ABSTRACT
On seed which have already been closely graded for size (thickness and length), the table separator grades and separates them according to differences in specific gravity and resilience, or ability to bounce. This also includes the characteristics of seed surface tension and hardness, which affect the seed’s resilience or ability to bounce. Primarily, the separation is made using small differences in seed specific weight or gravity, and secondarily to differences in seed surface tension and hardness which influence the seed’s resilience. These factors cause seed to respond to the table’s tilt and oscillation, so that light seed and heavy seed move in opposite directions. This separation has been likened to the traditional grain cleaning of antiquity, where the mass of seed grain was oscillated in a shallow flat basket (Figures 34.1, 34.2).
