The 2680XP and 3680XP horizontal grinders can be converted into chippers with ease.
After the initial installation or retrofit it is possible to switch out the standard cuttermill on The Beast with a custom 5/10-knife, 4/8-knife or 20-knife drum, and add a specially designed stationary anvil spacer to the infeed. The 5/10 knife drum is a 10-knife drum, but it can be run with half the knife pockets blocked off. The same applies to the 4/8 knife drum, and the 20-knife drum. With a setup like that, there’s no need to trade production for chip quality.
Bandit has engineered The Beast to have a downturning cuttermill, where most other horizontal grinders turn upward. This setup allows The Beast to cut against a one-piece infeed chain, which serves as a moving anvil. When running with a chipper drum, The Beast cuts against a replaceable stationary anvil insert that sits at the end of the infeed, rather than the infeed chain. This setup ensures a higher quality chip. This helps prevent material from turning or rolling, which results in a better quality chip. The downward cutting action also is more aggressive than up-turning cutting systems, allowing the entire feed system to provide better control of the material as it’s being fed into the chipper.
Bandit’s one-piece infeed chain also plays an important role in ensuring a higher chip quality. It does so by constantly advancing material into the feed wheel yoke and into the chipping drum. Bandit claims the heavy-duty construction on the infeed chain has proven to be far more effective and more reliable than the chains in other grinders, while helping to deliver a superior end product. A six-speed feed system slows the operator to match the conveyor speed to the size of the material desired. This keeps material from pushing against the chipping drum, causing a braking action that can rob horsepower and fuel economy. It also prevents material from not reaching the drum fast enough, which can create splinters and fines. The six-speed system can be further fine-tuned so you can create the right-sized material on the first pass.
The large infeed widths on the 2680XP and 3680XP models also mean these machines can handle the largest, widest trees possible. The 60-inch wide infeed allows for material to be spread out evenly along the infeed chain, giving logs, chunk wood, stumps, and even regrind mulch plenty of room. The 4/8 and the 5/10 knife drum, depending on if all the knives are utilized or if half of them are blocked off, can produce a 5 cm (2 in) maxi chip for biomass boilers, a 2 cm (¾ in) standard chip. A 20-knife drum can produce a 0.6 cm (¼ in) to 1 cm (3/8 cm) microchip when all the knives are utilized. Blocking off half the knife pockets can produce a standard 2 cm (¾ in) to 2.5 cm (1 in) chip.
Users can swap the chipping drum back to the traditional cuttermill, and still enjoy the advantages of tooth and raker options, giving operators the ability to pick and choose the correct hardware to process nearly anything from chunk wood down to branches and logging slash. Source