New combine sensor from HCC

HCC Inc.’s latest invention, SieveSense, is a louver position sensor developed for combines. Photo: HCC

Located in the small city of Mendota, Ill., HCC Inc. has been a manufacturer of agricultural harvesting equipment components for more than 100 years. It has more than 80 patented inventions including what it said was the first commercial grain weigher as well as the H.D. Hume pickup reel and the floating cutter bar.

The company’s latest invention, SieveSense: Autonomous Louver Positioning, is an accurate louver position sensor that enables automatic cleaning shoe adjustments to maximize harvest efficiency by utilizing closed-loop sensing technology to account for variable crop conditions. Requiring no involvement by the operator, the company said it expects the small part to make a big impact on the way farmers work.

A harvesting demonstration during the 2016 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. Photo: Chad Elmore

With the increasing cost of machine operation, every second in the field matters. SieveSense allows the equipment to autonomously account for terrain, crop condition, shoe shake and other variables a farmer would otherwise be unable to detect that may impact the cleaning shoe louver position. The result, the company said, is increased productivity and profitability.

“With more control over grain cleaning in the back, I could probably increase my typical ground speed of 3.2 mph by half a mile. Over just one 12-hour day with two machines, the ability to move at a faster speed saves me almost a full day of time,” said fifth-generation farmer Peter Pratt. “SieveSense provides a level of certainty in our work that we didn’t have before. The more data I can get that is accurate and relevant, the better I can be at my job.”

SieveSense uses an internal accelerometer to monitor overall system health and flag irregularities, eliminating the potential for expensive repairs and unwanted downtime. The company said it has completed multi-season, vigorous lab and field testing during which SieveSense was proven to remain reliable, even in the harshest farming environments.