The harvester is a self-propelled machine
that takes over all partial steps of the timber harvest, which are felling,
delimbing, measuring, cross-cutting and bunching (buffer 10 to 21, 22 or 23). There
is no other machine that combines all these sub-processes. Along the crane it takes over a short pre-skidding as well (buffer 21 to 22).
The harvester is a widely used instrument in wood harvesting.
(Photo BOKU)
Depending on whether the harvester is
having the same felling and processing unit (all functions can be performed
with one grab of the tree), or the processing unit is separate from the felling
unit (functions need to be performed with more than one grab of the tree), the
harvester is called one- or two-grip-harvester. Since today most machines on the market are one-grip-harvesters, this differentiation gets less important.
Currently, other prototypes are being
tested in addition to the classic harvester construction. They differ from the
classic model in the way they move, which should enable these models to be used
in very steep terrain or to minimize the soil compaction of the harvester (See lecture
B06: Harvester Highlander (Konrad, Austria), Prototype walking machine
(Plustech Oy, Finland) or Prototype Portalharvester (TU Dresden, Germany)).
(Photos PLUSTECH and TUD)
Since every step of timber harvest is
executed by the harvester and the operator only needs to control the movements,
the work with the harvester is classified as mechanized work.
