Smart Drive Control – the intelligent three axle drive

A plus in efficiency, payload and security.

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Drive axles for agricultural trailers are considered as one of the solutions for the future in agricultural logistics and are a matter of controversy. All known variants are founded on a simple principle: they push, full stop! There are application scenarios whereby a mere push is inefficient and even dangerous especially when taking a bend. Drive axles also push in situations when a push is not needed or when tractors that want to keep up with the drive axle’s performance are overstrained.

In a collaborative research project with John Deere, Fliegl Agrartechnik has developed Smart Drive Control. The system combines three components and synchronise them with one another: tractor transmission, trailer and drive axle.

The concept of the Smart Drive Control: the tractor’s gearbox control not only affects the tractor’s transmission, thus the front and back axle but the trailer’s drive axle too.

The advantages of the Smart Drive Control:

• The power transmission is balanced across the three axes

• When running downhill, the third axis does not push anymore, therefore dangerous situations are prevented.

• The drive system works very efficiently and homogeneously through the central control of the tractor’s axes and the drive axle- unlike a stand-alone system where drive axles are not integrated in a system.

Within the cooperation with John Deere, Fliegl supplies a light Alu-Tec trailer – including a drive axle and a computer ISOBUS, which transmits important information to the tractor. An integrated gyroscope helps prevent dangerous veering off the road.

Through the innovative tractor/ trailer combination (small tractor and Alu-Tec trailer), John Deere and Fliegl have managed to assemble a coupling that provides optimal traction at any time and constitutes an important advantage as far as the payload is concerned. Thanks to the Smart Drive Control, tractors can manage with a smaller engine capacity and a low net weight (approximately 2 tons). Furthermore the Fliegl Alu-Tec construction constitutes a weight saving of approximately 3 tons. That means- in total- a loading margin of 5 tons without the admissible total trailer load of 40 tons being exceeded. More payload, less journey, less fuel requirement - Smart Drive Control helps saving money and preserving the environment.