The John Deere DuraDrum™ cutterhead ensures continuous, uniform crop flow, minimum wear; unsurpassed capacity and high quality silage in any crop.

• John Deere offers cutterheads fitted with 56, 48 and 40 segmented knives, to suit every crop and condition.

The John Deere cutterhead is made from a 12 mm thick steel plate welded structure and a solid 67 mm diameter shaft. It measures 610 mm dia. x 683 mm width and weighs 337 kg. Enclosed drum design prevents crop ingress into the inside of the cutterhead. Most of the cutterhead mass is on the circumference providing high fly-wheel effect.

• High flywheel effect ensures constant speed, minimises belt wear and reduces fuel consumption.
• Enclosed drum design keeps the crop at the knives for uniform chopping, and conveys crop evenly.
• Strong welded structure ensures rigidity and maintains perfect dynamic balance.

Knives cut the crop whilst the straight knife holders convey it to the transition chute. Segmented knives have many advantages over the full width or V-design knives of competition.

• Segmented knives can retract when hit by an obstacle, minimising damage and expense.
• Segmented knives are easy to replace and adjust saving time and money.

Grass knife: Straight knife with Tungsten Carbide reinforced cutting edge.

• More resistant to "chipping" damage by small stones.
• More durable cutting edge stays sharp in abrasive conditions.
• Can also be used for maize harvesting.

Wide, curved maize knife: Tapered, curved, wide knife with Tungsten Carbide reinforced cutting edge.

• Slim cutting edge ensures precise cutting.
• Requires less cutting power.
• Knife overlap eliminates any uncut material, especially when cutting late, dry maize.
• Prevents uncut leaves appearing in the silage.
• Can also be used for grass harvesting.

Angled, wide maize knife: Tapered, curved knife with Tungsten Carbide reinforced cutting edge.

• Mounts on the same straight knife holders.
• Incorporates the same advantages as the wide, curved maize knife.
• Offers a shearing action for precise cutting.
• Straight knife holders do not concentrate crop flow to the centre of the transition chute.

The shearbar is the "other half" of the chopping operation and is critical to cutterhead performance. John Deere shearbars:

• Are clamped to a heavy-duty anvil for maximum stability. No bolt hole that would weaken the shearbar like on competitors' shearbars.
• Are sprung formed with a curve so they are always under tension when installed. This ensures that the shearbar is always flat and does not vibrate.
• Sit on a Teflon pad which ensures that the shearbar always moves freely when adjusted, particularly important in its hostile environment where crop juices, additives and friction could cause it to bind.

Grass shearbar: A custom designed shearbar for optimum performance when harvesting grass.

• Tungsten carbide inlays on the shoulders ensure a sharp edge is maintained for high performance cutting.
• Extra wide shoulders are resistant to stone chips which can be a problem in some grassland areas.
• A non-hardened central area will wear concave with time, preventing a rounded convex profile from developing which reduces shearbar performance.

Maize shearbar: Vertical tungsten carbide coating ensure a sharp cutting edge.

• Stays sharp longer providing precision cutting.
• Wash-out generates self-sharpening effect for high performance.
• Can be used for grass and other crops.

Heavy-duty shearbar: Vertical and central tungsten carbide inlays.

• Offers high resistance to wear as often encountered in the maize harvest.
• Provides high performance in sandy soil regions and adverse conditions.
• Recommended for maize and other crops where abrasion tends to be higher.
• Lasts at least three times longer than standard shearbars.

The shearbar is automatically adjusted from inside the cab. Two reliable knock sensors control the `walking' movement of the shearbar and set it to a very close gap for best cutting. Shearbar adjustment is required after each knife sharpening.

• Automatic adjustment does not make mistakes, always optimum setting.
• Is easy and clean.
• Provides excellent chopping and saves power.