Round Baler

Overview

A round baler is a towed implement that turns a cut and dried windrow of hay or straw into a tight cylindrical bale wrapped in net or twine. The tractor pulls the baler by a Main Frame & Drawbar and drives it through the power take-off, so the machine has no engine of its own. As the operator drives along the swath, crop is lifted, rolled into a growing cylinder inside the Bale Chamber, wrapped, and rolled out the back onto the field.

This is a variable-chamber design: the bale forms against moving rubber belts rather than fixed rollers, so the chamber grows with the bale and packs it firmly from the core outward. A 60–90 hp tractor running 540 rpm PTO drives the whole cycle, and two flotation wheels on the Running Gear carry the weight without rutting the field.

How it works

Tractor power enters through the PTO Driveline: a telescoping PTO shaft feeds a slip clutch that protects the gearbox from jams, then a bevel gearbox splits drive to the rotor, pickup and belts. The Crop Pickup runs first in the crop flow. A tined reel sweeps the windrow up off the stubble, and a fixed cam track retracts the tines at the feed throat so the crop releases cleanly into the machine.

From there the Feed Rotor & Cutter meters the crop rearward and, with its knife bank engaged, chops it to length so the bale packs denser. The crop enters the chamber, where the belts and starter rolls curl it into a core and keep rotating the bale as more material arrives. The Density Control System uses hydraulic cylinders to load the belt tensioner arms, setting how hard the bale is packed; the operator trims this for crop type and moisture.

When the Monitor & Controls monitor shows the bale has reached the set diameter, the operator stops feeding and the Net & Twine Wrap takes over. A roll of net is fed across the full bale width, the belts spin the bale to wind several wraps on, and a cutoff knife severs the net. The Tailgate then lifts on its hydraulic cylinders, the finished bale rolls out onto the ground, and the gate closes to start the next one. Hydraulic supply for the tailgate, density and pickup-lift functions comes from the tractor remotes through the Hydraulic System circuit.