• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.190-196
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to develop a measurement system of cutter conditions for combine header diagnosis during rice harvesting. A load cell was installed at the locker-arm to measure load fluctuation and an acceleration senor was used to monitor vibration signal of cutter bar. The data were collected from a paddy field during harvesting. The tests were conducted with a normal cutter, a loosened cutter, a broken cutter, and a worn-out connecter pin at the field. The vibration signals converted by FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation), filtered, and normalized. The load data and peak values of vibration signals in four different frequency ranges were used to determine the cutting operation and the cutter conditions of combine. The multiple comparison tests showed that the load data and peak values of vibration signals were important to monitor the cutting operation and cutter conditions of combine header.