Case IH Axial Flow Combines

Axial flow combines (also known as rotary harvesters) are a type of combine harvester that has been manufactured by International Harvester, and later Case International, Case Corporation and CNH Global, used by farmers to harvest a wide range of grains around the world.

Introduced in 1977, these harvesters marked a departure from traditional combine harvester design, in that threshing and separation was performed mainly by a rotor, as opposed to the drum and straw walker type models used previously. This is shown in the image at right, where the bulk of the processing area is devoted to a cylinder, that spins and threshes grain from the grain heads and allows for far greater capacity than the previous drum and walker design of harvester. This increase in capacity has led to a significant productivity increase of harvesters and therefore farmers who use them.

The rotary design by International Harvester was the first of its kind to be mass-produced and its patent over the design gave IH a competitive advantage over its rivals, including John Deere, Massey Ferguson, New Holland and others.

The following is a summary of the model development of the Case IH harvester to the present day.

International Harvester had launched the 15 series of conventional combine harvesters in 1968. In 1977, after extensive engineering efforts and a bottom up design, IH released the 1440 and 1460 models of harvester. In 1978, the larger model 1480 was released, as well as the specialty models 1470 (for hillside operation), and the 1482, designed to be pulled behind a tractor with PTO capability. Further models were introduced as the series was developed including the 1420 in 1980,

In 1985, International Harvester and Case Corporation merged.

The 16 series was the first harvester series released by the new Case International and was an upgrade to the 14 series rather than a replacement. All models of the 14 series had 16 series equivalents, in the 1620, 1640, 1660, 1670, 1680 and 1682.

Released in 1993, the 16 series was again upgraded to the 16-4/6/8 series. Models included the 1644, 1666 and 1688, and incorporated many changes to improve processing capacity.

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