Claas has extended the lower end of its combine range with the introduction of three new five-straw-walker models – the Evion 410, 430 and 450 (that won’t be coming to the UK) – that sit beneath the Trion and Lexion series. Equipped with Cummins six-cylinder engines and Cemis 700 controls, these compact combines are said to take performance, convenience, flexibility and durability to a new level in this class.
In common with their larger siblings, the new combines were developed at Claas’ self-propelled harvesting machines unit at Harsewinkel, Germany, but the Evion is being built at the company’s Chinese harvester plant at Gaomi that was opened in 2014. This is the first time that the factory has assembled products for the European market, although Claas says the the majority of components used are still manufactured in Germany.
The arrival of the Evion completes the restructuring of the entire Claas combine harvester range which began with the new Lexion in 2019. As successors to the Avero and the smaller Tucano models, these three five-walker combine harvesters round out the lower end of the range below the Trion.
“The Evion is a very important product for Claas,” Claas CEO Jan-Hendrik Mohr, who is also responsible for the business’ grain business unit, said. “With these new combines, we’re able to offer modern, yet affordable machines for smaller-scale farms that want their own grain harvesting equipment.
“We’re a family business ourselves and we want to continue to offer the right machines for smaller farms across all our product segments.”
The technology of the Evion is based on the modular system that’s used to build almost 40 versions of the Lexion and Trion.
“For the Evion, we’re drawing on tried-and-trusted technology that has proven itself in thousands of machines,” Mr Mohr added.
As well as focusing on using high-quality, proven components, delivering uncompromising threshing quality and ensuring operating reliability, even under difficult harvesting conditions, the development team has ensured that the Evion is easy to use. It’s therefore equipped with a single-drum tangential threshing unit with a large 600mm threshing drum and a synchronised impeller combined with five 4.40m long straw walkers and a feeder housing width of 1,420mm. This results in an impressive threshing concave area of 0.95 square metres and a separation area of 6.25 square metres provided by the straw walkers. Complemented by the standard preconcave flaps under the threshing drum, this arrangement enables high throughput while also delivering excellent grain quality.
The threshing drum speed in the Evion is infinitely adjustable through a range of 480 to 1,150 rpm (420 to 1,080 rpm with reduction kit) using the Cemis 700 terminal. Concave clearance adjustment is performed hydraulically from the cab and features integrated overload protection provided by a diaphragm accumulator to prevent blockages from occurring in the threshing unit. As the threshing concave in the Evion is a Multicrop unit, conversion measures are only needed rarely, if ever, when switching between common threshing crops. When conversion is required, the concave segments can be swapped out easily through the stone trap.
In order to provide more effective secondary separation and greater throughput, the centre risers of the straw walkers have been redesigned to loosen the crop mat even more effectively and to enable a faster transfer to the next straw walker racks. Another important factor – in addition to the threshing concave overload protection – in ensuring operating reliability is the sensor-based monitoring of the crop flow on the straw walkers. As soon as any blockages begin to develop there as a result of difficult harvesting conditions, the operator receives early warning both in the form of an audible alarm and as a visual alert on the Cemis 700 terminal display. In addition, the optional Cemos Auto Crop Flow automatically deactivates the front attachment and the feeder unit in the event of any imminent risk of blockages on the threshing drum or serious belt slippage so that no more crop is fed in. This avoids unnecessary downtime.
Despite the compact exterior dimensions of the Evion, the development team was able to integrate an extremely efficient cleaning system. The sieve pan works with the upper and lower sieves moving in opposite directions and has a total sieve area of 4.80 square metres. The sieve design, which features frogmouth openings with optimised flow characteristics, has already proven itself over and over again in the Lexion and Trion under extremely varied operating conditions.
In addition to electric sieve adjustment, the standard equipment for all Evion models includes a loss measurement system. Adjustment of the speed of the radial fan is performed from the cab – and can even be controlled automatically with the optional Auto Slope functionality when harvesting uphill or downhill. An inspection window allows the returns to be viewed conveniently from the operator’s seat. Available as an option is the 3D cleaning system that’s able to compensate for a lateral tilt of up to 20 per cent when harvesting on slopes.
The grain tank integrated behind the cab holds 5,600 lit in the Evion 410 and 6,500 lit in the Evion 430 – the two models that will be sold in the UK. Sensors alert the operator when the fill level reaches 70 per cent and then 100 per cent. In addition to this functionality, a large grain tank inspection window gives the operator a direct, comprehensive view of the fill level and grain quality. When it comes to unloading, all Evion models benefit from the 330mm diameter of the grain tank unloading auger and the resulting 90 lit/second unloading rate – meaning that offloading can be completed in 60 to 90 seconds.
The 105-degree pivot angle of the grain tank unloading auger ensures that the operator always has a perfect view of the offloading process. A pivoting unloading spout, as already used in the Trion and Lexion, is available as an option to provide high-precision control of the grain stream directed at the transport vehicle.
At medium to high-yield locations in particular, farmers attach great importance to good straw chopping and spreading. This is why, in a first for this class, the Evion is available with an optional 72-knife straw chopper as an alternative to the standard 52-knife version. Both shear bar and friction bar can be adjusted without tools while the switchover from chopping to swathing is performed at the right-hand side of the straw discharge hood. The straw guide plates are adjusted manually to the working width so that uniform distribution is ensured even when operating with a cutterbar width of 6.80m. Chaff and short straw are distributed across the working width by optional, hydraulically driven chaff spreaders.
Common to both Evion UK models is the 6.7-litre Cummins B6.7 engine that meets the Stage V emission standard. This is the same common-rail six-cylinder unit used in the Trion and is notable for its ability to deliver high torque at low revs. The full rated output of 204hp (Evion 410) and 231hp (Evion 430) is available at just 1,900 rpm, while the idle speed is a low 800 rpm (1,200 rpm with active hydraulic functions). Where availoable, the Evion 450 offers a maximum 258hp.
Dynamic Power engine management ensures that the engine only delivers as much power as is actually required at any time. This system can reduce fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent. When the grain tank unloading system is active, the highest engine output level is enabled automatically.
Access to the engine from the maintenance platform is excellent, simply requiring the cover plate which provides protection from dust and dirt deposits to be raised to the open position with the support of two gas struts. A rotating radiator screen cleans the air intake area continuously. For daily cleaning tasks, an air compressor with three connection points – near the cab (for cab cleaning), at the left above the rear axle (cleaning of sieve and straw walker area as well as the drives on the right-hand side) and near the engine (cleaning of engine area) – is available as an option.
Power transmission to the various driven units of the machine is handled by a drive system based partly on components from the Trion and Lexion. The reel drive, feeder housing, and front attachment reversing mechanism as well as the threshing drum and fan variator are operated hydraulically – a unique approach in this class of combine that enables outstanding operating reliability in difficult and changing conditions. Other important units, such as the threshing unit variator, straw chopper, front attachment and grain tank unloading auger, are activated and deactivated electrohydraulically. Belt tensioners, which are fitted as standard, simplify the system check at the start of each working day.
The ground drive is provided by a three-speed, manually shifted hydrostatic drive with a choice of top speeds – 20, 25 or 30 km/hr. For the rear axle, customers have a choice of wheels with a diameter of 1.35m or, for maximum soil protection, as much as 1.50m.
The spacious cab, which is reached via pivoting access steps, offers a modern control armrest with the ergonomic CMotion multifunction lever, the clearly laid-out keypad and the Cemis 700 touchscreen terminal. The seven-inch Cemis 700, which can be adjusted to the position that suits each operator best, has a high-contrast display that allows machine functions to be monitored easily, even in bright sunlight. The ability to call up saved settings for all common threshing crops allows the machine to be deployed quickly and enables easy, time-saving changeovers between grain types.
The operator can override the saved settings at any time during harvesting and adjust them in accordance with the prevailing conditions. Further advantages of Cemis 700 include its ability to store jobs and to record fuel consumption separately for road and field operation as well as in lit/hour and lit/ha. As Cemis 700 is a fully-fledged ISObus terminal, it can also be used for other tasks with tractors and implements outside the combine harvesting season.
Both UK Evion models are equipped as standard with automatic climate control and a camera, while footrests on the steering column are available as an option – as is a 30-lit cool box under the instructor’s seat. Other optional items include an air-suspended comfort seat, electrically adjustable rear-view mirrors and a second camera.
The cab also provides numerous storage options, as well as one USB-A port and two USB-C ports that can be used to charge smartphones, tablets and other devices.
Although the Evion models are already equipped as standard with a comprehensive LED lighting package, the list of options provides for a total of up to 17 LED work lights ex-works – and extends to interior lighting for the grain tank and maintenance lighting under the side panels.
With its Claas universal feeder housing and multicoupler, the Evion is able to accept cutterbars used with the Trion and Lexion up to 6.80m wide. The Trend equipment package includes contour ground contour adaptation as standard. This automatically adjusts the front attachment to ground undulations parallel to the direction of travel.
