Product category:
Materials Handling
News Release from: Bobcat | Subject: Bobcat FC175 heavy duty flail cutter
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 09 June 2006
Robinson Trees new Bobcat Flail Cutter
Robinson's Trees has expanded business with the purchase of the UK's first Bobcat FC175 heavy duty flail cutter.
Robinson's Trees Boosts Business With New Bobcat Flail Cutter Oxfordshire-based Robinson's Trees has expanded business with the purchase of the UK's first Bobcat FC175 heavy duty flail cutter
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 10 Feb 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Mounted on the company's Bobcat T200HF high flow compact tracked loader, the new FC175 flail cutter provides a cutting width of 1.75 m.
It extends the fleet of attachments that Robinsons uses for site and scrub clearance work for local authorities, country estates, forests, parks, amenities, golf courses, utilities and elsewhere.
The Bobcat FC175 flail cutter was supplied by Wallingford-based R F Hayden Machinery Sales and Service.
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The T200HF compact tracked loader was purchased from R F Hayden at the end of 2003.
R F Hayden is the authorised dealer responsible for sales, servicing and parts for Bobcat equipment in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
Robinson's Trees offers the Bobcat T200HF compact tracked loader and attachments for hire with an operator certified by the National Plant Operators Registration Scheme.
Based at Wheatley, Robinson's Trees (www.robinsonstrees.co.uk) works throughout England and Wales for clients in both the public and private sectors, including university research woodlands, building developments and local nature reserves.
Dick Robinson, Managing Director of Robinson's Trees, said: "Especially on very wet and muddy days, the T200 comes into its own, the dedicated tracks and comfortable, warm cab allowing us to work on in conditions that would stop wheeled machines such as tractors and loaders".
"The new flail cutter is an excellent tool - it's pretty quick and provides a finer cut to complement our other mulching attachments".
"More and more clients are asking for the smoother type of finish that the Bobcat flail cutter provides and we see this as an important expansion to the services we can offer." The width of the FC175 flail cutter attachment was another key point for Dick Robinson.
He said: "We wanted a system that would keep the machine width to within six feet, because we are always having to work between trees and shrubs".
"We also have to gain access to work sites via narrow passages".
"Recently we cleared vegetation in an inner courtyard garden in a hospital and the only access was down a tight passage between wards." The FC175 is part of a range of flail cutters that includes the larger FC200 and smaller FC155 offering cutting widths of 2.0 and 1.55 m.
The FC155 model is designed for use with the smaller standard flow Bobcat skid-steers and compact tracked loaders such as the S130, S150 and S160 models.
Though they can be powered by standard flow machines, the FC175 and FC200 flail cutters work best with the larger Bobcat high flow loaders such as the T200HF.
Weighing 690 kg, the FC175 flail cutter is mounted on the front of the T200HF compact tracked loader using Bobcat's proprietary Bob-Tach quick-change attachment system.
Dick Robinson commented: "With the front-mounted attachment, the T200HF does not drive over the undergrowth before it is cleared by the flail attachment".
"Coupled with the dedicated rubber tracks on the T200HF, providing superior traction, flotation and very low ground pressure on turf and in the wet, this results in a distinct efficiency advantage over the equivalent rear-mounted tractor-driven systems".
In addition, thanks to six pivot points mounted on swivel bearings, the Bob-Tach linkage allows vertical movements and oscillations in all directions, providing excellent flotation of the cutter main frame and ensuring that the FC175 flail cutter is easy to use on virtually any type of terrain and very close to trees and other obstructions.
The support roller at the rear of the FC175 cutter can be adjusted both in a vertical and a horizontal position.
The vertical adjustment sets the cutting height.
The roller can also be adjusted in the horizontal position (closer to or further away from the flail shaft).
This enables the roller to follow the ground with varying degrees of precision: moving the roller away from the shaft tends to level the ground, bringing it closer to the shaft allows the flail to follow the rolling landscape perfectly.
The 18 flail knives on the FC175 are arranged in a spiral pattern on the shaft to ensure smooth and efficient operation.
One flail at a time engages the material to be cut with all the power available.
Cast iron heavy-duty flails are designed to ensure a long service life in difficult cutting conditions.
The adjustable swash plate permits precision adjustment of the motor speed for optimal control of the flail shaft speed depending on the flow available from the carrier.
Belt tension is easy to adjust thanks to the pivoting drive motor axle housing.
The flail shaft is driven by a triple belt system accessible via the transmission cover.
A shutoff safety valve is standard equipment.
The flail cutters are equipped with a mulching hatch at the rear of the frame, above the roller.
The open position is recommended for regular grass cutting or brush clearing and absorbs less power with increased productivity.
The closed position provides a fine mulching of the undergrowth but absorbs more power as the material being cut is circulated many times around the flail shaft.
Visibility from the operator seat in the loader is excellent.
The overall low height of the flail cutters and the hose system allow work in areas of limited height such as under trees and bushes.
Well positioned foot steps allow easy and safe access to the loader cab.
The flail cutter attachments are used for a wide variety of applications, from clearing deep scrub and small trees to creating fire breaks and access areas for overhead powerlines in woods and forests to clearance work at road sides, on new building developments and in pipeline and utility projects.
The flail cutters expand the range of groundcare attachments from Bobcat that also includes mowers and rotary brushcutters.
Established in 1977, R F Hayden started out as a repairer of agricultural plant, machinery and vehicles.
As well as the Bobcat line of skid-steers, mini-excavators, telehandlers and attachments, the company also deals with other products such as mobile welding plant, a mobile air conditioning repair and recharge station and a mobile hydraulic hose unit.
At its impressive headquarters in Wallingford, the company offers a well-stocked department for Bobcat parts as well as a range of used machinery for sale at its premises. Request a free brochure from Bobcat ...
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