Fendt innovations awarded at Agritechnica
Beyond Tractor of the Year in the Best of Specialized category, Fendt came away from Agritechnica 2017 with other important recognitions for technological innovations. These were for the VarioPull tractor, the IDEAL combine, the e100 Vario tractor, the DKE agrirouter and the Fendt MARS/Xaver robots
Fendt said goodbye to Agritechnica with a great cache of medals. Other than the important recognition of the 211 V Vario as the Tractor of the Year in the Best of Specialized Category, the German manufacturer came home with as many as five silver medals. These prizes were awarded especially for the new IDEAL combine. The IDEAL 9 and 8 are powered by high-performance MAN engines and the IDEAL 7 by the efficient AGCO power engine ensuring top performance with a sharp reduction of consumption. Also noteworthy are the new Helix threshing and separating system along with the longest rotor 4.84 m long and 600 mm in diameter, the most robust on the market. Another feature up front is the MADS sensors system located inside the machine the large for automation for setting the driving mode to allow the combine to operate continuously and fully automatically.
A second silver was awarded to the VarioPull. As described in a technical note, the weight on the read and front axles is distributed according to the drawbar load for uniform weight distribution to ensure stability and take different size tires up to the maximum traction capabilities. “With the VarioPull system, the driver can reduce the front weight to lower the tractor weight thereby increasing fuel economy and protect the soil,” the technical note said.
The compact e100 Vario tractor picked up another silver. This battery-powered tractor uses the powertrain of a 50 kW Vario model and replaces the combustion engine, the exhaust, air and fuel systems and the radiator by a battery block with a compact electric motor and the necessary electric control system. The 650 V lithium ion batteries for 100 kWh, high performance. The high-voltage batteries are charged at 400 V up to 22 kW using a standard CEE socket or supercharging with DC. By using a CCS type 2, the batteries can be charged up to 80% in 40 minutes and with an electric motor at work the machine trips into a mode for the recovery of power.
The forth silver went to the Fendt MARS/Xaver Mobile Agricultural Robot Swarms, a system which sends a number of small, auto-steered electric units deployed for maize seed drilling, a technology in agricultural engineering, and thus presents a completely new solution. The small autonomous units in the swarm work with precision at very low noise levels and without lights at night so they are ideal for seeding fields 24 hours a day. The swarm robots coordinate their work in the field, reduce compaction and minimize the hazard that big machines pose to humans and the environment. The robots log all job data into the “Cloud”, and communicate with each other and the operator. The agrirouter DKE took a silver as a universal data exchange platform for farmers and contractors that combines machines and agricultural software across all manufacturers.
