Krone presents the new Swadro S 460 DB swather, equipped with a rotor chassis. The follow-up of the trailed single-rotor rake Swadro 46 T, provides operator comfort in the field and on the road.
With the Swadro 460 DB, Krone has completed the refurbishment of its single-rotor rake portfolio. A component of the new generation, this machine is the follow-up model of the Swadro 46 T built since 2006. The new design of the current standard single-rotor rakes (Swadro S 380, S 420, S 460) makes the differences between the new models and the 46 T evident at first sight. But some things have not changed. Like its predecessor, the Swadro S 460 DB is equipped with a drawbar and a rotor chassis designed for road transport. Thus, this lightweight and compact rake with a working width of 4.6 m requires only low power and lifting force and can be operated by small tractors from approx. 30 hp.
Guided via the drawbar
The Swadro S 460 DB has a height-adjustable drawbar with parallelogram control by which the machine is hitched to the tractor via swinging drawbar or hitch bar for accurate guidance. The hitch is designed to allow tight turning manoeuvres at the headland. In coordination with another cylinder mounted at the running gear, a hydraulic cylinder between the drawbar and the main frame provides for lifting and lowering of the machine. These two cylinders are perfectly coordinated to create the well-known jet effect during lifting and lowering. During lowering, they also create sufficient ground clearance under the tines for easy driving over large swaths.
Low power requirement
As a standard, the rake comes with a maintenance-free drive train including freewheel and overload protection. The straight force transmission ensures high efficiency with power requirement reduced to a minimum. Depending on the type and volume of the crops, this positive effect can be enhanced by a low speed between 350 and 450 rpm without any compromise to swath formation. Swath formation is optimised by an infinitely foldable and adjustable swath cloth with manual or optionally hydraulic operation.
Tested rotor rake technology
The rotor rake technology is based on features that have been tried and tested thousands of times over, such as the doubly bent V-shaped KRONE lift tines. They actively lift the forage off the sward, which has proven to minimise raking losses and forage contamination while simultaneously increasing the acreage output. Accordingly, this lift effect guarantees clean and efficient swathing, even under difficult conditions. The raking height can be adjusted using a mechanical stop for the rotor, which limits the working height downwards. In combination with the standard front guide wheel, the tines are optimally guided in the set working height. This ensures perfect adaptation to the ground contour in all working conditions. A spindle mounted at the running gear furthermore provides for easy and fast adjustment of the transversal inclination of the rotor – another factor for optimum swath quality. Other features include the hermetically closed maintenance-free rotor gearbox and DuraMax, the maintenance-free dry-running cam track that comes with a three-years warranty.
Transport on the rotor chassis
Another benefit of the Swadro S 460 DB is the standard four-wheel rotor chassis. The 18” balloon tyres at its tandem axles are positioned very close to the tine track, ensuring exact and accurate guiding of the tines. The best thing however, is that the rake runs on the four wheels of the rotor chassis at the headland and during road transport. The machine runs very quietly and the tractor does not need any power for lifting it. As a standard, Krone equips the rake with seven folding tine arms for a transport width of under 3 meters. This eliminates the need to dismount tine arms for transport on public roads.
