Six-legged walking harvester “Plusjack” was developed in 1999 by the “Plustech” Finnish company (the advanced research and development unit of “Timberjack”, now a “John Deere” company).[1][7]
Plusjack Walking harvester. [5]
Harvester has been designed to navigate the difficult terrain (e.g. steep slopes), with the implementation of the principle of applying the minimum damage to the soil while driving. The walking functions mimic the ant movements. The harvester is controlled by on-board computer based on the parameters of moving set by the driver. Bypass of the insurmountable obstacles is performed manually. The control and measurement system regulates the operations of crane and cutting tools.[1]
General characteristics : [1]
| Length, cm | 575 |
| Width, cm | 275 |
| Height in a vertical position, cm | about 450 |
| Clearance, cm | 0-120 (depending on position) |
| Diameter of the foot’s base, cm | about 54 |
| Step length, cm | 30-90 (depending on terrain) |
| Weight, kg | about 13000 |
Three copies of the “Plusjack” walking harvester were made for testing and demonstration purposes. This machine was not put into serial production.[1] In 2011, “John Deere” has donated the third (last) copy to Lusto, the Finnish Forest Museum, and now “Plusjack” is a part of the permanent exhibition.[7]
References:
1. Kantapuu: esineen tiedot. – Mode of access: http://www.kantapuu.fi/objectinfo.php?id=331916&image_id=334047&viewimg=1&prms=s_fulltext%3DJohn%2BDeere%2BForestry%26s_org%3D4.
2. Plustech Oy walking logging machine. – Mode of access: http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=161102.
3. Plustech Oy Forest Walker « Accelerating Future. – Mode of access: http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/2008/04/plustech-oy-forest-walker/.
4. Plustech Harvester. – Mode of access: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6273379084715476228.
5. Timberjack Walking Machine. – Mode of access: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_Y.
6. TAMPEREEN VARAOSAMYYMALA ON UUDISTETTU. – Mode of access: http://www.deere.fi/wps/dcom/fi_FI/our_company/news_and_media/press_releases/2011/february/plusjack/plusjack.page.
7. L U S T O Suomen metsamuseo ja metsatietokeskus. – Mode of access: http://www.lusto.fi/english/news.html?id=5758.
8. Одна из самых прогрессивных лесозаготовительных машин в истории лесного машиностроения – уникальный шагающий харвестер Plusjack – стала частью экспозиции лесного музея Lusto в Пункахарью, Финляндия. « Белоруслес. – Mode of access: http://belorusles.blog.tut.by/2011/04/02/odna-iz-samyih-progressivnyih-lesozagotovitelnyih-mashin-v-istorii-lesnogo-mashinostroeniya-unikalnyiy-shagayushhiy-harvester-plusjack-stala-chastyu-ekspozitsii-lesnogo-muzeya-lusto-v-punkahary/.