Tractor operation made possible by using a few oversized levers and a few light-emitting diodes in the past has been replaced today by huge displays, joysticks and many buttons. Preh has geared itself to this market with its "Commercial Vehicles HMI" division founded specifically for this purpose.
It has been more than thirty years since Preh started supplying agricultural machinery from well-known manufacturers such as John Deere with instruments and controls. John Deere tractors are equipped with so-called Preh shifters. John Deere was impressed not only by the shifters. The agricultural machinery manufacturer therefore sees its cooperation with Preh at "partner supplier" level - the highest rating a supplier can receive from John Deere.
Among other well-known agricultural machinery manufacturers in the Preh customer portfolio are Claas, which uses joysticks and operating elements from the automotive supplier, and Deutz Fahr.
Preh focuses on specific special solutions in its offering. These are individually tailored to the partner and always take place in close coordination. However, different standards must be applied for agricultural machinery technology products' requirement profile than in the automotive sector.
If the latter focus is more on a haptic experience and a high-quality ambience, commercial vehicles must be robust and even more durable equipment. This becomes all the more important the further a vehicle is used from the street. Dust, dirt and rain play an increasingly important role and must not impair the functionality in any way. That is why robustness and longevity mean switches, buttons and other operating elements must survive a test with 1.5 million actuations in order to be ready for series production.
By way of comparison: "Only" one-sixth of these operations is required for controls in the automotive sector.
In order to withstand such loads, high quality is required. Preh achieves this through extremely high level vertical integration up to 90%. From development to prefabrication, assembly and final inspection, almost everything is pre-developed, further advanced and processed at Preh in-house.
Preh develops complex operating concepts for modern agricultural machinery including the display, joystick and armrest. A concept study by Preh aims to reduce the number of agricultural machine switches and buttons in the cab cockpit and introduce ergonomic solutions that combine the work machine and office.
Control elements integrated in the armrest, ergonomic two-way control lever with a small touch sensor and double display unit that can be easily controlled with the sensor are just a few examples of such an agricultural machinery concept study. By means of active haptic feedback, noticeable feedback comparable to pressing a button, can be realized when a function is selected on the touch display. The operator immediately feels when the function has been confirmed. Thanks to this reduction in knobs, levers, rotary knobs and buttons, the agricultural machine cab cockpit is not only tidier, but also supports the vehicle operator in his work through clear usability
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