116-497: The Caterpillar D9 is a large track-type tractor designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. It is usually sold as a bulldozer equipped with a detachable large blade and a rear ripper attachment. The D9, with 354 kW (474 hp ) of gross power and an operating weight of 49 short tons (44 t), is in the upper end of Caterpillar's track-type tractors, which range in size from the D2 69 kW (92 hp), 9 short tons (8.2 t), to
232-666: A caterpillar , and Holt seized on the metaphor . "Caterpillar it is. That's the name for it!" Some sources, though, attribute this name to British soldiers who had witnessed trials of the Hornsby tractor in July 1907. Two years later, Holt sold his first steam-powered tractor crawlers for US$ 5,500, about US$ 185,000 in 2024. Each side featured a track frame measured 30 inches (760 mm) high by 42 inches (1,100 mm) wide and were 9 feet (2.7 m) long. The tracks were 3 inches (76 mm) by 4 inches (100 mm) redwood slats. Holt received
348-407: A trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture , mining or construction . Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially (and originally) tillage , and now many more. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if
464-491: A 20 hp (15 kW) engine. In 1897, it was bought by Mr. Locke-King, the first recorded British tractor sale. That year, it won a Silver Medal from the Royal Agricultural Society of England . It later returned to the factory for a caterpillar track fitting. The first commercially successful light-weight petrol-powered general purpose tractor was built by Dan Albone , a British inventor in 1901. He filed for
580-504: A Ferguson-designed hydraulic hitch. In 1938 Ferguson entered into a collaboration with Henry Ford to produce the Ford-Ferguson 9N tractor . The three-point hitch soon became the favorite hitch attachment system among farmers around the world. This tractor model also included a rear Power Take Off (PTO) shaft that could be used to power three point hitch mounted implements such as sickle-bar mowers. In 1969, General Electric introduced
696-525: A field to haul a plow back and forth between them using a wire cable. In Britain Mann's and Garrett developed steam tractors for direct ploughing, but the heavy, wet soil of England meant that these designs were less economical than a team of horses. In the United States , where soil conditions permitted, steam tractors were used to direct-haul plows. Steam-powered agricultural engines remained in use well into
812-429: A list of some 400 products for purchase through its dealer network. Caterpillar's line of machines range from tracked tractors to hydraulic excavators , backhoe loaders , motor graders , off-highway trucks, wheel loaders , agricultural tractors , and locomotives. Caterpillar machinery is used in the construction, road-building , mining, forestry , energy, transportation, and material-handling industries. Caterpillar
928-488: A locomotive-style boiler with horizontal smoke tubes. A large flywheel was mounted on the crankshaft, and a stout leather belt was used to transfer the drive to the equipment being driven. In the 1850s, John Fowler used a Clayton & Shuttleworth portable engine to drive apparatus in the first public demonstrations of the application of cable haulage to cultivation. In parallel with the early portable engine development, many engineers attempted to make them self-propelled –
1044-410: A means to transfer power to another machine such as a baler , swather , or mower . Unless it functions solely by pulling it through or over the ground, a towed implement needs its own power source (such as a baler or combine with a separate engine) or else a means of transmitting power from the tractor to the mechanical operations of the equipment. Early tractors used belts or cables wrapped around
1160-808: A military version of the D9 per se , but the attributes that make the D9 popular for major construction projects make it desirable for military applications, as well, and with Israeli modifications and armor , it has been particularly effective for the Israel Defense Forces and also used by KBR in Iraq. The US Army used D9 bulldozers to clear forest in the Vietnam War , but after the war, they were replaced with smaller and cheaper Caterpillar D7G bulldozers. D7G bulldozers are still very common in US combat engineering battalions, but
1276-431: A number of contractual , trademark , and patent infringement lawsuits. Harry H. Fair of the bond brokerage house of Pierce, Fair & Company of San Francisco had helped to finance C. L. Best's debt and Holt shareholders approached him about their company's financial difficulty. Fair recommended that the two companies should merge. In April and May 1925, the financially stronger C. L. Best merged with
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#17328445287261392-411: A part of the tractor, almost as if it were attached by a fixed mount. Previously, when the implement hit an obstacle, the towing link broke or the tractor flipped over. Ferguson's idea was to combine a connection via two lower and one upper lift arms that were connected to a hydraulic lifting ram. The ram was, in turn, connected to the upper of the three links so the increased drag (as when a plough hits
1508-470: A patent on 15 February 1902 for his tractor design and then formed Ivel Agricultural Motors Limited. The other directors were Selwyn Edge , Charles Jarrott , John Hewitt and Lord Willoughby . He called his machine the Ivel Agricultural Motor; the word "tractor" came into common use after Hart-Parr created it. The Ivel Agricultural Motor was light, powerful and compact. It had one front wheel, with
1624-542: A patent, Froelich started up the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company and invested all of his assets. The venture was very unsuccessful, and by 1895 all was lost and he went out of business. Richard Hornsby & Sons are credited with producing and selling the first oil-engined tractor in Britain, invented by Herbert Akroyd Stuart . The Hornsby-Akroyd Patent Safety Oil Traction Engine was made in 1896 with
1740-504: A plant in the Midwest , despite the hefty capital needed to retool the plant, proved so profitable that only two years later, the company employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Tractors were built in both Stockton and East Peoria. On January 31, 2017, the company announced plans to move their headquarters from Peoria to Deerfield, Illinois , by the end of 2017. The new location at 500 Lake Cook Road
1856-499: A range of applications where the operator of the machine benefits from having accurate horizontal and vertical guidance. CTCT is based in Dayton, Ohio , and started its operations on April 1, 2002. Caterpillar introduced the Challenger range of agricultural tractors as the result of several development programs over a long period of time. The program started in the 1970s and involved both
1972-550: A result, one can pull the powershift transmission out of the rear. The 370 hp (280 kW) D9N replaced the D8 L in 1987. In 1988, Caterpillar produced their 25,000th elevated-drive-sprocket track-type tractor, a D9N. The 405 hp (302 kW) D9R replaced the D9N in 1996. The 410 hp (310 kW) D9T replaced the D9R in 2004. The D9T has a low-emissions ACERT diesel engine. The current model
2088-529: A risk-mitigation standpoint because of what can go wrong if the operator makes a mistake – transmission damage is possible, and loss of vehicle control can occur if the tractor is towing a heavy load either uphill or downhill – something that tractors often do. Therefore, operator's manuals for most of these tractors state one must always stop the tractor before shifting. In newer designs, unsynchronized transmission designs were replaced with synchronization or with continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). Either
2204-403: A rock) caused the hydraulics to lift the implement until the obstacle was passed. Recently, Bobcat's patent on its front loader connection (inspired by these earlier systems) has expired, and compact tractors are now being outfitted with quick-connect attachments for their front-end loaders . In addition to towing an implement or supplying tractive power through the wheels, most tractors have
2320-433: A rollover risk depending on how the tractive torque was applied. The Fordson tractor was prone to roll backward due to an excessively short wheelbase. The linkage between the implement and the tractor usually had some slack which could lead to jerky starts and greater wear and tear on the tractor and the equipment. Drawbars were appropriate to the dawn of mechanization, because they were very simple in concept and because as
2436-467: A self-propelled one. The alteration was made by fitting a long driving chain between the crankshaft and the rear axle. The first half of the 1860s was a period of great experimentation but by the end of the decade the standard form of the traction engine had evolved and changed little over the next sixty years. It was widely adopted for agricultural use. The first tractors were steam-powered plowing engines . They were used in pairs, placed on either side of
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#17328445287262552-415: A separate, implement-mounted power source, which is almost never seen in modern farm equipment. It is also optional to get a front PTO as well when buying a new tractor. Virtually all modern tractors can also provide external hydraulic fluid and electrical power to the equipment they are towing, either by hoses or wires. Modern tractors have many electrical switches and levers in the cab for controlling
2668-532: A series of oft-recurrent suggestions have been made to replace the lighter D7Gs with the newer and more heavily armored D9s. currently the US Army fields around 1300 D7r’s that are a combination of armored and non armored. The Caterpillar D9 have been used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since it was introduced, but an armored model, with Israeli-developed vehicle armor kit, was introduced only in 1986, on
2784-535: A solid rubber tyre, and two large rear wheels like a modern tractor. The engine used water cooling, utilizing the thermo-syphon effect. It had one forward and one reverse gear. A pulley wheel on the left hand side allowed it to be used as a stationary engine , driving a wide range of agricultural machinery. The 1903 sale price was £300. His tractor won a medal at the Royal Agricultural Show , in 1903 and 1904. About 500 were built, and many were exported all over
2900-410: A synchronized manual transmission with enough available gear ratios (often achieved with dual ranges, high and low) or a CVT allow the engine speed to be matched to the desired final-drive speed, while keeping engine speed within the appropriate speed (as measured in rotations per minute or rpm) range for power generation (the working range) (whereas throttling back to achieve the desired final-drive speed
3016-421: A two-point "Fast Hitch", and John Deere had a power lift that was somewhat similar to the more flexible Ferguson invention. Once the patent protection expired on the three-point hitch, it became an industry standard. Almost every tractor today features Ferguson's three-point linkage or a derivative of it. This hitch allows for easy attachment and detachment of implements while allowing the implement to function as
3132-454: Is a plug-in, powered by an electrical cable. Kubota is prototyping an autonomous electric tractor. Most older farm tractors use a manual transmission with several gear ratios , typically three to six, sometimes multiplied into two or three ranges. This arrangement provides a set of discrete ratios that, combined with the varying of the throttle, allow final-drive speeds from less than one up to about 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), with
3248-523: Is a trade-off that leaves the working range). The problems, solutions, and developments described here also describe the history of transmission evolution in semi-trailer trucks . The biggest difference is fleet turnover; whereas most of the old road tractors have long since been scrapped, many of the old farm tractors are still in use. Therefore, old transmission design and operation is primarily just of historical interest in trucking, whereas in farming it still often affects daily life. The power produced by
3364-510: Is intended for use in loosening rocky ground and ripping out larger stones. It can also break frozen ground and excavate small ditches. The ripper can be replaced with a multi-shank ripper, allowing the bulldozer to comb the ground. The size, power, and weight of the larger track-type tractors dictate that they are used primarily for major projects. The D9 is most commonly found in use in construction, demolition, forestry, mining, waste, and quarry operations. Caterpillar Inc. does not manufacture
3480-454: Is the D9T; however, older models such as the D9R, D9N, and D9L are still commonly used. The L, N, R, and T models of the D9 are visually very similar, differing primarily in the design of their internal systems. The D9L was replaced by the 520 hp (390 kW) D10N in 1987. The 370 hp (280 kW) D9N replaced D8L in 1987. The main difference between the D9T and the D9R is the installment of
3596-534: Is the former site of a Fiatallis plant that manufactured wheel loaders for many years. On June 14, 2022, the company announced plans to move its global headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas , beginning later in the year, citing "the best strategic interest of the company." The first tanks used in WWI were manufactured by William Foster & Co. , also in Lincolnshire, England, and were introduced to
Caterpillar D9 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-443: Is the replacement of wheels or steel crawler-type tracks with flexible, steel-reinforced rubber tracks, usually powered by hydrostatic or completely hydraulic driving mechanisms. The configuration of these tractors bears little resemblance to the classic farm tractor design. The predecessors of modern tractors, traction engines, used steam engines for power. Since the turn of the 20th century, internal combustion engines have been
3828-579: Is the world's largest manufacturer of wheel loaders. The small size wheel loaders (SWL) are designed and manufactured at facilities in Clayton, North Carolina . The medium size (MWL) and large size (LWL) are designed at their Aurora, Illinois facility. Medium wheel loaders are manufactured at: Aurora, Illinois ; Sagamihara, Kanagawa , Japan; Piracicaba , São Paulo, Brazil; India ; and the People's Republic of China . Large wheel loaders are manufactured exclusively in
3944-551: Is via a quick hitch, which is attached to the three-point hitch. This enables a single person to attach an implement quicker and put the person in less danger when attaching the implement. The three-point hitch revolutionized farm tractors and their implements. While the Ferguson System was still under patent, other manufacturers developed new hitching systems to try to fend off some of Ferguson's competitive advantage. For example, International Harvester's Farmall tractors gained
4060-576: The 2 Ton , 5 Ton , and 10 Ton from the Holt Manufacturing Company's old product line and the Caterpillar 30 and Caterpillar 60 from the C. L. Best Tractor Co.'s former product line. The 10 Ton and 5 Ton models were discontinued in 1926. In 1928, the 2 Ton was discontinued. Sales the first year were US$ 13 million. By 1929, sales climbed to US$ 52.8 million, and Caterpillar continued to grow throughout
4176-465: The 6-inch howitzer , the 60-pounder , and later the 9.2-inch howitzer. Holt tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British tank , which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics. Major Ernest Swinton , sent to France as an army war correspondent , very soon saw the potential of a track-laying tractor. Although the British later chose an English firm to build its first tanks,
4292-535: The D11 698 kW (935 hp), 104 short tons (94 t). The size, durability, reliability, and low operating costs have made the D9 one of the most popular large track-type tractors in the world. The D9 is a series of heavy tracked-type tractors, carried on continuous tracks and usually used as bulldozers . The series began in 1954 with a prototype tractor called the D9X. Ten D9X prototype models were built in 1954. In 1955,
4408-789: The Elec-Trak , the first commercial, electric tractor (electric-powered garden tractor). The Elec-Trak was manufactured by General Electric until 1975. Electric tractors are manufactured by a German company, Fendt , and by US companies, Solectrac and Monarch Tractor. John Deere 's protoype electric tractor is a plug-in, powered by an electrical cable. Kubota is prototyping an autonomous electric tractor. Tractors can be generally classified by number of axles or wheels, with main categories of two-wheel tractors (single-axle tractors) and four-wheel tractors (two-axle tractors); more axles are possible but uncommon. Among four-wheel tractors (two-axle tractors), most are two-wheel drive (usually at
4524-664: The Great Depression of the 1930s. Caterpillar adopted the diesel engine to replace gasoline engines. During World War II , Caterpillar products found fame with the Seabees , construction battalions of the United States Navy , which built airfields and other facilities in the Pacific Theater of Operations . Caterpillar ranked 44th among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts. During
4640-551: The IDF Caterpillar D9 was involved in an incident in 2003, in which the American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer to demolish Gaza homes. A lawsuit against Caterpillar by her family and families of Palestinians, who were also killed by Caterpillar equipment, was unsuccessful. A lawsuit against Israel and Israeli Defense Ministry was rejected by an Israeli court, ruling that her death
4756-531: The Second Intifada (2000–2005) to demolish Palestinian structures and clear improvised explosive devices . The Israeli armor provides protection from small arms and explosives, and the bulldozers were used the Battle of Jenin 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield . A 2003 incident involving an IDF D9, in which a 23-year-old American activist was killed , resulted in a lawsuit brought against Caterpillar, Inc. in
Caterpillar D9 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-450: The Yukon , one example of which was in operation until 1927, and remnants of it still exist. Hornsby found a limited market for their tractor, so they sold their patent to Holt five years after its development. Company photographer Charles Clements, looking at the machine's upside-down image through his camera lens, commented that the track rising and falling over the carrier rollers looked like
4988-413: The flywheel or a separate belt pulley to power stationary equipment, such as a threshing machine, buzz saw, silage blower, or stationary baler. In most cases, it was impractical for the tractor and equipment to move with a flexible belt or cable between them, so this system required the tractor to remain in one location, with the work brought to the equipment, or the tractor to be relocated at each turn and
5104-554: The 1890s and early 1900s were extremely heavy, sometimes weighing 1,000 pounds (450 kg) per horsepower , and often sank into the earth of the San Joaquin Valley Delta farmland surrounding Stockton, California . Benjamin Holt attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to 7.5 feet (2.3 m) tall and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, producing a tractor 46 feet (14 m) wide, but this also made
5220-493: The 1910s, when they became smaller and more affordable. Henry Ford introduced the Fordson , a wildly popular mass-produced tractor, in 1917. They were built in the U.S., Ireland, England and Russia, and by 1923, Fordson had 77% of the U.S. market. The Fordson dispensed with a frame, using the strength of the engine block to hold the machine together. By the 1920s, tractors with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines had become
5336-611: The 20th century until reliable internal combustion engines had been developed. The first gasoline powered tractors were built in Illinois, by John Charter combining single cylinder Otto engines with a Rumley Steam engine chassis, in 1889. In 1892, John Froelich built a gasoline-powered tractor in Clayton County, Iowa , US. A Van Duzen single-cylinder gasoline engine was mounted on a Robinson engine chassis, which could be controlled and propelled by Froelich's gear box. After receiving
5452-453: The 286 hp (213 kW) D9 was introduced to compete against the more powerful Euclid TC-12. The D9 came equipped with a 1,473 cid D353, which powered the D9 until the 1980 introduction of the D9L. In 1956, the D9 had its engine power raised to 320 hp (240 kW). The new 335 hp (250 kW) D9E replaced that model in 1959. Two years later, the legendary 385 hp (287 kW) D9G
5568-1105: The Asian market. The first machine was scheduled for production in March 2009. URS Ausino, in San Francisco, California, manages facility construction. Caterpillar has manufactured in Brazil since 1960. In 2010 the company announced plans to further expand production of backhoe and small wheel loaders with a new factory. Caterpillar has been manufacturing machines, engines, and generator sets in India, as well. Caterpillar has three facilities in India, which are in Tamil Nadu (Thiruvallur and Hosur) and Maharastra (Aurangabad). In addition to increasing sales of its core products, much of Caterpillar's growth has been through acquisitions, including: 2 May 2013: "We continuously evaluate our strategic portfolio to ensure alignment with our long-term strategy and have concluded
5684-674: The C7 to use common rail fuel injectors and improved ACERT electronics. In 1998 Caterpillar purchased Perkins Engines of Peterborough, England, a maker of small diesel and gasoline engines. Perkins engines are used in various applications. Perkins engine products are dual branded with the Perkins nameplate for both loose and OEM engines, and the CAT nameplate for captive engines within Caterpillar products. In June 2008, Caterpillar announced it would be exiting
5800-687: The Caterpillar engines put the United States' submarine force at risk for cyberattack . In a 2015 interview on cybersecurity, the United States Navy clarified that Caterpillar actually has some of the most secure control systems. It will be used as a model of how the Navy will design cyber protections into its control systems. The Israel Defense Forces ' use of highly modified Caterpillar D9 bulldozers has led to Caterpillar being criticized by pro-Palestinian activists and some shareholders. In particular,
5916-470: The Challenger and CAT names and livery to them. This ended Cat's venture into agriculture. Caterpillar provides financing and insurance services to customers via Cat Financial and Caterpillar Insurance Services, both of which are subsidiaries of Caterpillar, Inc. Cat Financial provides retail and wholesale financing for Caterpillar products and services, in addition to other equipment provided or facilitated by
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#17328445287266032-685: The D6-based units and the Grader power units. A parallel program was also developing wheeled high hp tractors based on using the articulated loading shovel chassis was later merged with the crawler team. The result was the Challenger Tractor and the "Mobi-Trac" system. The Challenger has been marketed in Europe as Claas machines since 1997, with Caterpillar marketing the Claas-built Lexion combine range in
6148-566: The D9L. The IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer is operated by combat soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps after going through a 2-month course. Many of the D9 operators are reservists and veterans, who operated heavy equipment also as civilians. The current models of the D9 employed by the IDF are the D9L, D9N, D9R, and D9T. Most of the IDF's D9 fleet today are composed of the D9R with slat armor . IDF D9 bulldozers were used during
6264-697: The Global Fortune 500 list. Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Caterpillar Inc. traces its origins to the 1925 merger of the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C. L. Best Tractor Company, creating a new entity, California-based Caterpillar Tractor Company. In 1986, the company reorganized itself as a Delaware corporation under the current name, Caterpillar Inc. It announced in January 2017 that over
6380-585: The Holt tractor became "one of the most important military vehicles of all time." Holt tractors had become well known during World War I . Military contracts formed the major part of the company's production. When the war ended, Holt's planned expansion to meet the military's needs was abruptly terminated. The heavy-duty tractors needed by the military were unsuitable for farmers. The company's situation worsened when artillery tractors were returned from Europe, depressing prices for new equipment and Holt's unsold inventory of military tractors. The company struggled with
6496-470: The Israeli army, among them Caterpillar. The Caterpillar Electronics business unit has formed Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC (CTCT), a 50:50 joint venture with Trimble Inc . CTCT develops positioning and control products for earthmoving and paving machines in the construction and mining industries, using technologies such as GNSS, optical total stations, lasers, and sonics. The products are used in
6612-657: The UK's Titan armored bridge layer , Trojan combat engineering tank , Terrier combat engineering vehicles , and tank transporters ; the Romanian MLI-84 armored personnel carrier ; and the Swiss Piranha III light armored vehicle , which is currently being developed for use by American light armored formations; large fleets of military trucks in both the U.S. and UK; and the CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles used by
6728-542: The USA. Claas and Caterpillar formed a joint venture, Claas Omaha , to build combine harvesters in Omaha, Nebraska, USA under the CAT brand. In 2002, Cat sold its stake to Claas, and licensed the use of CAT and the CAT yellow livery to Claas. They are marketed as Lexion combines now. Also in 2002, Caterpillar sold the Challenger tracked tractor business to AGCO and licensed the use of
6844-527: The United States on three separate assembly lines at Aurora, Illinois. Caterpillar began selling a line of on-road trucks in 2011, the Cat CT660 , a Class 8 vocational truck . As of March 2016, Caterpillar has ceased production of on-highway vocational trucks stating that “Remaining a viable competitor in this market would require significant additional investment to develop and launch a complete portfolio of trucks, and upon an updated review, we determined there
6960-609: The United States, and is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The two-cylinder engine has a unique hit-and-miss firing cycle that produced 30 hp (22 kW) at the belt and 18 hp (13 kW) at the drawbar. In 1908, the Saunderson Tractor and Implement Co. of Bedford introduced a four-wheel design, and became the largest tractor manufacturer in Britain at
7076-414: The United States. The court dismissed the case on grounds that it was outside their jurisdiction, and that Israeli tort law was a sufficient avenue to pursue remedies. Today, the D9 is one of the main combat engineering tools of the IDF. Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque ) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling
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#17328445287267192-805: The armies of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. This division also provides both propulsion engines and power generation systems to the naval shipbuilding industry , such as the Series 3512B turbocharged V-12 diesel engine for American Virginia -class nuclear submarines . Caterpillar diesel engines are also used in San Antonio -class amphibious transport docks , Spanish Álvaro de Bazán -class frigates , British River-class offshore patrol vessels , Mexican Sierra -class patrol boats, and Malaysian Kedah -class MEKO A-100 offshore patrol vessels. The poor network security of
7308-407: The back. The blade is mainly intended for earthmoving and bulk material handling: pushing up sand, soil, and rubble. It also can be used to push other heavy equipment such as earthmoving scraper pans, and in military applications, main battle tanks . The dozer blade usually has three variants: Like many other bulldozers, the D9 can be fitted with other devices, such as mine plows . The rear ripper
7424-477: The battlefield in 1916. That company had collaborated with Hornsby in the development of the vehicles demonstrated to the British military in 1907, providing the paraffin (kerosene) engines. Holt's track-type tractors played a support role in World War I. Even before the U.S. formally entered WWI, Holt had shipped 1,200 tractors to England, France, and Russia for agricultural purposes. These governments, however, sent
7540-526: The clutches. Twinned brake pedals - one each for left and right side wheels- are placed together on the right side. Some have a pedal for a foot throttle on the far right. Unlike automobiles, throttle speed can also be controlled by a hand-operated lever ("hand throttle"), which may be set to a fixed position. This helps provide a constant speed in field work. It also helps provide continuous power for stationary tractors that are operating an implement by PTO shaft or axle driven belt. The foot throttle gives
7656-445: The company licensed the Cat phone brand of toughened mobile phones and rugged smartphones from 2012 to 2024. Caterpillar machinery and other company-branded products are recognizable by their trademark "Caterpillar Yellow" livery and the "CAT" logo. The company traces its roots to the steam tractor machines manufactured by the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1890. The steam tractors of
7772-458: The company's own vehicles, are used as the prime movers in locomotives , semi trucks , marine vessels, and ships, as well as providing the power source for peak-load power plants and emergency generators . Caterpillar 3116 engine was used up until 1997, when Caterpillar introduced the inline 6 cylinder 7.2 litre Caterpillar 3126 engine as its first electronic diesel engine for light trucks and buses. Caterpillar decreased emissions and noise
7888-448: The course of that year, it would relocate its headquarters from Peoria, Illinois, to Deerfield, Illinois , scrapping plans from 2015 of building an $ 800 million new headquarters complex in downtown Peoria. Its headquarters are located in Irving, Texas , since 2022. The company also licenses and markets a line of clothing and workwear boots under its Cat / Caterpillar name. Additionally,
8004-487: The early 19th century were portable engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Richard Trevithick designed the first 'semi-portable' stationary steam engine for agricultural use, known as a "barn engine" in 1812, and it was used to drive a corn threshing machine. The truly portable engine was invented in 1839 by William Tuxford of Boston, Lincolnshire who started manufacture of an engine built around
8120-510: The engine compartment. This basic design has remained unchanged for a number of years after being pioneered by Wallis, but enclosed cabs are fitted on almost all modern models, for operator safety and comfort. In some localities with heavy or wet soils, notably in the Central Valley of California, the "Caterpillar" or "crawler" type of tracked tractor became popular due to superior traction and flotation. These were usually maneuvered through
8236-430: The engine must be transmitted to the implement or equipment to do the actual work intended for the equipment. This may be accomplished via a drawbar or hitch system if the implement is to be towed or otherwise pulled through the tractive power of the engine, or via a pulley or power takeoff system if the implement is stationary, or a combination of the two. Plows and other tillage equipment are most commonly connected to
8352-646: The first patent for a practical continuous track for use with a tractor on December 7, 1907, for his improved "Traction Engine" ("improvement in vehicles, and especially of the traction engine class; and included endless traveling platform supports upon which the engine is carried"). On February 2, 1910, Holt opened up a plant in East Peoria , Illinois, led by his nephew Pliny Holt. There, Pliny met farm implement dealer Murray Baker , who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam traction engines . Baker, who later became
8468-511: The first SxS D9G, which has two D9Gs side-by-side, pushing a 24-foot (7.3 m)-wide bulldozer blade. In 1969, Caterpillar introduced this new SxS D9G. In 1974, the improved 410 hp (310 kW) D9H was introduced to replace the D9G. The D9H is still the most powerful conventional track-type tractor in company history. The DD9H and the SxS D9H soon followed. In 1980, the 460 hp (340 kW) D9L
8584-571: The first executive vice president of what became Caterpillar Tractor Company, wrote to Holt headquarters in Stockton and described the plant of the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria. On October 25, 1909, Pliny Holt purchased the factory, and immediately began operations with 12 employees. Holt incorporated it as the Holt Caterpillar Company, although he did not trademark the name Caterpillar until August 2, 1910. The addition of
8700-484: The fore-runners of the traction engine . In most cases this was achieved by fitting a sprocket on the end of the crankshaft, and running a chain from this to a larger sprocket on the rear axle. These experiments met with mixed success. The first proper traction engine , in the form recognisable today, was developed in 1859 when British engineer Thomas Aveling modified a Clayton & Shuttleworth portable engine , which had to be hauled from job to job by horses, into
8816-453: The forward power unit while the trailing unit is not steered separately. In the early 21st century, articulated or non-articulated, steerable multitrack tractors have largely supplanted the Caterpillar type for farm use. Larger types of modern farm tractors include articulated four-wheel or eight-wheel drive units with one or two power units which are hinged in the middle and steered by hydraulic clutches or pumps. A relatively recent development
8932-431: The implement being semi-permanently attached with bolts or other mounting hardware. Usually, it was impractical to remove the implement and reinstall it on a day-to-day basis. As a result, the tractor was unavailable for other uses and dedicated to a single use for an appreciable period of time. An implement was generally mounted at the beginning of its season of use (such as tillage, planting or harvesting) and removed when
9048-518: The implement is mechanised. The word tractor was taken from Latin , being the agent noun of trahere "to pull". The first recorded use of the word meaning "an engine or vehicle for pulling wagons or plows" occurred in 1896, from the earlier term " traction motor" (1859). In the UK , Ireland , Australia , India , Spain , Argentina , Slovenia , Serbia , Croatia , the Netherlands , and Germany ,
9164-544: The large tractors from the company's product line and introduced smaller models focused on the agricultural market. When the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 funded a US$ 1 billion federal highway building program, Baxter began refocusing the company towards building road-construction equipment. Both companies also faced fierce competition from the Fordson company. Between 1907 and 1918, Best and Holt had spent about US$ 1.5 million in legal fees fighting each other in
9280-531: The lower speeds used for working the land and the highest speed used on the road. Slow, controllable speeds are necessary for most of the operations performed with a tractor. They help give the farmer a larger degree of control in certain situations, such as field work. When travelling on public roads, the slow operating speeds can cause problems, such as long queues or tailbacks, which can delay or annoy motorists in cars and trucks. These motorists are responsible for being duly careful around farm tractors and sharing
9396-555: The market leader Holt Caterpillar to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. The new company was headquartered in San Leandro until 1930, when under the terms of the merger, it was moved to Peoria. Baxter had been removed as CEO earlier in 1925, and Clarence Leo Best assumed the title of CEO, and remained in that role until October 1951. The Caterpillar company consolidated its product lines, offering only five track-type tractors:
9512-458: The multitude of different functions available on the tractor. Some modern farm tractors retain a traditional manual transmission ; increasingly they have hydraulically driven powershift transmissions and CVT, which vastly simplify operation. Those with powershift transmissions have identical pedal arrangements on the floor for the operator to actuate, replacing a clutch pedal on the far left with an inching pedal that cuts off hydraulic flow to
9628-550: The new Cat C18 ACERT inline-six engine in the D9T vs the V8 3408 HEUI in the D9R. The D9R has clutch and brake steering, while the D9T has differential steering. The D9L is the most powerful D9 in history, with a flywheel power of 460 hp (340 kW). The D9L is also the heaviest D9 in history at 130,000 pounds (59,000 kg). The D9's primary working tools are the blade, affixed to the front and controlled by four hydraulic cylinders, and an optional ripper , which can be attached to
9744-726: The next year in the 3126B version of the engine, and improved emissions further in 2002 with the 3126E which had an improved high-pressure oil pump and improved electronics. In 2003 Caterpillar started selling a new version of this engine called the C-7 to meet increased United States emission standards that came into effect in 2004; it had the same overall design as the 3126 version, but with improved fuel injectors and electronics which included its new Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology (ACERT) system. In 2007, as ultra-low-sulfur diesel became required in North America, Caterpillar updated
9860-460: The norm. The first three-point hitches were experimented with in 1917. After Harry Ferguson applied for a British patent for his three-point hitch in 1926, they became popular. A three-point attachment of the implement to the tractor is the simplest and the only statically determinate way of joining two bodies in engineering. The Ferguson-Brown Company produced the Model A Ferguson-Brown tractor with
9976-625: The on-highway diesel engine market in the United States before updated 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission standards took effect, as costly changes to the engines, which only constituted a small percentage of Caterpillar's total engine sales, would be likely. In October 2010, Caterpillar announced it would buy German engine-manufacturer MWM GmbH from 3i for $ 810 million. The Caterpillar Defence Products subsidiary, headquartered in Shrewsbury , United Kingdom, provides diesel engines, automatic transmissions, and other parts for
10092-460: The operator more automobile-like control over the speed of a mobile tractor in any operation. Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. , also known as Cat , is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the Fortune 500 list and number 265 on
10208-415: The operator to engage the clutch to shift between gears. This mode of use is inherently unsuited to some of the work tractors do, and has been circumvented in various ways over the years. For existing unsynchronized tractors, the methods of circumvention are double clutching or power-shifting, both of which require the operator to rely on skill to speed-match the gears while shifting, and are undesirable from
10324-459: The postwar construction boom, the company grew at a rapid pace, and launched its first venture outside the U.S. in 1950, marking the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a multinational corporation . In 2018, Caterpillar was in the process of restructuring, closing a demonstration center in Panama and an engine-manufacturing facility in Illinois. Caterpillar built its first Russian facility in
10440-406: The power set-up reapplied (as in cable-drawn plowing systems used in early steam tractor operations). Modern tractors use a power take-off (PTO) shaft to provide rotary power to machinery that may be stationary or pulled. The PTO shaft generally is at the rear of the tractor, and can be connected to an implement that is either towed by a drawbar or a three-point hitch. This eliminates the need for
10556-481: The power source of choice. Between 1900 and 1960, gasoline was the predominant fuel, with kerosene (the Rumely Oil Pull was the most notable of this kind)being a common alternative. Generally, one engine could burn any of those, although cold starting was easiest on gasoline. Often, a small auxiliary fuel tank was available to hold gasoline for cold starting and warm-up, while the main fuel tank held whatever fuel
10672-502: The production of its new Best Model 60 "Tracklayer". Both companies were adversely impacted by the transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy, which contributed to a nationwide depression , further inhibiting sales. On December 5, 1920, 71-year-old Benjamin Holt died after a month-long illness. The banks and bankers who held the company's large debt forced the Holt board of directors to accept their candidate, Thomas A. Baxter, to succeed Benjamin Holt. Baxter initially cut
10788-425: The rear ); but many are two-wheel drive with front wheel assist, four-wheel drive (often with articulated steering), or track crawler (with steel or rubber tracks). The classic farm tractor is a simple open vehicle , with two very large driving wheels on an axle below a single seat (the seat and steering wheel consequently are in the center), and the engine in front of the driver, with two steerable wheels below
10904-548: The road with them, but many shirk this responsibility, so various ways to minimize the interaction or minimize the speed differential are employed where feasible. Some countries (for example the Netherlands ) employ a road sign on some roads that means "no farm tractors". Some modern tractors, such as the JCB Fastrac, are now capable of much higher road speeds of around 50 mph (80 km/h). Older tractors usually have unsynchronized transmission designs, which often require
11020-441: The season ended. The drawbar system was virtually the exclusive method of attaching implements (other than direct attachment to the tractor) before Harry Ferguson developed the three-point hitch . Equipment attached to the three-point hitch can be raised or lowered hydraulically with a control lever. The equipment attached to the three-point hitch is usually completely supported by the tractor. Another way to attach an implement
11136-514: The second world war, Petrolium based fuel was scarce in many European nations. So they resorted to using wood gasifires on every vehicle, including tractors. In some countries such as Germany, biodiesel is often used. Some other biofuels such as straight vegetable oil are also being used by some farmers. Prototype battery powered electric tractors are being developed by a German company, Fendt , and by two US companies, Solectrac and Monarch Tractor. John Deere 's protoype electric tractor
11252-544: The time. While the earlier, heavier tractors were initially very successful, it became increasingly apparent at this time that the weight of a large supporting frame was less efficient than lighter designs. Henry Ford introduced a light-weight, mass-produced design which largely displaced the heavier designs. Some companies halfheartedly followed suit with mediocre designs, as if to disprove the concept, but they were largely unsuccessful in that endeavor. While unpopular at first, these gasoline-powered machines began to catch on in
11368-606: The town of Tosno , located near St. Petersburg, Russia . It was completed in 16 months, occupied in November 1999, and began fabricating machine components in 2000. It had the first electrical substation built in the Leningrad Oblast since the Communist government was dissolved on December 26, 1991. The facility was built under harsh winter conditions, where the temperature was below −13 °F (−25 °C). The facility construction
11484-499: The tractor replaced the horse, existing horse-drawn implements usually already had running gear. As the history of mechanization progressed, the advantages of other hitching systems became apparent, leading to new developments (see below). Depending on the function for which a tractor is used, though, the drawbar is still one of the usual means of attaching an implement to a tractor (see photo at left). Some tractor manufacturers produced matching equipment that could be directly mounted on
11600-401: The tractor via a drawbar . The classic drawbar is simply a steel bar attached to the tractor (or in some cases, as in the early Fordsons, cast as part of the rear transmission housing) to which the hitch of the implement was attached with a pin or by a loop and clevis . The implement could be readily attached and removed, allowing the tractor to be used for other purposes on a daily basis. If
11716-431: The tractor was equipped with a swinging drawbar, then it could be set at the center or offset from center to allow the tractor to run outside the path of the implement. The drawbar system necessitated the implement having its own running gear (usually wheels) and in the case of a plow, chisel cultivator or harrow, some sort of lift mechanism to raise it out of the ground at turns or for transport. Drawbars necessarily posed
11832-399: The tractor. Examples included front-end loaders, belly mowers, row crop cultivators, corn pickers and corn planters. In most cases, these fixed mounts were proprietary and unique to each make of tractor, so an implement produced by John Deere, for example, could not be attached to a Minneapolis Moline tractor. Another disadvantage was mounting usually required some time and labor, resulting in
11948-480: The tractors directly to the battlefront, where the military put them to work hauling artillery and supplies. When World War I broke out, the British War Office ordered a Holt tractor and put it through trials at Aldershot . The War Office was suitably impressed and chose it as a gun tractor . Over the next four years, the Holt tractor became a major artillery tractor , mainly used to haul medium guns such as
12064-481: The tractors increasingly complex, expensive, and difficult to maintain. Another solution considered was to lay a temporary plank road ahead of the steam tractor, but this was time-consuming, expensive, and interfered with earthmoving. Holt thought of wrapping the planks around the wheels. He replaced the wheels on a 40 horsepower (30 kW) Holt steamer, No. 77, with a set of wooden tracks bolted to chains. On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1904, he successfully tested
12180-503: The transition from wartime boom to peacetime bust. To keep the company afloat, they borrowed heavily. C. L. Best Gas Tractor Company, formed by Clarence Leo Best in 1910, and Holt's primary competitor, had during the war received government support, enabling it to supply farmers with the smaller agricultural tractors they needed. As a result, Best had gained a considerable market advantage over Holt by war's end. Best also assumed considerable debt to allow it to continue expansion, especially
12296-727: The tunneling business no longer fits that strategy," – Stu Levenick. Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Corporation (CTCC) have notified employees that it will exit the business and cease production at its facilities by mid-2014. Caterpillar occasionally divests assets that do not align with its core competencies. Through fiscal year 2010, Caterpillar divided its products, services, and technologies into three principal lines of business: machinery, engines, and financial products for sale to private and governmental entities. As of 2022, Caterpillar reports its financials using four business segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy & transportation, and financial products. Caterpillar has
12412-463: The updated machine plowing the soggy delta land of Roberts Island . Contemporaneously, Richard Hornsby & Sons in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, developed a steel plate-tracked vehicle, which it patented in 1904. This tractor was the first to be steered using differential braking of the tracks, eliminating the forward tiller and steering wheel. Several tractors were made and sold to operate in
12528-437: The use of turning brake pedals and separate track clutches operated by levers rather than a steering wheel. Four-wheel drive tractors began to appear in the 1960s. Some four-wheel drive tractors have the standard "two large, two small" configuration typical of smaller tractors, while some have four large, powered wheels. The larger tractors are typically an articulated, center-hinged design steered by hydraulic cylinders that move
12644-445: The word "tractor" usually means "farm tractor", and the use of the word "tractor" to mean other types of vehicles is familiar to the vehicle trade, but unfamiliar to much of the general public. In Canada and the US , the word may also refer to the road tractor portion of a tractor trailer truck , but also usually refers to the piece of farm equipment. The first powered farm implements in
12760-504: The world. The original engine was made by Payne & Co. of Coventry . After 1906, French Aster engines were used. The first successful American tractor was built by Charles W. Hart and Charles H. Parr . They developed a two-cylinder gasoline engine and set up their business in Charles City, Iowa . In 1903, the firm built 15 tractors. Their 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg) #3 is the oldest surviving internal combustion engine tractor in
12876-526: Was an accident, caused by restricted field of view from the heavily armored operators' cabin. In 2014 Presbyterian Church (USA) sold its shares in Caterpillar citing the use of Caterpillar bulldozers involved in demolitions of Palestinian houses and Israeli surveillance activities in the West Bank . In August 2024, San Francisco State University announced that, as part of a deal with student activists, it would divest from four companies that supply weapons for
12992-426: Was introduced. The unit featured the same new type of elevated drive sprocket undercarriage as had been introduced on the larger D10 in 1977. The new undercarriage design reduced strain and shock loads on the final drives and gave the "belly pan" more ground clearance. The elevated-drive-sprocket undercarriage is a modular design. To repair the machines, one breaks down the tracks and pulls the drive sprockets out. As
13108-425: Was introduced; it remained in production for 13 years; it became the main crawler on many job sites, testifying to its sturdiness and design. In 1965, West Coast businessman Buster Peterson hooked up a pair of D9Gs to pushload the largest wheel tractor scrapers built. In 1968, Caterpillar bought the rights to this concept, thus the 770 hp (570 kW) DD9G was created (DD stands for Dual D9G). Peterson also built
13224-740: Was managed by the Lemminkäinen Group in Helsinki, Finland . In May 2022, production at the Tosno plant was stopped. In November 2023, an agreement was reached on the sale of Caterpillar assets to the Russian company PSK - New Solutions, founded by people from Sberbank . Experts believe that the resumption of Caterpillar production is unlikely and the plant will be repurposed. The $ 125 million Caterpillar Suzhou, People's Republic of China facility, manufactures medium-wheel loaders and motor graders, primarily for
13340-908: Was most convenient or least expensive for the particular farmer. In the United Kingdom, a gasoline-kerosene engine is known as a petrol-paraffin engine . Dieselisation gained momentum starting in the 1960s, and modern farm tractors usually employ diesel engines , which range in power output from 18 to 575 horsepower (15 to 480 kW). Size and output are dependent on application, with smaller tractors used for lawn mowing , landscaping, orchard work, and truck farming , and larger tractors for vast fields of wheat, corn, soy, and other bulk crops. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or propane also have been used as tractor fuels, but require special pressurized fuel tanks and filling equipment and produced less power, so are less prevalent in most markets. Most are confined for inside work due to their clean burning. During
13456-565: Was not a sufficient market opportunity to justify the investment,” said Ramin Younessi, vice president with responsibility for Caterpillar's Industrial Power Systems Division. “We have not yet started truck production in Victoria, and this decision allows us to exit this business before the transition occurs.” A portion of Caterpillar's business is in the manufacturing of diesel and natural gas engines and gas turbines which, in addition to their use in
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