The EXTRA 332XF FlexiSwat from Vicon Redefines Swathing With its New Actively Driven Swath Former

 

The new EXTRA 332XF FlexiSwat is the first front disc mower with an actively driven swath former, designed for both very narrow swathing and wide spreading. The swath is collected by means of the new FlexiSwat auger that leaves an even box-shaped swath that can be easily picked up or spread out.

 

FlexiSwat Prepares a Clean and Airy Swath

The new FlexiSwat auger actively moves the crop towards the centre of the mower, placing a nice box-shaped swath. Even high volumes of crop are able to pass through, providing extremely high capacity.

 

The crop is not touching the ground, but moved as it is cut, leaving no chance for dirt or soil being mixed up with the swath. The auger immediately moves the crop away from the discs, inviting for excellent cutting performance. Each side of the auger is working in combination with a guide plate, that efficiently transports the crop to the centre without any crop loss or crop pollution that is often seen from solutions applying swath wheels, where the crop is pushed into the swath, while already laying on the ground.

 

FlexiSwat leaves a fluffy box shaped swath, and is not just dropping the mown crop onto the ground. Also the FlexiSwat is not moving two swaths next to each other like drum mowers are typically doing, but places the crop into one even and airy swath. This significantly speeds up the drying process and prepares the swath for easier pick-up or turning with the rotary tedder.

 

The auger is driven from the top by a simple and efficient driveline. A small gearbox connected to the main gearbox drives the auger via a V-belt drive attached to left hand side of the auger. This simple driveline in combination with the smooth design of the auger means that only an additional power requirement from 5HP/3.7kW is required to run the auger. 

 

Fuel Efficient Solution

Total weight of the EXTRA 332XF is as low as 855kg with a minimum power requirement of only 45hp/33.6kW. Two-speed driveline is standard on the EXTRA 332XF. Standard PTO speed is 1000 rpm. However by simply switching driveline pulleys, 750 rpm for reduced fuel consumption can be achieved. This makes it possible to maintain the correct PTO speed, but using reduced engine revs, creating an opportunity for lower fuel consumption.

 

The swath is collected by the auger and guide plates.

 

Unique to the EXTRA 332XF: Swathing and Wide Spreading in the same Front Mower

With the option of 3 different swath widths (1.00, 1.15 and 1.30) and wide spreading of up to 2.20m the EXTRA 332XF offers exactly the flexibility that most farmers are looking for: a narrow swath that will go well in-between the tractor wheels and wide spreading for faster wilting of crop. The different swath options allow the operator to adjust the swath width to both weather and material to ensure that the correct moisture and swath quality is achieved.

 

Easy Adjustment of Swath Width – All Set in a Minute

Changing from one swath application to the next is made very easy, without any downtime or need for rebuilding the mower. Changing between the different swath widths is done in a minute, can be done directly in the field, and with no tools required.  All you have to do is to release the locks on each guide plate, swipe them to the requested swath width, and lock again. For wide spreading the guide plates are released and positioned on top of the mower, also done in a matter of minutes. There is no need to leave the field and go back to the work shop for changing from swathing to wide spreading.

 

Excellent Ground Adaptation

The EXTRΔ 332XF is exceptionally well adapted to varying field conditions and contours, and the FlexiSwat auger is cleverly implemented without limiting ground adaptions in any way. The remarkable adaptation range of the standard EXTRA 332F is also transferred to the EXTRA 332XF version.

 

At standard settings the cutterbar has an amazing 430mm upwards and 210mm downwards adaptation range, in combination with transverse pivoting range of 17°. This wide spectrum allows the machine to follow the ground in all conditions without overloading the cutterbar.

 

The very responsive kinematics associated with the suspension design will step in when encountering even the smallest obstacles during operation. To offer maximum protection and lessen the shock loads on the complete machine, the cutterbar will move backwards and up, letting any obstacle pass without risk of damage.

 

The Solution for Most Conditions

The EXTRA 332XF is designed to work in a number of combinations, like rear mounted mower, as a single mower or in combination with a loader wagon. With the easy and swift adjustment of swath width and the option of wide spreading, it can be used in a variety of combinations, and may go just as well with a loader wagon as with a mower combination with up to 9.5m working width.