PRIME MOVERS AND MULCHERS I
f you drive down any motorway or ride any train, regularly your view across the countryside will be obscured by the sight of an overgrown verge or embankment. Quite often the cost of maintaining this encroaching jungle becomes too costly to run into any maintenance program and therefore tends only to be tackled when the road or rail is affected by overgrown limbs or fallen trees. More than often the only implement that can tackle this problem is a chainsaw. Once the timber is cut this
raises another problem, what to do with the waste – it’s too unsightly to leave on site, it’s too costly to lift and take away and obviously you cannot burn it. Therefore a wood chipper is the only answer, typically one of these will reduce the brash down to small chip size and can be left on site to inevitably rot away. Normal towed chippers are okay on level solid ground but have serious limitations when access is limited and ground conditions get rough, so more and more people are opting for a self- propelled tracked chipper which enables the operator to get the chipper nearer to the fallen timber and to chip on the spot. However, most tracked chippers, which are based on similar running gear as a mini-excavator, have two inherent problems: limited ground clearance, which means that they easily get stuck in mud or they cannot track over rocks or tree stumps; and poor stability on slopes, the latter being a serious safety issue.
Initially, GreenMech, a UK manufacturer based in Warwickshire, used the same running gear and had the same problems, until an idle comment on a demonstration sowed the idea of having the tracks mounted
The GreenMech Multi Task 120 is built on a similar concept to a large skid-steer loader
onto the ends of two independent telescopic legs that are built within the chassis crossing each other at around 45°. This meant that not only could you extend both legs to get better ground clearance but, by leaving one leg in and sending the other leg out, the machine could work safely on a 35° bank. This patented concept has resulted in many contractors and companies across Europe specifying the GreenMech SAFE Trak chipper as their product of choice.
One such company that has specified the SAFE Trak chipper, the Deutsche Bahn Railways in Germany, was that impressed with the increased productivity over their traditional machines, that it requested GreenMech look at manufacturing a self-propelled, SAFE Trak-style unit, fitted with a full cab and the ability to power a 1.5 m mulching head, capable of handling 100 mm diameter standing timber. Two years later, the Multi Task was delivered.
The Multi Task is built on the similar concept to a large skid-steer loader. The 120 hp Deutz engine in mounted to the rear of the unit; this powers two powerful hydraulic pumps, one that is designated to drive the steel tracks and the other to power the implement. The SAFE Trak stabiliser legs have 600 mm of travel on each side allowing the chassis to remain level on a 30° slope. In addition to this the operator can remain level on angles beyond 35° by electrically swivelling the seat 20° either way. Although the Multi Task had initially been fitted with a 1.5 m
mulching head that will cut and process standing timber up to a thickness on 100 mm, the Multi Task’s attachment mounting plate was designed to accept other skid-steer manufactures implements to make the machine more multi-functional. In conjunction with this, the unit is fitted with the Parker IQAN system that will allow hydraulic flows and pressures to be altered to match the application, making this 5 t machine a very useful tool for embankment maintenance. Already the Deutsche Bahn and some of its contractors have taken delivery of their first units, and have been very impressed by the improved productivity generated by their machines.
The tracked PrimeTech carriers have gained a very important advantage over similar models in the international market by guaranteeing the lowest possible pressure to the ground – PrimeTech
38 International Forest Industries | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011
The PrimeTech PT-300 takes on a steep incline Primetech’s STD versus LGP
PT-200 Version Track Chain (mm) PT-300 PT-400
STD LGP STD LGP STD LGP 510 700 660 800 800 1200
Group Pressure (psi) 4.9 3.6 3.95 3.25 4.95 3.6
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