At INTERFORST 2014, which took place in early July, in Munich, Komptech presented a new contrary-protection design for their mobile Chippo Drum Chipper. If a massive contrary overloads the blade, the blade mounting swings away to protect it. Komptech says their Chippo drum chipper doesn't always have the luxury of ideal working conditions. For example, with forestry residue it is often not clear where the material is from and what it might have in it in the way of large stones or big pieces of metal.
Despite the Chippo’s innovative blade mounting system, intended first and foremost to ensure ideal chipping quality, in the past, large contraries could damage the blades to an extent Komptech says they were no longer willing to accept. The company therefore looked carefully at the issue and developed a solution to address it.
With the new contrary-protection design, when the blade encounters a contrary it can't deal with, a shear bolt in the blade mounting gives way so that the blade can swing away, into the rotor. In combination with economical blades, this effectively reduces downtime to a minimum.
Contrasting with the existing contrary safeties of conventional chippers on the market, the Chippo’s new optional rotor with rotating blade mountings is a concept adopted from Komptech’s high-speed Axtor shredder, and has already proven its viability in several years of use. Blade mountings are held in place by shear bolts, so a contrary exceeding the design capacity causes the bolt to break, allowing the entire blade mounting to rotate into the rotor and protecting it from further damage. In combination with economical quick-replacement blades, this protects the entire chipping unit from large contraries as well as smaller, wear-causing impurities like stones and other soil components.
Komptech says this new version of the Chippo offers notable benefits to users. They can save substantially on costs when working material with high contrary content, which can otherwise cause serious damage to machines. Fewer components are damaged and those that are damaged can be replaced quickly, reducing downtime to a minimum.
For contract service providers, the new system offers the great advantage that they can continue to work with up to five blades retracted, so they can finish up the job. Plus, blade mount changes are quick and easy, and can be done on-site.
The Chippo is a highly effective and versatile drum chipper. Now, with this contrary protection design, Komptech says they have made another advance in efficient, quality-conscious chipping, and that while contraries are a fact of life, the damage they do can be greatly reduced.
