The Case IH DC103 Disc mower-conditioner builds on the pivot Disc DC3 and the DC2 side-pull designs, providing superior cut and crimp and the overall performance customers demand.
Case-IH product manager of hay and harvest, Tim Slater, said the key to the DC103 is its simplicity when it comes to operation, adjustments and maintenance, with the reliability and ruggedness required to get the job done within often demanding timeframes.
“Due to the ongoing drought across many regions, the demand for hay-making equipment has been high, so the launch of this new DC103 has come at a good time for customers looking to upgrade machinery, or for those new to this market,” Tim said.
“It retains everything customers appreciated about its predecessor, the well-established DC102, but then introduces a raft of enhanced features that are now standard, such as revised cutter-bar flotation and additional tilt adjustment and quick-change knives. It’s a practical and user-friendly design that produces outstanding results in all conditions.”
The DC103’s simplicity can be attributed to clean lines with minimal moving parts, and for most in-field adjustments, tools are not required. Even changing cutting blades is now just a matter of using the tool mounted on the mower conditioner, featuring a quick-change design with a retaining clip and eccentric nut.
Tim says cutterbar flotation is the biggest change on the model, redesigned for simplicity yet providing the best protection in the event of encountering an obstacle.
The range of motion as the cutterbar floats up protects the knives from the obstacle. In addition, each disc also has its own independent protection with a shock hub (frangible splines) that protects the main cutterbar drivetrain if it’s not possible to float over an obstruction.
“The cutterbar itself has a really robust design, with each disc having its own enclosed gearbox module. This makes the cutterbar very durable and is ideal for working on slopes as the oil doesn’t run to one end, but is instead retained in each module. Each gearbox module can also be serviced individually,” Tim said.
Contributing to enhanced productivity are the wide conditioning rollers that match well to the width of the cutterbar, providing for optimum processing of the cut crop through the conditioning system that guarantees the best and fastest dry down of hay.
“The swivel hitch and driveline are designed for heavy application and with the double swivel gearbox there is minimal stress on universal joints at the tractor even while performing the tightest of turns,” Tim said.
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