Intensive R&R and user appraisals underpin Fastrac features

From the simplest display screen graphics to the complex software controlling the continuously variable transmission, new features launched on the JCB Fastrac iCON tractors are the result of an intensive four-year R&D programme and feedback from operators driving evaluation machines.

The latest Fastrac 4000 and 8000 Series have an all-new electronics infrastructure that includes fully integrated ISOBUS implement control and GPS guidance options, with everything operated using the new iCON armrest control console incorporating a 12in colour touchscreen display.

In addition to creating this new operator-machine interface, JCB engineers also developed new control strategies for the CVT transmission, with fully automatic speed-based powertrain management introduced alongside existing modes.

A joystick-mounted thumb roller provides fine speed adjustment, while seamless automatic switching between driving techniques is triggered simply by operating either the pedal or joystick.

JCB Agriculture Managing Director, John Smith, said: “We wanted to offer a bespoke operating experience for every driver, so there are multiple-choice control options and lots of capacity to store individual operator and implement settings profiles.”

To achieve those goals, JCB software engineers alone accumulated more than 32,000 man-hours of development time, sitting alongside operators with a laptop computer to make finetuning adjustments so their effect could immediately be judged.

As a result, feedback on the new Smart Transmission Control system, which allows the powertrain to automatically balance revs and ratio to deliver a target ground speed, has been very positive.

The ‘bespoke’ nature of the Fastrac’s new operating experience even runs to the master joystick, which can control the transmission in