The teaser adverts for the New Holland CR9090 Elevation urged the reader to “think biggest”, but as New Holland’s Director of Combine Development, Hedley Cooper, revealed at the harvester’s launch, that was also the instruction given to the designers bringing the project to fruition.
“We had to adopt a completely new mindset in building this combine,” he said. “We took a strong marketing approach that recognised the CR9090 was aimed at the top segment of the combine market that would only sell a few hundred units each year.
“It was developed with the most demanding farmers and contractors in mind, and we knew that we had to enter the market with the best solution – that meant performance without compromise in all crops.”
To put the new CR9090 in context, New Holland is estimating the European (including Central and Eastern Europe) combine market for 2009 at about 10,000 units. The market segment the company’s new combine falls into will sell about 500 units and New Holland plans to take 100 of these sales with the CR9090 Elevation.
And don’t expect to see the bulk of the sales disappear into the former Communist Block – the CR9090 is a Western European machine with the greatest sales expected in France, Germany, Denmark and the UK.
“This combine is capable of averaging 70t/hr with spot rates significantly above that,” Mr Cooper said. “To make best use of that level of capacity, the combine has to be used where yields will allow for maximum output.”
So, what are ingredients that New Holland has poured into the machine that it claims to be the highest capacity combine in the world? Well, the CR9090 Elevation builds upon the proven qualities of the award-winning CR9000 range, but adds big features of its own including:
– a new 35ft Varifeed header;
– market-leading power of 591hp from Iveco’s latest turbo compound engine;
– the biggest sieve area on the market of 6.5 square metres;
– the largest available grain tank with a capacity of 12,500 litres; and
– a 1,160-litre fuel tank to reduce the number of refuelling stops.
These enhancements, New Holland claims, result in the CR9090 Elevation offering a 10% increase in performance compared to the former flagship CR9080 Elevation, which was already a high-capacity machine.
Power to spare
The CR9090 uses the same 13-litre Iveco Cursor engine that powers New Hollands latest forage harvester and the T9060 tractor. Using turbo compound technology, it produces 544hp at rated engine speed and a maximum power of 591hp – 61hp more than the CR9080 Elevation.
The turbo compound technology – effectively a second turbocharger that provides extra power to the crankshaft – results in a 5% fuel saving when compared to a similar horsepower standard engine. Combined with the 1,160-litre fuel tank, it ensures the combine can work hard all day without stopping.
To match the cooling requirements of the engine, the CR9090 Elevation is fitted with 32% greater cooler capacity compared to the CR9080 Elevation, kept clean by new dual-rotary air screens. The combine’s drivelines have also been up-rated to handle the additional power and torque.
Asked if he wouldn’t have liked to boast the first combine with more than 600hp, Hedley Cooper – who is a former UK Business Director for New Holland – said it would have been nice from a marketing point of view, but could not be justified in engineering terms.
“This was the best engine for the job,” he said. “It is perfectly matched to the combine for power, torque and to provide reliable power throughout the lifetime of the machine.
“It was tempting to break the 600hp barrier, but it wasn’t necessary on this occasion. There’s more than enough power to harvest, chop the straw and empty the grain tank all at the same time.”
With the introduction of the CR9090 comes a brand new 35ft Varifeed grain header. Designed from the scratch, the header features a rugged frame construction, a high-speed heavy-duty knife drive, large auger diameter and extended reel tine reach to ensure the header matches the high capacity of the new combine.
The 575mm fore-aft knife position adjustment on the new Varifeed grain header can be controlled from the combine cab, and the long floor travel provides trouble-free field operation in a wide variety of crops and conditions.
The true quality of the 35ft Varifeed, which will also be available to buy for retrofitting to other CR9000 models, shows through in the attention to detail in the design. For example, the reel is supported by cranked arms that allow the finger tines to drop several inches below the cutterbar knives in laid crops. When the cutterbar is pushed forward, however, another neat design feature – a simple steel wedge arrangement – lifts the reel to ensure that the tines cannot foul the knives.
The main auger itself is constructed in five sections using the thickest metal sheet in the centre of the auger and thinner steel towards the outside to ensure weight-saving, while providing the greatest strength where it is needed.
The CR9000 range uses New Holland’s unique Twin Rotor system to efficiently thresh and separate the crop. By dividing the crop into halves, the Twin Rotor spreads the crop over the two rotor surfaces to create an enormous active working area. In addition, a higher maximum rotor speed allows even more crop to be processed.
Repeated agitation of the crop by the segmented, staggered and spirally mounted rasp bars and separation slats creates a continuous threshing and separation, which offers high capacity and a gentle rubbing action that result in excellent grain and straw quality.
The CR9090 Elevation extends this concept with adjustable rotor vane covers that can be set in one of three positions by the operator to optimise separation performance for differing crops and conditions. An increased capacity and a high-quality straw and grain sample are maintained as the processing velocity is matched to the ideal threshing and separation action.
Medal-winning features
The DLG (German Agricultural Society) awarded the New Holland CR9000 combine three medals at Agritechnica 2007 – a gold medal for the Grain Cam system and silver medals for the Opti-Clean cleaning shoe and IntelliCruise system. All three of these new technologies feature on the new CR9090 Elevation.
The Grain Cam system monitors the grain sample quality as it travels up the clean grain elevator. The sensor detects and calculates the amount of material other than grain, which includes broken grains, using image-processing software to analyse the sample displayed. The operator can adjust the cleaning shoe and threshing system to maintain or improve the grain sample.
Designed to handle the increased power and capacity of the CR9000 Elevation combines, the latest Opti-Clean system features increased sieve throwing strokes and steeper throwing angles and the largest cleaning area on the market at 6.5 square metres. The grain pan, the pre-cleaner and top sieve have been decoupled from each other enabling the movement of each individual component to be optimised. The Opti-Clean shoe is the first to allow opposite movement of the grain pan and upper sieve, increasing the cascade height for greater separation capacity and more aggressive cleaning with a lower overall vibration level.
The IntelliCruise automatic crop feeding system monitors crop load on the header to ensure a smooth optimisation of the driving speed. A sensor monitors the crop load on the header and straw elevator driveline, giving the earliest possible detection of variations in crop load. The combine’s forward speed is automatically adjusted based upon this information, resulting in consistent and optimum performance and maximum operator comfort.
At the rear of the new CR9090, the powerful new Opti-Spread system can be found mounted behind the straw chopper to evenly distribute chopped straw across the full header width. It meets a wide range of spreading width requirements and can be conveniently controlled from the cab. The optional spreader uses two rotors and adjustable deflectors to neutralise the effects of side winds or sloping ground.
For reduced soil damage and improved drive characteristics when working in difficult field conditions, the CR9090 Elevation can be fitted with rubber tracks direct from the factory, increasing the combine’s versatility and profitability.
The triangular design enables the track to ride over wet areas, limiting ruts and soil damage with minimal scuffing effect when turning on headlands. Three track widths – 24, 30 and 36-inches – are available and the simple, bolt-on design means the track system can be utilised across multiple applications.
Operators of the CR9090 Elevation will immediately appreciate the working environment of the combine’s spacious cab. The 5.8 square metre glass area provides unobstructed views to the front of the combine, allowing the operator to clearly monitor crop and feeding conditions.
The new IntelliView III colour monitor has a wide, easy-to-view screen providing detailed information and control of the combine’s systems, while the touch-screen capability makes it simple to navigate. For improved productivity, the new monitor also allows the GPS-based IntelliSteer automatic guidance system to follow curved lines that were marked during the initial field pass or during a prior field operation.
The cost of the New Holland CR9090 Elevation starts at about £346,000 complete with 35ft header, while the option of 30-inch tracks takes the price to about £379,500.
For more information visit: www.newholland.com.
