AGCO has introduced its latest harvesting solution, the AutoDock header docking system, for Fendt IDEAL combines.

AutoDock is the industry’s first automatic system for connecting and disconnecting combine headers, without having to get out of the combine, says the company. It eliminates the job of manually lifting and attaching or detaching drivelines, which, as anyone who has done this before knows, takes time.

Now, the operator maneuvers the combine to the header, lifts the header from the ground or trailer with the combine, then pushes the attach icon on the touch-screen control panel. AutoDock uses guide pins and hydraulic actuators to automatically connect the drives on both sides of the header, connecting all mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems with a single-point coupler, while mechanically latching the header in place in only five seconds. Pushing the detach icon reverses the process when it’s time to remove the header.

Barry O’Shea, product line lead with AGCO, says this will especially improve efficiency for farmers that are continuously changing between harvesting corn and soybeans.

“In the morning, when it’s wet, many will go ahead and harvest corn, and in the afternoon they will want to go back to beans. So they are doing a lot of switching headers. So it makes that time much more efficient, while keeping the driver cleaner because they aren’t having to get in and out of the combine.”

It also is designed in such a way that when it decouples, it covers itself back up to keep itself clean.

“If you look at farmers they will just wipe it with a rag or their hands to clean the couplet. So that helps a lot, especially when you are leaving the header in the field. and there is dust and stuff blowing. So there are several areas where it saves time — so more productive — and some great creature comforts,” O’Shea notes.

The AutoDock system may be ordered as an option on all Fendt IDEAL combines. It is available for the DynaFlex 9300 Series draper head and 3300 Command Series corn heads equipped with AutoDock drivelines and adapters for the multi-coupler attachment. DynaFlex 9300 Series headers come in five cutting widths from 30 to 50 feet. The 3300 Command Series corn heads are available in chopping and non-chopping models with 30-inch row spacing in eight-, 12- and 16-row configurations.

O’Shea also adds that there is a kit your dealer can order, which allows you to convert non AGCO headers to use AutoDock, to ensure you can use it on an IDEAL combine.

Check out the full conversation between O’Shea and Kara Oosterhuis, below:

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Kara Oosterhuis is a Field Editor for RealAgriculture, covering all things agronomy in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. She grew up on a mixed irrigation and dryland farm northeast of Bow Island, Alta. Kara has always had a love for agriculture and a desire for telling stories - so she figured she may as well choose a career that lets her do both. You can find her on twitter at @KaraOosterhuis

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