What is a harvester? Its types, purpose and advantages

  • Dec 14, 2020
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A harvester is a type of forestry equipment capable of performing several production tasks at once. This special equipment is necessary when carrying out clear or selective felling of forests, as well as pruning and packaging of the assortment.

The boom of the harvester can have a reach of up to 10 m. Thanks to the use of this special equipment, it is possible to dispense with the use of a large number of other machines in the logging process.

In another way, a harvester is also called a harvester. There are quite a few models of these special machines, but almost all of them are characterized by the same set of functions.

Harvester: appearance
Harvester: appearance

The only difference is observed in some parameters, in particular: in weight, type of chassis and type of head.

Harvester: inside the cab

Harvester types

Depending on their weight, harvesters are available in extra heavy, heavy, medium and lightweight. Light models are used for small-scale felling of forest park areas. Moreover, the diameter of the trees should not exceed 40 cm. It is possible to fell trees with a diameter of 40-50 cm using a medium-weight harvester, which is quite often used in forestry work.

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One of the most productive options are heavy models of this special equipment, which perfectly cope with trees with a diameter of 50 to 60 cm. Extra-heavy harvesters are used for felling very large trees.

Depending on the type of suspension system, this technique is classified into tracked and wheeled. The head can be parallel or combined (the second most common).

Main advantages

When comparing a harvester to conventional forestry equipment, it is worth noting that it has many advantages.

The main advantages include:

  • high productivity (in one shift with the help of this special equipment it is possible to prepare from 150 to 300 cubic meters of forest, and if you additionally use a forwarder, then the productivity is even higher will increase);
  • increasing the efficiency of logging (harvesters carry out high-quality bucking of logs, as well as provide the necessary dimensions of the workpieces, due to which the number of additional processing processes);
  • accurate accounting of the harvested material;
  • high quality of workpieces;
  • minimization of waste;
  • the ability to work even in the most inaccessible places;
  • improving the safety of logging operations.