Technical progress in logging has led to the emergence of machines and mechanisms that completely replace lumberjacks. What is a harvester? By this term is meant a harvester, which allowed to leave in the past manual felling and cutting of branches.
How did the harvester appear
Initially, saw and ax were the main tools of lumberjacks. In the future, they were replaced by chainsaws and delimbers. Labor productivity has increased, but not so much that its scope has satisfied the procurers. The development of machines capable of replacing several workers at once began.
At first, the whole process was divided into two independent technological cycles. The felling machine cut and stacked the whip, the delimbing one cleared the trunk of branches. Between the works there was a time period due to the need to file a whip for cleaning. But the developers managed to create a comprehensive cleaning equipment with a primary processing function.
What is a harvester? This word literally translated from English means "harvester". With regard to
harvesting, this is a self-propelled machine that first cuts off the tree trunk, then cleans the knots, cuts it into elements by grades, and then distributes these parts into one-dimensional bundles.
Harvester: what is it and what is its device
The whole complex is based on a chassis - wheeled, tracked or combined. The choice between species is dictated by the conditions in which the machine is intended to be used. The width of the wheels or tracks is sufficient to provide good traction and stability on soft soil, but if you have to work on wetlands, preference is given to the second option.
A comfortable tractor-type cab is located on the frame, from which the operator sets the necessary operations. Management is carried out through programmable controllers, each of which is responsible for its own module: engine, frame, cab, automatic gearbox, manipulator and head. By manipulating with special joysticks, the operator achieves the desired result. A small monitor located in front of the specialist helps to control the process.
The work of the harvester on forest processing is carried out using a harvester head - the main tool of the combine. In fact, this is a separate complex mechanism with grips, circular saws, trimmed knives. The head is mounted on a hydraulic manipulator of sufficient power to position the head with the barrel in various planes. The boom of the manipulator reaches 70 meters or more.
Harvester Classification
The more powerful the harvester, the thicker the trunk the machine can handle. They are divided into the following classes:
- light, weighing up to 600 kg and capable of sawing and cleaning thin whips for thinning;
- medium, weighing up to 1000 kg - universal, capable of both thinning and harvesting business wood;
- heavy, weighing more than 1300 kg and used only for logging;
- superheavy, weighing more than 3500 kg and necessary for sawing and bucking very thick trunks.
The above classification is conditional, and manufacturers are free to use another division.
The productivity of the machine depends on the power and the conditions in which it is necessary to harvest the forest. It is considered normal if you manage to cut, clean and prepare 10 cubic meters of round timber per hour for transportation per hour.
How does a harvester work?
The operation of the equipment can be divided into the following stages:
- the harvester operator, using the boom of the manipulator, brings the machine head to the tree trunk;
- the barrel is captured by rollers and delimbing knives, the sensors determine its thickness;
- a command is given, and the tree is cut down;
- the harvester head rotates and the trunk assumes a horizontal position;
- the trunk is advanced by rollers, and branches and branches are cut off during movement;
- sensors accurately signal when the required thickness of the trunk ends, and at this point the tree is cut;
- sawn elements are laid out in batches in batches or all at once.
The last stage of sorting is sometimes trusted in automation, laying down a program for bucking, but most often this process is carried out in manual mode.
Who runs the harvester
The main parameters are stored in the computer before starting work. Information about the type of wood, about what diameters of assortments are required, is entered. The harvester determines the length of the elements based on the entered data automatically, but the final decision is left to the specialist at the control panel.
The operator controls the work of the harvester. He first programs the task on the keyboard, with the help of joysticks he brings the machine head to the tree, starts the sawing process, and then switches to the processing of the trunk and its sawing.
Only highly qualified specialists are able to perform such work, and the Union of Harvester Operators helps them find a job. With the seeming simplicity of manipulating joysticks, high coordination of actions is required here. Therefore, before starting work, it is necessary to complete special training in courses where they will not only talk about what it is - a harvester, but also teach the basics of working on a machine.