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Title: The fast approach to implement hitching
Limerick agri engineering designer, John O'Connor of OCE Engineering, has developed a new three point linkage coupler system that's fast, safe and simple to use.
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Limerick agri engineering designer, John O'Connor of OCE Engineering, has developed a new three point linkage coupler system that's fast, safe and simple to use.
This shows the testing version of the OCE quick coupler system as it prepares to hitch up to an Amazone twin disc fertiliser spreader. There are two bottom Hardox steel hooks, each with a locking mechanism that’s operated by a simple spring-loaded cable.
This shows the OCE quick coupler system from the other side, showing the hydraulic ram that raises and lowers the toplink connecting hook. This mechanism locks all three points of the three point linkage secure. In the latest generation production models, this hydraulic ram is moved to the left hand side of the unit.
This shows the OCE quick coupler connected to a Major mower. The vertical operation of the toplink means that the machine is securely locked to the coupler.
(panel pic) The OCE folding loader fork range, for which OCE Engineering has become well-known across Europe, is now the most popular loader fork for Irish silage contractors.
John O’Connor (left) owner of OCE Engineering, Kildimo, Co Limerick who has developed the new quick coupler system with Kenny Alfred in the tractor cab at Dan Kennedy’s farm Adare, Co Limerick. The unit costs €1,000 plus VAT and makes hitching a tractor and implement faster and safer.
): This is a close-up of the simple ratchet system that locks the toplink hook in place. The device is hydraulically operated and you hear the locking ratchet system clicking as the toplink is adjusted to lock in place.
This shows the unit coupled to the Amazone fertiliser spreader. This system allows for fast and safe hitching of machines and you are required to connect the PTO shaft separately. John O’Connor believes that connecting the three point linkage of the tractor is a bigger issue in terms of ease of hitching and once that part is done, connecting the PTO is relatively easy.
This close up of the frame shows how the tractor linkage arm is recessed into the vertical part of the quick coupler frame so as to minimise the event to which the implement is moved rearwards, so the implement is closely coupled to the tractor.
Tractor design engineers have been working hard to develop new transmissions and control mechanisms that demand the use of high technology systems. And all the while the one feature of operating farm machinery that remains a daily time-consuming and safety challenge is connecting implements to Harry Ferguson’s original three-point linkage design that is a feature of every modern tractor. In the pages of the Irish Farmers Journal, we have featured various attempts to solve this problem, from the Austrian Gangl design, to the system being developed by Dromone Engineering, to the Shanks Farmhitch system.
Tractor design engineers have been working hard to develop new transmissions and control mechanisms that demand the use of high technology systems. And all the while the one feature of operating farm machinery that remains a daily time-consuming and safety challenge is connecting implements to Harry Ferguson’s original three-point linkage design that is a feature of every modern tractor.
In the pages of the Irish Farmers Journal, we have featured various attempts to solve this problem, from the Austrian Gangl design, to the system being developed by Dromone Engineering, to the Shanks Farmhitch system.
Now a Limerick-based farm machinery and engineering company with a track record in developing impressive machines has come up with what looks like the simplest of all solutions.
John O’Connor of OCE Engineering based in Kildimo, Co Limerick, has developed his OCE three-point linkage quick coupler to allow farmers to have a quick, easy and safe way of connecting implements to the tractor.
John says: “Our system is a direct fit system and no adapter plates have to be welded or bolted to the implements. This eliminates the purchase cost and fitting of adapter plates for every implement and also these adapter plates render the implement useless to other tractors/users.
John says that with his design, hired implements or loaned implements can be directly and quickly hitched to the tractor. “Our design keeps the implement hitch geometry correct, as the upper link adjusts to suit the implement,” he added.
The OCE system raises or lowers the tractor top link point to match the implement design. This keeps the manufacturer’s upper link to lower link mounting distances correct as we found when we saw the system connecting to the Amazone fertiliser shaker and Major mounted mower.
John says that because his system does not require an implement female part, it will work on trailed mowers and rakes, etc, using the lower link points only. The system allows machines to be hitched without leaving the tractor seat.
John claims that it offers an improved level of safety while coupling implements. “Our main objective was to develop a system that allows for faster and easier hitching of implements to tractors. The safety aspects are a bonus, and we have found that so many farmers have problems with hitching, even with mudguard-mounted linkage control buttons.”
The unit has been developed for category II tractor linkages and John can upscale or downscale the design for category I or III machines. The unit weighs just 60kg so can be easily connected and fixed to a tractor’s three-point linkage.
John has tested the system extensively with a range of machines. He admits that there is a small number of machines that it will not suit, but for most livestock farmers who change from a fertiliser spreader to a topper/mower or grass harrow, the system will work with ease.
The cost of the unit is €1,000 including VAT and John O’Connor plans to offer the system through existing farm machinery dealers. The system is impressively simple and safe to use. It makes for fast and safe implement hitching and is more cost effective to buy than other systems on offer. It does not require any additional welding or fitting of plates between the tractor and various implements, so there is only one cost for the system for all of your farm machinery. John has patented the design for good reason.
John O’Connor has a great track record in farm machinery design since he started in 2001. His company OCE Engineering has developed the OCE folding silage forks for use on industrial-type loaders by silage contractors throughout Ireland and Europe. He has produced more than 450 of these impressive machines and they are working with large-scale farm contractors in most European markets, including Belgium, Germany, Holland and the UK.
More recently, John developed the MultiShear loader bucket that can be used to load a range of animal feeds from bulk feeds to round bales of silage, straw and hay. The multi-purpose loader bucket incorporates a system of bale splitting and retention of the plastic during feeding.
A smaller version of the unit is being sold by Quicke on international markets as a tractor loader attachment and was featured on the Quicke stand at the recent Agritechnica Show in Germany.
The OCE design MultiShear is being manufactured by Quicke in China for world markets.
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