Upgrading the Feller-Delimber-Crosscutter Mechanism of a Forest Harvester

Abstract

There is an annual increase in the number of modern forestry machines at logging enterprises both in Russia and in foreign countries. At the same time, the fleet of forestry machines is becoming more diverse and multifunctional, and their manufacturers, competing for market outlets, find themselves interested in constant upgrading of existing and development of new design and technological solutions. The research is aimed at finding a new engineering solution that will allow along with harvesting high-quality logs to perform their partial debarking without a significant reduction in the processing speed. The effective result is achieved by the fact that the proposed new method of processing tree trunks provides the possibility of timber barking in strips, i.e. removing the bark from a fallen tree along its entire length, as well as bast removal (partially or completely). The method involves, as in the traditional model of harvesting (processing) head functioning, crosscutting of the trunk by the sawing mechanism and delimbing by delimbing knives. This leads to accelerated natural drying of wood during its storage in the warehouses and significantly increases the floatability of thin coniferous logs during their further timber floating. The implementation of the proposed option of harvesting debarked timber at the logging site and the working body of harvesters (processors) to carry out such harvesting will increase the share of logging waste at the logging site. The design of the new harvesting (processing) head does not require significant financial expenses for its upgrading. The design of the new harvester head allows the logs to be barked in strips along the entire length. Additional drive of working mechanisms is not required. This will enable the implementation of rough debarking with minimal financial costs already at the stage of logging operations and increase the efficiency of logging and timber processing enterprises.