Krone presents all-in-one solution

New PreChop system for Big Pack made in Spelle

Spelle, in May 2011 – Krone proudly presents the refined version of our front-end mounted pre-chopper after it was optimized for the Krone Big Pack square baler. “The new PreChop development leverages the capabilities of our Big Pack square baler,” explains Klaus Martensen, the head of Krone’s development team.

Enhancing the baler’s cutting performance and throughput capacities, the attachment features a number of system improvements including the rotor cutter, which is helical now to reduce its input requirement and enhance the quality of cut. The knives suspend in an optimized system, with blades mounting in two attachment points to minimize the risk of damage.

Further changes to the knives include more and heavier knives on the flail shaft, with the number of blades increasing from 72 to 88 and knives doubling their weight. As a result and as verified in multiple tests, these knives will not retreat from their working position – even when dealing with very heavy straw. As many as 94 opposite knives are mounted on two bars that are engaged without tools. The previously triangular knives on the second bar are now long and straight as well. The internal housing contours were modified to optimize the crop flow through the system. The minimum theoretical cutting length is 21mm. The so-called flail chopping principle eliminates the need to sharpen the knives daily.

The new Krone PreChop system is now available on the Krone Big Pack 1270 XC, 1290 XC, 1290 HDP XC balers as well the 12130 XC  model. PreChop not only guarantees uniform chop lengths but also visibly fragments the straw. Mounted on the front end of the machine, PreChop does not affect the internal crop flow inside the machine. The system does not affect the baler’s enormous throughput yet ensures even very short straw is baled into extremely hard and firm square bales. The PreChop-straw can suck up more water than other straw, which was shown by independent tests.