From the perspective of tractor production and use, the main development trends of tractors are:
1. The average power keeps increasing. Regardless of agricultural tractors or industrial tractors, in order to improve the productivity of a single machine, the average power continues to increase, but the growth rate has a downward trend. In North America and the Soviet Union, due to the small population and large land, large-scale agricultural production, most of them use large-scale agricultural machinery and tools, and are equipped with corresponding high-power tractors. In general developing countries, small and medium power tractors are still the mainstay, but their average power is also increasing.
2. Wheeled tractors have an absolute advantage in agricultural tractors. Crawler tractors are basically not used in agricultural production in many countries. In the Soviet Union, Italy and China, although some crawler tractors are still in use, the proportion is also declining. Among industrial tractors, especially bulldozers, excavators and other models, crawler still has an absolute advantage. With the increase of tractor power, four-wheel drive tractors have developed rapidly. The application of hydraulic steering device can solve the problem of difficult steering of this model, and the articulated steering can greatly reduce the turning radius. These factors have further promoted the development of high-power four-wheel drive tractors. In order to improve traction adhesion performance and passing capacity in paddy fields, four-wheel drive variants of small and medium power wheeled tractors have also developed rapidly in Japan and other countries.
3. More and more attention has been paid to the safety, ease of operation and comfort of the working environment of tractors. A well-designed and manufactured cab and various instruments can not only improve the driver's working conditions and ensure safety, but also improve labor productivity and work quality.
4. Serialization, generalization and standardization of tractors and their parts are important measures to facilitate production and use, reduce manufacturing costs and simplify parts supply. In order to meet the various needs of the tractor market with fewer basic types of tractors, major tractor companies in Europe and the United States produce one or several series of products. In the Soviet Union and other countries, there is a unified national tractor series model spectrum, which is used to guide the development of products of various manufacturers. The development of basic models of tractors with two or more power levels, which are organically connected and their corresponding variants, to form a series of products can make the parts between products have the highest degree of commonality, thereby increasing the universal zero. Production batches of components; or the ability to produce similar parts on the same processing line, assemble similar components and adjacent grades of tractors on the same assembly line. This is very beneficial for making full use of production capacity and reducing production costs.
5. Hydraulic technology is widely used in tractors. In modern tractors, especially large tractors, hydraulic devices are used for the manipulation of almost all major components, such as clutches, power shifting of gearboxes, differential locks, brakes and steering mechanisms. On some tractors, the adjustment of the seat and the opening and closing of the glass windows also use hydraulic devices. The electronic-hydraulic control suspension system has been adopted on some tractors. Due to the convenience of the arrangement of the control switch, the hydraulic pipeline can be shortened accordingly, and it will be used more on large tractors.
6. Some components of the tractor are subject to random alternating loads for a long time, which will cause fatigue damage and affect the reliability and life of the tractor. In order to further improve product quality, large tractor companies have invested more funds and manpower to prepare load spectra of parts under various working conditions, organize simulation tests and stress analysis, and compile electronic computer systems based on the accumulation of a large number of experimental data. software for optimal design. This can not only improve product quality, but also shorten the development cycle of new products. Advanced tractor manufacturers have applied computer-aided design (CAD) to product design. The research and application of optimal design has also been paid more and more attention.