Claas has installed two new test-benches at its Testing and Validation Centre in Trangé, France, close to the tractor factory in Le Mans. Supporting the two existing test-benches at the company’s Research Centre in Vélizy Villacoublay, near Paris, the two new and €6.5 million installations consist of a driveline test-bench for performance testing and optimisation of the entire drive system from the engine, transmission and hydraulics through to the software, and a four-post test-bench for assessing and improving machine durability, reliability, comfort and design. A project can involve more than 40,000 hours of field testing, with up to 7,000 hours allocated to a single prototype. Field testing remains an essential part of the process, but the new set-up allows more than 20 different suspension settings to be tested in less than two days for the complete adjustment of the front axle, which allows the company to eliminate some of the more complicated field tests. Working around the clock, seven days a week, the two new test-benches will help reduce the time required for endurance testing, simulating ten years of tractor life in just four weeks. Installed in a new 12m-high building, each test bench is mounted on an earthquake-proof floor pad built using 950t of concrete and 60t of steel. Mounted on air cushions, at peak load up to 2.9 megawatts are needed to operate the facility, which roughly corresponds to the energy requirements of a small town of 1,000 residents. The new driveline test-bench allows testing up to a total power load of 2500kW (up to 500kW per wheel and one power take-off shaft) to be carried out on tractors from the Axos through to the Xerion. The hydraulic rams on each test-bench provide a lift capacity of 100 tonnes, which means the facility can also test combine harvesters, forage harvesters and balers.