If you could only own one car in your life, what would you choose? Many people may choose a cool sports car or even a race car; some people may choose a car or a pickup. Given that I can choose any model, I will choose a tractor. With a powerful diesel engine and huge tires, I can drive it everywhere and do anything. Tractors are truly amazing all-purpose vehicles, but have you ever wondered what makes them so great?
Qu'est-ce qu'un tracteur ?
If you’ve ever driven behind a slow-moving car and couldn’t get up to speed, you might think a tractor is a hassle—but it’s not a fault, it’s by design, in English, “a tractor The word “tractor” is related to “traction and tractive”, and in Latin “tractus” means to pull: this means that a tractor is essentially a machine designed to pull objects, usually very slowly, reliable.
Tractors have powerful, high-powered diesel engines, which, in theory, means they should run as fast as a sports car. But on a tractor, the power of the engine is designed to be used in a completely different way: to propel heavy loads. This design is made possible by the tractor’s special gearbox, which converts the high-speed rotation of the powerful diesel engine into the low-speed rotation of the wheels, increasing the power that the tractor can use to pull objects. If you know a little bit about gears, you’ll see that tractors have incredible traction at the expense of speed.
Why was the tractor invented?
The tractor was originally invented to replace the animals that people use for farm work. American industrialist Henry Ford, one of the pioneers of the modern tractor, was inspired to want a machine that could work better on farms than horses.
Before the advent of tractors, cattle and horses made farming easier for farmers, but all they could do was move things, not fundamentally improving efficiency. The early tractors were just replacements for horses, so they were basically only used to transport goods. Early tractors were powered by coal and were called steam tractors, and they looked more like a small steam locomotive, with large, strong metal wheels that were able to roll on the road. It first appeared in the late 19th century when Henry Ford saw this early coal-powered beast machine, was inspired, and began to really develop his own tractor.
As he remembers in his autobiography “My Life and Work”: I can say with absolute certainty that after all the hassle and the cost of feeding a horse would bring in less than it would cost. The obvious thing to do is to design and build a steam engine that is light enough to pull an ordinary wagon or plow. I think it is more important to develop the tractor first. Taking farm chores out of meat and blood and onto steel and motors is my most determined ambition of all time. This idea inadvertently changed the world and fundamentally changed the way humans work, laying a solid material foundation for modern agriculture.
Rich functional properties
Modern tractors are much more complex than early towed tractors, and they can do all sorts of things, but thanks to some new features that have come along with technology.
drop bar Pulling heavy loads remains one of the most important jobs tractors do for farmers.
The tractor uses the drop bar to pull agricultural implements such as plows, trailers, hay balers, fertilizer spreaders, etc. The drop bar creates a safe and flexible connection anywhere behind the tractor. The drop bar also turns, making it easy for a tractor to pull its load into corners, though reversing can be a little tricky.
Hydraulic system
Both cows and horses can drag the heavy objects behind it, but because the tools often need to be moved from one place to another, sometimes they need to work in the ground, and sometimes they need to be lifted and transported. This problem greatly affects the work efficiency.
Modern tractors solve this problem by using a hydraulic power lift system. It can lift and lower the tools on the ground through the switch, and with the drawbar, the tractor can easily raise or lower the position of the plough when working in the field, and it can also be easily transported home after work. Popular science: The hydraulic suspension device is actually a lever mechanism that can lift the implement; it is powered by the hydraulic cylinder on either side, and is hydraulically connected to the power tool and power socket at the top, which can be used to supply power to the supporting agricultural machinery during work.
power output
Almost all modern tractors can use a power take-off (PTO) to power the accompanying farm implement. It is essentially a rotating shaft, usually at the rear of the tractor, and its power comes directly from the engine. To use the PTO, you need to connect a special swivel rod (gimbal joint) between the tractor and the machine. Machines like hay balers have rotating rakes, wheels and gears in them, when it is mounted to the tractor At the rear of the baler, and connected to the power take-off, the power of the tractor drives the machine inside the baler, and also drives its own wheels.
This is why traction-powered machines have to be driven relatively slowly: a small fraction of the engine power is diverted to the machinery behind. Looking closely at a tractor working in a field, you can often see the PTO shaft rotating between the tractor and the equipment it is pulling. But never get close to it: they spin at about 500rpm, which is very dangerous, and this is arguably the most dangerous place for a tractor.
Wheels & Tires
The most striking thing about the tractor is its huge wheels. The large pneumatic tires spread the tractor’s weight over a larger area, while the deep tread provides good grip and reduces power loss from skidding. The soft ground will cause the traditional wheels to sink quickly, but the tractor uses low pressure tires to increase the contact area with the ground, reduce the pressure on the ground, and achieve better passability.
Likewise, the more tire sets, the less damage the tractor will do to the soil it drives over. Most small tractors are two-wheel drive, the rear wheels are driven directly by the engine and the front wheels are used only for steering. Four-wheel drive tractors are more complex, more expensive, but more capable, and are gradually becoming mainstream.
Tractor tires are larger and bulkier than car tires, and usually don’t have separate tubes, which doesn’t mean they’re solid blocks of rubber, which means that air fills the entire space between the tire and the rim. Some tractors use buoyancy tires (extremely wide tires to spread the load and reduce sinking). These are all designed to provide extra pull, better passability and more grip.
control system
Driving a tractor may seem like an easy thing to do with driving a car, but it requires a lot of skill. Steering and braking are the foundation and key to the tractor driver’s safe control of heavy objects. Because tractors have a lot of dead weight and often need to work on steep slopes and wet, unstable ground, they are always at risk of tipping over, so modern tractors usually have reinforced cabs with protective Roller. Although tractors will never be considered to be used to enjoy life, most now have heated cabs, air conditioning, and some have GPS satellite navigation installed to help farmers plan how they farm with military precision .
French 
English 
Spanish 
German 
Russian 
Portuguese 
Arabic