2017 International Forest Industries Magazines May 2017 SHOW Special | Page 67
INNOVATION
Komatsu Traction Aid Winch facilitates logging in steep terrain
Komatsu Forest has introduced
the Komatsu Traction Aid Winch,
a high-quality capstan winch
based on more than ten years’
experience of working with
winches in the alpine regions of
Europe. In 2017 Komatsu Forest
will begin delivering the Komatsu
Traction Aid Winch for the Komatsu
875 forwarder and the Komatsu
911/230H and Komatsu 931
harvesters.
There is an ever-increasing
need for winch accessories
for forwarders and harvesters.
Competition for land use, such as
for food and bioenergy cultivation,
is growing throughout the world.
As a result, forestry often expands
into areas where such uses do
not compete for land, as in steep
terrain for example. In order to
harvest and forward timber in
such extreme conditions, there is
increased demand for specially
adapted technology, including
winches.
Komatsu Forest has extensive
experience of working with winches
in the alpine regions of Germany
and Austria, where the technology
has been refined in cooperation
with customers for over ten years.
Using that knowledge, Komatsu
Forest has now created the
Komatsu Traction Aid Winch, a
high-quality winch solution that
will be available as an option when
the machine models listed above
are assembled.
The system is based on the
tried and tested capstan principle
where the winch has a separate
drum for rope storage, while
the motor, providing traction, is
installed on the capstan unit. The
rope is wound nine times around
the capstan drive, which gives
great friction force and thus an
efficient winch.
The capstan system provides
even traction because the same
amount of rope is always wound
around the capstan unit. This
is an advantage compared to a
regular drum winch where the
rope is wound around a drum
that also houses the motor, a
construction that provides uneven
traction because the torque varies
depending on how much rope
remains on the drum. The design
also offers better control over how
the rope is wound onto the drum
compared to a drum winch. This is
because the entire tractive force
acts on the capstan unit while
only indirectly acting on the rope
on the storage drum. As a result,
the operator can rest assured that
the rope will wind onto the drum
without incident. The reduced
traction force on the storage drum
also means less stress and wear
on the rope, thereby extending its
service life.
The Komatsu Traction Aid
Winch has a compact design that
provides the forwarder/harvester
with excellent ground clearance,
manoeuvrability and visibility from
the cab. The harvester winch is
fitted with a hydraulic tilt, making
it easy to tilt the winch downwards
to open the hood or adjust the rope
angle. The winch also has quick
couplings for easy removal during
servicing or when driving on flat
terrain where it is not needed. The
forwarder winch is well integrated
with the rear frame. The 130F crane
model can be equipped with an
integrated crane tilt option, which
delivers higher net slewing force
when used in steep terrain.
The winch has a rope feeder
unit that ensures that the rope
is always tensioned inside the
winch, which increases reliability
and prevents problems with the
rope. Winch control is integrated
with the machine’s control system
MaxiXplorer. This enables the
rope feed rate to be automatically
adjusted so that it adapts to the
machine’s driving speed without
the operator needing to intervene.
The high-quality rope has a
diameter of 14 mm and a length of
325 m for harvesters and 425 m for
forwarders.
The Komatsu Traction Aid
Winch is equipped with a remote
control that enables a lone
operator to control the winch from
outside the machine, as well as
to feed and anchor the rope. The
winch also has different smart
modes to optimise operating
efficiency. The Komatsu Traction
Aid Winch is quite simply a
well-designed solution that offers
traction aid and additional peace
of mind in steep terrain and when
faced with challenging ground
conditions.
International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2017 61