The comparison of vibro-acoustic impact of chainsaws with electric and combustion drives

Chainsaws generate high level vibrations and noise during work. No matter what type of the drive (electric, combustion) they exceed the per-missible levels defined for a standard eight-hour working day. The intensity of a vibro-acoustic impact on chainsaw operators depends on many factors. One of them is the type of the drive. This is due to significant differences in saw design (inter alia characteristics of the drive, rotational speeds - quasi-constant for an electric drive and variable for a combustion one). For chain-saws of the same or similar power and different types of the drive the levels of vibrations and noise may vary. The paper compares the noise levels and frequency weighted vibration accelerations for different types of the drive. The tests were performed with the same interchangeable cutting set (guide bar, cutting chain). The repeatability of the cutting process was ensured. The test results may be helpful when choosing the tool.