How Does a Combine Work?

The combine harvester is a critical piece of equipment for farmers throughout the United States. It provides an efficient way to harvest crops by collecting, threshing, and separating the grain or seed from the entire plant. Our team at Bucklin Tractor & Implement, located throughout Kansas, has put together a brief guide to how your combine works along with a short history of where it all started. 

A Short History of Combines

The first combine harvester began in the form of a reaper designed in Scotland by Reverend Patrick Bell in 1826. However, he did not patent his design, and in 1836 the first working harvester was patented in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, by Hiram Moore and John Hascall. Later on in the same year, Cyrus McCormick was given a patent for his famous mechanical reaper. 

These early designs were pulled by teams of oxen or horses, but the engineering concepts are still incorporated in many of the designs we see today; a sickle to cut stalks, a reel to push grain onto the platform, a drape to bring the grain to the threshing cylinder, and screens to clean the grain. From there, the inventions were used with steam power, then by tractor pulling, and now we have the singular machine we know today.

Parts of a Combine

To understand the function of a harvester, it’s important to know the different parts at work.

1. The header cuts the plant near the ground.
2. The spinning auger moves the crops from the header onto a conveyor belt.
3. From there, the threshing segment threshes (separates grain or seed from the plant) the cut crops. 
4. The grain that has been separated is stored in the grain tank. 
5. When you’re ready to remove the grain, it is lifted out of the tank using an elevator.
6. From the elevator, the grain exits the combine using an unloading auger and side pipe. 
7. Some operators will choose to use a straw chopper attachment at the rear to chop and spread the remaining plant material.

How It Works

Combines are designed to harvest row crops, but different header attachments can change how and what crops can be harvested. For this example, we will discuss how a combine harvests corn.

The header cuts the stalks near the ground and the movement of the auger collects the stalk. The stalk is then moved toward the center of the header and onto a conveyor belt that takes the crop inside the machine. 

The threshing segment separates the grain from the stalk, which then travels on another conveyor system to be stored in the grain tank. Unwanted stalks, husks, cobs, and other debris is sent down a different conveyor to exit the combine. The remaining residue will either be chopped and spread across the field during harvest or can be baled as straw for animal bedding. 

Once the grain tank is full, an elevator and auger system is used to empty the grain out of the side pipe and into a grain cart or semi-trailer used to transport the grain. 

Hopefully this overview and brief history gives you a better appreciation for how useful and incredible this equipment is. Bucklin Tractor & Implement, with six different Kansas locations, is an authorized John Deere® dealer with a great selection of used equipment. We would love to help you find your next combine! We offer parts, service, and financing options.