Improved chainsaw motors for harvesters
A new chainsaw motor has been developed by Parker Hannifin for harvester heads. Chain speed and cutting power can remain constant throughout the bucking (cross-cutting) operation. Study results showed that bucking was faster and bucking splits were shorter.
Source: www.skogforsk.se
Volvo green truck technology at IAA
Volvo will be present at the IAA commercial vehicle exhibition in Hanover, Germany from 23-30 September. They will be demonstrating a new truck that can run on methane gas and diesel, as well as a hybrid 26 ton truck. Source: www.volvotrucks.com
FP Innovations – Skidding logs tops forward versus butts forward
They studied a grapple skidder which extracted logs with the tops forward as opposed to the conventional butt forward method. Turn volumes were 16% larger for top skidding than for butt skidding if stems were pre-bunched, but 11% smaller when stems were not pre-bunched.
Source: www.feric.ca
Husqvarna – Improved trading conditions
Husqvarna has seen a 5% increase in sales for the second quarter of 2010. They predict that that their market has passed the bottom of the recession and end-user demand is on the increase, although suppliers are still wary of increasing their inventories. Source: www.husqvarna.com
Caterpillar – Enhancements to Cat HF201 and HF221 felling heads for tracked feller bunchers
Structural changes include a box section frame design, thicker plating and reinforcement plates in high stress areas. A new saw drive shaft system boosts the bearing and shaft load capacity by 50% and improves component service life. The heads have larger, flatter front surfaces for better contact with the tree and redesigned grab arms for improved tree control and reduced stem damage. Source: www.cat.com/forestry