Incorporating Remote Technology to Assist the Arborist

It has been nearly 18 months since Timberwolf launched an industry first, the TW 280HB HYBRID, 8” mild-hybrid diesel road-tow wood chipper. The anticipated launch of its fixed track counterpart next month provides an opportunity to flag a feature not seen on other chippers in the sector.

As technology development continues at a pace, Timberwolf has recognised the benefit of integrating a Bluetooth, remote technology, into this new range of machines. Following investigation into which solution would best support their needs, as well of those of the Dealers and customers alike, Timberwolf selected Parker’s IQAN and its accompanying suite of tools.

How IQAN technology works

Using the IQAN tools provides not only Timberwolf engineers the ability and control to develop and test chipping software to ensure optimised chipping, but IQANgo along with IQAN allows Timberwolf’s Dealer Servicing teams remote access to a customer’s wood chipper to undertake actions such as software updates, and troubleshooting. When time is money for an arborist, this minimises downtime spent by the customer visiting a technical service centre.

Instead of using a screen on the machine which can be difficult to read, IQANgo allows the user to interact with the machine via their smart phone to identify faults, as well as other machine data, which are highlighted by the malfunction indicator lamps (MIL) on the ignition panel.

Hybrid technology

Assisting the Arborist

“Looking forward and developing Timberwolf’s product roadmap requires us to also consider our history,” said Karl Howlett, Timberwolf’s Product Manager. “Our mission is to lighten the load for all arborists, and our customers expect a machine which is simple to maintain and meets their daily chipping needs.  We will look to include technology, such as Parker’s IQAN or similar tools, to assist in optimising chipping performance and most importantly, keeping wood chippers out in the field where they need to be.”

“Remote servicing software is already available across many machines in the agriculture sector, it’s a real step forward to see this technology extend into arb and the groundcare domain,” commented Louis Phillippo, Group Arboriculture Specialist at Ben Burgess.

The road towable TW 280HB HYBRID is already available in the UK from Authorised Timberwolf Dealers and overseas Distributors. The TW 280FTR HYBRID (tracked variant) will be launched, and available for demonstrations, in the UK as from the 2nd April.  Both hybrid variants will be shown at the Arb Show (17-18 May) at Westonbirt. Demonstrations are available from your local Authorised Dealer or you can contact Timberwolf for additional information,