The Optidisc® Elite Cutterbar: A Clean and Consistent Cut

Lubed-For-Life Optidisc® Elite Cutterbar

The Optidisc® Elite cutterbar provides a flat, streamlined profile so that soil and crop residue do not accumulate, and material flows smoothly, even in heavy, difficult crop conditions. Optidisc Elite cutterbars are designed and tested with a zero-oil change interval. The highly-polished gears and synthetic gear oil ensure that this system does not require any regular internal maintenance, eliminating the need for cutterbar oil changes throughout the life of the machine.

Differential Disc Spacing

The innovative design of the Optidisc Elite cutterbar offers exclusive differential disc spacing.

1-  Less Distance for a Clean Cut - Narrower spacing at diverging discs provides greater knife overlap, which results in a clean cut, even when the grass is short or light.

2- More Distance for Easy Crop Passage - Wider spacing (2) at converging discs provides more space for the crop to pass. Cut crop is quickly carried away from the cutting area, greatly improving the cut quality.

High-Lift Discs and Fast-Fit® Kit

The cutting discs and end cones provide high crop lift, allowing cut materials to quickly leave the cutterbar and enter the conditioner, especially in thick crop conditions.

The Fast-Fit® quick-release knife system allows an operator to rapidly change out cutting knives with the use of a simple tool, yet still retain optimum cut quality and knife life. With Fast-Fit, an operator can achieve up to 50% time savings over a standard system.

Maintenance-Free Drive Shaft

Unlike competitive models that require daily greasing, the drive shaft to the cutterbar uses maintenance-free U-joints. These joints reduce overall maintenance and eliminate excessive wear from improper maintenance.

Protectadrive® Disc Bearing Stations

// Protectadrive® Safety: Every minute saved during the hay season is precious. Ultimate protection, from the externally removable Protectadrive disc bearing stations, provides maximum reliability and quick service. In the event of an impact between a disc and an obstacle, the shaft holding the disc can shear just above the bearing. This is thanks to its carefully dimensioned shear groove. As a result, the gear teeth are protected.

// Extra Rigidity Where it Counts: Disc bearing stations are attached by bolts that pass through the entire cutterbar. This is an exceptionally strong and secure attachment with no risk of mount being torn out of the cutterbar in case of shocks. The disc drive pinion is held precisely in place, all resulting in excellent reliability and reduced maintenance costs.

// Gear-to-Gear Power Transmission: Gear-to-gear power transmission, a staple of all KUHN disc mowers, allows for maximum power to be transferred through all gears in the cutterbar. Unlike other gear cutterbars, equal sized gears throughout reduces torque on the gear teeth and leads to unsurpassed reliability and longevity.

High-Strength Steel Frame

The high-strength steel frame provides sturdy support for the heavy-duty cutterbar and conditioner. Pound-for-pound this material provides 50% greater tensile strength than the mild steel found on competitive units. This lightweight, yet high-strength design reduces horsepower requirements and fuel consumption.

Heavy-Duty Main Gearbox

The main gearbox is the core of the unit, specially built by KUHN to efficiently and reliably transfer power to the cutterbar and conditioner. The direct drive eliminates periodic checks on belt tightness and wear.

Constant Float® Suspension

The header is suspended on each side by a long, large-diameter spring that provides a constant range of flotation. A slotted link allows the head to move, eliminating the need to run the tractor hydraulic valve in the float position. The floating head lifts up and back, and oscillates from side to side, to closely follow ground contours and conform to irregular terrain. This reduces the amount of missed crop in the field and helps keep dirt out of harvested crop.

Pro-Active® Lift

This maintenance-free system allows the machine to quickly adapt to abrupt changes in terrain or when an obstruction is encountered in the field. The cutting head is able to move up and back simultaneously, dissipating the force of any impact and providing space to clear the obstacle.

Gyrodine® Swivel Hitch

The heavy-duty Gyrodine® gearbox is designed to withstand the most severe pull-through force from the hitch to the machine. The swivel design allows turns in excess of 90° while keeping the PTO driveline straight. This design allows extremely tight turns for clean, square corners while minimizing PTO vibration and wear.

Conditioning Options

DigiDry® Finger Conditioner

The DigiDry® finger conditioner provides consistent drying of grass and legume crops in various conditions with little maintenance. Wide rotor, fingerstyle conditioning increase crop-on-crop rubbing to strip off the waxy cuticle helping the steams dry at the same rate as the leaves. The built-in breakback feature normally protects against damage from rock and other foreign materials.

Diamond Block® Conditioning

Diamond Block® conditioning rollers stand out from the competition as the only rubber roller set designed exclusively for a disc mower. The horizontal staggered diamond pattern gives more points for the crop to be crimped as it flows off the disc at an angle. Adjustment of the roll pressure and roll gap is simple and can be done quickly in the field.

DoubleCrimp™ Steel Roller

The DoubleCrimp™ steel roller design provides consistent crimping and even feeding of thicker crops and extended life in difficult and abrasive conditions. The steel construction normally allows for a longer wearing life yet allows for through conditioning of more delicate crops like alfalfa. Adjustment of the roll pressure and roll gap is simple and can be done quickly in the field.