HARVESTER HEADS
The Tigercat TH575 debarking, delimbing and merchandising hardwood in Tasmania
with optional 0.75" pitch Supercut 300. An optional Hultdins Supercut 100 topping saw is also available.
The Tigercat TH575 is a versatile and clever head for 200-300 hp base units
harvesting head, which is specifically designed to match the high performance capabilities of the Tigercat track carriers in harvesting, processing and debarking applications. It is best suited to dedicated forestry carriers from 200-300 hp for harvesting softwood and hardwood in the 5-580 cm diameter range. “Several TH575 heads are working on 200 to 290 hp-sized forestry-type excavators and showing superior performance also on entry level, lower hp machines used for roadside processing,” Tigercat Marketing and Communications Manager, Paul Iarocci told IFI. The TH575 has a heavy-duty
boxed steel structure for high-duty cycles. Taper-lock pins, isolation mounted high-flow valve assemblies, clean hose routings, larger feed roll motors and auto- tension for all main and top saw options provide high uptime and long service life. “The patented three-wheel
drive system automatically switches between three-wheel and two-wheel drive to optimise traction, feeding power and speed,” Iarocci said. “This maintains processing efficiency in small trees without sacrificing big tree feeding performance. Debarking efficiency is also improved providing superior bark removal in difficult species with fewer back-and-forth feeding cycles. The independent feed
wheel arms and larger feed wheels provide superior tree grip, further enhancing performance. A larger diameter measuring wheel with dedicated hydraulic circuit for fast response contributes to greater length accuracy. The TH575 uses a Motomit IT-E computer system with eight species up to 100 preset selections per species, multiple products, learned tree taper and detailed volume reports. Full optimisation is optional with Motomit IT-J. Various operating settings allow head performance to be tailored to suit the application and operator – from full manual control to fully automatic or a mix of features, with fewer buttons to press to reduce operator fatigue. The TH575 can be equipped with a timing link for the front knives (best for picking small trees from the pile) or independent knives (best for large or crooked trees). The head can be field-changed to suit application, providing superior harvesting and processing versatility. The TH575 has a cutting capacity of 700 mm and an 800 mm cut option. Several options are available to tailor performance to suit application including a 0.404" top saw, a variety of feed rollers and measuring wheels. Depending on the options, the TH575 weighs between 2,300 and 2,700 kg. For fast cutting performance, the TH575 comes standard with a 0.404" pitch
34 International Forest Industries | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 Hultdins Supercut 100 main saw
“Energy wood harvesting and increasing amount of thinnings are characteristic for many CTL markets at the moment,” Finnish supplier Ponsse explained to IFI. “As requirements for harvesting change and multi-stemming steps in, the possibilities and requirements for harvesting equipment also change. Multi- stemming allows more efficient harvesting as a significant amount of time can be saved when more than one tree is processed at a time.” In Ponsse harvester heads, the multi stemming function does not need extra equipment – however wider model feed rollers and
Another hit for Hitman maker
The long awaited Hitman PH330 processing head acoustic optimisation system, from Christchurch-based Fibre-gen, has moved a significant step forward with the completion of the first trials in a forest in Scotland.
The world-leading Hitman PH330 system allows a processing head to take the acoustic soundings of a stem to test its stiffness prior to making a cut decision. The head then cuts a log according to specifications entered into the software that manages the system, enabling a logging crew to precisely match logs to the requirements of a mill. It’s been five years in
development, with the latter part of the trials completed in Scotland this year after additional funding was received from the UK. “The initial trials have been successful and now we are working on a pre-production Beta version that will be tested on a machine here in New Zealand and another in the United States, before it is released to the market,” Nigel Sharplin, Sales and Marketing Director, said. Final production versions of
the Hitman PH303 are expected to be available to customers in New Zealand by the end of this year.
Fibre-gen is perhaps best
known for its Hitman HM200 handheld tool used by many logging crews in New Zealand and in overseas countries to record stiffness of stems in manual log making via acoustic measurements when the wood is struck with a hammer – a much larger, static version is sold to sawmills. Another tool, the Hitman ST300, uses probes to measure the stiffness of standing trees using similar acoustic readings after the trunk has been struck with a hammer. Effectively, the PH330 takes the technology of the ST300 and inserts it into a harvesting head to automate log making decisions. A pair of probes is attached to the processing head – a Waratah Bigwood was used in the testing phase – and these are inserted into the stem ahead of the log making decision, starting with the butt and progressing towards the top of the felled tree. Prior to each cut, an acoustic signal is measured and if the variation (stiffness) is greater than the predicted log grade, it will drop back to a lower grade.
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