Mower-Conditioner
Flotation is controlled by accumulators on both the right-hand and left-hand cutting platforms. The easy-to-read pressure gauges (one for each cutting platform) enable the operator to easily adjust the float pressure to the desired level.
A ball valve by the pressure gauge is opened by hand and by a selection on the control box mounted in the tractor. The tractor selective control valve (SCV) pressure can be adjusted to meet various ground or crop conditions.
The control box is used to adjust flotation of both the rear cutting platforms. For the R870R, usual pressure will be 90 bar, (11305 psi). Minimum will be 80 bar (1160 psi), and the maximum pressure will be 100bar (1450 psi). For the R950R and the R990R, usual pressure will be 100 bar (1450 psi). Minimum will be 90 bar (1305 psi) and the maximum pressure will be 110 bar (1595 psi).
The front and rear mower-conditioners utilize a hydro-pneumatic suspension system enabling them the ability to follow ground contours. This simple system requires no springs to adjust the flotation system.
To improve driver comfort, hydraulic overlapping is available with +/- 20 cm (+/- 7.9 in.) if needed, actuated from the monitor in the cab. Ground contour following will be + 24 cm (+ 9.4 in.) upward and – 22.5 cm (- 8.9 in.) downward.
Ground clearance when raising the platform on headlands is approximately 40 cm (16 in.).
Cylinders work independently to enable the cutting platform to pivot from side to side to give clean cutting even on uneven ground. Angular range:
On the R870R, R950R, and R990R Twin Rear-Mounted Conditioners, a hydraulic breakaway system is standard equipment:
This flotation system ensures a perfect ground following, reducing soil compaction and providing an excellent cut. Crop stubble is preserved and regrowth is accelerated.
Power is transmitted from the 1000 rpm tractor with 44.4-mm (1.75-in.) power take-off (PTO) through a central gearcase to the twin rear-mounted cutterbars.
Groove on quill shaft, designed to shear upon severe impact with a foreign object, reduce the possibility of damage to the internal components of the cutterbar.
This cutterbar has been developed to increase productivity through a significant down-time reduction when changing knives.
The amount of time spent on changing dropped down from three minutes per knife to about 15 seconds. It is an efficient way to save up to 40 minutes of maintenance time on each platform.
Each mower conditioner on the R870R is fitted with seven disks. The R950R and the R990R are fitted with eight disks.
Operators only need to insert the special tool (attached to the mower-conditioner) between the disc and spring blade, push it down and remove the knife.
No parts are lost during the change process.
Operator comfort is even further enhanced since knives used on the QKE cutterbar are designed to provide nearly the same cutting height as the classic cutterbar from 35 mm to 85 mm (1.4 in. to 3.3 in.).
These knives, with a double cutting face, are the only one to guarantee excellent cutting quality and efficient use with the QKE cutterbar: no crop accumulation and easy come back to cutting position.
Large farms, machinery rings, and contractors need high-quality output and ease of serviceability:
To meet high-quality output, the cutterbar is an oil-immersed gear-driven cutting bed:
To meet serviceability, the cutting bed is lubricated for life:
Producers need to be reactive to weather conditions when harvest is ready. They must cut faster, with efficient conditioning using swathing or wide spread.
The steel fingers provide the right impact on the plant, to remove the waxy coat.
The R870R is equipped with four tines in V-shaped on both sides of the conditioner and 76 straights.
The R950R and R990R are equipped with four tines in V-shaped on both sides of the conditioner and 100 straights.
This accelerates the drying process while requiring only little maintenance.
To improve productivity:
Five conditioning positions are available with two rotation speeds of 755 or 1000 RPM.
Speed change is done by a simple selector on the gear box.
The desired swath size can easily be obtained with adjustable swath deflectors:
Proper conditioning in a wide range of crops can be achieved when the conditioner is properly adjusted.
The impeller is not designed to condition leguminous, however if it has to, choose to light conditioning effect with the 755 rpm rotation speed and the conditioner adjustment lever on the minimum position.
Proper conditioning in a wide range of crops can be achieved when the conditioner is properly adjusted.
As hay is cut by rotating knives, tines pick up the plants and carry them through the machine: Tines are free swinging to reduce damage to the conditioner if rocks or other solid objects are struck.
As the plant passes through, it rubs against the conditioning hood and other plants: Scuffing action removes the waxy surface from the stem of the plant to allow faster evaporation of moisture.
The pivot point for the conditioning hood is also adjustable to provide a wider range of conditioning intensity.
The speed at which the tines rotate will also affect the degree of conditioning.
Two impeller speeds can be achieved by moving the speed selector on the gearbox. High speed will give an efficient conditioning while the lower speed. Will give a lighter conditioning.
With the selector on the rabbit position the impeller turns at 1000 rpm. If the selector is on the turtle position, the impeller turns at 755 rpm.
Square flex conditioning rolls are ideal for alfalfa, but also for heavy forage like sorghum or grasses such as oats or sudan grass. The large, 24-cm (9.45-in.) diameter provides a good throughput capacity and ensures smooth material flow without material sticking to the rolls.
Conditioning pressure can be adjusted up to 500 kg/m (336 lb/ft) by rotating a central adjusting screw placed on the torsion bars. This provides a wide range for conditioning pressure.
The double animated rolls are directly driven by maintenance-free double transmissions. This allows for synchronization between the two rolls to never need adjustment.
Square flex conditioning rolls are only available on the F310R and the R950R Mower Conditioners.
The available room for a windrow is a function of wheel spacing and tire width. The windrow width of the F310R and F350R Front-Mounted Mower-Conditioner may be narrower than the windrows from a Twin Rear-Mounted Mower-Conditioner if the forming shields are adjusted so the tractor does not drive on the windrow that is produced.
The desired swath width can easily be obtained by loosening the handle on each side and moving the adjustable swath deflectors to the desired position. Swath width is adjustable from 1.2 m to 2.4 m (3.9 to 7.9 ft) for the F310R and F350R.
Forming shields are easily adjusted to control material flow. This allows the operator to match the windrow width to harvesting requirements.
The forming shields are easily adjusted to match harvest requirements. No tools are required to adjust the forming shields. Windrow width on each unit can be adjusted from 1.3 to 3.2 m (4.3 ft. to 10.5 ft).
Wide spread is available on all machines when very fast drying is required. The bundle consists of vanes that are installed behind the conditioning hood. The windrow width when using the widespread kit can be adjusted to be approximately the same as the cutting width of the platform.
Starting in model year 2016, there will be three triple-mounted mower-conditioner (TMMC) systems available from John Deere. The R870R system will have a front-mounted F310R mower and two rear 3.1-m (10.2-ft) wide mower-conditioners for a total of 8.7 m (28.5 ft), system cutting width. The R950R will also have an F310R on front but will have two 3.5 m (11.5 ft) mower-conditioners mounted on the rear for a total of 9.5 m (31.2 ft) cutting width. The final and largest system is the R990R. This TMMC system will have three 3.5 m (11.5 ft) mower conditioners for a cutting width of 9.9 m (32.5 ft) per pass.
To prepare for transporting, the side curtains of the F310R or F350R Front-Mounted Mower-Conditioner are manually unlocked and folded into the transport position. This will reduce the overall width during transport. The transport lock lever on the front-mounted mower-conditioner is engaged so that side-to-side oscillation during transport is eliminated.
The side shield protection and side curtains are unlocked and pinned automatically to reduce the overall transport height of the TMMC. The side shield protection provides rigidity to the side curtains during cutting and is folded down in transport to reduce the overall height.
When getting the rear mower conditioner in working position with the monitor, the protective side shield, fitted on both side, automatically move in working position thanks to 2 hydraulic cylinders.
When preparing the rear mower conditioner in transport position, the shields will come back automatically in transport position.
Rear three-point hitch may be adjusted, as necessary, to assure the overall height of the mower-conditioner does not exceed 4.0 m (13 ft, 1 in.).
A spring-loaded safety lock on the main frame secures the mower-conditioner in the raised position.
The transport width will be dictated by the transport width of the Front-Mounted Mower-Conditioner, meaning 2.99 m (9.8 ft) with the F310R, and 3.48 m (11.4 ft) with the F350R.
Once the front mower is in transport position, return to the cab of the tractor. To fold the rear mowers into the transport position, place dial indicator (4) in picture below on setting 1 and depress button 5 and tractor selective control valve (SCV).
The parts of the monitor include the following (arrows in the image above correspond to the alpha-numeric values below):