The TreeKing is a multi-stem stroke processing head that dangles from an excavator boom.
The patent pending processing head can process up to eight trees at once. It is able to process trees up to 76 cm (30 in) in diameter and the delimbing knives can open to 91 cm (36 in). More importantly is that it can handle trees as small as 8 cm (3 in). This allows for a single head that is equally comfortable in large and small trees. It is also able to process softwood and hardwood trees. It is able to handle everything from perfectly straight logs to very crooked wood. The multi-stemming capabilities are made possible by replacing drive rollers with strong grab arms. These arms hold the logs firmly in place while the delimbing head strokes down the stems in one movement. The delimbing head is made up of three components - a floating knife fixed to the head and two adjustable delimbing knives. The adjustable knives are controlled by the operator to process trees according to their size.
One of the design aims behind the attachment is to reduce the number of working parts, which generally increase the likelihood of a breakdown. The measuring device is often a troublesome component. The TreeKing does not use a wheel-based measuring system. Instead, the length of the stroke can be set, and the machine will do the rest. Measuring is accomplished based on a single stroke of the machine, or for longer lengths, multiple strokes. The onboard computer tracks the length of each stroke, similar to tracking the measuring wheel.
Fibre recovery is good as it can handle crooked stems and stems with large branches through the 8,000kg (18,000 lbs) of force, and some limbs can then be processed to create even higher fibre recovery. The TreeKing is designed to use the existing pin boss, two hydraulic lines, and one electrical cable of a standard excavator, making fitment quick and easy. It weighs 3,650 kg (8,050 lbs). Source: http://www.ktiforest.com/index.html