John Deere has expanded the compatibility of Machine Sync, the technology that allows a harvester to control the speed and guidance of the chaser bin working beside it to a wider range of machinery.
The update is available across the John Deere digital ecosystem including Operations Centre, MyOperations and JDLink mobile apps as well as the Gen 4 line of displays and provides new features, broadened compatibility and new products.
Machine Sync was first introduced in 2013 and enables harvesters to control the speed and guidance of the chaser bin working beside it on the go to provide safer and more accurate unloading.
With the latest update, Machine Sync will become available to horticulture and forage producers as it is rolled out across self propelled forage harvesters and tractor to tractor applications specific to the industry.
John Deere production system manager Ben Kelly said Machine Sync can automate the unloading process improving safety and productivity and was a big step towards improving multi-machine automation and operational logistics.
"The expansion of Machine Sync on more equipment now makes it accessible to producers across a far greater range of commodities, from grains to horticulture and forage," Mr Kelly said.
"It brings powerful efficiency gains as the chaser bin is working at the optimal location and speed in relation to the harvester which minimises the amount of crop lost and also enables the harvester to operate at maximum capacity while unloading.
"There is also a new Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) feature which allow farmers wanting to use Machine Sync to ensure unloading equipment can stay on the CTF track when unloading.
"This helps prevent soil compaction and reduces the possibility of human error and collisions to make working conditions safer for the people in the field."
Maintenance tracking has also been improved and simplified by this round of updates with the introduction of Maintenance Manager to the JDLink mobile app to replace the MyMaintenance app.
"This consolidation will undoubtedly bring improved user experience by reducing the number of apps farmers need to learn and operate," Mr Kelly said.
"Maintenance Manager allows operators to track the maintenance of their farm equipment in one place, including maintenance plans for non-connected equipment such as a truck or stationary irrigation pump engine. Prior to this update customers could only monitor their connected equipment.
"This means our customers are able to manage the maintenance needs of their entire fleet regardless of age or colour."
