A wider working width will enable Bednar’s Swifterdisc short disc cultivator to maximise the output of tractors above 500hp, while a narrower version of the more aggressive Atlas helps balance available tractor power and draft load.

The Swifterdisc design will go to 14.4m wide when the XE 14400 Mega model starts assembly later this year. This comprises two rows of 520mm or 560mm diameter discs mounted to the frame in pairs using rubber-cushioned clamps.

Both Standard or more durable Endurance discs are available in scalloped or fluted wavy-edge designs.

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The XE Mega has a twin-axle chassis to support its weight when being moved from field to field, plus a large castor-action wheel on each half of the centre-split disc frame shod with 520/50 R17 flotation tyres.

A choice of rear-mounted packers suited to different soil types and conditions completes the machine.

Stresses generated as the discs bite into stubbles to form a shallow seedbed are feed into the chassis structure by Bednar’s Bar-Lock telescopic tie rods to help keep the implement running true.

These extend from about mid-way along the transport chassis to the outer sections of the disc frame, and the telescopic sections retract as the implement is prepared for transport.

First, the disc frame is raised to a vertical position by a pair of long-stroke hydraulic cylinders, then the wing sections are folded forwards to park alongside the frame resting on supports with a hydraulic locking mechanism.

In its transport configuration, the implement remains within the 3m wide and less than 4m high limits of road travel regulations.

© Bednar

Narrower Atlas

The similar but more aggressive Atlas short disc cultivator is already available to 12.4m, but a version with a couple of metres knocked off this width is being introduced.

The 10.4m Atlas AE 10400 Profi has each disc mounted on a coil-spring cushioned trailing arm that positions them at more acute forward and vertical angles for a deeper potential bite into crop residues and topsoil.

A row of flexible tines can be installed between the two rows of discs or behind them to riddle the tilth and a hydraulically adjustable set of Crushbar levelling tines can also be added in front of the double packers at the back.

Manually operated hydraulic depth control can be used or an automatic load-sensing electric/hydraulic system.

A single-axle chassis with the Bar-Lock stress distribution mechanism and leading castor support wheels feature on the implement, and these together with the packer provide support at headlands when the discs are raised out of work.