Fendt vario

[brynseiri]

So in essence, ZF make almost every tractor cvt gearbox on the market?

 

[Jon]

So in essence, ZF make almost every tractor cvt gearbox on the market?

Not Valtra, their's is their own design and produced in house.

 

[Flyingscotsman]

Was the "ML" designation not in recognition of the late Markus Liebherr ? I think it was Leibherr who initially thought of the concept .

 

[Gerbert]

I think with saying that zf builds it under license they ment the eccom. It is said that they made two designs and sold the lesser design to zf but I have yet to see that backed up. The steyr antriebstechnik box in the old cvt/cvx/tvt (and now deutz?) is similar to the eccom. ZF bought steyr antriebstechnik before the cvx/cvt went into production and before they finished the eccom so maybe they based the eccom on it.
Claas made the cvt in their xerion 2500 and 3000 themself, the "hm-8" if I remember correctly (it had 8 steps hence the name). It wasn't very great as the xerion 3300 got an eccom as well.
John Deere makes the cvt for their american made tractors themselves, I remember a magazine saying in a technical story about it (upon introducing it in the 7810 ivt) that it was a bit similar to a Fendt vario.
Liebherr tried with the mali-trac.
Schluter supposedly tried with a metal belt and variators (much like an old DAF car).
As said valtra do their own box. Well they say so at least, the box seems to be much like a ZF.
And CNH do their own in the puma/t7000 (as they say). Not sure of the smaller and bigger ranges.

 

[Glaws]

Was the "ML" designation not in recognition of the late Markus Liebherr ? I think it was Leibherr who initially thought of the concept .

No - ML stands for Marschall Leistungsverzweigung (power splitting)

 

[jon115r]

According to a fendt owner x4 he had a gearbox go bang 2 years ago on a 724 100% zf he said

 

[Gerbert]

Yeah that's always the case, someone else, somewhere else.
I think it is reasonable to ask for proof beyond reasonable doubt to defy an established fact (note established).

 

[Jim B]

The CVT unit in the CNH tractors is based on a ZF design too apparently.

A lot seem to be originate from a ZF, no doubt Kubota are finding ways of copying/remanufacturing/improving the ZF Eccom unit fitted in their new M7001 series tractors to make their own.

As for Fendt, no doubt it is their own design, but I thought it was built by them too, maybe the manufacturing is out sourced to ZF?

The story about Fendt selling the lesser design Vario to ZF sounds like a myth to me.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Yeah that's always the case, someone else, somewhere else.
I think it is reasonable to ask for proof beyond reasonable doubt to defy an established fact (note established).

Gerbert, How good is your German? Could nip over to the German AG forum (got a link here somewhere) and ask one of the Bavarian farmers that work in the Fendt factory. I'm sure they'd spill the beans

 

[Glaws]

Gerbert, How good is your German? Could nip over to the German AG forum (got a link here somewhere) and ask one of the Bavarian farmers that work in the Fendt factory. I'm sure they'd spill the beans

What you going to ask them - "you know that Fendt designed Vario, that was the first in the ag market, that you've manufactured well over 100 thousand of, and in 2012 the Fendt factory received a $300 million upgrade - do you outsource production to ZF on the Fendt site in Marktoberdorf?"

Ffs lads. https://elibrary.asabe.org/data/pdf/6/cvtt2005/lectureseries29rev.pdf pg 27 -31

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

What you going to ask them - "you know that Fendt designed Vario, that was the first in the ag market, that you've manufactured well over 100 thousand of, and in 2012 the Fendt factory received a $300 million upgrade - do you outsource production to ZF on the Fendt site in Marktoberdorf?"

Ffs lads. https://elibrary.asabe.org/data/pdf/6/cvtt2005/lectureseries29rev.pdf pg 27 -31

Humour not your strong point Glaws?

 

[Glaws]

Humour not your strong point Glaws?

I ran out, after chuckling to myself all day at this thread.

 

[Clive]

Fendt make very little major components themselfs. Hence the expensive price tag.

Having been to the factory last year this could hardly be more wrong

Fendt box is their design and manufacture, they machine all the gear components and diffs etc in house - it's a huge part of the factory

Only big parts bought in for drive line were castings as they don't have a foundry and even they were machined by Fendt from the rough castings in lines on cnc machines

 

[zealman]

Just to thicken the plot a little, and it was twelve years ago now. I used to own a 920, which spat the trans at 4100hrs. First one in the southern hemisphere to go. Caused a great deal of consternation, because in those days Fendt were sold as being 'unbreakable'. Anyhoo, new trans was flown out from Germany. It came from Sundstrand

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

It came from Sundstrand

According to the link that Glaws posted in #30 above, Sauer-Sundstrand (now Danfoss) helped Fendt with development of the wide-angle hydro motors and pumps used in the transmision.

 

[Grassman]

There is one fact that is indisputable.

Don't believe all the facts you read on forums or in the pub from a mate who heard from a mate!

 

[RTK Farmer]

When I was last at the factory not only did Fendt make most of the components themselves as Clive says they were made on Fendt milling/turning machines.
The only plant I've visited that made their our castings was an old Kuhn facility in a town in France, we wandered around in the heat amongst the flying sparks, on PPE, fantastic visit.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

What you going to ask them - "you know that Fendt designed Vario, that was the first in the ag market, that you've manufactured well over 100 thousand of, and in 2012 the Fendt factory received a $300 million upgrade - do you outsource production to ZF on the Fendt site in Marktoberdorf?"

Ffs lads. https://elibrary.asabe.org/data/pdf/6/cvtt2005/lectureseries29rev.pdf pg 27 -31

Fairly mech. engineering heavy article, but interesting. Thanks for posting.

 

[Clive]

When I was last at the factory not only did Fendt make most of the components themselves as Clive says they were made on Fendt milling/turning machines.
The only plant I've visited that made their our castings was an old Kuhn facility in a town in France, we wandered around in the heat amongst the flying sparks, on PPE, fantastic visit.

I have been to JD, Claas and NH factories and frankly the Fendt factory made the others look like amateur blacksmiths. Fendt were making far more of the tractor in house whereas the others were more just assembly lines

 

[Fraserb]

I have been to JD, Claas and NH factories and frankly the Fendt factory made the others look like amateur blacksmiths. Fendt were making far more of the tractor in house whereas the others were more just assembly lines

Not been to JD or claas but have been to NH, JCB, and a few others and as you say the fendt setup is in a different league.

The others are basically assembly lines, bolting parts on sent from elsewhere, fendt was a proper production line where you got to see the whole process, including building the vario.