Meet the highly versatile Woodcracker® CS Series
Westtech Maschinenbau GmbH is known for its innovative attachments for forestry applications. And in the Woodcracker® CS product series, the machine manufacturer now has something to offer for extra-safe tree felling applications.
Westtech’s grapple saw range leaves nothing to be desired:
The smart grapple saw model, the Woodcracker® CS750 Smart, was designed specifically to be mounted on Roto telehandlers – and its hydraulics are specially suited for telehandlers.
The Woodcracker® CS610 Compact grapple saw is very similar to the CS750 Smart, although it was developed as an excavator attachment.
The gimbal-mounted grapple saw, the Woodcracker® CS510 Crane, is also used for tree felling with enhanced safety – and can be attached to a felling truck, for instance.
The Woodcracker® CS750 Smart grapple saw is built for carrier vehicles with an operating weight of 16½ to 27½ tons. This has particularly excelled in specialized tree removal applications on a Roto telehandler. The Woodcracker® CS750 Smart is designed to prioritize a high level of safety for forestry workers as well as local residents.
This grapple saw is an improved version of the smart grapple saw model.
The essential motivation was the demand for a compact grapple saw whose primary purpose would be to make it possible to fell trees safely. The saw can fell trees with a diameter of up to 29½ inches.
The Woodcracker® CS750 Smart has a tare weight of around 1,980 to 2,160 lbs. During development, the main focus was on delivering a particularly low tare weight, allowing for the longest possible reach with the carrier vehicle.
A wide range of carrier vehicles can be used. The most obvious option is the Roto telehandler, for which the Woodcracker® CS750 Smart was developed. There are a variety of advantages of this machine combination – high trees or treetops are easy to reach with the telehandler and are cut in a targeted and safe manner. Along roads, the supports of the telehandler can be extended to different lengths, leaving one lane free for traffic next to the carrier vehicle. The direct, fast transfer with a telehandler with road approval from one construction site to the next saves a lot of time and effort.
Gradually, other long-arm carrier vehicles also turned out to be particularly suitable. This means that the CS750 Smart can also be attached to a truck-mounted loading crane or to a long-arm crane. For dead branches or trees, snow-laden branches or storm damage, a high reach and the highest level of safety is important, both for the forestry workers and for the local residents.
The grapple saw is also available as an excavator attachment: the Woodcracker® CS610 Compact. This grapple saw has a cutting diameter of up to 24 inches and is suitable for excavators with an operating weight of 16½ to 22 tons.
With ever-growing demand for gimbal-mounted attachments, the machine manufacturer now has a product for extra-safe tree felling applications: the Woodcracker® CS510 Crane gimbal grapple saw.
Despite its low tare weight, it has a cutting diameter of up to 21 inches and a 50-inch gripper opening. Depending on the equipment, the tare weight ranges from 816 to 1,102 lbs.
Thanks to the sophisticated hydraulic control system, it is possible to operate the grapple saw with only one double-acting hydraulic control circuit, depending on the requirements. If the carrier vehicle has more than one hydraulic circuit, the tilt function can be controlled independently of the gripper. This feature makes it possible to remove sections of the tree upright.
There are almost no limits to the possible attachment variants for the Woodcracker® CS510 Crane. Thanks to its technical features, this grapple saw can be attached to any standard crane, such as timber or recycling cranes or loading cranes. It is also possible to attach it to excavators, timber trailers, trucks, or telescopic handlers.
The low tare weight of the grapple saw makes it ideal for attaching to a timber trailer. This also gives you the option of transporting the cut material without needing an additional vehicle.