Operational efficiency and damage to sawlogs by feed rollers of the harvester head

Abstract

In mechanical cutting, deep damage caused by feed rollers can reduce the yield of good quality timber for the sawmill and plywood industries. Additionally the feeding and energy efficiency of feed rollers are important for the profitability of harvester cutting. The objectives of this study were to compare the damages to sawlogs, as well as the time and fuel consumption of stem feeding with six different steel feed rollers during the processing of stems using a single grip harvester. This study tested two rollers with big spikes, two rollers with small spikes, one roller with studs in v-angle and one roller with adaptable steel plates in the ring of the roller. A highly detailed, and accurate processing and fuel consumption projection was recorded using the harvester’s automated data collector on a log and stem level. The roller adaptable plate averaged, for unbarked sawlogs, the lowest damages of 3.7 mm. While the damages of the roller with big spikes were the deepest with an average of 7.8 mm. For medium stems, volume of 0.35 m3, the range of differences between the maximum and minimum effective feeding time per roller was 6–19%, which would increase the effective time consumption of cutting by 1–3%. Corresponding differences in fuel consumption during total stem processing were in the range of 7–15%. According to this study it can be concluded that the traditional rollers with spikes were most effective in processing and fuel consumption, but at the same time they caused the deepest damages to the sawlogs. The roller type with adaptable steel plates was the most effective for small stems, additionally it also caused the least damage to the sawlogs.