supplier newsline
Tigercat releases 570 harvesting head
The new Tigercat 570 harvesting head offers excellent productivity and reliability, says the company, using many of the structural and hydraulic performance benefits of the larger 575 head, in a package ideally suited to Tigercat H845 series carriers.
The wheel arms, pins, bushings, cylinders, feed motors and rotator are shared with the 575 model for proven strength and long life. The chassis is designed for optimum strength-to-weight with focus on visibility, component protection and quick service access. A new integrated valve package enhances performance and service access with fewer hoses and connections to improve reliability. Clean electrical routing with common service parts further increases uptime.
Dual-purpose harvesting and processing knives—with replaceable blades and tips—come standard with independent cylinders as the ultimate solution for crooked or heavily limbed stems, says Tigercat. The dual, independent cylinders allow the knives to follow the stem profile, improving control and delimbing quality. The 570 is flexible and configurable.
Optional hydraulic front knife timing improves picking performance in processing applications, while optional harvesting knives with shorter tips enhance harvesting dexterity. Various wheel and motor options are available to tailor performance to application.
The 570 is most productive working with trees 6”-20” in diameter in softwood and hardwood stands. Although best suited to the Tigercat H845 series, the 570 is designed to work with the H822 and H855 series carriers or a 20-25 tonne forestry excavator.
New Fuchs MHL320 F material handler good entry level option
The new Fuchs MHL320 F material handler boasts a compact yet powerful design. With an 11 percent more powerful engine and offering the same features found on larger Fuchs handlers, the versatile 50,485 lb MHL320 F handler is said to be a good entry level unit for operations that need high lift capacities at extended reaches, efficient sorting capabilities and fast trailer loading/unloading only delivered by purpose-built handlers.
The new MHL320 F handler features a fuel efficient 127.4 hp diesel engine that meets Tier IV Final emissions standards.
New joystick steering for the MHL320 F
handler greatly improves on-site maneuverability, significantly enhances operator visibility and substantially increases legroom to elevate operator comfort. The standard dual solid rubber tire drive system offers a 30-degree steering angle to deliver a tight 22.9’ turning radius, so the compact handler nimbly maneuvers around obstacles. All-wheel drive and an oscillating rear axle deliver a 55 per cent maximum grade-ability and aid in efficiently navigating uneven terrain. A dual-speed transmission allows the machine to quickly move about the yard at speeds reaching 12.4 mph.
Brandt pays tribute to Fort McMurray heroes
The Brandt Group of Companies has reached out to express their appreciation to the many firefighters, local contractors and others who fought against tall odds to safeguard the city of Fort McMurray in the recent wildfire.
“Having witnessed the battle firsthand, we are in awe of the heroic efforts put forth by this amazing group of men and women,” says Shaun Semple, Brandt President. “We are deeply proud that we were able to keep our facility operating and contribute our best efforts in support of theirs, and we honor their bravery and selflessness.”
In recognition of those who battled the blaze, Brandt has released a 5½-minute video entitled ‘Standing Strong – Fort McMurray’, and has made it available on its website.
PLP manages saw lubrication
PLP is described as an intelligent device to manage saw lubrication that is both scalable and modular.
With its state-of-the-art controller, it controls water pressure, air pressure and water flow. The controller allows for communication with the machine PLC by Ethernet, serial link, or digital I/O. This communication set up is fully scalable and changeable, which means that it is possible to move the PLP from an older machine to a newer one. There is no need to call a technician to do this on site. Everything in the PLP’s software is already installed. Changing parameters through the HMI is the only action required.
The water control system is scalable from one to four water lines, and offers a range of applications from a single arbor gang edger to a quad.
Chuck Wert moves from Swanson to USNR
USNR has appointed Chuck Wert as senior vice-president, with responsibility for aftermarket customer support, including spare and replacement parts, technical service, and training.
Wert comes to USNR after 18 successful years with the Swanson Group, one of the largest independent lumber and plywood producers in the Western United States. He served in a number of executive leadership roles at Swanson, including most recently as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
“We are very pleased to have Chuck join our leadership team,” said George Van Hoomissen, USNR’s President and CEO. “He brings not only a wealth of management experience, but also an intimate understanding of what it takes to be successful as a sawmill or plywood mill operator. This background and perspective makes Chuck uniquely qualified to lead and develop our customer support operations.”
Oregon introduces SpeedMax XL .404 Harvester Guide Bar
Blount International has introduced the new Oregon SpeedMax XL .404 harvester guide bar.
Engineered to keep operators in the cab and on the job longer, the SpeedMax XL is said to offer improved chain retention and reduced flex with a wider design and high-strength chrome-moly steel alloy. The all-new 14-tooth replaceable sprocket nose has been designed to withstand the demanding cutting conditions of high-output harvester machines.
“We know time is money, and maintenance downtime can be frustrating for any operator,” said Derek Vlcko, Business Segment Director for Oregon forestry products. “A bent guide bar or thrown chain is all it takes to idle a very expensive piece of equipment. The SpeedMax XL is designed to address both issues with a wider, stronger bar body and a larger, more durable replaceable sprocket nose.”
Compatible with the most popular harvesting equipment, the SpeedMax XL features:
- An all-new 14-tooth replaceable sprocket nose that makes 21 per cent fewer rotations during use when compared to a traditional 11-tooth nose. Fewer rotations decreases the amount of wear accumulated on the teeth and bearings, and increases the life of the nose for more overall productivity.
- A wider guide bar made from high-strength chrome-moly steel alloy is stiffer and stronger, providing increased chain retention in high-speed cutting applications.
- Oregon’s patented four-rivet sprocket nose design creates a stronger attachment to the bar body, and the industrial-strength high-alloy bearings are 14 per cent thicker when compared to some competitive products.
- A longer nose design that is engineered to absorb more rail wear where it happens most.
- LubriTec Oiling System keeps the chain running smooth, for less friction and longer life.
- Many sizes are available with Oregon’s patented Jet-Fit motor mount.
Husqvarna introduces battery-operated chainsaws
With the launch of Husqvarna’s professional grade battery-operated products, the company says users will have an even wider range of high-performance tools to get the job done more efficiently. The new series continues to offer traditional performance but with a new power source.
Each new product from the series is equipped with a high-capacity 36V Li-Ion battery that delivers the performance of a gasoline powered engine with a cleaner and quieter experience.
Husqvarna battery powered chainsaws are powerful and quiet, and available in versions for professional tree care use and arborists, as well as for carpentry and domestic woodcutting. The powerful brushless motors, high chain speed and convenient handling make them excellent alternatives to gas chainsaws.
The Husqvarna 536Li XP chainsaw is suited for professionally-oriented users who want a lightweight, high performance chainsaw. It is said to be perfect for carpenters, contractors and tree care workers. It features excellent ergonomics, high performance and high chain speed.
Bosch Rexroth features intelligent hydraulics fit for Industry 4.0
There is much talk about Industry 4.0 as a vision of the future. From a pure automation point of view, it is not about an imminent revolution, but about an evolutionary development, which is ready for networking already today, says Bosch Rexroth.
In current Motion Controls and Motion Logic Systems for hydraulics, Bosch Rexroth has already integrated numerous functions in software, which used to be controlled purely hydro-mechanically in the past. The specialties of fluid power technology are automatically compensated for, and the decentralized controls perform their duties on their own and communicate with higher-level controls and master systems via open communication interfaces.
Motion Controls for hydraulics from Bosch Rexroth are provided with decentralized intelligence and communicate with higher-level systems via open interfaces.
They automatically adapt themselves to changing requirements such as velocity, changes in force, autonomously control movements in real time and fit seamlessly into machine concepts in a modular way. For this, Bosch Rexroth offers a wide spectrum of Motion Control and Motion Logic systems that are matched specifically to hydraulics: from the cabinet-free single-axis controller, IAC Multi-Ethernet valves and the pump control system SYDFED, the cabinet-mounted HMC (Hydraulic Motion Control) with programming according to IEC61131 through to IndraMotion MLC for up to 32 hydraulic axes.
Bosch Rexroth can offer a solution for any requirement, the company says. Finely scalable in terms of function and performance, these solutions cover all demands. The Multi Ethernet interface supports all common Ethernet protocols like Sercos, EtherCAT, Ethernet IP, PROFINET RT, Powerlink and Varan.
A further commonality is the best-in-class hydraulic controllers that are matched to the special characteristics of fluid power technology. They automatically take account of specialties such as valve characteristics and simplify parameterizing through their transparent structure in the operating software IndraWorks. The user is supported by a parameterization wizard, which prompts the user to enter all the required system data and makes parameterization suggestions for the control. The control is relieved, since the hydraulic control loop is closed centrally in the IAC Multi-Ethernet valve or in a decentralized form in the HMC. In this way, it is possible to operate multiaxis systems in real time independently of the PLC cycle time, among others.
Williams & White raises bar on saw sharpening
The RoboSharp-Ax10L2 from Williams & White is a highly advanced, multi-function circular saw sharpening centre.
With top and face, dual side and plunge grinding capabilities, Williams & White says that the RoboSharp is the most functional machine in the industry. The dual-bay robotic loader and automatic tool changing system allow this sharpening centre to run at optimum performance. Operators simply load the saws, select the cycle and return once the process is complete.
It also allows the operator to grind multiple saw diameters in one cycle without the need for human interaction.
www.williamsandwhiteequipment.com
iBlade specializes in saw measurement
Every tooth on a sawblade has to be measured precisely. Because of certain geometry types, it is not possible to detect angles and geometric information properly with optics. With its patented method, iBlade is said to offer a unique solution to scan all these values within one cycle. Special light management allows for the detecting of every area of a tooth and its ratings, even with difficult geometrics. This offers precise crack detection and a resulting regrind assignment. iBlade’s SAM software offers fast and complete selection of all information with one click. No manual support lines or other interactions are required by the operator. The iBlade software also offers proper management and control of band saws.
Howard A. Leach, founder of HALCO Software Systems, passed away peacefully on July 16 in Vancouver, B.C., at the age of 83.
Howard arrived in British Columbia from England in the late 1960s with a background in process optimization in the petrochemical industry. He looked around, saw that he wasn't going to make a living in petrochemicals in British Columbia, but saw an industry that intrigued him: forestry. And so he decided to apply his process optimization expertise to the forest industry. To do this, he needed a sawing simulation program, and so Howard set out to write the SAWSIM®Sawmill Simulation Program. More than 40 years later, SAWSIM® is widely considered the industry-standard sawmill simulation program, the world over.
Howard was a true industry pioneer in the application of sawing simulation and linear programming optimization to forest industry facility planning and production planning optimization. He was also a great mentor and a wonderful friend to his many industry clients, and to the staff at HALCO who continue to honour his legacy.
September 2016
On the Cover:
The Weyerhaeuser sawmill in Princeton, B.C. has added two new Volvo wheel loaders, a Volvo L350F and a Volvo L150H, from B.C. Volvo dealer Great West Equipment to help manage log operations. Read about how the equipment is helping make the operation more efficient beginning on page 10. (Photo by Paul MacDonald).
Tapping into the growing bio-economy at Alberta’s Bio-Mile
A new $11 million Clean Energy Technology Centre recently opened in Alberta and among its goals is supporting greater product diversification within the forestry sector, and encouraging more participation by the industry in the bio-economy.
Volvos delivering volume
Some new Volvo wheel loaders are helping the Weyerhaeuser sawmill in Princeton, B.C. deliver efficiencies in the millyard, in feeding logs into the high production, two-line sawmill, and handling chips and hog fuel.
“Big Data” already being utilized by forest industry
Although “Big Data” has become a buzz term in business circles in recent years, the forest industry is already well on its way to using Big Data in a number of areas, from machine centres at the sawmill, to woodlands operations.
Hard work = successful sawmill
Though it requires a lot of hard work, Alberta sawmiller Colin Ruxton says that small sawmilling can pay off—and he’s proven it with both a band and circular sawmill.
Going from logger—to lumber producer
New Brunswick’s Pierre Friolet has used skills developed as a logging contractor to set up an added-value operation that produces thermally modified wood, finding customers from architects to guitar makers for the unique wood product.
Lean log handling
B.C.’s coastal forest industry and the provincial government are working on streamlining the log handling process through making changes based on the “Lean” philosophy that is practiced in other industries—and it’s already showing results.
Family fencing operation
B.C. specialty mill operation Nagaard Sawmill, run by brothers Darrol and Dale Nagel, has found its niche—and it’s in producing fence components from western red cedar for a growing market, with a mill that features a fair bit of home-made equipment, and lots of ingenuity.
Liking the Log Max/Doosan combo
New Brunswick harvesting contractor Remi Doucet is a fan of the Doosan/Log Max harvesting combination, and recently upgraded his equipment with a new Log Max 7000 head.
BUILDER of business relationships
B.C. logger Shane Garner says a successful harvesting contracting operation is all about business relationships, from his employees to his John Deere-heavy logging equipment fleet.
A life in logging: from horses—to Tigercats
Long time logger Alan Costain may have started with yarding horses, but these days the horsepower in Costain Lumbering is of a very different sort, with equipment such as a Tigercat 822.
Self-sufficient sawmilling
The frontier community of Colville Lake, 50 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories, has acquired a new portable sawmill which will produce building materials to help address the community’s need for improved housing.
The Edge
Included in this edition of The Edge, Canada’s leading publication on research in the forest industry, are stories from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre and Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions.
The Last Word
The Fort McMurray fire of earlier this year could have ripple effect on the cost of insurance for the forest industry, says Jim Stirling.
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