Developing a new harvester head for tree felling

Technological progress does not stand still. As a result of a detailed analysis of the existing options for technological equipment used in production and described in the sources of patent information, the idea of modernizing the harvester (processor) head of logging machines came up, which makes it possible to increase the number of functions it implements. However, all currently existing designs of harvester heads either do not allow debarking, or when using them, slow debarking is carried out with multiple starts and stops of the debarking mechanism. The purpose of the variant of the modernization of the harvester head of a logging machine for felling, delimbing and bucking of trees described in the article is to create such a technical device that will allow the debarking of assortments by a rotary debarking mechanism without stopping its operation at the moments of delimbing and bucking the trunk. The main research method in the preparation of the article materials was the patent search for analogues and the development of a new technical solution based on them, which makes it possible to implement the task set by the authors. As an analogue, the impulse type of the harvester head was chosen. As a result of the modernization of the existing technical solution, several important elements were added to the design. The principle of operation of the new technical solution is substantiated. The proposed working body of the feller-lopper-bucker performs capture, sawing, felling a tree, pruning, bucking into assortments and debarking without stopping the debarking mechanism in the process of delimbing and bucking the tree trunk, which makes it possible to debark timber without reducing the productivity of the harvester head.