The multi-crop HDX Draper Platform

A true multi-crop header is your insurance to handling your crops with one header. The HDX is the only header that can handle all crops and conditions without compromise from high-yielding, high-moisture, bushy oilseed rape to short and dry peas that need to be cut low to the ground.

The goals for a successful harvest are simple: harvest on time and put all the grain in the tank from all your crops. The John Deere HDX Draper is designed to take those goals to another level.

The HDX Draper combines the benefits of active feeding from draper belt technology with an extended table for harvesting tall or difficult bushy crops such as tillered oilseed rape. This results in increased combine performance with a header for all different crop conditions and types.

• Extended table design for improved feeding – The 1200-mm (47.2-in.) extended table provides producers who grow cereals crops as well as high-volume oilseed rape with unmatched crop material handling capabilities.
• Reduce header loss by 25 percent – John Deere Grain Saver Draper Belts trap grain before it can roll down the belts, past the cutterbar, and onto the ground (compared to standard draper belts) by using a patented and unique crosshair (+) design on the belts.
• Reduce loss in oilseed rape by up to 26 percent – Decrease header loss in high-volume oilseed rape with large fingered top augers (compared to non-fingered augers) that grab fluffy crops and hold them against the draper belts. Fingered top augers enable you to easily straight-cut oilseed rape.
• Capture more crop with the center section seal kit – This kit is required for oilseed rape to prevent seed from rolling off the sides of the center belt.
• Reduce shatter losses – Mechanically driven side knives reduce vibration that causes shatter loss, and a high reel lift range minimizes reel contact with tall oilseed rape.
• Crop changeover – When changing between crops, the mechanical side knives can be installed or un-installed in less than 5 minutes.
• Close reel-to-cutterbar relationship – Industry-leading close reel-to-cutterbar relationship sweeps short crops easily from the knife to the belt.
• On-ground cutting – Superior ground following capabilities with the hinged frame for on- and off-ground cutting ensure an even stubble height and less missed crop.
• Intuiative settings controlled from the cab – Quickly and easily change cut height, ground following settings, and belt speed adjustments from the cab as field and crop conditions change.

Harvest more grain in more crops with one header

Draper belt technology smoothly feeds crop heads first, increasing combine productivity and grain saving performance

High-capacity X Series and S Series Combines harvest more grain per day when equipped with a high-capacity John Deere HDX Draper Platform. The John Deere HDX Draper Platform has been designed to handle all crops and conditions at high feed rates to utilize the capacity of your combine.

• Harvest more hours a day – Crop falls onto the draper belts and is uniformly and consistently conveyed to the center section, unaffected by air or crop. This allows for earlier and later starts of any harvesting day.
• Harvest more tonnes per hour – Draper technology increases the capacity of X and S Series combines by up to 25 percent. The crop mat is fed evenly and head-first into the combine for smoother threshing and a more efficient separation process. This results in better grain quality and lower grain loss at high capacities.
• In-cab settings keep you in the cab harvesting – Intuitive in-cab on and off ground header settings enable the operator to adjust ground following performance on-the-fly at any time of the day.
• Faster harvesting speeds – The John Deere industry-exclusive 2-cm (4-in.) double-cut knife system makes two cuts for every stroke of the knife. This, combined with superior ground following capabilities, enables higher harvesting ground speeds.

The HDX Draper Platform, an industry-leading and true multi-crop header designed for European crops and harvest conditions, brings confidence to your harvest with its ability to handle your crops in all harvest conditions. The deep frame, deep belt, and full-fingered top auger handles tall crops such as rye and tall, green-stemmed, bushy oilseed rape, conditions that challenge your current header and often limit your harvest capacity.

The HDX flexible frame with industry-leading ground following capabilities cuts close to the ground to recover short or down crops without needing crop lifters.

Draper belt feeding characteristics and the double-cut knife system enable you to harvest more hectares per hour and more hours per day (earlier and later) while maximizing the combine’s capacity at low loss levels.

Harvest more hectares per day

Unlike auger platforms, draper belt technology is not sensitive to crop moisture so you can harvest earlier in the morning, later at night, and in high-moisture conditions. On the auger platform, auger conveyance characteristics can create pulsing and uneven feeding to the combine, especially in tough conditions (for example, when air or crop moisture is high). This uneven feeding robs combine capacity, leading to lost productivity. Draper belts enable headers to go wider without compromising performance. The HDX coupled to an X9 Combine delivers more consistent performance throughout the day, harvesting up to 100 tonnes per hour.

Field tests have shown that over a harvest season, a draper platform increases capacity and performance of an S Series or X Series Combine by 15 percent in average harvesting conditions.

Even more impressive, the HDX increases combine performance up to 20 percent over an auger platform in those tough and challenging conditions, like wheat with a straw moisture over 25 percent or in tillered bushy oilseed rape plants (for example, in conditions around 10 plants m²).

Extend harvest into the night

Hinged-frame design for superior ground following

John Deere HD Drapers follow the ground contours by pivoting, gliding, and flexing over uneven fields to provide the most accurate cut possible when harvesting off ground or on ground.

• Improve the consistency of stubble height in challenging fields – Achieve consistent stubble height behind the combine, which is an advantage for better seeding performance in no-till Compared to the competition, operators do not need to leave the cab to set the gauge wheel height that maintains desired cut height automatically while floating over  the land.
• Capture more crop with superior ground following capabilities – Industry-exclusive hydraulic suspension separates header movement from the motion of the combine, allowing it to float over the field for a more consistent stubble As the header approaches extreme field terrain, passive header ground following with Active Feeder House Position Control automatically adjusts the feeder house height to target the center of the attachment frame, enabling fast responsive ground following across a wide float range as the ground contour changes.
• Harvest in difficult crop conditions – Recover down crop with the push of a button on the CommandARM™ console to automatically and simultaneously raise the gauge wheels, lower cut height, and extend your reel out and down. Harvest the most challenging lodged crop with confidence with a 24 percent increase in reel torque (compared to the 700FD).
• Keep a clean cutterbar no matter the field or crop – A more consistent distance between the reel fingers and cutterbar ensures the crop is cleanly swept across the cutterbar and evenly fed into the combine throughout the full wing.

The HD Draper hinges independently from the feeder house to meet the lay of the land. The result is an accurate cut that recovers more crop while maintaining high productivity than what can be achieved with other headers. At the same time, the HD maintains even and uniform feeding while leaving a consistent stubble height in the field.

Consistent stubble height

Increase your harvest capacity with easy and intuitive header settings from the cab

Throughout the day, harvest conditions change. With the HD Draper platform, you can adjust settings fast to always have the best settings for a smooth crop flow without needing to leave the cab. This keeps the operator in the cab and harvesting more grain in a comfortable environment - bringing your harvesting experience to another level.

Easy setup in changing conditions

• Adapt fast to changing conditions – Optimize your settings on the go directly from inside the cab.
• On-ground and off-ground cutting – Convert from off-ground cutting to on-ground cutting in less than 10 seconds from within the cab.
• Down crop mode – With the push of a button, the draper can easily harvest down or lodged crop by raising the gauge wheels and extending the reel out and down.
• Consistent cut height – On-the-fly cut height adjustment done completely from the cab puts the operator in control of achieving the most optimal cut height for the crop and conditions. The gauge wheels automatically adjust to maintain the desired cut height.
• Ground following settings – Five ground force settings on the CommandARM™ console enable the operator to adjust to changing conditions and adjust ground following response when harvesting both off- or on- ground without having to leave the cab.
• Active feeder house control – An exclusive John Deere feature is Active Feeder House Position Control. It maintains full float range (vertically and laterally) by actively adjusting the feeder house height in changing ground conditions to position itself in the middle of the attachment frame. This enables more available float range in changing field conditions.
• Quick-attach side knives – To change between crops, install side knives for oilseed rape or change to a divider point for other crop types.
• Reduced belt speed mode – This mode can be turned on and off in the draper belt speed screen of the header app. The feature reduces side belt speeds to improve feeding when harvesting with half the header.
• Auto belt speed mode – Belt speed is adjusted easily from within the cab. To automate even feeding as harvesting speed changes, auto belt speed mode automatically speeds up or slows down the belts.
• Belt protection system option – As operators take advantage of the longer harvest windows provided by the John Deere drapers and combines, the belt protection system helps automate harvest by monitoring belts throughout the day as operators experience fatigue.

Increase harvest capacity with header automations and adaptions to changing conditions