GLOBAL farm machinery manufacturer, CLAAS, unveiled prototypes of its industry-leading JAGUAR forage harvesters and AXION advanced technology tractors equipped with TERRA TRAC at the recent Agritechnica Show in Hanover, Germany.
Based on the same crawler track technology found on LEXION combine harvesters, the JAGUAR assembly features a new headland protection system that protects soil and grass cover during turning.
During turning, the land wheel of each track is raised, leaving the machine supported on the drive wheel and middle rollers.
As a result, the contact area and degree of soil pressure change briefly to a level comparable to that produced by 800 centimetres (32 inch) diameter tyres.
Studies by Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany have shown that the technology reduces the undesirable shear effect to almost the same level as a wheeled machine.
Fitted with 63 millimetre (25in)-wide tracks, JAGUAR with TERRA TRAC still retains a slim transport width of three metres (10 foot) and a top speed of 40 kilometres an hour.
Optional 800 centimetre wide tracks increases the external width to 3.5m (11.5ft).
Also making its debut at Agritechnica was the AXION 900 with TERRA TRAC, billed as the first half-track tractor with full suspension.
The concept was awarded a silver medal for innovation at this year’s event.
The tractor crawler assembly features a larger drive wheel to increase torque, while the independent suspension of the drive wheel, land wheel and support rollers, allows the crawler track unit to adapt optimally to the ground, ensuring optimum traction, efficiency and comfort at all times.
Even during heavy tillage at low speed, the crawler track system transmits the drive power to the ground with minimal slippage.
The suspension offers a very high level of driving comfort at up to 40 km/h.
Despite its large contact area, the AXION 900 with TERRA TRAC is significantly narrower than a tractor fitted with wide or twin tyres.
More than 25,000 CLAAS LEXION combine harvesters are fitted with TERRA TRAC technology.
JAGUAR with TERRA TRAC and AXION with TERRA TRAC are still undergoing development and no announcement has been made concerning their future production schedule.
