CLAAS presents the DISCO 4400 CONTOUR with 4.20 m working width and vector folding

Bad Saulgau/Harsewinkel, 7 September 2021. CLAAS has expanded the DISCO disc mower series with the addition of the rear-mounted DISCO 4400 CONTOUR with a 4.20 m working width, central pivoting and ACTIVE FLOAT. Innovative vector folding ensures a compact, vertical transport position for safe road travel.

Rear-mounted mowers with large working widths used in front-rear combinations can be an effective alternative to triple combinations, depending on the application. CLAAS has responded to many customers’ calls for a rear mower with a working width of more than 4.0 m with the launch of the new DISCO 4400 CONTOUR. The mower features innovative diagonal 120° folding for safe, vertical road transport at a height of less than 4.00 m and a space-saving storage position combined with powerful performance.

Mower bed for single or double swaths

With a 4.20 m working width, the new DISCO 4400 CONTOUR is the flagship model of the DISCO rear mower series from CLAAS. The proven MAX CUT mower bed designed and manufactured at the CLAAS Bad Saulgau site has been a byword for premium chop quality, ultra-smooth running and low power requirement since its successful introduction in 2014. Its special wave-shaped design enables the large drive sprockets of the mowing discs to be placed well forward, ensuring maximum possible overlap with multiple teeth engaging at two points. Uniform spacing between the discs ensures a consistent cut. The blades and covers of the counterclockwise-rotating discs are now painted red on all DISCO mowers to avoid confusion during blades changes. Quick blade-change and the handy removable blade box with separate compartments for new and used blades are included as standard. Like all CLAAS DISCO disc mowers, in lighter crops the PTO speed can be reduced to a diesel-saving rpm of just 850 without compromising cutting performance.

The wave-shaped base forged from a single piece of 5 mm thick steel profile in conjunction with the skids creates a dirt-repellent tunnel effect. In addition to the bolted, torsionally flexible construction of the mower bed, central pivoting at the centre of gravity ensures optimum ground-contour following. The specially hardened inserts are shaped differently to accommodate the mowing discs as they run together and apart. This design provides a shear bar for an effective cut and maximum overlap for optimum crop flow without clumping. The permanently lubricated MAX CUT mower bed is fitted with the SAFETY LINK safety module as standard – with this system, each individual cutting disc is protected by a predetermined breaking point which isolates it from the drive train in the event of contact with a foreign body. An axial bolt holds the cutting disc firmly in position to prevent it flying off.

Double-swath laying is also available as an option. This is achieved by placing two swath drums on the 4th and 5th disc (from the inside) to create one narrower and one wider single swath. This is especially useful on wet or soft ground as it avoids driving on the forage.

ACTIVE FLOAT suspension and new 120° vector folding

The mower bed on the DISCO 4400 is pivot-mounted at its centre of gravity. An adjustable spiral spring ensures that the mower bed comes down evenly during lowering while two vibration dampers stabilise it as it is raised. Two pivot points on the arm at right angles to the direction of travel ensure optimum ground-contour following on uneven ground and when mowing banks. ACTIVE FLOAT suspension, tried and tested over many years, allows the ground pressure of the mower bed to be adjusted from the cab by spool valve while on the move. A gauge on the headstock shows the currently set pressure. In parked position a mechanical latch disables the suspension system so that pressure is maintained in the circuit. Alternatively, the pressure can be reduced so that the mechanical lock is not required.

The DISCO 4400 CONTOUR is equipped with the unique hydraulic non-stop collision protection from CLAAS as standard. In the event of a collision, the mower bar swings back and over the obstacle thanks to a rotating pin inclined at an angle of 15 degrees. Oil from the collision protection system is forced into the suspension ram to further depressurise the mower bed. This provides effective protection from serious damage. Once past the obstacle, the mower bed automatically swings back to its working position due to the oil pressure.

The highlight is the unique vector folding – this allows the mower be folded to vertically to 120 degrees for transport position like the other models in the CONTOUR series. The unique part is that the mower can be folded backwards slightly using the hydraulic break back ram, which allows the mower when folded for transport to lean backwards slightly and reduce the transport height. So, despite having a working width of 4.20m, the mower unit achieves a transport height of less than 4.0m for road travel. This gives the driver the choice of a vertical transport fold of over 4.0m or lean the mower backwards when folding to be under 4.0m. At the same time, it is positioned diagonally behind the tractor and supported by the headstock, thereby shifting the centre of gravity to the tractor’s longitudinal axle. Compared with mowers that pivot to the rear, this solution reduces the load on the tractor front axle by around 50 percent, which has a positive impact on the steering behaviour. Furthermore, in transport position the DISCO 4400 CONTOUR hardly swings back at all and so does not endanger other road users when turning or negotiating tight bends and makes it easier to get into the field gate from a narrow road.

CLAAS also supplies a headstock which enables the mower to be parked in transport position as an option.

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About CLAAS

CLAAS (www.claas-group.com) is a family business founded in 1913 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The company, with Head Office in Harsewinkel, Westphalia, is the European market leader for combine harvesters. CLAAS is the global market leader for another large product group: self-propelled forage harvesters. CLAAS also holds the top spots in global agricultural technology with its tractors as well as its agricultural balers and grassland harvesting machines. Cutting-edge agricultural information technology also forms part of its product range. CLAAS employs more than 11,400 staff worldwide and in 2020 generated a turnover of 4.04 billion euros.