IDEAL combine harvesters: Massey Ferguson implements the range

2024 marks a major technological upgrade for Massey Ferguson’s IDEAL range of combine harvesters. The most significant innovation concerns the IDEAL 7 for high-capacity harvesting, equipped with an even more robust engine than the previous model. This is the 9.8-litre AGCO 7-cylinder powertrain, with a rated output of 430 Hp, which is capable of delivering a maximum output of 476 Hp (25 more than its “predecessor”) and which is equipped with an efficient exhaust gas treatment system. Thanks to its simplified design – explains the manufacturer in a technical note – the new IDEAL 7 engine can use a single turbocharger without an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve. This solution – explains the company – improves the reliability of the machine and reduces its maintenance and operating costs. Another novelty, planned not only on the IDEAL 7 combine harvester but on the entire IDEAL line, is that relating to the suction device, which uses a hydraulically operated fan to collect dust in the feeder channel and to eject it on the right side, thus improving the operator’s view in dry and dusty conditions. Also new is the electrical orientation of the hopper discharge terminal, controlled by the multifunction lever. The device offers infinite adjustment within the 40° range of motion of the exhaust pipe terminal and this, the manufacturer always claims, allows to optimize the coordination between tractor and trailer. AutoTurn technology helps optimize field operations. The device, designed to automatically steer the combine harvester to the next track, was implemented by Massey Ferguson with the end-of-field maneuver management function: when the combine approaches the headland, the system performs the entire procedure (including raising the bar, repositioning the reel, steering to the next trajectory and lowering the bar to the cutting position) without user intervention. On the entire IDEAL line, the manufacturer has also planned a new series of heavy-duty straw chopper knives with carbon treatment that extends their sharpening and durability over time. The knives can be used together with BaseCut or ShortCut straw chopper. Finally, among the range implementations, the introduction of a device for the discharge of grass seeds, equipped with long fingers that shake the tank and improve the flow of the product, and the availability in the price list of a kit for crop conversion, which includes counter-beaters, grids and screens to switch from small to large beans or vice versa.