Ufkes Greentec Forestcutter 300 on a Ponsse Fox working in Germany “The Fastest Tree Cutter on the market”
Ufkes Greentec is a manufacturer from the Netherlands and was founded in 2004 by Jippe Ufkes. The company have made their presence felt very quickly and specialise in a comprehensive selection of equipment for forestry, bio energy and arboriculture at affordable prices.
Not one to shy away from new challenges, Ufkes recently partnered with German Ponsse distributers, Wahlers Forsttechnik, and German engineering company Holp, on a combined project for a German contractor that sought an effective method to remove swaths of low-quality immature pine trees from under high voltage electricity pylons. Due to their poor form, the stand of trees are to be chipped whole and used for biofuel
The base machine is a 20 tonne, 285hp PONSSE Fox, with an 11m reach C44+ crane. A Holp Kinematic RotoTop connects the Forestcutter by a standard MS-08 joint to the crane, it is a tried and tested rotary joint.
The Fox has sufficient engine and hydraulic power for the Forestcutter and at a total working weight of just under 20 tonnes spread over the eight wheels, enabling it to work on all types of soil structures without creating problems.
“This is the first time the Forestcutter 300 has been installed on a wheeled harvester base” explained M Roelofsen from Ufkes Greentec “Generally a Forestcutter is used along with tracked and wheeled excavator bases, the launch will be a valuable solution for using with other makes of wheeled harvesters.”
The Forestcutter 300-130 is the largest model in the 300 series (available with 3 different Hydraulic motors 65/100 & 130 litre) and requires an oil flow of 110-175 litre/min for the 855mm diameter cutting disc.
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That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
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Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
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It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
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Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
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Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.
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The main shaft and bearing are sealed in an oil bath and the disc has 12 X 42mm cutting chisels, a harder metal option (widea steel) is offered for using in sandy, gritty and stony soils.
The maximum rotation speed of the disc is 1400rpm, a foot pedal is fitted in the cab so that the disc is only in use when cutting the trees, there isn’t the need for a constant hydraulic flow to the disc which has huge savings on fuel costs. The grapple requires an oil flow of 20-50 litre/min, maximum opening is 1070mm with a maximum working width of 650mm.
The smart lightweight design uses Hardox steel and weighs just 630kg in standard form. This model is fitted with a collecting unit and a fixed bracket making it perfect for multi stem felling. This adds an additional 125kg to the Forestcutter.
Other features of the Forestcutter include a maintenance free drive line, a highly efficient piston motor with suction valve, a filter in the return hydraulic line, plus an innovative arm design for quick material handling and grabbing the sawn trees and bushes.
The customer and harvester operator are delighted with the results. “This type of set up has three functions” said M. Roelofsen “it’s perfect for clearing trees and bushes and for maintaining woodland areas. The trees are cut at ground level which maximises the amount of timber you get from each tree and reducing the risk of tyre damage. You get an unobstructed view of your work area and excellent productivity; the swivel head allows you to cut the material while slewing the crane.”
“This is a highly productive method of clearing timber; it is difficult to give exact production figures as several types of trees have different properties. One site where it was harvesting spruce trees with up to 30cm butt diameter it was achieving 1.6 to 1.8 ha per day.”
He continues “It is equally at home harvesting dead trees and perfect for removing any woody weeds for better forest management. Removing dead and dying trees and clearing away the undergrowth has a positive effect on the health of the forest which improves resilience against diseases and insect attacks while reducing the fire risk. The 11m reach crane offers excellent versatility for selective thinning and when clearcutting you can remove an impressive 22m wide swath in the one pass.”
“Wild and weeping cherry trees are considered a weed and are usually removed with a mulcher, this isn’t ideal as it scatters the seeds which means they are continually regrowing.”
This is an interesting combination from the three manufacturers and with demand for biofuel ever increasing, is a cost effective solution to meet the rising demand.
Houtversnipperaars – Stobbenfrezen – Houtkranen – Ufkes.net
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