ALL-ROUND HARVESTER

COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE MACHINE

As the latest manufacturer to enter the highly competitive, all-round eight-wheeled harvester segment, Sampo Rosenlew is making rivals sit up and take note with its new HR86. Eoghan Daly reports from the Czech Republic on the first production machine to enter service

It may be a long way from Sampo Rosenlew’s Finnish headquarters and production facilities, but when word of the availability of a new eight-wheeled all-round harvester from the manufacturer filtered through to Czech-based František Hron Timber Harvesting, taking delivery of the first production machine was an opportunity not to be missed by the company. With František Hron Timber Harvesting shifting focus from early thinning to working with larger diameter material, the timing was perfect.

“We have many years’ experience using Sampo Rosenlew harvesters and when our 1066 became old, replacing it with the HR86 made a lot of sense for us,” explained Martin Hron, operator and son of the company founder František Hron.

By the time of our visit, Martin had been running the HR86 for just over four months and had got to grips with its operation. As an experienced operator with 14 years in timber harvesting, Martin deployed Ponsse, Rottne and John Deere machinery before working in his father’s timber harvesting business. His subsequent loyalty to the Sampo Rosenlew brand has been inspired by the way in which the manufacturer’s machinery has so well served his company’s diversification into later thinning and clearfelling.

FERTILE GROUND

Keen to witness the HR86 harvesting material at the upper end of its application range, I travelled to the upland harvesting site close to Srní village in the shadow of Spálený mountain, which rises to a height of 1,013m. Typical Czech forest conditions

Far left: Stable when handling over the side.

Left: Martin Hron loves his new HR86!

Above: Ground clearance is a useful 620mm.

DESIGNED AS AN ALL-ROUND HARVESTER, IT WOULD APPEAR THE EIGHT-WHEELED HR86 IS CAPABLE OF PUNCHING WELL ABOVE ITS WEIGHT”

were evident with well managed plantations presented in this dense area.

Located in the Klatovy District within the Plze Region, and a short distance from the German border, this relatively free draining upland area presents positive growing conditions. With an average tree size of 1 cubic metre, the block being clear felled incorporates tall, high quality material of a consistent diameter and relatively low branch density, with the exception of the crowns which presented a real test of delimbing stamina. As these high volume stems hit the ground with a resounding thud, the way in which the HR86 handled itself during felling and processing, especially during the feeding through of the initial lengths when each tree is still complete, confirmed its potential.

Designed as an all-round harvester, it would appear the eight-wheeled HR86 is capable of punching well above its weight. It is compact and manoeuvrable enough for thinnings, as well as being stable enough and generating sufficient oil flow to host a crane and harvesting head for larger volume clearfell material.

Great view from the operator’s seat; hydraulic cylinders and stability sensors are used for self-stabilisation.

CHERRY PICKING

Various cranes, harvesting heads and tyres are available on the HR86. This Czech contractor required the maximum level of working capacity at the upper end of the machine’s application range. Consequently, this HR86 has been specified with the shorter reach crane that is compatible with the largest possible harvesting head. When it came to tyres, František Hron Timber Harvesting opted for narrower 600/55-26.5 rubber to reduce overall width to 2.68m and provide greater stand penetration in thinnings.

Despite this choice of tyres, clearance remains sufficient for the fitment of band tracks on all four bogies, giving enhanced climbing and floatation characteristics. However, this HR86 has run exclusively without tracks or chains to date, as it has yet to face any challenging climbs or been required to lower its ground pressure. Martin confirmed stability is good on these tyres, even when handling large trees.

This 22,000kg HR86 offers adequate ground clearance of 620mm and a tight turning circle, making it particularly nimble in thinnings. Bogie axles have been sourced from NAF and are offered in the balanced configuration as standard, while climbing ability is boosted by its hydrostatic mechanical transmission. IN TERMS OF BALANCING SLEWING AND LEVELLING CAPABILITIES WITH SPACIOUS CAB DIMENSIONS, THE MANUFACTURER HAS HIT THE MARK”

Right: IQAN controls engine, trans and crane.

HR86 DEVELOPMENT Initial development of the Sampo Rosenlew HR86 timber harvester was carried out by the now defunct Logman company, which went bankrupt in 2017. Sampo Rosenlew took the concept and added its own design slant, the first prototype appearing at the 2018 FinnMetko exhibition staged at Jämsä in Finland. One of the most significant changes that Sampo Rosenlew made to the Logman design was separating the cabin and crane from a common slewing base, and mounting the crane on the front frame independent of the cabin. This became a real talking point and signalled a new beginning for Sampo Rosenlew. Extensive testing in real working environments led to further design refinements before the development team was confident that their HR86 was finally ready for production.

Even though the HR86 is a completely new product from Sampo Rosenlew, much about the machine is reassuringly familiar. The engine, hydraulics, transmission, crane and harvesting head options, together with their respective control and monitoring systems, are already in use on rival machines and have proven durability.

At the heart of the machine is an AgcoPower 74 AWF six-cylinder diesel engine delivering 195kW. “I am impressed by the machine’s fuel economy,” Martin said. “It is using 20 to 25 litres per hour. In this job, which has 1 cubic metre average trees, fuel use amounts to three-quarters of a litre per cubic metre. I harvest 300 cubic metres in a single eight-hour shift.”

The hydraulic arrangement consists of three Linde pumps, which deliver an impressive flow rating to cope with simultaneous operation of the crane and head and machine travel if needed during the processing of logs segregated by classification. Like the engine, the hydraulically reliant elements are managed by the machine’s Parker IQAN machine control system, which also allows selection of operator specific settings to tailor the machine to individual preferences, including crane operating speeds.

FRANTIŠEK HRON TIMBER HARVESTING

The timber harvesting business established by the late František Hron achieved much during his tenure and lives on through the contribution of his son Martin who now runs the operation. From its base at Kamenné Mosty, harvesting is conducted on forest properties within a one-hour travel radius of the headquarters, which brings a large volume of forest within the focus area.

Initially concentrating on thinning, František Hron Timber Harvesting was the first Czech-based users of a Sampo Rosenlew harvester in the form of a 1066 model with a Keto 51 harvesting head, which joined the operation in 2006. Having worked 13,000 hours with no major problems, the 1066 eventually gave way to the current harvester fleet: two Sampo Rosenlew HR46 harvesters fitted with Kesla RH16 and RH18 harvesting heads, plus the new HR86 harvester with its Kesla RH27 head.

Extraction is the task of an in-house Novotny LVS520 forwarder, while a cooperation with fellow harvesting company Ales Tlusty provides a further Novotny LVS520 and a Sampo Rosenlew FR48 forwarder to complete the extraction requirements.

Crane mounting spot boosts stability; the base is a proven Mesera design. Teaming the RH27 head with the HR86 was an easy decision to make.

CRANE AND HEAD

Continuing the theme of proven components, the crane matched to the HR86 is a Mesera 240H parallel movement unit. The 240H can be specified in either 10.3 or 11.1m reach versions, with this Czech user opting for the shorter item. Even though Sampo Rosenlew offers a range of harvesting heads for the HR86, the decision was an easy one for Martin. “Our two other harvesters are fitted with Kesla RH16 and RH18 heads and they have worked very well for more than five years, so we chose the Kesla RH27 for the HR86. This head performs very well and is paired to Technion measurement and head control system, which is very accurate and simple to use.”

Often working in large material, the ability of the head to cope with higher volume stems is seen to be satisfactory, but it could benefit from the fitment of a second lower knife to achieve a firmer grip low down on the stem, as Martin explained. “The head has a short chassis length and it can sit low on the base of larger trees with the design of the saw box. A second lower knife would give a better grip.”

The Kesla RH28 features four movable knifes and is 90kg heavier. However, the RH27 still deftly felled and processed large volume stems in a very capable manner. Maximum felling capability is 78cm, while the feeding action is conducted by three rollers and is reassuringly fast. Once the dense limbs at the crowns of these immense stems are encountered, the unit succeeds in powering them through, a pleasing delimbing result achieved by the single top and three movable fixed knives. The roller arm design ensures the rollers have a firm grip on the stem during feeding and yield the maximum feed force as a result.

The RH27-II is simple by design, as seen by the roller integrated into the rear of the head, which effectively acts as an idler roller whilst absorbing friction to the head and smoothing the passage of the stem. The

TECH SPECS

FRANTIŠEK’S HR86

WEIGHT 22,000kg WIDTH ON 600 TYRES 2.68m ENGINE AgcoPower 74 AWF POWER 195kW TRANSMISSION Hydrostatic mechanical HYDRAULICS Three-pump system, Linde pumps CRANE/REACH Mesera 240H parallel/10.3m MACHINE CONTROL Parker IQAN HEAD Kesla RH27-II MEASUREMENT Technion xLogger

optional 28RH is available in either two- or four-roller drive…

With its rounded front windscreen profile and low set side windows, first impressions of the HR86’s cabin were positive. “The HR86 cab is equipped with all that brings comfort for operation and outlook is very good through automatic tilting and rotating of the cab following crane movement,” Martin confirmed. In terms of balancing slewing and levelling capabilities with spacious cab dimensions, the manufacturer has hit the mark. When fitted with this Kesla head, the control units sit on the cab’s dash I would change about the design of the cab, but the air conditioning fan is a bit noisy and can be annoying over a complete shift in summertime,” Martin explained.

Engine access is excellent; AdBlue tank accessed by flipping open the left-hand side wing.

FRANTIŠEK HRON TIMBER HARVESTING’S NEW HR86 HAS CERTAINLY GOT OFF TO A FLYING START”

while Sakae three-axis joysticks with five integrated keys are used in combination with Excidor ExciPad 1998 keypads. A touchscreen monitor is offered, while the system provides connections for a HP printer and Masser calipers. The IQAN system relies on a separate screen to display machine specific data. “There isn’t anything

FLYING START

Looking more closely at the design, the HR86’s engine is located towards the rear with the engine cover tilting back to reveal the complete compartment. In addition, the rear cover opens independently for direct cooling radiator access. Moving towards the front, the hydraulic assemblies and hydraulic oil tank are laid bare by opening both sides and the top panel cover, while an additional opening cover towards the front at a lower level provides further access, making all areas of the machine easily reachable.

František Hron Timber Harvesting’s new HR86 has certainly got off to a flying start. The company’s trust in Sampo Rosenlew to deliver a reliable and highly effective machine right from the beginning of production, and during a critical time when it branches out into harvesting of later thinning and clearfelling, has not been misplaced.

“All our Sampo Rosenlew machines have performed really well over long service and I would expect the same from the HR86,” Martin said. “So far, everything is very positive and I am really happy with the performance of this machine.”

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