In recent years, we have faced many extreme weather conditions. Long periods of dryness, but certainly also periods of heavy rain. Wet conditions can make it difficult for the crop to get off the land. The updated Radium Traction with mechanically driven wheels from KAWECO can help here!
Driven axles
An essential component of a traction wagon are the axles. These must have a high load capacity and be able to withstand high peak loads. In view of these criteria, manufacturer Kessler was chosen. This manufacturer’s axles have a static load capacity of as much as 30.58 tonnes.
Axle suspension
Another important aspect is the axle suspension. It largely determines the adaptability to the ground and therefore also the traction of the tyres. Our engineering department has developed its own axle suspension for this purpose. Here, the axle rotates around a single centred point. This suspension has a large pendulum swing and can easily adapt to the ground without any major load. Partly because of this, this suspension is best suited for a powered silage wagon.
Steer axle
The rear axle is forced-steered. In addition to having traction in all conditions, this makes the wagon extremely manoeuvrable.
Gears
A mechanical drive was chosen simply because it allows the most power to be transferred to the wagon’s wheels. The driveline starts at the tractor’s PTO and then joins the 2-speed gearbox. When the clutch is disengaged and the PTO disengaged, low or high gear can be shifted while driving. Besides low-high, the 540 or 1000 PTO speed can be selected from the tractor. A total of four different modes are thus possible:
– 540 low (2.6 km/h)
– 540 high (6.9 km/h)
– 1000 low (4.8 km/h)
– 1000 high (12.7 km/h)
Powertrain
In addition to high-low, it is also possible to shift between forward and reverse. From the gearbox, the switchable main clutch, drives the cardan shaft to the front axle in or out. There is a second transmission in the front axle, which reduces the speed and increases the torque. The front and rear axles are then connected again with a cardan shaft.
Additional driveline
In the case of an S-wagon (with dosage beaters), an additional drive line with clutch is available. With this coupling, the bottom chain and the metering rollers can be engaged in any situation, with or without driving the axles.
Security
A large cam clutch with a freewheel acts as protection against overloading the entire drive line.
The driven version of the Radium is only available on a Radium 250 or 255
The advantages of Radium Traction
– A smaller tractor complies, allowing lower fuel consumption to be realised;
– No additional, towing vehicle needed in nate conditions. This saves a tractor + driver;
– Longer possible to unload on top of the silage pile. This saves time distributing the crop;
– Wheels always keep rolling. This reduces damage to the land in wet conditions.