MACHINERY
PONSSE
Harvesters – the cutting edge I
n the last few editions of Forestry and Timber News we have looked at a variety of alternative machines, be that low impact forwarders or unfamiliar harvester brands. These unfamiliar harvester brands very often occupy niche roles within our industry. However, this month we will have a look at the mainstream harvester manufacturers. The bread and butter machines of the UK harvesting industry. The machines that you will most likely see driving off a low loader on your site. By now, most readers will be familiar with the harvester concept – a machine which fells, delimbs, measures and crosscuts trees. There have been some emerging trends in recent years, for example a shift in preference towards eight-wheeled machines; a shift in preference towards grapple action harvester heads; development of software to become more user friendly and to extract more information from the machine. However, perhaps the one area which all manufacturers have focused their attention on has been operator comfort. Items such as John Deere’s IBC software; Ponsse releasing the Scorpion in a change from their traditional design; the redesign of the Komatsu cabs are all designed to make the operator more comfortable and to reduce operator fatigue. After all, tired operators are more likely to make mistakes and to generally be less productive. All manu-
CONFOR.ORG.UK
facturers mentioned in this month’s article now produce machines with rotating cabins – so the operator is always looking at the business end of the harvester without having to strain themselves to see the head. As always, please check with the dealers to see what is available! Happy harvesting!
PONSSE Ponsse currently produce seven different harvesters with several variations within the range. In six wheel configuration there are the Beaver and Ergo Models; in eight wheels there are the Fox; Cobra; Scorpion; Scorpion King; Ergo and Bear. With the exception of the Scorpion and Scorpion King models, the rest of the range is of the traditional Ponsse design whereby the cab and engine are mounted on the rear frame and the crane on the front. All models are powered by Mercedes Benz engines. The Beaver and the Fox are at the smaller end of the Ponsse range and feature 200 horsepower engines. They are designed for use with either the H5 or H6 harvesting heads with felling capacities of 530 and 600mm respectively. The C44+ parallel crane fitted to these models is available as 10 or 11m reach. Typical weights are 17700kg for the Beaver and 20,200kg for the Fox. A relative newcomer to the Ponsse range, the Cobra is a mid-sized harvester
and weighs in at 20,900kg. The Cobra can be equipped with a choice of either the C44+ parallel crane or C5 telescopic crane, available with crane lengths between 8.6m and 11m. The 280hp engine can be put to use powering either an H5; H6 or H7 harvester head with felling capacity up to 650mm. At the upper end of the range are the well known Ergo and Bear models. The Ergo can be equipped with the C44+ or C5 crane with either H6, H7 or H8 harvester heads, whilst the Bear features the C55 (parallel) or C6 (telescopic) cranes and is suitable for use with the H7 or H8 harvester heads. Crane reach between 8.6m and 11m is available on the 21,500kg Ergo, and between 8.6 and 11m on the 24,500kg Bear. Power outputs of 274 and 320hp are achieved. Lastly, we have the Ponsse Scorpion and Scorpion King. In a break from the traditional Ponsse design, these models feature levelling and rotating cabins. With the cabin mounted to the crane, the operator is afforded unobstructed views of the harvester head. Both machines are equipped with the C50 parallel motion crane, and can be equipped with the H5 or H6 harvester heads (the Scorpion King can also be fitted with the H7 head) and are powered by 280hp engines. Typical weights are 22,700kg and 23,200 kg respectively. >>
FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2021 55
