EUROPEAN tractor manufacturer Fendt has expanded its product line with the introduction of the IDEAL combine harvester.
The latest offering will be available for the 2021 harvest in Australia and New Zealand in tyre and track options and with a new SuperFlow front with a maximum operating width of 12.20 metres.
Built at AGCO's European Harvesting Centre of Excellence in Breganze, Italy, the Fendt IDEAL is a combine that has been designed and engineered from the ground up.
Special attention has been paid to efficiency, grain and straw quality, absolute reliability, easy and logical user-friendliness, as well as a revolutionary sensor technology for optimal machine setting.
According to AGCO product marketing manager (harvesting) Jake Kerr, the Fendt IDEAL is available in four models with power ratings between 336 kiloWatts (451 horsepower) and 589kW (790hp).
The Fendt IDEAL Class 8, 9 and 10 models feature high-performance MAN engines, while the IDEAL 7 features an AGCOpower engine.
One of the features is a unique Dual Helix threshing unit and separating system.
All grains are separated cleanly without negatively impacting the straw quality, due to the market's longest rotor - 4.84m long and 600 millimetres in diameter.
In order to handle the harvest with as much care as possible, and to ensure a constant load on the rotor, the intake augers, threshing bars and rotor fingers are arranged in a spiral around the rotor, in a similar pattern to DNA, which is where the name Helix is derived.
The IDEAL 8, 9 and 10 work with the Dual Helix threshing unit with two rotors, while the IDEAL 7 works with the single Helix threshing unit and one rotor.
An additional innovation is the installation of two grain pans at the front of the threshing unit, meaning that the front end of the preparation floor can already be filled with crop.
The rear grain pan catches the material from the separation area, and distributes it in the rear area.
The entire length of the preparation floor is therefore fully utilised, evenly distributing the crop.
The curve of the two grain pans also allow optimal and consistent output even on slopes.
Losses on gradients of up to 15 per cent are reduced in comparison with conventional combines which is of great benefit to the driver as they do not have to make additional adjustments.
A trade-marked 'Ciclone' cleaning system, together with Fendt's exclusive IDEALbalance, have been re-designed to further increase the cleaning capacity of the new IDEAL 10T which features a four-channel cleaning system.
In addition, a unique and patented 'WavePan' system, with a curved double cascade, provides a wider air outlet, which can significantly increase the air volume.
The Fendt IDEAL models are equipped with one of the largest grain tanks in the industry with a capacity of 17,100 litres.
Discharge rate is 210L a second, which AGCO says is 15pc faster than the nearest competitor.
An 'AutoDock' feature allows you to complete electrical and hydraulic coupling in just five seconds.
Another feature, called 'IDEALharvest' system, visualises the flow of crop in real time.
It sends the capacity status of the threshing unit and cleaning in real time to the combine using Mass Acoustic Detection sensors (MADS).
The sensors are fitted along the rotors and the shaker shoe, and detect the flow of crop within the machine as well as any losses which occur.
Using the MAD sensors in combination with the grain quality camera, allows grain losses, percentage of cracked grain, and grain purity to be displayed.
The driver can look at the iPad display in real time to see whether more material can be found in the front or on the right or left of the processor.
With the aid of the 'SmartConnect' app, they can select a customised harvest strategy between cracked grain, grain loss and purity, within a triangle adjustment displayed on the iPad.
The driver also sets the ratio between machine output and quality.
The machine then adjusts itself on a continuous basis based on these settings, and reacts in real time to changing harvest conditions.
For example, the IDEALharvest system can automatically adjust the grain separation and the rotor speed if cracked grains occur.
A new option is 'IDEALdrive' which offers joystick control replacing the steering column.
The joystick's control and intuitive response are proportional to the driving speed and the steering lock angle on the wheel.
