SP’s sharp new heads

SP 661 LF in high speed, feeding spruce.

SP was founded in 1978 and developed the world's first ever single-grip harvester head in 1980. Since then they’ve stayed ahead of the game in terms of sheer experience and productivity. During the past year the SP design and development team has focused on finalising all options and market adaptations to the SP 661 LF and SP 661 E harvester heads. These heads were released for sale in early 2018 and have quickly become SP’s best-selling models globally with more than 200 units sold so far.

SP 661 LF
The SP 661 LF is the latest design from SP. It is a compact and strong high performance harvester head designed according to SP’s Low Friction concept for maximum productivity. It is designed to be versatile and offers high productivity in both small and large diameter trees.

The versatile SP 661 LF offers high productivity in both small and large diameter trees.

The well protected and robust design - in combination with state of the art hose routing - ensures high reliability and uptime regardless of tree size and harvesting conditions. The 661 LF can be customized to meet customers’ individual needs. Its versatility means it is equally at home on a wheeled harvester in Europe, a tracked harvester in Canada or an excavator in the Southern Hemisphere.

SP 661 E – the one-pass head
The SP 661 E is designed for one task only – one pass debarking of plantation grown Eucalyptus. Highest debarking quality and productivity is achieved through a unique combination of specially designed debarking knives, replaceable bark deflectors and high-speed feeding capabilities. Thanks to the proportional pressure function on knives and feed rollers the debarking process can be adjusted for different conditions, resulting in the best possible debarking quality and a minimum of fiber damage. The SP 661 E shares the same state of the art hose routing and protected design as the SP 661 LF, and offers unrivalled reliability and uptime. It was released at the end of 2018 and is currently working in Eucalyptus plantations all over the world. The latest development on the 661 E is the addition of the HD tilt frame for a better fit to suit tracked carriers for demanding operations.

The SP 661 E is specially designed for one pass debarking of plantation grown Eucalyptus.

Five innovations for maximum efficiency
SP harvester heads in the LF and E series are designed according to SP’s ‘Low Friction’ concept, which comprises five separate innovations and solutions designed to maximize production, optimize fuel and energy consumption, and drastically reduce maintenance costs. Together, these five solutions provide an unbeatable combination that allows SP to offer highly productive heads for thinnings, heavy final felling or harvesting hard wood.

The delimbing knives boast long, specially designed cutting edges, ensuring delimbing by cutting rather than snapping. This minimizes friction during delimbing, thereby increasing speed and productivity. The delimbing knives are cast in high-strength steel for maximum durability and service life.

Proportional pressure ensures that the head automatically always applies the optimal delimbing knife and feed roller clamping pressure on the stem, regardless of diameter. This minimizes friction between stem and head, ensuring the fastest and smoothest feed possible. Individual settings for different tree species further maximises production.

LogHold enables the delimbing knife clamping pressure to be lowered even further without any risk of dropping the stem. Should the stem start to slip, LogHold reacts instantaneously, raising the clamping pressure sufficiently to hold the stem in position.

Proportionally angled feed rollers ensure that the angle and carrying capacity of the feed rollers change in proportion to the stem diameter. When the feed rollers are fully open for processing large diameter stems, the feed rollers are set at their widest angle for maximum carrying capacity. This means that the clamping pressure to the delimbing knives can be minimised, which in turn reduces friction and enables the head to feed the stem quickly and easily. When the feed rollers are closed, this unique solution provides an incredibly narrow and agile head with compact dimensions.

Optimal hydraulics means that pressure drops are minimized by means of the size and design of each hydraulic component, such as the motors, valve blocks, couplings and hoses. This generates high energy efficiency and the lowest possible fuel consumption per cubic meter timber harvested, with power, force, and productivity maximized during feeding, delimbing, and cutting. Due to the fact that the heads in SP’s low friction concept only have two feed roller motors, the number of hoses, couplings, and bends can be significantly reduced, which also results in minimal hydraulic losses. The low pressure drops also reduce heat generation in the hydraulic system, which increases the service life of many machine components.

For more, visit https://spmaskiner.com

Protecting forestry equipment, operators & the environment from fire

If you are buying a new Tigercat machine from AfrEquip, there is a good chance that your
equipment will come with a FOGMAKER Fire Suppression System already installed. This is because Tigercat and AfrEquip have recognized the effective technology behind FOGMAKER’s high-pressure water mist fire suppression system, and will recommend to customers that a FOGMAKER system should be installed prior to sending any piece of forestry equipment out into the field to protect this valuable asset, the operator and the surrounding environment.

The majority of forestry equipment fires are preventable - strict housekeeping and timely maintenance are key factors in this strategy. However in the unfortunate event that a fire does strike, early detection while the fire is small and contained is crucial. FOGMAKER’s automatic fire detection and suppression system is designed and installed to effectively detect and suppress fires within the engine and hydraulic compartments of forestry equipment.

FOGMAKER South Africa can assist customers with financing if needed. Installations are scheduled soonest with minimal equipment downtime.

Protect your assets working in-field by reducing the risk of fire.

The FOGMAKER system can be installed on the production line at the TIGERCAT manufacturing facility or in-field by certified FOGMAKER field engineers. Emergency preparedness training is part of the FOGMAKER fire suppression offering, which is conducted on site after every installation. This provides operators with the confidence and the knowledge to react quickly and correctly in the case of a heat or fire incident, thereby minimising the impact of the fire and preventing its spread to the surrounding environment.

The synergy between AfrEquip, Tigercat and FOGMAKER is all about promoting responsible forestry through safeguarding and protecting equipment, people and the environment.

The fact that FOGMAKER is a water-based fire suppression system is another feather in its cap.
The FOGMAKER fire suppression system simultaneously disrupts all three sides to the fire triangle.
FOGMAKER’s suppressant includes, in low concentrations, an Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)
which forms a protective barrier on the surface of any flammable material or fuel, thus preventing the fuel from being available for combustion. FOGMAKER refers to this as Pure Performance with Triple Action3.

Compact FOGMAKER fire suppression system installed in a forest harvesting machine.

FOGMAKER South Africa offers a comprehensive sales and service package to customers including sales and installation, financing, training, routine scheduled inspections, service calls and system recharges.

If you order your FOGMAKER fire suppression installation before the end of 2021 you will also be contributing to an exciting reforestation project with FOGMAKER South Africa and PLATBOS forest in the Cape! So, you can help protect our forests by preventing fires and planting trees.

AfrEquip supplies the South African forestry industry with modern, mobile, purpose-built equipment. The company’s mission is to be the leading supplier of equipment, parts, and quality service in the Southern African forestry and biofuel market. AfrEquip’s services include sales, maintenance, product support and all the relevant training courses designed to enhance operator productivity.

AfrEquip has five branches located in South Africa’s forestry hotspots: Pietermaritzburg (KZN), Mbombela / Nelspruit (Mpumalanga), Mkhondo / Piet Retief (Mpumalanga) and Ugie (Eastern Cape).

For more info, visit: www.fogmaker.co.za