As Tractors become more powerful and the implements they operate become ever wider, automatic steering systems which ensure that overlapping or missed area are minimised, are essential.
Deutz-Fahr, with its top end tractors now approaching 300hp, is clearly an important contender for such automatic steering systems.
The company now offers a complete range of guidance systems for its entire tractor line-up. The Deutz-Fahr AgroSky ASG range includes an entry level simple steering guide which can be used with or without a motorised steering wheel to provide an accuracy of about +/-20cm.
For those who need greater accuracy there is the DGPS autosteer system which has integrated hydraulic steering. With an accuracy of +/-15cm, this system can be used with or without a correction signal subscription – the latter provides increased accuracy and less drift throughout the day and can keep the accuracy to +/-10cm.
And for those requiring sub-inch accuracy – those involved in precision vegetable planting, for example – there is the GPS-based system that uses an RTK base station for -/+2cm accuracy.
This amazing accuracy can place the tractor’s wheels in exactly the same position in the field time and time again throughout the entire year to ensure seeds, sprays and fertilisers are always applied correctly with no wastage or under dosing. It is also an invaluable aid for growers looking to reduce soil damage by confining field traffic to specific areas.
A key feature of the Deutz-Fahr AgroSky ASG system is the use of dual antennas which means that gyros and accelerometers used by single antenna systems to derive vehicle orientation are not required. Gyros only measure the rate of change of vehicle direction and need the tractor to be moving to gain this information. A single antenna system also needs to correct the GPS signal using information gleaned from the accelerometers. As a result, very low speed operation can influence accuracy, and positioning the tractor on headlands for the next pass can also be affected.
Single antenna systems only detect the direction of travel – not its true heading – and, when the tractor is crabbing competing internal guidance systems cause the tractor to seek, rather than hold, the required track during hillside operations.
A factory fit option for the Deutz-Fahr Agrotron 630TTV, and the two range topping Agrotron X710 and X720 tractors, the steerage systems can also be retrofitted to all other Deutz-Fahr tractors.
For more information visit: www.deutz-fahr.com.
