OMEF TRI pruning cutting bars

The OMEF TRI is the linear pruning bar that most road and rail contractors are actually looking for when they ask about mechanical pruning. It cuts 100 mm material in a continuous sweep, it sits on a 4 to 10 tonne excavator that can be floated anywhere, and its three models differ only in how much face they cover per pass.

Where the TRI sits in the range

The TRI is the middle of OMEF’s vegetation ladder. Below it are the TG hedge trimmer for fine growth and the BF cutter bar for 30 mm material on mini excavators. Beside it is the BTD disc trimmer, which takes continuous woody growth up to about 150 mm at higher speed but with a rougher cut. Above both are the individual-cut CS forestry pruners. The mechanical pruning guide explains the whole progression.

Choosing a width is a stability and coverage decision, not a capacity decision. The TRI1600 is the right bar for the bottom of the carrier band and for work between poles, signs and guard rail where a long bar would foul. The TRI2200 belongs on the 8 to 10 tonne end of the band, on open highway and rail verges where 600 mm of extra face per pass is worth having. The TRI1900 is the fleet compromise.

What the published figures mean on site

A 100 mm class comb and shear bar will take the regular stems found in several years of roadside regrowth, most native shrub layers and the lower limbs of young trees, and it will leave a cleaner cut face than a disc. That matters where the client is watching the finish, as councils and rail corridor managers often are. The mechanical angle adjustment lets the bar be set to follow a batter or a vertical face, and because it is mechanical rather than hydraulic the operator sets it before the run rather than adjusting on the fly; ask whether a hydraulic option exists if the profile changes often.

The 60 L/min flow figure is a fixed requirement, not a window, and the frontmatter does not publish a pressure or drain requirement. Two hundred and forty to 290 kg is light enough that a 4 tonne machine can carry a TRI, but a 2.2 m bar has a long lever arm and its mass sits well outboard when angled, which is why the wide model is best on the heavier carriers.

Carrier matching

The published band is 4 to 10 tonnes. Match flow first: the carrier’s auxiliary circuit needs to deliver 60 L/min continuously without overheating on a 40 degree day, and a machine that can only manage 45 L/min will run the bar slowly and tear rather than shear. Confirm with Machinery Specialist the pressure setting, whether the circuit is single or double acting, the return arrangement and any case drain, then set the carrier’s flow to match. The hydraulic matching guide and the hydraulic cooling guide cover the process. Reach matters as much as tonnage on road batters: a long bar angled down a 1 in 2 batter from the shoulder puts the head a long way out, and the 5 to 10 tonne page discusses which carriers hold that position stably.

Typical work and production considerations

Highway and road reserve pruning, rail corridor vegetation inside possession windows, long hedgerows and powerline access track edges are the TRI’s work, and all of it is priced by the linear metre. An illustrative model: a 1.9 m bar working a 2 m high batter face in one pass at a forward speed that yields 300 m of finished face per productive hour gives around 1.8 km per six-hour day. On a state road that day carries a traffic control crew whose cost is fixed regardless of bar width, so the wider TRI reduces cost per kilometre directly. On rail, the possession window is the constraint and a faster bar inside it is worth more than a cheaper hourly rate. Cleanup is heavier than with a BF because 100 mm cuttings must be raked, grappled or mulched off the shoulder. See road corridor clearing, rail corridor vegetation and powerline easements.

Limitations and when to choose a different family

The wider TRI does not cut bigger branches; all three are 100 mm class. Continuous growth above that is BTD work, individual limbs above 100 mm are CS work, and anything that must be held rather than dropped is grapple saw work, as the pruner versus grapple saw comparison explains. The limitation particular to this bar is the material itself: Australian native regrowth is often multi-stemmed and irregular rather than the uniform hedge a comb and shear bar is happiest in, so insist that any demonstration happens on the actual corridor.

Options and configuration to settle at quotation

Settle the bracket and hitch, the angle adjustment (mechanical as standard; ask about hydraulic), hose lengths, the carrier flow setting, whether a rotator or tilt is being added and what it does to weight, and a spare knife and comb set. Get the delivered weight and the current hydraulic requirement in writing.

Wear parts and support

Knife sections, comb fingers and the drive are the consumables, and a long bar is sensitive to bending if it is driven into a post or stump. Price a knife and finger kit, ask about bar straightening and replacement cost, and confirm parts stock with Machinery Specialist. The wear parts guide has the general method.

Confirm before ordering

• Corridor vegetation is genuinely 100 mm class; heavier continuous growth points to the BTD
• Width chosen on carrier stability at reach and obstacle spacing, not on cut capacity
• Carrier auxiliary delivers 60 L/min continuously; pressure, circuit type and drain confirmed in writing
• Hydraulic cooling adequate for continuous summer running at 60 L/min
• Angle adjustment type suits the batter profiles on the contract
• Bracket, hitch, hose lengths and any tilt or rotator weight included in the delivered weight
• Knife and comb finger kit priced and stocked in Australia
• Traffic control, possession windows and cleanup priced into the linear metre rate
• Native vegetation approvals checked for the corridor

Frequently asked questions