The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
New displays providing information at a glance
Aquick glance through the steering wheel to check the engine revs or fuel level on latest Valtra tractors reveals – well, nothing.
Instead, operators need only glance a little to the right now that the instrument panel takes the form of a tablet computer-like device attached to the right-hand front cab pillar.
In its place is a handy lidded storage compartment for the smaller items needed during a day’s ploughing or baling.
It’s the latest example of a likely trend in tractor information displays first seen on the Case IH Quadtrac ASF Connect and as part of the Fendtone concept being rolled out on Vario tractors including the latest 700, 300 and 200 series.
On the Quadtrac, the compact chrome-edged display replaces chunky liquid crystal displays that take up much of the length of the pillar; it displays information using sharp colour graphics as well as digits so that information can be absorbed with a quick glance.
More detailed information, access to tractor and implement controls, and precision farming applications are provided by a previously optional but now standard 12-inch tablet-like display mounted on the armrest.
Fendt has taken a different route, positioning a fully digital 10in display “tablet” conventionally behind the steering wheel to show usual information such as speed and engine revs, transmission range and direction selected, pto speeds, functions such as auto four-wheel-drive selected, and illuminated warning icons.
For additional functionality, this instrument display can be supplemented by an armrest-mounted display increased in size to 12in and laid out in up to six “tiles” providing content selected by the operator.
A third display can be added, primarily for precision farming applications; on 700 Vario tractors, this partially hidden unit is pulled down vertically from the cab roof lining while on smaller models it is permanently in view.
The pillar-mounted colour display on the latest Valtra N5 and T5 tractors shows default information at the top, such as the driving speed, engine speed and time, and below that the operator can select information for controlling the tractor and implement in a chosen format.
On Hitech and Active models, the display can also be used to adjust settings for the engine, hydraulic and transmission, while on higher-specification Versu and Direct variants, this functionality is also available via the Smarttouch armrestmounted display that also accesses tractor set-up and optional ISOBUS and precision applications.
As with the functionassignable buttons and switches on modern tractors, having multiple screens means operators have a lot of choice in the way information is displayed and whether settings are adjusted by touchscreen or mouse-like devices.
Massey Ferguson has chosen to stick with a conventional instrument panel for the new 5S tractors but future updates will likely follow the lead of their big brothers in the MF 8S series in having a cab pillar-mounted tablet.
The main area of this upright display can be farming configured by the operator to show their preferred information, with warning icons illuminated below and green “on/off” indicators – such as for the roof beacon and shuttle direction selected – shown above.
An upper display area provides the usual default details needed by an operator, such as engine revs, ground speed, coolant temperature and fuel level, in an easily understood graphic format.
In addition to exploiting the clarity of latest digital displays, the lack of conventional instruments means there is minimal intrusion into the view ahead.
What the Massey Ferguson 5S does already share with its larger 8S sibling is the optional Fieldstar 5 unit, a railmounted terminal positioned alongside the right-hand window and accessed via the touchscreen, a dial or four buttons.
The Datatronic 5 interface is used to select engine, transmission, hydraulics and other tractor systems, headland management sequencing, an unlimited number of data and user settings files, ISOBUS implement control and switch function assignment on tractors equipped with the Multipad control handle.