The design of a tractor is a long and complex business, and while Computer Aided Design (CAD) has revolutionised the process over the years, the interaction between operator and machine is something that is difficult to optimize within software.
CNH have tackled this problem head on by installing a tractor simulator at its Modena design centre, which can be configured to simulate the performance of new designs straight out of the computer.
Known as the Dynamic Driver-in-the-loop Simulator, it is claimed to be the first dynamic simulator specifically designed for agricultural machinery based on real-time numerical modelling.
This modelling takes into account all of the new systems of a machine and the environments in which it operates, proving grounds and digital farms, making it a novelty in research and development worldwide.
The simulator is said to allow designers to drive the tractor virtually, as early as the concept phase, and so verify its performance and other characteristics before it even reaches the prototype stage.
Design ideas tested
Design engineers can also evaluate new concepts and innovative vehicle systems, such as the suspension or cab, and test them immediately on the dynamic simulator – examining their response and behaviour subjectively.
The overriding aim of this simulator is to place the customer at the centre of the new product design, hence the driver-in-the-loop tag, and it will therefore be used throughout the company’s departments, such as Brand and Marketing, through to dealers and selected customers.
By making it possible to assess the performance of the a product in advance, critical situations can be avoided and optimum settings be made that would otherwise only be detectable in the next phase of field testing.
Special attention will also be paid to the issue of safety, as, on the simulator, it will be possible to re-create, study and hopefully prevent safety critical situations that can occur in the development of the new product, or in the use of the machine in the real environment.
Although the simulator carries the New Holland colours it will also be used by Case for the development of their own tractors.