SpaltFix K-700 Vario

After the roller conveyor, four conical, ball-bearing-mounted feed rollers – which are fitted within the saw frame – ensure a reliable feed rate for the trunk until it reaches the wood stop. The robust rollers are connected by durable roller chains – integrated chain tensioners perform automatic tension maintenance, eliminating the need for manual retensioning. A powerful hydraulic motor drives the system, whilst solid bearings ensure low-wear, low-maintenance continuous operation. A trough-shaped metal panel between the rollers ensures that the trunk is perfectly centred and largely prevents debris from getting under the machine. A deflector plate ensures that any bark debris is channelled away in a controlled manner, whilst protecting the hydraulic tank and its components underneath from contamination. To prevent damage caused by the log feed, a built-in hydraulic valve ensures that the feed rollers are only activated once the saw blade is in its defined starting position.

The SuperCut harvester saw unit ensures maximum cutting performance, precise guidance and clean cuts. The powerful oblique-axis motor ensures reliable drive. The hydraulic blade clamping and chain tensioning are carried out automatically – but only when the protective cover is closed! An integrated hydraulic cylinder with a rack-and-pinion drive ensures a consistently smooth saw feed. The saw chain is continuously lubricated by a piston pump throughout the entire swivelling movement of the saw bar. This reduces wear and tear and extends the service life of the guide bar and chain. A generously sized chain oil reservoir allows for long running times without the need for constant topping up. The saw chain can be changed fast and tool-free. Once the chain has been removed, the guide bar can be replaced without any difficulty. The drive sprocket can be easily replaced by loosening just one fixing bolt. The sawing process is conveniently started using the joystick on the control panel, where the pressure and speed of the saw feed can also be individually adjusted using two control dials. Machines with a drive of 22 or 30 kW are equipped with a System 100 saw unit featuring a 0.404-inch saw chain. For greater cutting performance, machines with drive are equipped with the larger 150 saw unit system, which has a 37 kW electric motor. A 3/4-inch saw chain ensures a longer service life.

The arrangement of the controls on the control panel is ergonomic and clear. The joystick controls the feed, the saw and the wood rocker, and features a button with a locking function for the air stop. A control lever operates the timber manipulator, the cross conveyor and the cutting length. Two adjustment knobs control the feed pressure and speed. Two pressure gauges display the saw motor pressure and feed pressure. In addition, the control panel features buttons for the electric drive and the emergency stop function.

Two gripper arms, mounted on rotatable bearings above the feed area, secure the trunk directly in front of the saw unit and ensure it remains securely in position throughout the entire sawing process. Before sawing, the grapple arms are automatically closed by two hydraulic cylinders until they are firmly against the trunk. Shut-off valves ensure that they hold it securely in place. Robust ridges on the contact surfaces provide extra grip and effectively prevent the wood from twisting or slipping. Once the sawing process is complete, the double grapple opens automatically when the wood feed is activated. The bearings on the gripper arms are easy to lubricate via the central lubrication rail.

The solid yet adjustable wood stop ensures that all pieces of wood have the same length – without having to pay attention to measurement marks. In conjunction with the hydraulic venting system, the stop is automatically moved away from the trunk and lowered by the wood rocker prior to the cut, in order to minimise the risk of the saw becoming jammed during the cutting process. The wood stop can be adjusted easily, conveniently and continuously variable from 20 to 50 cm using a hydraulic cylinder operated via a control lever on the control panel. Clearly visible markings in the operating area make it easier to set the desired cut lengths. If a piece of timber is too short to be securely held by the gripper as the feed rate takes it to the wood stop, it cannot be sawn in this way. In this case, it is aligned using the length markings on the feed frame, to the left of the saw unit. There, the double grapple holds the piece of wood securely in place so that it can be cut to length precisely with the chainsaw.

Once the timber has been sawn, the timber section is transferred from the wood rocker to the timber discharge chute by actuation of the joystick. When an AutoSplit unit is fitted, the cut piece of timber is conveyed in a controlled manner onto the buffer belt. Two tension springs then ensure that the mechanism returns automatically to its original position. The feed speed of the wood rocker can be continuously variable via an integrated throttle. During wood feed, the support on the wood rocker is at the same height as the feed, which reliably prevents shorter trunks from tipping over. Thanks to its ingenious design, the saw rocker not only lowers automatically before the sawing process begins, but also moves away from the saw unit at the same time. This also causes the wood stop mounted on it to move away from the trunk. This reduces the risk of the saw blade becoming jammed whilst sawing – particularly when working with curved trunks. Lowering and venting the rocker before sawing can be disabled by pressing the joystick button – ideal for preventing short pieces of timber from tipping over. The easily accessible lubrication rail on the wood rocker is located behind the maintenance door of the sawing system. It is easily accessible via a step and a platform, enabling convenient and efficient lubrication of all the moving components of the wood rocker.

The buffer belt with a length of 2 metres serves as the buffer storage for pieces of wood that have previously been sawn by the PowerCut. This ensures that the AutoSplit remains continuously utilised – even when there is no steady supply of material during the log feeding process. The hydraulically driven conveyor belt with a mechanical link is controlled in synchronisation with the AutoSplit’s feed belt. This ensures that the pieces of wood are fed into the splitting area at regular intervals and with precision, thereby ensuring a smooth workflow. Side guide rails prevent the pieces of wood from twisting or toppling over. One of the guide walls can be adjusted tool-free to ensure optimum centring and adaptation to different log lengths. High-quality protective covers ensure maximum operational safety and prevent unauthorised access. The buffer belt is rotatable on the AutoSplit; on the opposite side, a connecting bracket ensures a stable support and a positive-lock connection to the PowerCut 700. For installation or maintenance work, the belt can be raised and lowered effortlessly using a hand-operated cable winch.

The feed belt is the central component of the AutoSplit and ensures the synchronised transport of the timber sections through the splitting channel until they are transferred to an optional conveyor belt. A sensor above the buffer belt detects whether there is any timber on it. If wood is detected, the system measures the diameter of the trunk to calculate its volume and starts the automatic splitting process. If no wood is detected, the AutoSplit’s automatic mode stops to prevent idling and unnecessary energy consumption. Robust metal strips are bolted to the upper side of the hydraulically driven conveyor belt with a mechanical link, spaced closely together. This significantly reduces wear on the conveyor belt, as these protect the belt from mechanical stress during wood feed and the splitting process. The frame of the feed belt is spring-loaded to effectively compensate for the movement of the timber during the splitting process. This protects the knife guides, the conveyor belt and the feed frame, reduces the splitting force required and thus extends the service life of the entire system. A sensor ensures maximum operational safety by detecting the maximum spring travel and, in such cases, stopping the splitting process to prevent damage to the machine. The control system can be used to specify how the system should respond in the event of this error: Either an error message is displayed, or automatic mode continues without interruption. In this case, the logs that have not been completely split (large pieces of wood) remain in the production flow. Alternatively, automatic mode is deactivated – in which case manual intervention is required: Using two buttons on the control system, the position of the piece of wood can be adjusted manually via the feed belt. A new splitting process can then be initiated manually by actuating two further buttons. This process can be repeated as often as you like.

The AutoSplit’s fully automatic splitting function is activated at the touch of a button: The wood is fed in at regular intervals via the feed belt and then split using the X-knife. A built-in sensor on the buffer belt continuously monitors the wood supply. If there is no wood on the conveyor belt, the AutoSplit’s automatic system stops, thereby preventing unnecessary energy consumption and the machine running empty, which results in a more consistent quality of firewood. Automatic mode starts automatically as soon as new wood is fed into the machine. An optional conveyor belt, which is connected to the machine’s hydraulic system, is automatically started and stopped by the splitting function. This prevents a blockage in the transfer area between the splitter and the conveyor belt. Whilst AutoSplit handles the entire splitting process automatically and reliably, the operator can concentrate fully on feeding the material onto the buffer belt.

The perfect interplay between the feed belt and the X-splitting blade ensures a consistent, high-quality cut – even with large wood diameters. The pieces of wood are fed past the knife in a synchronised manner by the feed belt and are split by the knife. Splitting the logs several times with the X-knife produces the square-section logs characteristic of the VARIO system, whilst maintaining a consistently high standard of quality. The log edge length can be adjusted continuously from 5 to 15 cm via the control system’s display – for maximum flexibility and ease of use.

The X-shaped knife is encased in a robust wooden mounting plate and guided linearly by roller bearings. Two hydraulic cylinders apply pressure to them against the wood before the splitting process, thereby securing them in place. The knife then passes through the slits in the wooden support plate and performs splitting on the wood. In addition, plastic guides ensure that the wooden support plate is guided precisely along the knife and prevent dirt from getting behind the plate. The splitting blade is made of high-quality, wear-resistant steel, which guarantees a long service life. A sophisticated design reduces the splitting force required: Thanks to its double-edged blade and slim design, the knife cuts effortlessly through the wood, ensuring faster, more efficient splitting. The extremely long, replaceable brass guides significantly reduce wear on the replaceable guide rail. Instead of regular, manual lubrication intervals, the automatic central lubrication system carries out this task for the splitting blade fully automatically – reliably as and when required and whilst the machine is in operation. The lubrication interval is adjustable. This allows the lubrication to be optimally adapted to the operating conditions, which increases efficiency and reduces maintenance costs. The hoses of the central lubrication system for the gap blade guide are routed through a maintenance-free energy chain. This reduces the risk of a hose rupture and wear and tear by ensuring controlled movement. This not only reduces downtime, but also extends the service life of all moving components. Thanks to the precise metering, only as much lubricant is applied as is actually required – this saves resources, protects the environment and reduces operating costs. A user-friendly indicator on the control display provides reliable information as soon as the lubricating grease needs to be topped up.

The splitting performance is improved because the stroke of the splitting blade is automatically adjusted to the length of the material being split, thereby reducing idle travel. The wooden support plate, which is guided linearly by rollers, surrounds the x-shaped splitting blade and moves in sync with it towards the trunk. The timber-holding plate exerts pressure on the timber against the rear wall of the machine frame and secures it in place, whilst the splitting blade continues to move through the slots in the timber-holding plate and splits the timber. As the splitting blade moves back, it retracts into the wood-holding plate and pulls it with it. However, only until the wood is no longer held in place. Once this has happened, the knife stops and the wood is cleared for the next feed rate. With wood that is easy to split, such as fresh beech, a full splitting stroke is not necessary. The stroke can be adjusted accordingly via the control system: The knife returns to its starting position even before it has completely penetrated the piece of wood, which speeds up the process and saves valuable time.

The integrated electric central lubrication system performs automatic and even supply of grease to the five lubrication points on the splitting blade guides. This significantly reduces maintenance requirements, prevents the unit from running dry and extends the service life of the moving components. At the same time, downtime is minimised – ensuring reliable operation and maximum productivity. The hoses running from the central lubrication system to the gap blade guide are routed through a maintenance-free energy chain. This reduces the risk of a hose rupture and wear and tear by ensuring controlled movement. The lubrication interval can be adjusted individually directly via the central lubrication pump’s control system.

Should the log section not be split – for example, for use as kindling or for other purposes? The OnlyCut function can be activated via a simple setting on the display. In this process, all log sections are passed through AutoSplit without being subjected to splitting.