«SUNFLORO LIGHT» PREMIUM SUNFLOWER HEADER

Key design improvements of the Sunfloro Light header:

Crop lifters

The 188 cm long crop lifters ensure an even distribution of the stalks over the flows. Sunfloro Light has an approach angle of crop lifters adjusted up to 5° (10° on comparable headers), which optimizes the sunflower harvesting process. Adjustable clearance of 28 to 65 mm allows even small-sized sunflowers to be harvested with minimal losses. The crop lifters are equipped with removable galvanized points that gently separate the sunflower stalks and prevent them from being buried in soil when harvesting lodged sunflowers.

Cutting device

Sunfloro Light sunflower header is equipped only with German original gearbox and Schumacher Pro-Drive cutting system. The Pro-Gut 7 tpi blade system paired with a double shear pin ensures a clean cut of the sunflower stalks, both of hybrid and confectionery varieties, even in wet conditions. Schumacher SCH 19036 guide rollers and SCH 19035 press rollers replaced friction plates, reducing friction of the blade bar on the rake from 15 % to 2 %. This solution extends the service life of the header cutterbar and reduces the load. Double intermediate plates at the idle segments increase the stiffness of the blade bar. In accordance with Schumacher recommendations, the number of double strokes of the header is corrected for all combine harvesters to 640 strokes/min. This improves the cutting of the sunflower crop. Header geometry has been improved. The cutterbar approach angle is 0° (10° in counterparts) in the nominal position of the header. These changes allowed to increase several-fold the service life of the cutting device.

Pulling (crop outlet) shaft

Sunfloro Light pulling shaft pulls sunflower heads towards the header, cutting off other leafy material. The special design of this shaft prevents leafy material from the field from winding around it. Separate sections of pulling shaft are joined on shear bolts with flange housings and spherical bearings by SKF. Together with the safety coupling, this assembly provides protection against destruction of the whole mechanism in case of emergency situations caused by foreign objects getting under the shaft. Adjustment of the shaft position in relation to the header enables its efficient use at any angle of the header inclination. The shaft sections can be galvanized on request. The shaft can easily be dismantled and mounted to the header finger rake if required. For example, when harvesting a field with small-sized sunflower heads (less than 7 mm in diameter).

Reel

The new universal comb design has made the reel lighter from 60 to 90 kg (depending on cutting width) and has increased its rigidity by 12 %. The reel coils are now removable. If wear and tear occurs at the end of the header service life, it is enough to repair the coil itself, rather than having to replace the entire reel. Clips in coils are replaced by bushings with radial stop bolts, which considerably increases their serviceability. Due to the lowered profile of the trays between the finger rake and the auger, the crop will not be caught and thrown backward by the reel.

Auger

The auger is also made on removable spools. Additional removable spiral coils and removable galvanized pushers provide optimum adaptation to any harvester. In addition, the angle of the pushers can be adjusted. Sunfloro Light ZhSB-11,3 header has an auger and reel with an intermediate adjustable support, which had the bending and torsional stresses of sunflower header frame reduced by 40%.

Outlet shield

New design and fastening of the outlet shield, which is located in front of the reel, and a galvanized grid on it protect the working area of auger and reel, excluding product loss. The height adjustment range of the shield over the crop lifters is 180 to 450 mm. This makes it possible to harvest sunflowers of all varieties at different heights and yields.

Kinematics

The header is equipped with original bearings by the French manufacturer SNR. France is a recognized leader in the production of automotive bearings. Auger and reel have an independent drive equipped with safety adjustable friction clutch of original design. Bilateral drive from PTO shafts (auger and gearbox on the right, reel and pulling shaft on the left) allows to distribute loads symmetrically, reducing stress on combine’s PTO shaft. The sprockets are custom-made in Italy from cemented 20CrS4 steel hardened to HRC 55. The sprockets are resistant to high shock loads and feature increased wear resistance. The original hub design with a quick-release sprocket allows reconfiguring the header for other kinematic parameters in minutes. Floating spring chain tensioners exclude critical loads associated with eccentricity of parts and destruction of the chains, which prolongs their durability several-fold. Chains run quietly and smoothly.

Frame

Combined finger rake profile:

• the closed-contour square tube provides the longitudinal stiffness of the rake;
• Z-shaped rake segments with all structural openings made on a CNC laser cutting machine and a CNC sheet bending press, significantly increase the accuracy of the cutting device assembly. The absence of small part welding stresses leads to increased rake strength.

Angles and distances of mutual positioning of the finger rake bearing beams have been adjusted. Transverse U-shaped location blocks form a closed contour together with the trays. Such a solution significantly increases the transverse stiffness of the frame. The intermediate trays are made in the same way. The struts have a similar design and form a single unit with the trays that encloses the finger rake and the beams, which further increases the strength of the frame. Reinforced struts connect the header frame at critical points, thereby ensuring minimal deflection of the frame as a whole. The use of high-precision CNC equipment in the production of parts allowed to significantly reduce the number of welds and, as a consequence, the number of welding stresses, which increased the structural rigidity, reliability, and durability. The header discharge window has also become considerably wider, allowing the sunflower material to be evenly distributed in the intake chamber of the combine and fully optimizing the load of key harvesters. The entire frame and all of its elements are painted with German-made wear-resistant Novatic polyurethane paint.

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