100,000 Engines Supplied for Claas Agricultural Machines

• Series 500 and 900 engines in Claas combine harvesters
• Claas forage harvesters with 500 series engines for the highest demands

Hanover - The companies Claas and DaimlerChrysler are united by their many years of cooperation. The first engines of the OM 636 series were being supplied to the agricultural machine manufacturer based in Harsewinkel as early as 1966. Claas procures over 3,000 drive systems from DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway each year. In mid-March 2003, the Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen (CSE) Group company, which manufactures self-propelled harvesters, took delivery of the 100,000th engine. "Claas is therefore our biggest customer," explained Christos Ramnialis, Head of Sales for the Construction and Industrial division. On the occasion of this anniversary, Ramnialis presented the Head of Purchasing at CSE Hilmar Engelbert with a Smart.

DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway engines are installed in a wide range of Claas machines, such as combine harvesters and forage harvesters. The Claas combine harvesters currently available on the market, Lexion, Mega and Medion, are all fitted with DaimlerChrysler engines. The smaller and medium-sized combine harvesters operate with series 900 engines (75 kW to 240 kW / 100 to 320 HP), the heavy-duty machines are driven by series 500 engines (230 kW to 448 kW / 310 to 600 HP). Owing to the wide range of diesel engines available, Claas can select the appropriate drive unit that best corresponds to the individual machine's requirements in relation to output and torque for its agricultural machines.

The 900 and 500 series fulfill all current emission regulations including Euromot 2 and EPA Tier 2, and will also fulfill the regulations of Euromot 3A and EPA Tier 3 which come into force in 2006. The engines are electronically regulated and equipped with state-of-the-art injection systems that build up injection pressures of up to 1,800 bar. Combined with electronic engine control, the injection system with single injection pumps controlled by solenoid valves ensures excellent power development with minimum diesel consumption.

Electronic engine management brings with it a number of advantages. The electronics control all processes, monitor the operating state of the engine and intervene when required, for example by reducing the output. Engine damage can thus be prevented. An integrated fault memory provides information about any problems that may have occurred. Via an interface, the electronics can be coupled to different electronic control units, conventional display and control units and diagnostic equipment.

The 500 series engines were perfectly matched to the Claas "Jaguar" forage harvesters in order to achieve the greatest possible efficiency in the field. The greater the power demanded by the harvester, the more the drive units supply. The torque increases considerably to an ideal engine speed of 1,800 min-1. This is achieved by the electronically controlled injection and optimized performance characteristics of the engines. The Jaguar machines are thus always taken to the performance limit. The engines then develop their optimum performance at the lowest specific fuel consumption. The throughput is thus optimized.