NEW DESIGN iMATCH

[dirtworksequip]

Deere is coming out with a new design iMATCH that has the capiblity to hook up the implement AND the PTO shaft without getting off the tractor! I guess it has a guide on the tractor and the implement ,plus a lever you throw to lock the shaft once it is in place. Dealer didn't say when it would be available. You will have to buy a seperate guide for each implements pto shaft that you want to use the new iMATCH on.

 

[pekabu]

Wow. Thanks for the heads up. Can't wait to see it.

 

[gamble77]

Yeah, it is a pretty neat piece and totally eliminates any need to get off the seat when hooking up implements. Initially it will be offered for tillers and rotary cutter and eventually for finishing mowers (sure other piece will follow). It worked well when I tried it at the dealer show, the only negative I have about it is that the handle that actually engages the two PTO shafts together is a little hard to operate and a little flimsy. All in all another step forward in the market, making owning these CUT's easier and easier for the home owner.

 

[JD3520]

I'm having a hard time visualizing the set up to hook a 540 rpm items up to multiple attachments and it be safe. Many non-JD (and some JD) items need modification to work on I-match without a PTO. Don't get me wrong; I'm anxious about this. Know where we can get any pics???

 

[Rob-D]

Geeze! If these things get any easier we'll all be sitting in our living rooms watching TV as our tractors run back and forth over our lawns and fields!

I think we're trying the limits of Occam's razor.

 

[dirtworksequip]

The old style iMatch is not a cure all for all implements and some sort of standardization will have to come about for it to work 100 percent. I'm sure the new style will be the same. New ideas take years to become fully implemented.

 

[dirtworksequip]

JD3520, maybe someone that was at the JD dealer meeting will post some pics.

 

[gamble77]

This is a very sepcialized system as you can imagine. All the geometry has to dead on...the drive shafts and brackets have to be perfect. At initial offering this system will only be available on JD/Fronteir rotary cutters and tillers. There will be kits for older implements to adapt but that involves new A-fram pieces and new drive shafts, so you can imagine it won't be cheap. All in all it is a slick system, the price tag that this system will carry with will ultimatly determine its success.

 

[Rob-D]

JD is pretty clever, maybe they found an easy solution although I doubt I'll trade mine for the new version.

 

[NJDeere]

Auto-Hitch (TM) won't be shipping until Spring '07 and will be an add on to the I-Match. It will fit older I-Match Hitches. You will have a tractor half shaft that will attach to the I-Match and an implement half that will attach and stay with the attachment. As another dealer indicated, initially the offering will be for JD Tillers, JD LX & MX series rotary cutters and Frontier RC10 series Rotary Cutters. It looks like a really great idea. The engineers stated that they had some fine tuning & finalization to make on the design, thus the Spring intended release.