Designing and manufacturing of a poplar harvester for short rotation system

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Senior Expert, Research Institute of Forests and Ranglands

2 Member of Scientific board, Research Institute of Forests and Ranglands

Abstract

 
     The worth of forest areas and increasing demand of wood in the country has lead our attention to increase wood production. Therefore short rotation system for intensive wood production is strongly recommended. Chainsaw is usually used in addition to labor for cutting and harvesting the low diameter stem which is a hard and uneconomic task. Due to intensive wood production under short rotation method, a special professional machine is required for harvesting low diameter trees of poplar stands. The exotic harvesting machines are used for harvesting very low diameter trees, which are not proper to use in Iran. For this reasons, a harvesting machine was designed, manufactured and attached to a garden tractor and driven by P.T.O shaft. The machine had three round knives for cutting trees up to 12.5 cm diameter. The machine power was determined according to the power required to cut the poplar stems. The rotational torque of P.T.O. shaft transmitted to the knives by two pulleys and a gearbox that designed according to the rotational speed and torque. Other parts such as bearings and seals were selected according to DIN standard. After designing and manufacturing the parts, the machine was produced and its efficiency and productivity was evaluated. The elementary assessments show that this machine is suitable for cutting woods in intensive poplar plantations of short rotation system (2, 3 and 4 years) and its operation and application is more comfortable, quicker and more safe than the chainsaw machine.
 

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