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The 70 Series 4WD tractors offered by John Deere has been replaced by a new 9000 product line as part of the continuous improvement process to meet customer needs and provide a product with maximum value to our customers. The new model lineup is 260, 310, 360, and 425 engine HP. All models are powered by John Deere engines with the largest 3 models using the new 10.5L and 12.5L engines. The new line of 9000 Series tractors is a styled tractor family which uses many of the 8000 Series Row Crop tractor concepts and designs. This new product line provides improved operator comfort, enhanced operator conveniences, and simplified serviceability.

The 9000T track-type agricultural tractors mark John Deere's entry into the high-horsepower, track tractor market. The 360-HP 9300T and the 425-HP 9400T tractors were designed with input from customers to meet customers' needs. Through customer input, on-farm research, and common sense, these tractors have been designed to work light in the spring, heavy in the fall, handle steep hillsides, turn under load and pull like a locomotive. Incorporating many of the already-market-dominating features of the 9000 wheel tractors plus innovative track vehicle features such as the wide stance, long wheel base, controllability, power, and versatility, these machines are truly amazing.

Intense worldwide competition of the 1980's is forcing U.S. corporations to greatly improve product value with scarce resources and short lead time. While these are difficult challenges, they also are opportunities for imaginative managers. The paper describes an approach for product development which is based on three key factors. Developing customer oriented product goals and aligning them with corporate business goal of profitability. Implementation of these goals by an integrated multidisciplinary team effort. A simultaneous or parallel execution of all activities rather than a sequential approach.

A need exists in the fluid power industry for application of effective techniques for design of components and systems for dynamic performance. Computer-aided engineering (CAE) software is available commercially which can improve the design process. This paper gives an overview of some of the design techniques, a description of the types of software and some factors to consider in software selection.

The difficulties and complexities associated with manual backup steering have increased as off-road vehicles have become larger. System components must be optimally designed to produce the most efficient manual steering. To efficiently transfer power from the human operator to the steered wheels, the characteristics of the steering wheel with metering pump must be impedance matched to the operator. Knowledge of the torque-speed characteristics of a human, as related to a steering wheel, is required to determine the maximum power transfer point for impedance matching. Published literature provides little information on human power capabilities in this context. To better define the human power characteristics a study was undertaken at the John Deere Product Engineering Center, Waterloo, Iowa. This paper deals with the results of that study.

A new hydraulic system was developed for a four wheel drive (4WD) agricultural tractor to coincide with the new modular design of the vehicle. Challenges such as lubrication and cooling of separated drivetrain components, adaptation to stand alone transmission modules, decreased maintenance time, and design of an optional electrohydraulic controlled 3-point hitch for implement lift were addressed. System considerations and design approaches are outlined.

For a number of years during cotton harvest in California's San Joaquin Valley, a decrease in cotton plant height was noted in the rows adjacent to the traffic path of the tractor. Studies which measured soil compaction and cotton yields for several tractor configurations were conducted over two growing seasons. The first year's study consisted of sandy and clay test plots with four tractor configurations. The highest yield was with a conventional wheel tractor with dual rear tires and front wheel drive. The plot yielded 27% more cotton in the sandy field and 14% more in the clay field over the least producing tractor plot, which was the belted track tractor. In the second year's study, the highest yield was also with a conventional wheel tractor with dual rear tires and front wheel drive. The plot produced 5% more cotton over the least producing tractor plot, also a belted track tractor. Cotton yields correlated with the soil compaction (cone penetrometer) measurements.

The product line of 4WD tractors offered by John Deere has been updated as part of the continuous improvement process to meet customer needs and provide a product with maximum value to our customers. The new model lineup is 250, 300, 350 and 400 engine HP. Per customer requests a new model has been added to the prior model lineup at 350 HP. The new models expand the usage of electronic engine control, enhance the engine power curves for increased productivity, provide improved operator comfort, enhance conveniences available to the operator, provide added improvements for serviceability and revises the options available for the customer so that he can purchase the product of maximum value for his needs.

Multi body simulation of agricultural vehicles such as tractors has relied on the representation of tires by equivalent spring-damper combinations. Historically, the stiffnesses assigned to various modes of deflection have been established on the basis of tests on a limited population of tires. Vehicle accelerations obtained by simulations of transport over typical terrain and rectangular obstacles using these parametric characterizations have deviated significantly from measurements. This paper reports on an attempt to develop finite element tire models, which are capable of generating quasi-static spindle forces and moments for prescribed displacements over irregular terrain and capture phenomena such as enveloping of obstacles. Though based on the tire manufacturers knowledge of constructional details, they are presented as ‘black boxes’ to the vehicle analyst for imposition of boundary conditions and loads, including inflation pressures.

On-board vehicle electronics has matured and become a practical replacement for mechanical type control systems. Electronic control systems typically allow more application flexibility and performance enhancement potential than the mechanical control systems they replace. This paper will cover the electronic three-point hitch control on the John Deere 55 Series row-crop and 60 Series 4WD tractors. It will explain how the use of electronics has provided a more flexible system with adaptation to different vehicle configurations. It will also show how electronics has provided improved serviceability and performance.