2018 International Forest Industries IFI April May 2018 Digital | Page 71
PONSSE
K121 - more
efficiency to
forwarder load
handling
INNOVATION
makes it easier to efficiently handle
and move large logs, for example
when loading onto freight trains.
Thanks to the high torque,
lifting power and stronger reach,
trees can be lifted from even
further away than before. This
reduces the need to move the
machine closer to the trees, or
having to bring the cut logs to the
ground next to the machine before
lifting.
A new and tested even
stronger structure
Ponsse presents the
new loader for Elephant
and ElephantKing
forwarders. The
completely new K121
loader offers a new
level of efficiency
and speed for load
handling in tough
conditions
T
he new PONSSE K121 loader
extends Ponsse’s loader
series to a completely
new size range. The new loader
combines high slewing torque
and lifting power, increased
reach, and a new type of loader
geometry that is easy to control.
These innovations come together
to create the most powerful loader
on the market. It enables shorter
loading and unloading times,
facilitates working in conditions
where load handling takes up a
large proportion of the working
time, and makes it easier to work
on sites where large trees must
be handled and on slopes that
demand great power of loaders.
Fast load handling for short
driving distances
In conditions where load handling
takes up most of the working
time, loader capacity is of great
importance. On the other hand,
at work sites where the driving
distances are short and the load
sizes are large the usage time
of the loader can be as much as
60% of the actual working time.
This is the case on plantations, for
Technical specifications:
Lifting torque: 195 kNm
Slewing torque: 48 kNm
Reach: 8m/10m (S/M models) (26ft/33ft)
Tilting base tilt angle: -12°…+24°
Large grapple surface area: 0.50 m 2
Available for Ponsse Elephant and Ponsse ElephantKing forwarders
example, where driving distances
are very short.
In these working environments,
loader efficiency is particularly
important to forwarder productivity.
The improved geometry of the K121
loader, easy control system, and
the ability to install a grapple with
a surface area that is 16% larger
ads up to significantly increased
load-handling performance.
More power to working on
slopes
Harvesting on slopes is becoming
increasingly popular worldwide,
and Ponsse’s forest machines
have opened up a completely new
range of possibilities. By making
it possible to work on steep
slopes and in similarly demanding
conditions, Ponsse forest machines
make it possible to harvest timber
on previously inaccessible land.
The new K121 loader further
improves the work performance
on slopes, by providing the high
loader power that is essential for
steep conditions. Such conditions
also demand a large tilt angle for
the crane pillar in order to ensure
smooth load handling. The tilt
stand available for the K121 loader
has a larger tilt angle, guaranteeing
that the loader works at the right
angle even in steep environments.
The K121 loader has been designed
to handle the toughest working
conditions. The loader has
been field tested in demanding
conditions in Canada, Russia and
the USA, where they have been put
to work for thousands of hours.
The results of these field
trials have been very successful
and encouraging. The loader has
a great amount of power, it is
easy to control, and because of
its heavy duty design is highly
reliable. In designing the new kind
of structure, the geometry of the
loader has been comprehensively
rethought to ensure that it is highly
manageable, even with very heavy
loads.
The hydraulic system, its hoses
and pipes have been placed inside
the boom for added protection.
The extension cylinders are also
protected inside the boom, and
the piping of the rotator has been
protected by passing the pipes
directly through the hanger.
In addition, hydraulic end
damping has been added to
the lifting cylinder to make the
operator’s work easier when
working at the extreme limits of the
cylinder movement, for example
on steep slopes. The overall aim of
these new structural innovations
is to maximise the usage rate
and ease of maintenance of the
machines.
The K121 loader was premiered at
ExpoForest fair in Brazil, Ribeirão
Preto area, 11-13 April 2018.
Efficient handling of large and
long logs
Ponsse Elephant and Ponsse
ElephantKing forwarders are
also widely used on work sites
where extremely large saw log are
handled. The new loader model
Further information:
Juha Haverinen,
Product Manager, Forwarders
[email protected]
International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2018 69