The New IDEAL Combine: Features and Benefits

IDEALharvest

Setting a new standard for automated machine adjustment, the IDEALharvest system offers unprecedented, real-time visualization of crop flow within the combine via a special grain-quality camera and 52 sensors,  including mass acoustic detection sensors (MADS). Measuring the differences in acoustic qualities, the sensors can determine what is grain and what is not, and direct the IDEALharvest system to change the necessary combine settings—all to maintain the operator’s harvest strategy.

The harvest strategy itself is set by an easy-to-use touchscreen tablet, allowing the operator to select preferences for minimizing grain damage, loss and material other than grain (MOG) in the bin. In addition, the IDEALharvest system can even compensate for sudden shifts in various factors, such as crop density and field slope, anticipating and correcting problems before they occur.

Dual Helix Rotors

The IDEAL Combine’s Class 8 and 9 models use two rotors—in a dual-helix configuration—providing an industry-leading 43.7 square feet of threshing area. The Class 7 IDEAL features one of these new revolutionary rotors, also offering best-in-class threshing and separation capabilities. In all models, the rotors are nearly 16 feet long—almost 2 feet longer than the nearest competitor—allowing the material to generate huge centrifugal force at a much lower speed and remain in the rotor longer. As a result, grains are separated gently and reliably, while straw is protected at the same time. What’s more, the IDEAL combine processor requires as much as 50% less power to operate, as compared to other systems.

Grain Handling

The Class 9 model of the IDEAL features (Classes 7 and 8 are optional) a 485-bushel grain tank—the industry’s largest—and the Streamer 6.0 auger system, which itself sports a 6-bushels-per-second unloading speed that is exceptionally gentle on grain. Such technology ensures operators spend less time unloading and more time harvesting.

IDEAL Balance

IDEAL Balance technology is a completely new way to manage crop flow. Two specially molded return pans use the full length of the separation chamber to distribute crop evenly, even on hillsides—without the need for a complex self-leveling shoe, thereby reducing complexity and maintenance requirements.

Power Transmission

With simple gearboxes and fewer belts than other combines, the IDEAL offers a system designed to lead the industry in power-transfer efficiency and put muscle where the combine needs it the most. One gearbox attached directly to the engine drives all main components of the combine: the processor, cleaning system and hydraulic pumps, as well as the header, including today’s newest corn chopper heads.

Trakride & Narrow Frame

At a minimum width of less than 11 feet, the slimmest chassis of any combine in North America is paired with a wide footprint and fast road speeds—up to nearly 25 mph with tracks. That means exceptional maneuverability—even on busy roadways—and less potential soil compaction for your operation.

IDEAL Vision Cab

Long, hard days seem all the shorter and more productive from the IDEAL combine’s Vision Cab, which offers a 180-degree field of view, thanks to almost 62 square feet of glass. In addition to visibility out of its windows, the IDEAL Vision Cab provides unprecedented monitoring and control capabilities from header to spreader. The IDEAL’s 10.4-inch touchscreen monitor can be customized to display functions and measurements deemed most important by the operator.