PHOTO: RENÉ KOERHUIS PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD


FIRST PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE ▶▶▶


TIM makes baling easier and reduces stress


BY RENÉ KOERHUIS T


IM is short for Tractor Implement Management, an Isobus protocol with which an implement or ma- chine can request certain actions or


functions from tractors, such as bringing a tractor to a stop at exactly the right moment, adjusting the PTO speed, and operating the hitch and spool valves. Since early 2020 the first tractors and implements have been TIM certified. Future Farming took a seat next to the users of the very first combination in the Netherlands.


‘Just give it a try’ Since May this year, brothers Henk and Mari- nus Hertgers have run a TIM-compatible Deutz-Fahr 6185 TTV tractor and Krone Com- prima CF 155 XC variable baler-wrapper com- bination. When buying their new 6185 TTV, they did notice the small green TIM button in the cab and they also knew that their new Kro- ne is TIM certified. But initially they thought ‘what’s the point?’ Until their dealer proposed to activate the preliminary licences for free so that they could just try it out. “But,” says Mari- nus, “if we’d had to pay any license fees, we would have said no.” TIM license fees depend on the tractor brand and type, on the machine and on the Isobus terminal, but they generally vary from a one-off fee of € 500 to € 1,500. Only a trained eye can distinguish TIM-com- patible machinery from non-compatible ver- sions at first glance. In this case, the Deutz- Fahr 6185 TTV has an Isobus sticker on the lower rear window which the Krone Comprima CF 155 XC lacks. You won’t however find a TIM symbol on those stickers, as they’re all the same and purely meant to indicate Isobus compatibility. So prior to a purchase, it’s better to visit www.aef-isobus-database.org or use the app to check for TIM certifications in the AEF Isobus database. In this particular case, TIM functionality is limited to automatically stopping the tractor just before bale binding


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Future Farming took a seat next to the first drivers to experience the practical potential and benefits of TIM. Nonsense? Far from it, according to a Dutch contractor who didn’t even want it at first.


starts. If you run a solo Krone baler such as the VariPack V 190 XC, the opening of the tail gate is TIM controlled as well.


This is how you set it After connecting the baler’s Isobus plug to the tractor, both software versions check each other’s compatibility by ‘exchanging’ their TIM certificates when you start the trac- tor. Next you activate the TIM function on the tractor by pressing the small green TIM but- ton in the side console of the Deutz-Fahr. Then several squares appear on the Isobus terminal with four small quadrants/pies each. For every possible functionality, there’s a quadrant/pie that is either not coloured, or coloured yellow, or green. As soon as you see three green quadrants, TIM automation is


enabled on the tractor side. This applies to each individual functionality. Now, a pop-up window appears with again three (out of four) quadrants coloured green, a symbol of the functionalities involved (driving speed in this case) and the buttons ‘cancel’ and ‘accept’. Press ‘accept’ and the wheels of the Deutz- Fahr on the display turn orange instead of black and the squares change into a green rotor-like star. On the baler side, the same applies: as soon as you see three green quadrants for each availa- ble functionality, TIM automation is enabled and a pop-up window appears in which you press ‘accept’. In the main screen, a TIM button with a pause symbol appears at the right-hand bottom. This allows you to pause (and restart) the functionality.


If you run a solo Krone baler such as this VariPack V 190 XC with a TIM certified tractor brand and type, the opening of the tail gate is also TIM controlled.


▶ FUTURE FARMING | 20 November 2020


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