Fixteri baler – the core of efficient harvesting

Fixteri, developed for harvesting stem wood at renovation sites of young forests and first thinning sites, is the first baler of its kind in the world. The most optimal operating area of Fixteri is in stands marked for the first thinning, where the chest height diameter of the stand to be harvested is 6-16 cm.

Fixteri baler is an accessory to harvesting that can be mounted into the cargo space of an under carriage with bolted joints. Regarding the efficiency of bundling work, when selecting the under carriage it is important that the lift truck is placed on the same frame with the cabin; a rotating cabin adds to the user comfort. Regarding the felling equipment, felling heads with bundle-handling properties are suited for Fixteri bundling.

The baler takes the driving power for the electrical and hydraulic system from the under carriage, and its operations are controlled from the manual handles of the under carriage cabin. In the cabin there is a touch screen, which provides the baler parameter settings, and information about the operation of the baler and production volumes.

The strategic measurements of the Fixteri baler are width 240 cm, length 410 cm, height 280 cm and unloaded weight about 6,500 kg.

Fixteri baler bundles stem wood into bales

The prevailing harvesting method of small-dimensioned wood is harvesting undelimbed stem wood. In practice, this means that a tree is cut from the butt-end with a bundle-handling felling device, after which the wood is collected as loose cuts to a roadside storage for onward transport. In case of Fixteri harvesting, the felling is done in the same way, but the tree is fed in connection with the felling into a Fixteri baler which bundles the stem wood into bales of optimal sizes. The Fixteri harvesting method is the first to allow felling and bundling to take place in one go!

Fixteri bundling considerably speeds up the overall harvesting process. Compared to transportation of loose cut, the forest transportation of raw wood material becomes 2–3 times more efficient because the bales are easy to manage. Harvesting also becomes faster, because the trees are cut (to the length of 2.6–2.7 m) automatically.

Up to 40 % bigger accrual per hectare with Fixteri

Fixteri helps achieve a bigger hectare drain, which benefits the industry, harvesting entrepreneur, and forest owner alike. Per hectare, up to 40 % more sellable material can be obtained from the forest, when the harvesting is carried out in an integrated manner, that is, in addition to trees fulfilling the pulpwood measurements, smaller energy wood material is also harvested, and tree branches and tops are also fed in a bale.

The operating principle of a Fixteri baler-harvester is continuous, and its bundling and compacting phases enable simultaneous handling of raw materials to be delivered for different uses. Depending on the structure of the growing stock and the market situation, the Fixteri baler can be used to bundle both pulpwood and energy wood bales, or the bales can be directed only for private energy use.

Fixteri enhances the quality of the raw wood material and nourishes the forest

The Fixteri baler improves the quality of raw wood material by breaking the surface of the stem wood and producing bales with such consistence and size that they dry extremely efficiently. In addition, in the feeding phase the delimbing feeder rollers of the baler remove the needle and leaf mass mechanically onto the ground, which maintains a good nutrient level in the forest and a better substrate.

For the first time, the green weight of the harvested growing stock is known right away

The wood bales are bound with a net or sisal rope, depending on the needs of the end-use location. The Fixteri baler automatically measures and registers the green weight of each bale already in connection with the bundling process, before the bale is dropped onto the ground. Currently, in all other energy wood harvesting methods, the details about the amount of harvested trees cannot be obtained until the cut trees have been transported to a road-side landing.

The technical specifications of the Fixteri baler are available here.