Fendt
Fendt is a German manufacturer of agricultural tractors and machines, manufacturing and marketing a full line of tractors, combine harvesters and balers. It is part of the AGCO Corporation. It was founded in 1937 by Xaver Fendt and purchased by the AGCO Corporation in 1997.
History
Prior to incorporation on December 31, 1937, the Fendt brothers produced several tractors in a blacksmith shop under the guidance of their father, Johann Georg. The tractors built featured a 6HP engine, a mounted plow, and an independently driven mower.[1]
Product Range
Fendt offers a range of tractors from 70-390 hp, a range of combine harvesters from 220-500 hp, round and square balers, loaders and industrial application tractors.
Tractors
| Range | Power Range (kW-kW/hp-hp) |
|---|---|
| 200 Vario Series | 51-81/70-110 |
| 300 Vario Series | 70-92/95-135 |
| 400 Vario Series | 85-114/115-155 |
| 500 Vario Series | 92-121/125-165 |
| 700 Vario Series | 96-132/130-240 |
| 800 Vario Series | 136-151/185-287 |
| 900 Vario Series | 162-265/240-390 |
Balers
| Range |
|---|
| Square Balers |
| Variable Round Balers |
Miscellaneous
| Range |
|---|
| Fendt Cargo Loaders (for tractors) |
| Fendt Variotronic (electronic terminal for tractors/combine harvesters) |
| Fendt ISU Range (industrial tractors) |
Technology
Vario Transmission
Fendt developed the infinitely variable transmission (IVT), calling it Vario. It differs from a continuously variable transmission (CVT) as an IVT can be travelling at 0.0 km/h whilst the transmission is still engaged and not in neutral. The IVT/CVT gearbox is widely regarded as the most fuel efficient gearbox on the agricultural market. Other manufacturers such as ZF or John Deere have developed their own but Fendt's Vario is considered a market leader. Due to this status it has been widely adopted in the market. Variations can be found on other AGCO tractor brands such Challenger, Massey Ferguson, and in its TerraGator application equipment. The gearbox may be the same however the individual brands have different controls/ joystick and may have different ECU software. Valtra, a Scandinavian branch to the AGCO corporation have developed their own 'in house' gearbox, using similar technology but employing four mechanical ranges rather than two. The control system differs greatly and the two throttles (hand and foot) are used to control the gearbox rather than a joystick or foot throttle. The Vario transmission is extremely popular in the European market and its fuel efficiency puts it in favour of mechanical competitors, however one weakness to the Vario is its power consumption, in comparison to a mechanical transmission, most IVT/CVT gearboxes can lose 10–20 hp in the transmission due to the hydraulic swing pump element of the transmission. The Fendt Vario offers 60 km/h at 1600 rpm on its 800 series and 900 series models, however this is individual Fendt and no other manufactures offer this with exception to JCB who offer a CVT transmission which will travel at 70 km/h. claas as stock vario. but fendt develop it with its own technology
The Vario transmission was first developed in the 1970s, but due to lack of funding it was never seen on a production tractor until 1996, when Fendt launched the revolutionary Fendt 926 Vario. This was the first ever stepless transmission to be launched in the tractor market, and is patented to be the only truly stepless transmission when it was first developed. Competitors were unable to make a transmission as advanced as a Fendt Vario at the time with hydrostatics as the only real competition, however these soon fell out of favour. In today's market all major manufacturers offer a Stepless box which will be branded by the manufacturer individually; however most operators will refer to it as a Vario much in the way that most vacuum cleaners are referred to as a Hoover.
The Trisix
Fendt released a prototype of a new concept tractor at Agritechnica 2007, in Hannover, Germany, called the Trisix nicknamed "Mobydick" and boasting 540 horsepower and six wheel drive.
The front axle and the rearmost steer the tractor, and as the speed of the tractor increases, the amount of steering input on the rear axle reduces to make it safer. It also completely locks out when in transport mode and with some implements.
To handle the horsepower the Trisix has two of the company's trademark Vario transmissions, which push the machine up to a top speed of 60 km/h (38 mph). Fendt has not confirmed production of this machine, and it remains in prototype stage. The axles and backbone tube are from Tatra 815 series trucks and the 6x6 Tatra-based tractor concept was patented in 1997 by Farma Josef Dvorak of Tábor, Czech Republic.
Appearances in Media
A Fendt 930 Vario was shown on BBC's Top Gear, where host James May chose a 930 Vario.[2] It was driven by The Stig round the Top Gear Test Track, and did a time of 3:28.4, the second slowest time round the track. The Fendt 930 Vario does however report a top speed of 37.5 mph, much faster compared to similar competitor's tractors.
The Fendt 716 also appeared on BBC1 Scotland, on the program Countryfile, where world class Fendt Driver, Steven Brown, of Inverdovet Farm, was awarded an award for winning the annual Scottish Fendt Ploughing Match, where he received a prize of £5,000.
Fendt tractors have appeared in the widely-popular Landwirtschafts-simulator games.
See also
- Fendt Caravan (formerly a part of Fendt)
References
- ↑ "Fendt History". AGCO Corp GmbH. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/episodes/series9episode5.shtml
External links
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