptability are the keys to success for the team at Boonah-based Muller Fabrications, in south-west Queensland

Whether it’s slashing grass, collecting hay bales or picking them up, the products made at Muller Fabrications are built for the long run. Company manager Craig Hipathite says being adaptable and easy-to-fix are two of the main reasons behind the success of the bale accumulator. “Our whole system is universal – it doesn’t matter what kind of baler you have got, it will fit behind it,” he says. “The machine is very, very simple, and we made it simple so that it is easy to fix… 90 per cent of the time we can fix them up over the phone.” Height adjustable to enable it to fit behind almost any baler, the accumulator is designed with a 500mm of grace to accommodate the occasional larger or smaller bale – while its mechanical tailgate helps provide a superior pack quality. It also has a heavy duty RHS frame on body and table coupled with a galvanized floor and a simple hard wired electrical system to help ensure durability. Hipathite says durability is a trait that extends across the company’s range, from its heavy duty slashers, down to its bale grabs with side arm assembly. “The grab is a really good example of why we sell a lot of stuff around Australia,” he says. “Our grab still does the same job as our competitors’, but we make it different. We mathematically work things out to be strong rather than throwing material at it.” The bale grabs have a side arm assembly designed to enable optional hydraulic operation, when an additional ram is installed. “This enables the operator to load hay easily on either side of an obstruction, such as a tailgate. The side arm is on the right hand side to improve visibility and operator comfort, with left hand arm available on request,” Muller says. The bale grabs also come with 1.5m hydraulic hoses as standard, solid drive axles and 13mm-diameter spring steel spears for strength and reliability – something Hipathite says customers are often looking for – particularly those that hire large numbers of workers. Durability, he says, is also a key factor for buyers of slashers, which Hipathite makes in sizes ranging from 1.8m to 3.7m and for tractors of between 75–200 horsepower (56–149kW). “Because it is Australian made, if someone wants something different we can incorporate things really easily,” he says. “Different people want slightly different things. Obviously they have to wait for it if they want it bespoke, but it really doesn’t matter much to us.” Regardless of the specialty features, Hipathite says the deep decks with their obstruction-free underside are standard across the range.