Editing Three-point hitch (section)

{{Short description|Hitch for attaching implements to tractors}}
{{Infobox machine
| image             = Ursus C360 PICT0076.jpg
| caption           = [[:pl:Ursus C-360|Ursus C-360 tractor]] and mowing deck, attached by a three-point linkage and driven by a [[Power take-off|PTO]] shaft
| classification    = [[Tow hitch]]
| industry          = [[Industrial agriculture|Agriculture]]
| inventor          = [[Harry Ferguson]]
| invented          = {{start date and years ago|1926|df=y|p=y}}
}}
The '''three-point hitch''' ([[British English]]: '''three-point linkage''') is a widely used type of hitch for attaching [[plough]]s and other [[farm equipment|implements]] to an agricultural or industrial [[tractor]].<ref name="ISO">{{citation |title=ISO 730:2009, Agricultural wheeled tractors -- Rear-mounted three-point linkage -- Categories 1N, 1, 2N, 2, 3N, 3, 4N and 4 |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_ics/catalogue_detail_ics.htm?csnumber=41233 |publisher=ISO |access-date=2015-08-15}}</ref><ref name="TractorData">{{citation |title=Three-Point Hitch |url=http://www.tractordata.com/articles/technical/threepoint.html |publisher=TractorData.com |access-date=3 November 2013}}</ref> The three points resemble either a triangle, or the letter A. In engineering terms, three-point attachment is the simplest and the only [[statically determinate]] way of rigidly joining two bodies.

A three-point hitch attaches the implement to the tractor so that the orientation of the implement is fixed with respect to the tractor and the arm position of the hitch. The tractor carries some or all of the weight of the implement. The other main mechanism for attaching a load is through a [[drawbar (haulage)#Agriculture and horse-drawn vehicles|drawbar]], a single point, pivoting attachment where the implement or trailer is not in a fixed position with respect to the tractor.

The primary benefit of the three-point hitch system is to transfer the weight and resistance of an implement to the drive wheels of the [[tractor]]. This gives the tractor more usable [[traction (engineering)|traction]] than it would otherwise have, given the same [[engine power|power]], [[gross vehicle weight rating|weight]], and [[motor fuel|fuel]] consumption. For example, when the [[Ford N-Series tractor|Ford 9N]] introduced [[Harry Ferguson]]'s three-point hitch design to American production-model tractors in 1939, it was a light and affordable tractor competing principally with row-crop tractors such as [[Farmall]]s that did not yet have three-point hitches. At {{convert|2500|lb|t}}, the 9N could plow more than {{convert|12|acre|abbr=off}} in a normal day pulling two {{convert|14|in|mm|adj=on}} plows,<ref name="PrippsMorland1993p60">{{Harvnb|Pripps|Morland|1993|p=60}}.</ref> outperforming the tractive performance of the heavier and more expensive Farmall F-30 model.<ref name="PrippsMorland1993p60"/> The hitch's utility and simplicity have since made it an industry standard.