The John Deere DynaFlo Plus cleaning system on W and T-Series combines from Zweibrücken represents a new generation of cleaning shoe according to the company.

For the first time, the machine is made of specially selected materials (aluminium, steel and cast iron) and features an enlarged sieve surface, up 41% on previous models, which helps to reduce oscillation.

John Deere has used aluminium instead of traditional steel, which has enabled engineers to increase the shoe size while retaining the weight of the previous design. The company claims that with a sieve area of more than 6m2, the cleaning shoe is among the largest in its class. The shoe is also easily adjustable by adjusting the fan design.

The main threshing drum’s diameter stays at 660mm, but the concave wrapping angle has been increased by 8° to expand the threshing area and machine throughput.

The overshot beater’s diameter has been increased to 500mm, so it maintains the same angles and tip speed in the crop flow to minimise straw damage.

Rear separator drum diameter is increased to 800mm and a new separator grate, which features more openings, is designed to allow better separation in difficult harvesting conditions. The active separation area has been increased to 3.3 and 4m2 for the five- and six-walker combines respectively.

John Deere has developed a quick-engage booster bar. It is a rasp bar which can be swung into the crop flow in situations where more aggressive threshing is required, in barley for example.

The booster bar eliminates the use of de-awning plates to close the concave, which can reduce the overall active separation area. It is engaged via a lever.

A new option is an onboard compressor for cleaning off the combine, using a 60-litre air tank with a 10m hose and three operating ports. The rear ladder is now removable for use around the combine.

For use in testing conditions, four-wheel drive with traction control can be specified, sending oil to the wheel which has the most traction when the combine continues to slip with the manual diff lock engaged.

T-Series combines now offer top speeds of up to 40km/h, including on tracked models. The maximum width of tracked five- and six-walker combines is 3.3m and 3.5m respectively.

Claas Lexion

A feature for many years on Claas machines has been the 3D system which levels the grain on the upper sieves when working across slopes.

Now, a 4D cleaning system takes this a stage further by using a slope-dependent rotor cover plate control and automatic fan control.

Essentially, 4D-specified combines will have a third pair of rotor cover plates split in two. These are automatically adjusted according to the lateral and longitudinal angle of the combine, but with the current separation and cleaning output also taken into account. As the combine angle changes, the cover plates on the uphill side of the rotor is automatically opened or closed.

When the combine is working directly up or down the slope, the 4D system will also automatically adjust the fan speed depending on the working angle of the combine, reducing the wind speed when working uphill and increasing the speed on the way down, in addition to adjusting the lower sieve.

To accommodate the potential increased capacity possible due to the higher engine power and the 4D system, the top-of-the-range 780 now features a 13,500-litre capacity grain tank. The discharge rate from the tank is 130 litres per second, which means that the tank can be emptied in less than two minutes.

The chopper drum has been increased in width by 5cm. The company claims this will improve crop flow into and through the chopper uniform, resulting in a more even chop length.

To avoid blockages, Claas has developed a new Automatic Crop Flow control which monitors and compares the rotation speed of the engine and the primary and secondary separation systems.

The operator sets a preferred slip level and when this is exceeded, the system will alert the operator, while at the same time shutting down the cutterbar drive and feederhouse, engaging the cutterbar brake, disengaging the unloading auger and reducing the cruise control speed to the minimum.