Intro. to The new John Deere 8000 Series SPFH - Episode 1

The 8000 series story began in 2007. Although we'd been building forage harvesters for more than 40 years, it was to be the most tested product we have ever built. This is the story of how we did. All began with our customers telling us what was good about our current machines and what we needed to improve. From the start, the team were tasked to question everything. The first designs were made at the click of a mouse. Finite element analysis used real field data to help identify potential stresses in new components. Here, the stress on a feed roll bearing is being tested. These early design were used in combination with what we call a mule. A hybrid of a 7000 series forager was equipped with over a thousand horsepower so we could field test every new component to maximum power. At the same time, we carried out lab testing on individual components, from axles to wiring systems. Experimenting with different loads, different systems, testing, testing and more testing. In early 2009, we were ready to build our first machines. By that time, we'd replaced 90% of the 7000 series over 5000 new components. These first machines were heavily disguised with a profile big enough to test different power configurations and engine layouts. Field data was gathered in lots of different conditions.