Since Kubota introduced its first production of small-sized, multi-cylinder diesel engine series. such as 82mm stroke and 70mm stroke in 1971, Kubota has been producing them for Kubota's own farm machinery and for general industrial applications. The engines have been under continuous development since production began.
During this period, production numbers reached approximately 1.7 million units (6 million cylinder) in total. Further, Kubota, taking advantage of such levels of production, developed another series of 73.6mm/78.4mm stroke IDI engines which are applicable to the industrial market.
In this paper, the writers explain the engines' various features such as “excellent power/torque characteristic”, “light and compact”, “low fuel consumption”, “low noise”,” good starting characteristic”, and “easy maintenance” and also describe how such achievements have been done, as well as describing the engines' basic structural characteristics.