Zürn Harvesting

Agritechnica Silver Medal

Zürn PremiumFlow headers represent the highest level of innovation and performance worldwide.

This was confirmed again by the independent Innovations Commission of Agritechnica, the world's biggest agricultural fair. They awarded Zürn for its advanced technology again a silver medal.

Innovative Zürn i-Flow header awarded

Zürn i-Flow is a newly developed intelligent cutting platform generation to improve performance of large combines. For the first time all rotating drives are electrified, flexible in speed and torque and communicate with each other. Field trials confirm that harvesting performance, ease of use and durability rise significantly.

Agritechnica impressions 2015

Smart drive

i-Flow combine header with electric drives

Zürn Harvesting GmbH & Co. KG, in collaboration with its partners, has equipped an entire combine header with electric drives. Field trials in 2014 and 2015 demonstrated a significant increase in performance when compared with hydraulically / mechanically driven headers on the same combine. The trials revealed the following: the more difficult and uneven the crop stand, the greater the increased efficiency of the i-Flow header. In 2015 the DLG (German Agricultural Society) awarded the manufacturer from Hohenlohe a silver medal for this innovative header concept.

Electric motor as drive and sensor

All the header components feature electric drives: cutter bar, conveyor belts, auger and reel. The dual function of electric motors is cleverly utilised: they serve as both drives and sensors. As drives, their rotational speed and torque can be accurately controlled; as sensors they supply information about load and working conditions.

The new drive concept is notably the first time that smart operation has been applied within a header: the cutter bar drive load provides the speed-related information for the conveyor belts and the auger. If the cutter bar is working under high load, for instance, the belts and the auger will run faster.

Joint development Zürn i-Flow

The award-winning electric driven cutting platform Zürn i-Flow is a joint development of several innovative project partners. Each partner contributed its experience to optimize not only the components in the respective areas of competence, but also to improve the overall system by cooperation.

Four medium-sized industrial companies

  • Compact Dynamics: electric drives
  • EWM Eichelhardter Werkzeug und Maschinenbau: knife drives
  • Gebr. Schumacher: cutting systems
  • Zürn Harvesting: cutting platforms and system integration

worked together for several years with two universities

  • Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden: electronics
  • Technische Universität Dresden: control logic and field trials.

By the interaction of theory and practice, an intelligent cutting platform was developed, which will improve the performance of the combination of cutting platform and combine.

The project was supported by funds of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) based on a decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany via the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) under the innovation support programme.

IHK awards the cooperation project Zürn i-Flow

Research Transfer Prize from IHK Heilbronn-Franken conferred

On April 3, 2017, Chamber of Industry and Commerce IHK Heilbronn-Franken held its sixth “IHK Research Transfer Prize” awards ceremony. Three outstanding cooperation projects merging science and business were chosen to receive the prestigious award.

The gold award was given to Zürn i-Flow project, a result of cooperation between Rolf Zürn, Zürn Harvesting GmbH & Co.KG, Schöntal and Steffen Wöbcke, Institute for Natural Product Technology at the Dresden University of Technology. Under this project, an intelligent and automated cutting platform for combines was developed wherein all components can inter-communicate and adapt to the individual conditions and needs of the harvested materials.

Kirsten Hirschmann, Managing Partner of Hirschmann Laborgeräte GmbH & Co. KG, vice president of the IHK Heilbronn-Franken and jury member, congratulated the project partners on their success. He also highlighted the intensive cooperation between project partners and the innovation of self-optimizing technologies, as they relate to the theme of knowledge-transfer. The resulting intelligent control allows between 10-15% of additional power.

To encourage cooperation between research institutes and companies, IHK offers special “Research Transfer Prize” to 3 successful projects each year. All submitted projects are evaluated on the basis of their innovation level, transfer of knowledge, application potential and economic impact potential.