Analysis of the forwarder design and harvesting technique

Natural production conditions in Russia are very diverse. They include taxation characteristics of stands, soil and terrain conditions, permitted types of logging, as well as the development of the road network. For various combinations of natural and industrial operating conditions it is possible to choose the optimal forwarder and the main thing is to approach the issue of selection correctly. First, the forwarder is selected according to the tasks to perform. It should be noted that, a forwarder operates in pair with a harvester that performs directly the harvesting of wood. Each forwarder model is selected based on the conditions and tasks that the logger faces. There is no point in purchasing a small-capacity forwarder if a powerful harvester is paired with it in a large stand of trees. A forwarder with a low load capacity will not be able to provide the skidding performance required for these conditions. Moreover, it is pointless to put a forwarder with a large load capacity in a pair with a small harvester that performs, for example, cleaning cutting operations. Not all forwarders currently produced are in demand in Russia. In the Russian market, forwarders starting with a load capacity of 14 tons are the most popular ones. Forwarders with a lower load capacity are usually used in the Scandinavian countries. In Russia, these forwarders are not used in industrial wood harvesting. If the road network is poorly developed in the area of logging operations, and there is a need for long-distance skidding, it is better to use vehicles with high load capacity. In Russia, there are examples when such forwarders perform skidding for 7-8 km. However, it should be taken into account that if the forwarder has to move such a long distance, its performance drops sharply. In this case, an additional forwarder may be required to haul the tree-lengths produced by the harvester. It is clear that forwarders with a higher load capacity are more expensive. The difference in the cost of forwarders with a load capacity of 14 tons and that of 20 tons is about 50 thousand euros, or about 15% of the cost of the machine.