The Fendt VarioLiner. Load variably and effectively.

AGCO/Fendt presents the Fendt VarioLiner with the unique loading system Fendt QuattroFill for the first time at the Agritechnica 2015. The Fendt VarioLiner permits variable use as a loader or transport wagon for silage. The innovative wagon was developed in collaboration with the Technical University Dresden and the Maschinenfabrik Stolpen GmbH.

Advertisement

Important objectives during the development of the new Fendt VarioLiner were to lower specific energy consumption and increase productivity. An especially high throughput with the lowest power requirement possible as well as high crop removal and transport capacities were explicit design objectives. To achieve these, the crucial components of conventional loader wagons had to be redeveloped, coordinated and improved. The result is the unique loading system Fendt QuattroFill. It comprises a pick-up with intake auger, a spiral rotor with cutter, a lowered scraper floor and an automatic movable back wall.

Pick-up and rotor for perfect quality of cut

The hydraulically driven pick-up has a width of 2000 mm (DIN 11220) with a baffle diameter of 310 mm. Tine guidance is not controlled and the tines are offset. This guarantees a more uniform crop intake and distribution to the rotor and smoothes out torque peaks.

The hydraulic drive permits the rotational speed of the pick-up and the intake augers to be decoupled from the rotor. This guarantees adjustment of the pick-up speed to the amount of fodder. The intake augers on either side of the pick-up guide the crop optimally to the new rotor. The rotor receives a more uniform load and can accept a higher load: this distributes the forces acting on the knives uniformly and improves the quality of the cut.

The new spiral-shaped rotor on the Fendt VarioLiner is the narrowest rotor on the market. Its outer width is only 1200 mm with a diameter of 920 mm. This very narrow design prevents up to 33 percent of the energy loss that would usually arise through the friction of fodder mass between the rotor tines and the cutting floor.

The 9-row rotor is also maintenance-friendly and very smooth running thanks to its segmented, bolted construction. The long rotor tines with a 22 mm pressure surface, ensure a high, effective loading capacity. The reduced number of tine engagements per litre loading capacity, improves the quality of cut and minimises friction losses.

The cutter has 29 knives and will have an automatic sharpening system. The theoretical cutting length is 35 mm. The driveline is constructed for up to 2500 Nm and the knives are individually protected with pressure springs.

The baffles on the front wall for the fodder flow ensure the crop is distributed over the entire width of the loading space. The Fendt VarioLiner is thus filled uniformly and effectively.

Scraper floor and movable back wall for optimum loading

The scraper floor of the new Fendt loader wagon is lowered behind the rotor. Energy losses, which usually arise through the silage acting on the rotor, are minimised and the structure of the fodder remains intact. The additional space also increases the loading volume.

The movable back wall creates a wider loading volume, and especially a higher loading density. The wall is moved by the scraper floor. At the same time it also functions as a passive back wall. No additional hydraulics for controlling the wall are required. The back wall ensures uniform loading of the wagon over the entire length, since the fodder cannot fall towards the back when loading the wagon. According to studies carried out by the TU Dresden, this can increase transport efficiency by 30 percent.

A collecting pan below the scraper floor ensures that no harvesting residue can fall onto the ground or road when moving the back wall. When unloading the Fendt VarioLiner, the contents of the pan are automatically emptied onto the silo.

The Fendt VarioLiner is ISOBUS controlled and monitored as standard specification. It can be conveniently controlled using the Varioterminal and joystick. The speed of the pick-up adjusts itself automatically to the ground speed of the tractor via the ISOBUS. Together with Fendt tractors, the wagon achieves high crop removal performance, since speeds of 60 km/h are possible. The entire loader wagon was designed for an optimised payload and ease of maintenance.

It will be available in two versions for the harvest season 2017 in Germany.

The Fendt VarioLiner 2035 is designed for a total weight of 20 tonnes at 35 m³ loading volume (DIN 11714). The model Fendt VarioLiner 2440 is approved for a total weight of 24 tonnes at 40 m³ loading volume (DIN 11714).