Vicon is looking to gain a larger foothold in the big square baler market and has unveiled two new models to help it do it – along with a new square bale wrapper.

Two new big square balers now join the line-up of balers available from Vicon. The LB1270 and the LB1290, are claimed to offer more capacity and produce bales with greater density, when compared with the LB 12200 and LB 12290 balers they now replace.

As before, though, the two models provide a choice of bale size. The LB1270 produces bales measuring 120cm wide by 70cm high while the LB1290 makes 120cm wide by 80cm or 90cm high bales.

However, a key change for the balers is the use of a new crop chopping system – called OmniCut – which is based on the company’s Integral rotor system and takes material directly from the 2.3m pick-up.

OmniCut has a 60cm diameter feed rotor which forces the crop through a bank of knives, the number of which can be selected to alter the chop length. Selections of 0, 11, 12 or 23 knives can be made – the full pack produces a minimum chop length of 4.2cm.

A pressurised hydraulic system provides damage protection for individual blades – excessive pressure causes them to retract if a solid obstacle is pushed against them.

Meanwhile a quick-change knife facility allows blades to be replaced easily.

The cassette containing the 23 knives is lowered hydraulically and, after a retaining clip has been released, is pulled out to the right hand side of the baler. Knives can then be removed and replaced by hinging them upwards out of their holders.

Designing a crop feed system that can despatch an even “full charge” of material to the bale chamber has, over the years, taxed big square baler manufacturers – and Vicon is no different, although it would claim to have one of the simpler systems.

After exiting the chopping zone, the crop is loaded into a pre-chamber and is only delivered into the bale chamber when pressure sensors detect the pre-chamber is full. Vicon uses a single fork system operating at varying stroke lengths to achieve this – and a perplexingly complicated geometry system to work it.

More straightforward are the changes in the drive department, where the baler’s main gearbox has been redesigned to improve durability and the driveline itself is devoid of shearbolts. Protection instead is provided by clutches with automatic re-engagement – one on the feeder fork and another on the feed rotor.

The plunger, which operates at 46 strokes/min now runs on larger, externally mounted rollers and the chamber has more of a wedge-shape to help with increased bale density and shape.

Both new balers are also fitted with a control system that displays information on bale length, feeding strokes, plunger loading and wads per bale. Price of the new LB balers starts at £95,250, including knotter fans, last bale ejector and auto greasing.

Square bale wrapper

Vicon has entered the square bale wrapper market for the first time with the static, tractor-mounted BW 1104 and the trailed, self-loading BW 1604.

First outing for Vicon’s square bale wrapper. Two models are available – the trailed BW1604 and the tractor mounted BW 1104.

Both have tables which use four ribbed steel rollers to wrap square bales measuring 80cm wide, up to 90cm in height and up to 180cm long. Film is supplied from a 750mm stretch unit and a hydraulic film cutter is provided as standard.

Purchasers of the new bale wrappers can specify a manual or computer controlled operating system. Prices start at £13,775 for the BW1104 and £17,380 for the trailed BW 1604 fitted with computer controls.