Agricultural Microcombine

Main > Food and Agriculture > Farm equipment > Combine

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Agricultural Microcombine (Combine) - a combine is a complex device that cuts, threshes, and winnows grains and field crops of all sorts. Modern combines are huge devices today, and a smaller one is desirable for a small farm. This is not to say that this design should not be scaleable to larger size, as required to feed larger populations effectively. We propose a hybrid combine, with all parts driven by separate, infinitely speed controllable motors. This eliminates all pulleys and complexity of a single power source powering the entire modern combine. The key here is availability of cost-effective motors and controls, where today, motor controls are prohibitively expensive for such a proposition. OS changes this. With a microcombine under the control of the operator, expensive maintenance is avoided, and full food sufficiency becomes feasible on the tens-of-acres scale.

Collaboration

This project is now open for work. Please contribute your expertise to any of the work categories identified in this section. At this stage of the project, everything is needed. Please pass the word along, together with the direct url for this project, to others who may benefit from the activation of this research and development project. Note also that development funds are needed. The best way to contribute is by becoming a True Fan and making a monthly donation. A True Fan donation may be made at this page -- http://openfarmtech.org/wiki/Donate .

Review of Project Status

The status of the project is "We are getting started now, as of April 25, 2011.

Wiki Work Needed for this Project

Could someone move this entire Agricultural Microcombine discussion to be a subcategory of Combine? So the hierarchy would be Farm Equipment -> Combine -> Agricultural Microcombine. I am not enough of a wiki-ista to do that and I spent a while in the help pages this AM and couldn't quite figure it out. There is some good discussion about the design process in the Combine subcategory that needs to be linked to this discussion.

Combine - Current Work

Current work includes getting information from grain and bean farmers about their needs for a microcombine, the operation modes they'd like, etc. and surveying any commercial equipment available that is similar in scope/scale.

Combine - Current Work -- Desired Features of the Microcombine

This category is for grain and bean farmers to comment on the features they would find useful in this machine.

Combine - Current Work -- Survey of Existing Commercial Models

Small Scale Grain Production Today -- this link is to an article at the website of a commercial dealer in imported European machinery. He has some pictures of stationary threshers that run $5K - $26K. There is a survey of commercial small combines presently being manufactured in Europe and Japan. These small combines retail for $40K - $77k. http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/smallscale.htm

Here is a bean thresher retailing for $9500 without an engine, $11000 with an engine -- http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/PDF%20Articles/Bean%20Threshers%20with%20pictures%20oct%202003.pdf

Article on lower cost small grain harvesting. http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/PDF%20Articles/Grain%20Harvesting%20Options.pdf

Small scale bean harvesting http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/PDF%20Articles/Small%20Scale%20Bean%20Harvesting.pdf

Small scale threshing equipment. http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/PDF%20Articles/Small%20Scale%20Threshing%20Equipment.pdf

Grain harvesting alternative technology http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/PDF%20Articles/Grain%20Harvesting%20Alternative%20Technology.pdf

http://www.ferrari-tractors.com/smallscale.htm

Combine - Developments Needed

Combine - General

Wikipedia article on combines -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combine_harvester

1949 Popular Mechanics magazine with cutaway picture of a self-propelled combine of its era, plus pictures of two small miniature reapers at work on extension experimental farms. http://tinyurl.com/3k3func

1937 picture of a self-propelled cutting header, Australia http://museumvictoria.com.au/sunshine/displayimage.asp?iid=13350

More early designed, 1885 to 1930s, from Australia http://museumvictoria.com.au/sunshine/displaysubtheme.asp?stid=4&tid=2

Pictures of threshers, northern Great Plains of the US, 1890s through 1940s. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ndfahtml/ngpSubjects21.html

Article about the development of the McCormick reaper. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wmh/pdf/wmh_spring01_grady.pdf

The Rodale thresher (stationary) http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/JF/JF_OTHER/SMALL/Rodale%20grain%20thresher%20-%201977.pdf

Collection of third world implements, document #37 is a pedal powered thresher http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/JF/JF_VE/BIG/06-232.pdf

1979 book on the design and building of a pedal thresher. Includes 21 drawings. http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/CD3WD/APPRTECH/THRESHER/EN/INDEX.HTM

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Development Work Template

1. Combine - Product Definition
   1. Combine - General
   2. Combine - General Scope
   3. Combine - Product Ecology
      1. Combine - Localization
      2. Combine - Scaleability
      3. Combine - Analysis of Scale
      4. Combine - Lifecycle Analysis
   4. Combine - Enterprise Options
   5. Combine - Development Approach
      1. Combine - Timeline
      2. Combine - Development Budget
         1. Combine - Value Spent
         2. Combine - Value available
         3. Combine - Value needed
   6. Combine - Deliverables and Product Specifications
   7. Combine - Industry Standards
   8. Combine - Market and Market Segmentation
   9. Combine - Salient Features and Keys to Success
2. Combine - Technical Design
   1. Combine - Product System Design
      1. Combine - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings
         1. Combine - Pattern Language Icons
         2. Combine - Structural Diagram
         3. Combine - Funcional or Process Diagram
         4. Combine - Workflow
      2. Combine - Technical Issues
      3. Combine - Deployment Strategy
      4. Combine - Performance specifications
      5. Combine - Calculations
         1. Combine - Design Calculations
         2. Combine - Yields
         3. Combine - Rates
         4. Combine - Structural Calculations
         5. Combine - Power Requirements
         6. Combine - Ergonomics of Production
         7. Combine -Time Requirements
         8. Combine - Economic Breakeven Analysis
         9. Combine - Scaleability Calculations
         10. Combine - Growth Calculations
      6. Combine - Technical Drawings and CAD
      7. Combine - CAM Files
   2. Combine - Component Design
      1. Combine - Diagrams
      2. Combine - Conceptual drawings
      3. Combine - Performance specifications
      4. Combine - Performance calculations
      5. Combine - Technical drawings and CAD
      6. Combine - CAM files whenever available
   3. Combine - Subcomponents
3. Combine - Deployment and Results
   1. Combine - Production steps
   2. Combine - Flexible Fabrication or Production
   3. Combine - Bill of materials
   4. Combine - Pictures and Video
   5. Combine - Data
4. Combine - Documentation and Education
   1. Combine - Documentation
   2. Combine - Enterprise Plans
5. Combine - Resource Development
   1. Combine - Identifying Stakeholders
      1. Combine - Information Collaboration
         1. Combine - Wiki Markup
         2. Combine - Addition of Supporting References
         3. Combine - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture
         4. Combine - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other
      2. Combine - Prototyping
      3. Combine - Funding
      4. Combine - Preordering working products
      5. Combine - Grantwriting
      6. Combine - Publicity
      7. Combine - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation
      8. Combine - Standards and Certification Developmen
      9. Combine - Other
   2. Combine - Grantwriting
      1. Combine - Volunteer grantwriters
      2. Combine - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters
   3. Combine - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding
   4. Combine - Tool and Material Donations
   5. Combine - Charitable Contributions