JOHN DEERE 8RX
A WINNING TEAM
John Deere and BMW Designworks have been in partnership for well over
20 years. In that time the two companies have created some outstanding
products and won numerous awards. In 2016 they jointly received eight
prizes for John Deere construction and forestry equipment including two
Red Dots for outstanding product design.
“Designing highly complex machinery requires a deep technological
understanding,” says Oliver Heilmer, president of Designworks. “Ever
since we conducted our fi rst crawler project for John Deere in 1996, the
foundation for success between our companies has been the continuous
sharing of knowledge and experiences, along with a constant fostering of a
shared design culture.”
This collaboration is exemplifi ed in the design of the 8RX. As ever the
process began with the simple stroke of a pen out in Newbury Park,
California, the home of Designworks. From there the pen sketches were
converted into digital design data then refi ned with the aid of CAD
(computer-aided design) before the fi rst 3D models emerged. Distinct
design details include the low position door handle, wider steps with two
width settings, and convenience lights.
“As we look to the future, we face more technological and digitalisation
challenges being balanced with a clean aesthetic appearance,” says
Heilmer. “As a part of the BMW Group, we strongly believe that design
leadership can help answer some of these challenges. Through
collaboration and cross-industrial knowledge exchange we are able to
develop compelling product solutions, for customers and business.”
iVTInternational.com February 2020 51
dedicated 1700
front axle, a
massive track
rod and special
steering cylinders.
“ ese tracks
maintain a height that
allows an extreme steering
circle and turning capability.”
Even the rear hitch has been moved
further back to ensure implements
don’t collide with the rear track
upon tight turning.
In the cab
John Deere has noticed the
challenge of hiring the right sta in
a climate of increasing urbanisation
across Europe.
With this in mind
the company has
created the most
comfortable, most
luxurious cab possible.
“We wanted an
appealing and sizeable
design that operators
would enjoy
driving,” says
Schowalter. “We
reached out to
some of the best
design engineers
(see A Winning
Team above) to
help us create the
Established
transmission
options include
the modern e23
with E ciency
Manager and the
stepless AutoPowr.
“With the 8RX the
tracks are speci cally designed
for this machine,” says Schowalter.
“A challenge of retro ts is the prerun
on the transmission. If you
simply bolt on another solution you
might get problems with the
transmission because you’re not
ideally matched to the pre-run
settings.” e entire steering system
has been augmented with a
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