Cannabis bucking machines can dramatically increase the efficiency of the post-harvest process and reduce labor costs. When cultivators and processors integrate the right bucker into their operation, the machine can increase a company’s bottom line for years to come.
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Certain types of operations are better suited to the bucking process than others, and it’s important for cultivators and processors to consider both their starting material and end goals before making a purchase. While most commercial bucking machines can process wet and dry flower, bucking works most efficiently and effectively with wet buds. Dry flowers are often too delicate to withstand bucking, even with simple bucking boards, and the process can damage the integrity of the bud if not performed properly.
While bucking is not always the ideal method to use for dry flower, the quality of some hemp and cannabis products can benefit from the terpene preservation achieved through mechanically bucking wet flower. Crops intended for fast freezing and extraction often produce higher quality end-products when they are processed mechanically with de-stemmers.
Cannabis equipment companies often design their products with a specific customer in mind, and many offer an abundance of high-performance customizations and variable speed controls to help cultivators get the most out of their machines. The bucking machines on the market today vary considerably in their price, throughput rates, customer support, portability, and integrative capabilities. Before making a purchase, cultivators should assess each of these factors to choose the machine that fits into their operation the best.
The EZ Trim Bud Bucker is a solid machine for any business trimming product by hand and seeking a way to increase efficiency. There are eight entry points on the machine that allow two operators to feed stems simultaneously. The Bud Bucker can de-bud a plant in three minutes, and with two operators, it can finish two plants in the same amount of time.
The Bud Bucker is an adaptive machine that can be dialed in for businesses with precise needs, like those fresh-freezing products for extraction. Operators can adjust the roller speeds to accommodate specific strains, bud sizes, and moisture content. The machine is easiest to use with wet flower, but EZ Trim offers customers personalized guidance to ensure operators can confidently use the machine to de-stem product of any moisture level without causing any trauma to the buds. The adjustable entry point tips give operators the ability to adapt to different strains and gently remove buds from stems without over-compressing the product.
Notably light for its capacity and speed, the Bud Bucker is a 130-pound machine equipped with wheels, a shelf for a storage bin, a front table to catch buds, a rear table to catch stems, and a prep table to use as a work surface. In 20 minutes, all components of the bucker can be fully cleaned.
In addition to a three-year warranty and customer service available every day of the week, EZ Trim offers live virtual training that includes guidance on everything from prep and setup to maintenance and personalized tips.
Triminator’s most powerful hemp bucking machine significantly increased the capacity of its original bucker with a station cond for two operators. The original Buckmaster is capable of processing 150 pounds of flower per hour, while the Buckmaster Pro can strip twice the amount of flower from stems in the same amount of time. Because dry flower takes longer to buck, these bucking rates are achieved with wet product. Triminator offers a hybrid trimmer that trims flower of varying moisture levels and makes an efficient pairing with the Buckmaster Pro.
The Buckmaster Pro is a highly customizable machine with a variety of controls and an adaptable design. In addition to providing operators with precise control over the bucking process, the machine can be adjusted and situated for varying operational needs.
To accommodate different conditions at both farms and post-harvest facilities, the Buckmaster Pro is equipped with off-road tires and a one-horsepower motor. The hemp bucking machine also includes roller speed control providing infinite adjustment options, lockout-tagout controls that allow operators to use best practices for cleaning, and adjustable height to easily match up with a trimmer or conveyor.
For businesses that have good credit and over three years of operation under their belt, Triminator’s equipment financing partners offer payment plans with rates as low as six percent. For businesses that need a more flexible commitment and lower upfront costs, Triminator also offers equipment leasing programs.
The Mobius MBX is a commercial-scale cannabis and hemp bucker designed to integrate with the entire line of the Mobius Automation Suite, an end-to-end system for the post-harvest process. After buds are stripped from their stems with a gentle cut, the MBX chute funnels move flower to conveyors for the next stage of the operation. The automated system is an appealing option for multi-state operators who need to optimize their product consistency on a commercial scale.
With the ability to process both wet and dry flower, this machine can buck over 100 pounds of product in a single cycle. Seven feed holes designed for dual operators help speed up the post-harvest process and the one-half horsepower, variable-speed, stem-pulling motor helps pull the stems gently to keep cannabinoids and terpenes fully intact. The MBX also features two chipping blades and large-diameter rollers that help strip full-sized stems at controlled speeds similar to scissors.
This cannabis bucking machine is operated through a button panel designed to keep hands clear from the machinery. It includes a glove-friendly control panel with a safety stop and a reverse setting to quickly clear stem obstruction. Certified under general manufacturing practices, the 275-pound machine needs only a 115-Volt power source for operation. For easy cleaning, the machine is made entirely of stainless steel and includes cleaning guards to protect operators while they pressure wash.
Most notably, the MBX is equipped with an integrated chipper that cuts stems into smaller pieces as it bucks. This feature is designed to reduce the time and inconvenience of green waste removal for more cost-effective disposal. Waste produced from the MBX bucking process is less bulky and more condensed than unchipped stalks.
Munch Machine’s commercial bucker is designed for outdoor cultivators producing large cannabis plants, crops being fresh-frozen for live rosin, growers who wet buck, and businesses seeking more throughput from each machine.
The Cluster Bucker is constructed using an array of patent-pending technology, including dual-drive belts, keyhole die plates, and Munch Machine’s TANC system. TANC stands for Traction Amplifying Nonslip Cassette, which lengthens the area that grips the stems to accommodate a large range of branch sizes and reduces manual handling. Operators are able to feed larger branches into the machine and spend less time meticulously trimming stems, which increases efficiency and preserves the quality of the flower. Branches can be hand torn and bucked with minimal preparation.
Munch Machine offers operators who purchase the Cluster Bucker an optional integrated conveyor to further improve production efficiency. The conveyor attaches directly to the machine and moves with the bucker as an integrated system. Because the Cluster Bucker has such a high throughput, conveyors alleviate the bottlenecks that can occur with frequent bin swaps.
The bucking machine is also equipped with features that make maintenance more convenient. The unit as a whole is washdown rated for fast power cleaning. Without using any tools, operators can remove the faceplate, protection hoods, and belt cassettes. When repair is needed, the machine can be serviced in the field using standard tools, and Munch Machine keeps all parts in stock to ensure customers can harvest without long-term delays. While the Cluster Bucker is more expensive than many other commercial buckers on the market, its five-year warranty aims to provide customers with a reliable investment.
The Centurion Pro XL Megabucker lives up to its name measuring over 20 feet long and built into its own trailer as a portable bucker stand. The bucker is equipped with a two-inch ball hitch, 3,500-pound twin axles, and steel belted radial tires for portability.
The XL Megabucker can accommodate up to 12 operators at the same time and uses a multi-conveyor system to efficiently move large amounts of product in a short amount of time. The machine features two fixed-speed conveyors designated for stem and flower removal and one variable-speed conveyor for unprocessed product delivery to operators. The variable speed conveyor can be cond for both speed and direction, giving operations more flexibility and control over their automated process.
Centurion Pro included a variety of features that enhance the safety of the bucker and its ease of use. All parts of the machine comply with health and safety regulations. Two emergency stop switches are positioned on opposite sides of the machine to ensure operators can take fast action while the non-slip expandable metal decking keeps operators sure-footed. To decrease downtime, the variable-speed rollers in the bucker are reversible for clearing jams and easily accessible through removable panels.
Because the XL Megabucker is a significant investment and a big commitment, Centurion Pro offers customers a trade-in program to exchange their existing model for credit toward the latest model of the machine.
“First thing–you need to make sure you have excellent genetics. Then you can out how your hemp trimming and bucking process is going to work. If you don't have good genetics, you don't have flowers.” - Tommy Vick, Managing Partner of F&B Farms.
Point well taken, Tommy. But hemp seed genetics is a story for another blog (stay tuned). For today, let’s assume you have 5-star genetics that produces flower fit for royalty. Now all you need are the right tools and methods to carefully harvest your hemp and prepare it for its final destination.
Do any old shears matter? Should you use bucking and trimming machines or go the manual route? What equipment works best?
Here we explore the most efficient trimming tools, tips, and methods for high-quality hemp flower:
“For pre-harvest de-leafing, first we take the netting off. Then we remove the large veg leaves while allowing the smaller leaves and buds to remain on top using delicate cannabis shears, loppers, or clippers. This is a manual and time-consuming process, but it’s the only way to be precise.” - Tommy Vick, Managing Partner of V&B Farms.
“I take off the majority of the giant fan leaves in a defoliating process after harvest. There are high-tech products for this, like Centurion’s Pro Trimmers. But I use a no-frills box fan like you'd see at grandma’s house blowing down on a table.
“The apparatus sucks the leaves, which house most of the chlorophyll, into the grate. This process ensures the flower doesn't smell like cut grass. Instead, it will smell like terpenes.” - Michael Todd, Co-founder of WeTodd Farms.
According to the experts and every online forum ever, there are no greater harvest tools than hands and shears for hemp flower. Mechanical devices that effectively trim hemp plants from the base without shattering seeds and buds in the process simply don’t exist.
“The best method to preserve hemp’s cannabinoid and terpene-rich trichomes is manually cutting from the base using heavy-duty shears. By carefully hand harvesting, cultivators can separate the plant’s top from the stalk without damaging the CBD-rich buds. This process ensures the buds remain clean and their resin trichomes remain intact, guaranteeing the highest quality end product that preserves the full spectrum of aromatic and healing compounds.” - Tommy Vick.
What’s the “best type of shear,” you ask? We did too. But it turns out the brand doesn’t matter. As long as the shears are heavy-duty and the person who operates them has steady hands, you’re good to go.
“Even in a large hemp operation, we are still shearing by hand because we don’t want to damage the plants in transit from the field to the dryer room. In the future, we’re looking into tobacco machines that cut the stalk, pull it up (similar to a dry-cleaning rack), and load it into a trailer where no one has to touch the flower. But that’s just an idea for now.” - Mike Todd.
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“For small harvests, we buck wet flower using a tool that sits atop a five-pound bucket whose lid we cut in half. The device is similar to this Debudder Edge by Trim Scene Solutions, which mounts to plastic buckets and tables. We use this tool to remove the buds off the stems and drop them straight into the bucket. For each bucket, we get about 100 pounds, which takes about three days.
This method works, but it’s time-consuming, takes a lot of labor, and increases contamination risk. That’s why we’re moving to a more automated process that can buck up 4,000 pounds of dry hemp per week” - Tommy Vick.
“We’re currently in the process of creating custom machines that allow us to go straight from bucking to trimming to minimize as much touching as possible. We’re designing the apparatus using a food safety perspective to prevent contamination and be as efficient as possible to scale to commercial size.
“We need the machines to move fast, so we don’t risk rehydrating the plant and degrading its quality. Our goal is to buck and trim 300-400 pounds per hour.” - Tommy Vick.
“I buck hemp wet using a bucker machine that strips the flower off the lesser valued stems. There are tons of these devices on the market. Any kind will do.
“But you absolutely can’t skip this step in the process because you get paid based on the weight-to-CBD-concentration ratio. Processors who buy from farmers also prefer cleaner products. They don’t want large sticks and stems.
“We could leave the stems. But again, the overall percentage of CBD will be lesser, which reduces its overall market value” - Mike Todd.
“Many bucking machines are proficient, but we’re going to tweak the standard design to work even better. The ones we’ve seen on the market don’t cut. They often work by ‘pulling’ the flower off the stem.
“Think about grabbing the flower at the base and yanking it. The process can be a bit messy, creates a lot of shake, and doesn’t make a presentable look. So we want the machine to cut the flower clean off.
“We want to keep the bud structure tight and full so we don’t have too many small nuggets. We want big nuggets, and we want to preserve their integrity. SOME machines on the market work well, but they are very high priced. For us, it makes more financial sense to build our own.” - Tommy Vick.
Tommy and Mike both agree. They think hemp growers should avoid time-consuming hand trimming and go straight to the mechanical route no matter what the harvest size. Farmers can find efficient tabletop trimming machines for as little as $2,000, average models for $3,500, and high-end devices for up to $50,000.
They recommend the Python and Centurion Trimming Machines, whose base models trim about 20 pounds per hour wet and 4 pounds per hour dry. High-end models, like the Python 400, can trim 400 pounds of dry flower per hour. Moreover, Python 400 is a bladeless model that ensures superior trichome preservation.
“Along the way, I learned you get what you pay for. In other words, do NOT buy your hemp trimming machines on Alibaba or Wish.com. The motors aren’t strong, and the hinges are weak. Don’t waste your time.
Hands-free pipe-handling technology debuts in GoM
Markus Hulke
Braylon Hurd
Weatherford
In their ongoing drive to optimize operational efficiencies and meet the highest standards in hazard mitigation, offshore E&P operators continually search for new technological innovations across the well construction spectrum. Technologies that mechanize on-deck pipe handling represent a prime opportunity to reduce rig time and costs and minimize the number of people during pipe makeups and breakouts.
An effective strategy for reducing rig time and improving safety in deepwater drilling centers on the running of drillpipe doubles and triples to minimize the number of online connections required. The latest generation of drill floors includes auxiliary make-up stations and racking systems for offline pipe handling and preparation, but many operators must still rely on onshore bucking facilities for building double/triple stands of drillpipe and casing. Delivering these doubles and triples to the offshore platform not only increases the risks of logistical bottlenecks and drilling delays, but it also exposes pipe handling hazards on space-constrained decks.
To minimize these economic and health, safety and environment (HSE) restrictions, a major operator in thedeepwater Gulf of Mexico requested a customized make/break solution for its TLP drilling and production installation. Such a solution would ideally improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and enhance safety by minimizing manual handling over the planned 40-year productive life of the development.
The limited deck space and single-activity derrick on the TLP posed major challenges to the development program. On single-activity derricks, drilling and casing-running activity effectively shuts down any time the crane has to stop due to extreme weather or helicopter landings and takeoffs, which introduces significant flat time to rig operations. Combined with the limited deck space, the setup elevated the already substantial safety risks and inefficiencies inherent in manual drillpipe, casing, and tubing handling.
The primary pedestal-mounted tong positioning device provides 13 ft of vertical lift and horizontal travel.Because the TLP’s drilling program would target highly depleted reservoirs, the new make/break solution had to ensure rapid running speeds to minimize time in open hole. Prolonged open hole exposure increases the risk of differential sticking, particularly in extended-reach intervals, and results in an inability to control the exact height of the drillpipe connection make/break. Owing to its previous experience with stuck pipe in challenging wellbores, the operator required pipe-handling equipment that allowed for drillpipe make/break connections 13.1 ft (4 m) above the rig floor.
To meet these objectives, Weatherford collaborated with the operator and drilling contractor to develop a new pipe-handling technology designed to ensure a healthy balance between operational efficiency and safety. The client’s requirement for a hands-free system required a near-wholly mechanized approach that would represent the industry’s first rig-based make-up/break-out solution for tubular doubles and triples.
A newly engineered open-head bucking unit serves as the foundation of the hands-free pipe handling system. Customized specifically for the on-deck makeup and breakout of double- and triple-joint stands, the system prepares and feeds doubles and triples to the rig floor at a rate equal to transferring singles for running in the hole. The ability to quickly run, rather than rack, doubles and triples increases rig efficiency and streamlines the logistics of pipe delivery from shore. The system’s ability to side-load through an open throat further optimizes the available deck space.
The side-loading capability of the customized open-head bucking machine allows for the on-board processing of drillpipe/casing triples and doubles. (All images courtesy Weatherford)The hydraulically powered bucking unit handles fully rotational, high-torque operations up to 160,000 ft-lb (216,931 N∙m), and seamlessly transitions between makeup and breakout modes. It prepares extended-length tubulars of all API and premium-thread connections, and tubular doubles and triples with diameters ranging from 4½ to 22 in. (114 to 559 mm).
The system is managed electronically from a dedicated control cabin, which avoids manual tubular handling and reduces the number of rig personnel in potentially hazardous areas. The bucking system requires only intermittent crane lifts for preparing doubles and triples, thereby minimizing flat time while enhancing health and safety during heavy weather conditions.
Further operational efficiencies are afforded through a pedestal-mounted tong positioning system. Specially engineered to provide 13 ft of vertical and horizontal travel, the hydro-mechanical positioning device moves the iron roughneck and bespoke mud bucket to the well center and then back into parking position. The positioning system is designed to function without suspension lines, which addresses the operator’s directive to lower the risks of dropped objects.
Key components of the hands-free pipe transfer system, including a third-party pipe shuttle.Controlled with a joystick or via a programmed/saved motion, the positioning device enables side-to-side rotation and lifting of the tong to prescribed vertical or horizontal dimensions. The device affords stable drillpipe connections at a record height above the rotary table, while accounting for TLP movement.
As part of the redundancies engineered during the development phase, the pedestal-mounted positioning system includes a modular, fully fitted, track-mounted positioning device with a supplementary iron roughneck. The track-mounted tong positioning system also helps reduce rig time by allowing the concurrent rig-up and rig-down of tongs offline during the running of the production riser, casing, and tubing. The system’s casing and tubing tongs can quickly be moved to a standby location, allowing the rig crew to immediately begin drillpipe and landing-string operations.
The open-head bucking unit is installed on a cantilevered pipe deck located off the rig floor. The pipe deck meets client-defined HSE criteria, including eliminating the potential for dropped objects, enabling remote and/or hands-free operation of equipment and full product integration into the rig’s zone management system.
The bucking unit is married to a mechanized pipe conveyance system, designed to move single-joint tubulars from specially designed pipe baskets to the pipe bridge for bucking into double or triple stands.
During a typical bucking operation, the electronically controlled lift mechanism mounted on the pipe bridge pushes and lowers single stands of pipe to a transfer table. The transfer table then removes a single pipe from the basket and places it in the pipe queue.
A conveyor table comprising mechanized V-rollers for axial movement and R-rollers for rotation moves pipes vertically to the bucking unit center and axially into the machine. Once the first joint is clamped, the next joint is stabbed in and clamped by the rotating head of the bucking machine. The V-rollers and R-rollers change position before the connection is made, with the double or triple lowered to interface with the kick-out placed on exit racks for positioning. The remotely operated package is seamlessly reversed for breakout during tripping operations, with singles passing through the handling components and directly to the pipe shuttle.
The development of the industry’s first open-head, full rotating and high-torque bucking unit promises new levels of rig floor efficiency and safety. By enabling the rig-based makeup and delivery of tubular doubles and triples at the same rate as singles, the customized system provides a sustainable solution to reduce rig running times and costs.
This development initiative also highlights the inherent value of close collaboration between operator, drilling contractor, and equipment provider to deliver creative solutions that provide safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective rig floor operations.