18th International Wood Machining Seminar - May 2007

18th International
Wood Machining Seminar
O RAL P RE S E N TAT I ONS

IWMS
18
Vol um e 1
Vancouver, Canada
May 7-9 2007
Volume I – Oral Presentations of the
18th International Wood
Machining Seminar
Vancouver, Canada
May 7 - 9, 2007
Hosted by
The IWMS-18 Organizing Committee
i
Publshed in May 2007 by the
IWMS-18 Organizing Committee
c/o FPInnovations – Forintek
2665 East Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1W5
Tel: +1 (604) 224-3221
Fax: +1 (604) 222-5690
Additional copies of these proceedings

may be orderd from the above
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar ii

Welcome to the
18th International Wood Machining Seminar
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we are pleased to welcome you to Vancouver for the 18th
International Wood Machining Seminar (IWMS). Forintek, a division of FPInnovations, is proud to host
the seminar, which started some 44 years ago. It is a credit to the founders and past seminar hosts that the
seminar continues to attract a wide range of participants and attendees from many parts of the globe.
The objective of the 18th IWMS is to bring together teachers, researchers and engineers, in a forum, for
the exchange of information on the latest ideas and technologies in the production and processing of wood
and wood products. This wonderful natural material provides so many challenges in the conversion to
much sought after final products. In these troubling times, with respect to our treatment of the
environment, it is encouraging to know that we work with one of natures most useful, renewable, natural
materials. It not only cleans the air, it also provides answers to so many of our needs.
We would particularly like to thank all the dedicated members of the Organizing Committee without
whom we would not all be together at this time. It takes a great deal of work to bring the seminar into
reality.
To our attendees and participants, welcome to the 18th IWMS. Meet old colleagues and friends, make sure
to make new ones, and give plenty of encouragement to those just starting out in this challenging field.
Yours Sincerely
John Taylor and Darrell Wong

Co-Chairs
18th IWMS Organizing Committee.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar iii

May 7-9, 2007 – Vancouver, Canada
Table of Contents
Keynote Address
A New Direction for Wood Engineer’s Responsibility

Fischer, Roland..........................................................................................................................................................3
Session I
Primary Conversion and Sawing
Process Control Based on Meaurement of Spiral Grain and Heartwood Content

Grönlund, Anders; Oja, Johan; Grundberg, Stig; Nyström, Jan; Ekevad, Mats .......................................................13
Penetration of Liquid into Laser Incised Lumber by the Passive Impregnation

Hattori, Nobuaki; Islam, Md. Nazrul; Ando, Keisuke; Yamauchi, Hidefumi; Kobayashi, Yoshinori...........................23
The Behaviour of Circular Saws at High Speeds

Hutton, Stanley G. ; Warkentin, Matthew J ..............................................................................................................33
Effect of Temperature on the Bark/Wood Bond Strength of Balsam Fir and Black Spruce
Laganière, Benoît; Bédard, Normand ......................................................................................................................45
Heating and Cooling of Circular Saws

Lehmann, Bruce Ph.D., P.Eng. ................................................................................................................................47
Sawblade Vibration Mode Shape Measurement Using ESPI

Schajer, Gary S.; Steinzig, Michael..........................................................................................................................59
Separate-sided Surface Height Measurement Using a Handheld Profiling Device

Vadeboncoeur, Natalie; Schajer, Gary S.; Johnson, Alex; Rickard, David .............................................................69
Evaluation of Different Circular Saw Designs

Taylor, John; Hutton, Stan G.; White, John ..............................................................................................................79
Examining Circular Saw Vibrations in the Sawmill

Valadez, Leonard.....................................................................................................................................................87
Relating Saw Blade Cutting Accuracy to Lumber Quality in Double Arbor Gang Edgers Using Guided
Saws
Bird, Warren.............................................................................................................................................................95
The Effect of the Power Transmission Method of the Spindle on the Position of the Circular Saw Teeth
Wasielewski, Roman; Orlowski, Kazimierz A. ..........................................................................................................97
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar v

Session II
Secondary Conversion
Planing Timber with an Active Machining System

Elmas, S.; Jackson, M. R.; Parkin, R. M................................................................................................................107
Influence of Vibration Coupling Between Bandsaw Frame and Feed-Carriage System on Sawdust
Spillage and Surface Quality of Workpiece During Sawing
Okai, Reynolds; Iwasaki, Yoshihiro; Nagase, Hideo; Tanaka, Chiaki ..................................................................... 117
Some Special Problems of Thermosmoothing and Coating

Fuchs, Ingrid; Raatz, Christoph; Peter, Michael; Pflüger, Torsten ..........................................................................125
Simulation of the Effectivity of Suction Hoods

Heisel, Uwe; Dressler, Martin ................................................................................................................................135
The Router Moulder Story

Jackson, Mike R. ...................................................................................................................................................143
Wood Machining Center with Parallel Kinematic for High Performance Cutting and Workpiece
Handling
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Loohß, Torsten; Armbrecht, Christian .........................................................................153
Process-integrated Cleaning of Tools and Machine Parts via CO2-Particles

Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Strauß, Henning .........................................................................................................163
A New Safety System for Dimension Saws “Cut-Stop”

Heisel, Uwe; Tröger, Johannes; Schumacher, Kai.................................................................................................173
Basics and Realisation of Edge Band Bonding Using Laser Technology

Oertel, Michael; Gottlöber, Christian; Wagenführ, André; Buchelt, Beate; Schwarz, Ulrich ...................................179
Flexible and Adaptive Production Systems for Manufacturing of Wooden Components

Usenius, Arto .........................................................................................................................................................187
The Profile Independent Wood Moulding Machine-II

Jackson, Mike R.; Taşcıoglu, Yiğit..........................................................................................................................197
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar vi

Session III
Cutting Mechanics
Power Demand in Routing Wood and Wood Composites

McKenzie, W. M.....................................................................................................................................................207
Mechanical Analysis of Cellular Deformation and Fracture in Wood Cutting Process

Ohtani, Tadashi......................................................................................................................................................215
Cutting Force Prediction in MDF Boards Machining

Tani, G.; Mantega, C.; Mazza, M. ..........................................................................................................................221
Particleboard Cutting Model

Wong, Darrell C.; Schajer, Gary S. ........................................................................................................................233
Session IV
Surface Quality
Roller Bar and Knife Settings on Veneer Peeling Quality

Dai, Chunping; Wang, Brad ...................................................................................................................................245
Influence of Sawing Conditions on the Quality of Particleboard Edges

Garrido, Nuno; Martins, Jorge; Carvalho, Luisa; Mendes, Joaquim; Costa, Carlos...............................................247
The Use of Advanced Lighting Techniques to Detect Localized and Biological Surface Defects in
Wood
Lemaster, Richard L...............................................................................................................................................257
The Effect of Tool Geometry and Machine Parameters on the Surface Finish of Machined MDF
Ribarits, S. G.; Carmond, P. J.; Romilly, D. P.; Evans, P. D....................................................................................267
Optical Triangulation in Wood Surface Roughness Measurement

Jakub, Sandak.......................................................................................................................................................275
Design and Development of a Process Monitoring and Control System for Abrasive Machining
Processes
Saloni, Daniel E.; Lemaster, Richard L. .................................................................................................................285
Quality and Assessment of Sanded Surfaces

Scholz, F.; Riegel, A.; Ratnasingam, J. ..................................................................................................................297
The Abrasive Sanding Characteristics of Particleboard Made from Oil-palm Empty-fruit Bunch (EFB)
Ratnasingam, J.; Farookhpayam, S.R................................................................................................................... 311
Reducing Fuzziness In Abrasive Sanding Of Rubberwood (Hevea Brasiliensis)

Ratnasingam, J.; Scholz, F. ...................................................................................................................................317
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar vii

Session V
Tool Materials
No Sanding Before Painting by Using CrN Coated Tool?
Tsuchiya, Atsushi; Okumura, Shogo; Fujii, Yoshihisa; Fujiwara, Yuko ...................................................................323
Stellite® Alloys for Woodcutting

Wu, James B.C; DeJong, Lou...............................................................................................................................329
Bionic Cutting of Wood (Part III) Study on the Self-sharpening Characteristics of Wood Cutting Tools
Zhou, Zhijiang; Li, Beigang; Wang, Zheng; Wang, Yonghua; Zhu, Dianxiang........................................................339
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar viii

Machining Seminar
Keynote Address
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar 1

A New Direction for Wood Engineer’s Responsibility
Fischer, Roland
Chair of Wood and Fibre Materials Technology
Dresden University, Dresden, Germany
rolandfischer@nexgo.de
ABSTRACT
The population on earth and their technical capabilities have grown dramatically in the last two centuries.
This growth leads to enormous challenges for the natural and social environment. These problems must
urgently be addressed.
After coal, oil and steel, wood is the most important raw material. Therefore, woodworking industries can
make an important contribution.
The possible productivity per workman, the installed power of the equipment, and the size of enterprises
has grown more than fifty times since 1900. This growth has been made possible by the intensive labour
of engineers, based on their steady growing scientific knowledge.
Today and in the past, the main task of engineer’s work consists in increasing productivity and production
speed. This has the effect of reducing the number of employees. In this way, large-scale enterprises have
grown and developed. But at the same time, more adverse consequences occur. The number of
unemployed persons rises and the utilization of material decreases, as does the lifetime of products. We
are living in a throwaway society. Furthermore, the logistic systems between producer and consumer are
not easy to control.
Therefore, it is necessary to regenerate the conceptual formulation for engineers. The science of
techniques, of nature and of social and economic relations must be combined in the new task. The target
is to increase the number of places of employment by rising economy and by decreasing stress on the
environment. So are to develop machines for small enterprises with similar economy to the large scaled
enterprises, even though more workers per product are needed. From today’s view that is impossible, even
though fixed costs decrease. Therefore, new technologies are needed to increase the quality of products
and by higher materials recovery.
To use scientific progress in this way are challenge of engineers in the next centuries.
INTRODUCTION
Over the previous millennia, there were relatively few people living on our earth. In the beginning of
historical times, there were fewer than one billion people. Their technical operations where simple and
without any mechanics. These people did not substantially influence their environment. However, in the
course of time, the situation greatly changed. In the last two millennia, the human population has
increased to more than six billions.
At present, human population grows at 2% per year. At this rate, the population in 2050 will exceed 9
billion [1]. The stress on the environment will correspondingly increase. Today, the environment must be
protected against mankind. It is clear that climatic relations shall in the very near future change in a
dramatic way. Against that change, mankind must act urgently.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 3

Figure 1: Growth of human population in millions [1]
DEVELOPMENT OF MACHINING WOOD

Wood follows coal, oil and steel as a primary raw material. Therefore, techniques for using wood have
their share in the alteration of the natural environment and the social environment. That can be shown
clearly in the development of primary conversion by sawing. Productivity in m³ per worker per year, feed
speed in m/min, the installed power in kW and the capacity of enterprises in m³ per year are rising rapidly
in the same way like earths population.
While feed speed in year zero was about 0,01 m/min, it rose after the year 1500 to about 0,1 m/min with
waterwheel driven machines. With continuing developments, feed speed rose progressively. Today it is
about 200 m/min.
Developement of sawing wood
500
400
300
200
100
0
1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
feeding speed in m/min Power in kW/headenginee

Productivity in 10m³/Worker Energyconsumtion in kWmin/10m
Figure 2: Development of sawing wood

Specific Energy consumption E per m feed
E = Power[kW ] / v f [m / min] in kW min/ m
The corresponding amount of human amount of work fell from about 16 hours in 1900 to about 0,5 in
2000.In addition to it rising utilization gives decreasing costs of equipment per m³, the so called fixed
costs. Modern large scaled enterprise is today the solution with the best economic result. A clear example
of this development is visible in German sawmills. In the 1950s, a sawmill with 50 thousand m³ cutting
capacity was called a large scaled enterprise. Today there are sawmills with half million cutting capacity
and more. These large-scaled enterprises have lower cost per m³ then smaller scale sawmills. The good
old times of small-scaled enterprises and handcrafts seem to be over. That is the present conceptual
formulation of engineers and economists.
THE NEW CHALLENGES

The disadvantages of this development are increasingly visible. The utilization of logs influences the
economic prosperity less than in the small scaled enterprise. Often the products are produced at such
small costs that they can be sold by very low price. They then become suitable for short-life products. We
are living in a throw away society.
The concentration of production in a few places creates growing problems in transporting logs and
lumber. Streets and the environment are stressed by big trucks. And the associated problems of
joblessness cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to formulate new basic targets for
engineers work. That must be based on connected sciences of engineering, economics, ecology and
sociology. There must be created new opportunities for more well paid jobs.
The new challenge consists in developing machines, tools and equipment with innovative control,
transport and process systems to allow economic competition with large scaled enterprises. Such
equipment must work like a handcraft. And from it must result reduced stress on the natural and social
environment. That is the challenge for scientists and engineers in the next centuries.
APPROACH OF A PROGNOSIS
How should the innovative enterprises look in the next centuries? With what kind of techniques should
they work? How should they process, join, separate, laminate, sort and transport? Today an exact
prognosis is impossible just as it was in 1900 impossible to predict the conditions in the year 2000. Today
we are still no fortunetellers. However, some basic statements may to be possible to see a little into the
window of the future.
THE SMALL-SCALED ENTERPRISE

The small-scaled enterprise is of special interest. It must produce with higher efficiency and higher
number of workers per unit products as the larger-scaled one. This is impossible when unaltered raw
materials are used and unaltered goods are produced, because in this case the specific costs are higher
than in the large scaled enterprise. Substantial efforts are being directed towards changing this situation.
Some possibilities are:
• Using inexpensive raw materials (smaller logs, shorter transportation distances, for example)
• Production of goods with higher quality and lifetime
• Production of custom specified goods
• Higher utilization of time and materials

Furthermore, the small-scale enterprise cannot be a reduced image of the large one, where the machines
and equipment are typically chained inflexibly.
Figure 3: Iinflexibly chained machines. This system is very powerful and needs fewer workers
Conversely, the workplaces of small-scaled enterprises are loose linked so that they can work in arbitrary
sequence. This creates an interconnected system of different machines and workplaces. The work places
have different tasks like cutting, joining, and lamination and so on. They are autonomous and equipped
with different degrees of mechanisation or automation.
The convenient sequence of activities is computer controlled. Connection and transportation between the
work places can be computer controlled also. The number of workers per product unit is certainly higher
than in large-scaled enterprises.
Figure 4: Scheme of flexible chained machines in a meshwork as an interconnected system
In such an interconnected system, it is useful and possible also to connect different enterprises and
workshops within a region.
INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

It is very important to develop innovative technical solutions suited to small-scale enterprises. For
example, let us have first a look on the present situation of wood machining.
Modern equipment for machining wood is typified by high speed and high productivity:
• Tools rotate in spindles up to 40.000 rev/min
• Spindles move with a speed up to 30 m/min
• Work piece feed speed up to 200 m/min.
Further developments in these directions seem hardly possible. Most developments have already been
made. On the other hand, high speed and high RPM increase the danger of broken tools and spindles and
the emission of noise and dust.

What remains to do to make things better?
The chipping process is to analyse and to optimize in relation to
• the mating materials of knife and work piece
• the geometry of the cutting edge, and
• the kinetic relations.
The investigations in this way must include the overall properties of machines as well as the details of the
process at the cutting edge. The results of these investigations can be integrated into a pool of experience
in combination with knowledge of economics, ecology and sociology.
So a circle is created: The scientific investigation leads to a pool of experience, giving the roots of
innovations, and the results of innovations become subjects of new investigations. This circle was
beginning its rotation some thousand years ago. In the old times, one rotation took perhaps a millennium.
But today, the time for one rotation of the development circle is about 5 to 10 years.
Modern techniques give us new methods, new forms of energy, new materials, new kinetic elements and
better possibilities to do needed calculations. But all these are nothing without the experience of our
predecessors. Yes, we are on the way from Art to Science, but the target must be Art plus Science.
In this way, step by step, engineers and scientists together should develop new types of wood machining
equipment, friendly to the environment, involving low costs only, and good for small scaled enterprises.
Machine Process Interact Mating Micro Process

Pool of
Scientific Investigation leads to
Experience
•Processes in the Fields of
Machining Wood.
Together with
•Tools Development of Knowledge of
Innovations:
•Engineering
•Kinetics •Nature Sciences
•Machines •Economy
•Ecology
•Sociology
Figure 5: The circle of investigation, pool of experience, innovations and investigations again
SOME EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIONS

So the investigation of micro process for instance leads to new knowledge about friction forces,
temperatures and dulling. [2]
= lc
Dv = 0,5 pm
vc
B
h
αm
Dv
h1
layer of lost volume
SV
α lost volume V
Figure 6: Model to calculate progress of dulling

The model in Fig. 6 gives the possibility to calculate the value of dulling depending of cutting path lc,
cutting speed vc and the geometry of the wedge:
30
Dv1 / Dv 2 = vc1 / vc 2
value of dulling h1 in micrometer
25
20
15
Dv ∗2∗sin β
10
h1 =sin α m l ∗
(
c sin α +α
m
) (
∗sin 180−β − α − α
m
)
5
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000
Cutting path lc in m
vc=5,24 m/s vc=10,47 m/s vc=20,94 m/s
Investigation of kinetics of knives and chips leads to innovative tools. The aim is to decrease the noise
and energy of chips being produced, development leads to tools as shown in Figure 7. The so-called in-
chip tools are leading the chips through their body into the exhaust pipes. The moving energy of the chips
is used to decrease exhaustion energy. Both principles shown in Figure 7a and 7b are realized in practical
wood machining.
The smallest level of noise emission has a static knife with cutting movement by work piece. (Figure 7c).
That is the simplest solution. High quality results from it, but it is not easy to lead the cutting force into
the work piece when several knives are working together.
Figure 7d shows a screw shaped tool. This is a knife wound around a cylinder. This tool produces higher
surface quality and lower noise than conventional tools. The grain in the chips is not destroyed. In
addition, the energy of the chips beam is low.
a b
c d
Figure 7: Innovative tools: a) scheme of an in-chip tool for machining edges of wood materials
[3], b) in-chip tools for joining [4], c) static tool for linear cutting [5], d) screw formed
tool.[6]

Investigation of kinetics in machines leads to new kinds of moving systems. The development leads to
modern 5-axis controlled milling machines. This kind of machine is suitable for workshops and
handcrafts if the price is low enough.
Figure 8: Modern 5-axis controlled milling machine [7]
A very interesting development has occurred in the last ten years – the parallel kinematic mechanism as a
movement system in milling machines and in handling systems for machining wood. A practical parallel
kinematic mechanism consists of 6 legs. They are connected to a base and a platform as shown in Figure
8. The length of each leg is computer controlled so the platform can move as needed. In the figure, a work
piece is attached to the platform. The spindle stands at the bottom.
Figure 9: Parallel kinematic hexapod, scheme and test model working in an experiment.[8]
The Hexapod seems to be a practical solution for small-scaled enterprises and workshops. The legs can be
produced inexpensively, leading to low fixed costs. Because it is cheaper than conventional computerized
multi-purpose woodworking machines, it is perhaps a seminal development.
As an example of a vision for custom production processes, say in furniture and component factories, is to
imagine that the new target can be reached by a combination of mass-produced innovative and
computerized motion systems and tool systems arranged as interconnected systems. In this way, small-
scaled enterprises can be shaped. Stock keeping there is limited. Transport systems between producer and
consumer are to be designed with consideration of environmental stress and rising cost of energy.

Figure 10: A new solution of hexapod is the PEGASUS [ 9 ]
CONCLUSIONS
To achieve the new objective, scientists and engineers have to consider the legitimate interests of the
consumers, the producers and of society under the present natural and social environment. The consumer
needs inexpensive goods of sufficient quality and lifetime according to his own definition. The producers
of goods, machines and tools require profitable production. Society needs decreasing unemployment and
decreasing environmental stress during production, use and recycling of the products.
To accommodate these demands implies enormous challenges for every involved partner. All partners,
from scientist to the consumer are called to be responsible to form our future.
REFERENCES
1. Weltbevölkerung, in: Wikipedia 2007
2. Fischer, R: Die Grenzschicht zwischen Schneide und Werkstoff, in Holztechnologie 46(2005)3
3. Fischer, R., Oertel, M 1999, Development of innovative milling tool with interior disposal of chips.
Proceedings, 14th International Wood Machining Seminar
4. Gittel, H.-J., Oertel, M. 2000. Effektvolle Innovation. BM – Bau- und Moebelschreiner 9. pp. 34-35.
5. Fischer, R.; Gottlöber, C.: Werkzeug- und Maschinenkonzepte mit linearer Schnittbewegung für die
Holzbearbeitung. In: Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Technischen Universität Dresden 48
(1999) 2, S. 107-109
6. Fischer, R., Gottlöber, Ch., Rehm, K. Schneiden statt Hacken. In HOB Die Holzbearbeitung
1-2/2006_63
7. Bearbeitungszentrum BAZ 200: Brochure of Homag Holzbearbeitungssysteme
8. Grossmann, K., Moebius, V. 2000. Hexapod für Handling - Zwischen Roboter und Maschine. ZWF –
Zeitschrift für wirtschaftlichen Fabrikbetrieb 6. pp. 290-293.
9. Anonymous: Die Revolution in Geschwindigkeit und Dynamik, Brochure of Hamuel Reichenbacher.

Machining Seminar
Session I

Process Control Based on Meaurement of Spiral Grain and Heartwood
Content
Grönlund, Anders1; Oja, Johan1,2; Grundberg, Stig1,2; Nyström, Jan1; Ekevad, Mats1
1 2
Luleå University of Technology SP-Trätek
Skellefteå Campus; Skeria 3 Skeria 2
SE-931 87 Skellefteå, Sweden SE-931 87 Skellefteå, Sweden
anders.gronlund@ltu.se johan.oja@sp.se
ABSTRACT
Two disadvantages with wood are that it can warp and rot. The result of these negative properties is that
wood products have lost market shares in applications where wood traditionally has been the natural
choice of material.
Warp can be divided into three modes: twist, bow and crook. The worst warp mode in most applications is
twist. Twist is mainly influenced by the magnitude and gradient of spiral grain and the distance from the
pith.
Spiral grain angles on logs and boards can be measured using the tracheid effect. A small laser point is
projected onto the wood surface. The light transmitted in the wood and scattered back forms an elliptic
shape extended in the direction of the fibres. The ellipse of light is registered with a camera, and the
orientation of the ellipse’s major axis corresponds to the fibre direction.
A measurement system comprising of laser, camera and software algorithms has been developed and
tested in industrial tests. These tests have shown that it is possible to reduce the magnitude and frequency
of twist by sorting out the pieces that are most likely to twist and treating these pieces in an alternative
way during drying.
The same measurement system with slightly altered software is also used to detect heartwood on green
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) lumber at full industrial speed. It is used to
sort out pieces with high heartwood content as heartwood has better durability than sapwood.
These two examples show that it is possible to avoid the negative properties of wood and utilize the good
properties in a systematic way using good measurement techniques and process control.
Keywords: Spiral grain, Heartwood content, Measurement technique, Tracheid effect, Process control
INTRODUCTION
Wood is a biological material with many excellent properties but wood also has some undesirable
properties such as warp and rot. The result of these negative properties is that wood products have lost
market shares in applications where wood traditionally has been the natural choice of material. Steel studs
and PVC windows are two examples where wood has been substituted. Lack of straightness is the main
reason for substitution of wood in the stud application [1,2]. In the case of window construction it was the
extensive rot damage in wooden windows during the nineteen-seventies that started the substitution of
PVC for wood in window construction.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Grönlund, Oja, Grundberg, Nyström and Ekevad - 13
May 7-9, 2007– Vancouver, Canada
Many scientists have studied warp and investigated the parameters that influence the magnitude of the
warp when the moisture content changes [3,4,5]. Warp can be divided into three modes: twist, bow and
crook. Twist is mainly influenced by the magnitude of spiral grain and the distance from the pith [6]. Bow
and crook are influenced by differences in the longitudinal shrinkage in different parts in a piece of wood.
The differences in longitudinal shrinkage depend mainly on the distribution and magnitude of
compression wood and juvenile wood [7].
Spiral grain occurs naturally in more or less all trees. Instead of running parallel to the pith, the grain runs
spirally around the trunk like a helix. Since wood is an orthotropic material with higher shrinkage
perpendicular to than parallel with the grain, planks and boards with spiral grain will twist when dried [8].
The normal pattern in the northern hemisphere is that the spiral is left-handed in young wood, with a
change to right-handed in mature wood [9]. Some trees, however seem to stay left-handed and just
increase the left-handed spiral with age. Planks and boards sawn from these trees have a very great
tendency to twist [10].
Twist of planks with spiral grain occur during moisture changes and is most evident during the drying
process. How the drying process is performed is therefore crucial for the final result. It has been reported
that one way to decrease the twist problem is to pre-twist the drying stacks in the opposite direction of the
normal twist direction [11]
In the Nordic countries, windows have traditionally been made of heartwood from Scots pine (Pinus
sylvestris). In the beginning of the nineteen-sixties the window manufacturing process became more and
more industrialised. This resulted in less time and attention being spent on selection of wood with proper
properties. The good durability of pine heartwood, for instance was no longer utilized consistently.
The fact that the windows were no longer made of pine heartwood was also one a factor in the extensive
rot damages in wooden windows during late nineteen-sixties and the nineteen-seventies. The problem was
temporarily solved by preservative treatment of the windows. Today, preservative treatment has become
more and more called into question. One way to avoid preservatives is, of course, to go back to the old
method and begin to utilize the natural durability of pine heartwood in a systematic way.
In earlier days skilled craftsmen selected the right piece of wood for the product in question. With our
high production speeds today it is not possible to do manual selection in a proper way. We have to do the
selections with automatic methods.
The main objectives for this project were to:
• Study and develop methods for industrial measurement of spiral grain and pine heartwood.
• Develop strategies and algorithms for control of the production process.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

MEASUREMENT OF SPRIAL GRAIN ANGLE
Spiral grain on logs and boards can be measured using the tracheid effect, Figure 1. The tracheid effect
utilizes the light-conducting properties of the softwood tracheids to measure the direction of spiral grain.
A small laser point is projected onto the wood surface. The light transmitted in the wood and scattered
back forms an elliptic shape extended in the direction of the fibres. The ellipse of light is registered with a
camera and the orientation of the ellipse’s major axis corresponds to the fibre direction [12].
Figure 1: Measurement of spiral grain angle (GA) on logs and boards. This specimen with left-
handed spiral grain represents an individual piece prone to distort during drying. The
picture on the right shows the tracheid effect.
SPIRAL GRAIN MEASUREMENT – INDUSTRIAL CASE 1

The test material consisted of 250 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) logs in the top diameter range between
121 and 130 mm. The spiral grain angle on log surface was measured with the tracheid method (Figure 1)
during longitudinal transport of the debarked logs. The logs were sorted into three grain-angle groups
(GA1 – GA3) where GA3 is the most left-handed group. Of the test logs, 70% were sorted into GA1 and
15% each into the two other groups.
The logs were live sawn to boards with a green target size of 24 mm and dried to 8% MC. All boards
were pressured with a top load during drying and half of the boards were pre-twisted in the drying stack
in the opposite direction of the normal twist direction [11]. The other half was stored flat in the drying
stack. After drying the boards were planed and glued together to 2500 mm long and 600 mm wide edge
glued panels. After sanding the twist of the panels was measured on a length of 2000 mm and a width of
600 mm.
SPIRAL GRAIN MEASUREMENT – INDUSTRIAL CASE 2

In case 2 the spiral grain angle was measured in the green sorting line during cross transport of green 60 x
163 mm Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) planks at full industrial speed. The angle was measured on both flat
faces of the planks with the tracheid method, Figure1. On each face the angle was measured in three laser
dots (using Lasiris DLS-500-660-5, 5mW, wave length 660 nm) with a camera (C-Cam Technologies
BCi4-LS-M), Figure 2, [13]. Based on the measured spiral grain angles, the planks were sorted into two
different bins. The 25% most left-handed planks were sorted into one bin and the rest of the planks into
the other bin.
Figure 2: Measurement equipment for the upper face
The lumber was stacked in 8 packages on stickers, two packages with the planks with the most left-
handed spiral grain angle and 6 packages with the rest of the lumber. Each packages comprised 17 layers
8 planks in width. The lumber was placed in a drying kiln and dried to 9% MC. During drying 4 packages
were placed one on top of the other. In one pile the top package (Package 1) and bottom package (package
4) consisted of lumber with the most left-handed spiral grain angle and the other pile consisted of the
“normal” lumber, Figure 3. After drying and cooling down of the lumber, twist was measured on the
planks from the top six layers in each package, 48 pieces per package.
After that, all 8 packages were transported to a secondary processing unit that manufactures 18- mm thick
edge glued panels. The lumber was crosscut into two different components, long (2100 mm) or short (850
mm). The crosscut optimization was done manually and based on both biological features such as knots
and shape features such as twist. After the cross-cutting process, the yield of long and short components
was recorded. The long components (2100 mm) were then run through the planer where the components
were ripped and planed to lamellae with a cross-section of 20.5 x 52 mm. The frequency of planing
misses was recorded.
Pack. 1 Pack. 5
Pack. 2 Pack. 6
25% most
left-handed
Pack. 3 Pack. 7
Pack. 4 Pack. 8
Figure 3: Schematic description of the position of the 8 lumber packages in the two drying piles
included in test case 2
MEASUREMENT OF SCOTS PINE HEARTWOOD

The same hardware equipment was used for measurement of heartwood as for measurement of spiral
grain angle, but the software algorithms are different [13]. When laser light is projected against a wood
surface the light scattering depends on the moisture content of the wood. The higher the MC, the greater
the light scattering which means that the light is more scattered when the laser dot hits green sapwood
than when the dot hits green heartwood. An example of how the light scattering varies across a piece of
lumber is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Example of how heartwood can be separated from sapwood due to the fact that the light
from a laser dot is scattered more in the wet sapwood
The heartwood scanner has been running in the green sorting line on a Swedish sawmill for more than a
year. The scanner’s accuracy has been evaluated several times during this period. It has been especially
important to determine whether the season of the year affects the measurement results.
RESULTS
INDUSTRIAL CASE 1
Twist measured on 600- mm -wide, 2000–mm-long and 18-mm-thick test panels is shown in Figure 5. It
is quite evident that the group with the lowest left-handed grain angle (GA1) is least twisted. It is also
quite clear that pretwisting during drying in the opposite direction to the expected twist direction reduces
the twist of the finished edge-glued panels.
Figure 5: Twist in mm of edge glued panels 18 x 600 x2000 mm for different spiral grain angle
levels and the influence from pre-twist during drying
INDUSTRIAL CASE 2
Average twist after drying for layers 1- 6 in the different packages is shown in Figure 6. The figure shows
that the planks in the two packages with the most left-handed spiral grain angle are also the most twisted.
It is also clear that a top load has a certain impact, as package 1 on the top of the pile has significantly
greater twist than package 4 on the bottom of the pile. This effect can also be seen on the packages after
drying, Figure 7.
The planks were cross-cut into blanks. The yield of short (850 mm) and long (2100 mm) blanks is shown
in Figure 8. The yield of long blanks is lower in the packages with the most twisted lumber (Package 1).
After crosscutting the long blanks were run through a planer where lamellae for edge glued panels were
produced. The reject frequency in the different packages due to that all faces on the lamellae not being
touched by the cutter heads is shown in Figure 9. It can be noted that the reject frequency is highest in
package 1 (most twisted lumber) despite the fact that the yield of long lamellae was lowest. This means
that the manual crosscutting operator should have made more short blanks and fewer long blanks.
- 18 mm - 1 mm
- 4 mm - 2 mm
25% most
left-handed - 3 mm -2 mm
- 10 mm 0 mm
Figure 6: Average twist on the planks in layers 1-6 in the different packages
Figure 7: Picture that shows the difference between the top package with the most left-handed
spiral grain (Package 1), the bottom package with left-handed spiral grain (Package 4)
and the bottom package with less left-handed spiral grain (Package 8)
Short: 40% Short: 30%

Long: 48% Long: 58%
25% most Long: 61% Long: 60%
left-handed Short: 27% Short: 33%

Long: 61% Long: 55%
Long: 56% Long: 57%
Figure 8: Yield of long (2100 mm) and short (850 mm) blanks after crosscutting the planks from
the different packages
12% 1%
4% 3%
25% most
left-handed
4% 0%
4% 2%
Figure 9: Reject frequency of long (2100 mm) lamellae (20.5 x 52 mm) after ripping and planing.
PINE HEARTWOOD MEASUREMENT

The heartwood scanner has been evaluated several times during more than a year. In Figure 10 an
example of the relationship between real and measured heartwood percentage is shown. On analysing the
results in Figure 10 it must be borne in mind that the heartwood is measured on-line on the two opposite
faces of the planks. When comparing measured and real heartwood content, there are two major error
sources. The first error source is measurement errors in detection of the border between heartwood and
sapwood on the faces. The other error source occurs when calculating the heartwood percentage in a
cross-section of a plank from values measured on the two opposite faces. Evaluations show that the two
error sources are of the same magnitude.
Figure 10. Example of a comparison between real heartwood percentage in the cross-section and
measured heartwood percentage measured on the plank faces
Neither the detailed evaluations shown in Figure 10 nor the large-scale tests as shown in Figure 11
indicate that the results are influenced by seasonal variations.
Figure 11: Example of lumber with more than 40% heartwood content. Of the planks that were
selected, 95% fulfilled the stipulated requirements
DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Every log and every piece of wood is a unique individual. This fact is an advantage for wood when used
in visual products, but it is a problem during the production process. In order to achieve the highest
possible value from each log the characterization of wood properties should principally take place as early
as possible in the conversion chain. The ultimate goal is to obtain full knowledge about the properties of
every tree in the forest.
However, there is no multipurpose scanner available on the market today that can measure all tree
features. So for now we must rely on scanners that are specially designed for specific measurement tasks.
The spiral grain scanner and heartwood scanner described in this paper were designed for very specific
measurement tasks. They are inexpensive which according to the host sawmills makes the cost/benefit
ratio low, notwithstanding the fact that the measurement precision is far from 100%. The precision is
good enough, however, to give a considerable improvement of the production process and thereby an
increased competitiveness for sawmills that are using the scanners.
The results from the described industrial tests show that it is possible to avoid the negative properties of
wood and utilize the good properties in a systematic way with the aid of good measurement techniques at
full industrial speed. This enables sawmills to deliver better specified wood products and improve their
process control. However, the results also show that we in no way are able to measure and explain all
wood variations. Consequently, considerable R&D efforts will be needed before we can measure and
explain all the properties of wood and the entire range of variation—if indeed we are ever to reach that
level of knowledge with a biological material such as wood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge Formas (The Swedish Research Council for Environment,
Agriculture Sciences and Spatial Planning) and The European Regional Development Fund, Objective 1,
Northern part of Sweden for their financial support for this research project.
REFERENCES
Johansson, G., Kliger, R., and Perstorper, M. 1994: Quality of structural timber-product specification
system required by end-users. Holz als roh-und werkstoff, 52(1), 42-48.
Eastin, I. L., Shook, S. R., and Fleishman, S. J., 2001: Material substitution in the US residential
construction industry, 1994 versus 1998. Forest Products Journal, 51(9), 30-37.
Danborg, F. 1994: drying properties and visual grading of juvenile wood from fast grown Picea abies and
Picea sitchensis. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 9, 91-98.
Woxblom, L., 1999: warp of sawn timber of Norway spruce in relation to end-user requirements- quality,
sawing pattern and economic aspects. Doctoral Thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences .
dept. of Forest Management and Products, Silvestria 126, Uppsala, Sweden
Forsberg, D. 1999: Warp, in particular twist, of sawn wood of Norway spruce (Picea abies). Doctoral
Thesis. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, dept. of Forest Management and Products, Silvestria
119, Uppsala, Sweden.
Johansson, M.; Perstorper, M.; Klieger, R.; Johansson, G. 2001. Distorsion of Norway spruce timber –
part 2. Modelling twist. Holz als- Roh- und Werkstoff 59 (2001) 3, 155 – 162.
Johansson, M.; Klieger, R. 2002. Influence of material characterstics on warp in Norway spruce studs.
Wood and Fibre Science 34 (2002) 2, 325 -336.
Säll, H. 2002. Spiral grain in Norway spruce. Doctoral Thesis 22, Växjö University, Sweden..ISBN 91-
7636-356-2
Skatter, S.& Kucera,B. 1998. The cause of prevalent directions of the spiral grainpatterns in conifers.
Trees (1998) 12:265-273. Springer-Verlag
Nyström, J & Grundberg,S. 2002. Industrial measurement of spiral grain on debarked sawlogs and
prediction of twist on center planks after drying. Wood and Fiber Science. In: Nyström, J. Automatic
measurement of compression wood and spiral grain for the prediction of distiortion in sawn wood
products. Doctoral thesis, Luleå University of Technology, 2002:37 ISSN 1402-1544. Paper VII.
Ekevad, M., Salin, J-G., Grundberg, S., Nyström,J., Grönlund,A. 2006. Modelling of adequate pretwist for
obtaining straight timber. Wood Material Science and Engineering 1:76-84.
Nyström, J. 2000: Automatic measurement of fiber orientation in softwoods by using the tracheid effect.
Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Image Processing and Scanning of Wood. 21-23
August, 2000. Mountain Lake, Virginia, USA.
Oja, J., Grundberg, S., Berg, P. & Fjellström, P-A. 2006. Mätutrustning för bestämning av fibervinkel och
kärnvedsinnehåll vid tvärtransport av träprodukter i råsorteringen. SP Rapport 2006:16. ISBN nr 91-
85533-01-7. (In Swedish).
Penetration of Liquid into Laser Incised Lumber
by the Passive Impregnation
Hattori, Nobuaki1; Islam, Md. Nazrul2; Ando, Keisuke1; Yamauchi, Hidefumi3;
Kobayashi, Yoshinori3
1 2 3
Division of Ecosciences, United Graduate School of Institute of Wood Technolory,
Institute of Symbiotic Science Agriculture, Tokyo University of Akita Prefectural University
and Technology Agriculture and Technology 11-1 Kaieizaka
Tokyo University of Agriculture 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho Noshiro, Akita 016-0876, Japan
and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan hide@iwt.akita-pu.ac.jp
3-5-8 Saiwai-cho nazrul17@yahoo.com
Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
hattori@cc.tuat.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
Different types of steam, different level of steam injection schedule, different levels of moving time and
different dipping period were used to investigate the effect of these factors on liquid penetration in
Douglas-fir lumber when it was treated by the passive impregnation. The best condition was then applied
to Japanese cedar and Japanese larch to observe the effects of this treatment. Distribution of moisture
before and after treatment was analyzed to observe the liquid penetration process. It was observed that
there was good penetration of liquid into wood by the passive impregnation method. It was also observed
that there was quite uniform distribution of liquid in the impermeable wood. Therefore, it can be
concluded that through-hole with CO2 laser improved treatment by confirming better penetration and
distribution for those impermeable species and appeared to be a feasible approach for improving
treatment of these materials.
Keywords: Moisture distribution, passive impregnation, Douglas-fir, Japanese cedar, Japanese larch
INTRODUCTION
Wood preservation is a pressure or thermal impregnation of chemicals into wood to the depth that will
provide effective long-term resistance against attack by fungi and termites etc. in order to extend the
service life of timber. Proper wood preservation reduces the harvest of logs and maintenance cost in
housing where lumber is used as structural wood. In addition, a significant volume of the treated wood
has been used for residential construction to improve the value of homeowners' investment and provide
outdoor living space. Wood preservation also allows the more efficient use of the forestry resource by
increasing the use potential of various wood species and the use of smaller and faster growing trees. To
obtain long-term effectiveness, adequate penetration and retention are needed for each wood species,
chemical preservative, and treatment method. Even with an effective preservative having optimum
retention, good protection can not be expected with poor penetration. It is very difficult to obtain good
level of penetration for the refractory species.
Passive impregnation method was developed by Hattori et al. [1] to preserve the refractory species with
good level of penetration and retention. In this method, steam is injected into laser incised lumber and
then dipped into liquid for a specified time period for good penetration and retention. CO2 laser was used
to incise wood instead of drilling because through-boring by drilling produced slight treatment
improvements [2]. Drilling is also time consuming and adds more expense with lesser accuracy. To know
the liquid penetration into the refractory woods by the passive impregnation method, slicing method was
used.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hattori, Islam, Ando, Yamauchi and Kobayashi - 23
May 7–9, 2007 – Vancouver, Canada
Incised Douglas-fir was treated by the passive impregnation method in this study to find out the
penetration of liquid when using different types of steam, different level of steam injection schedule,
different levels of moving time from steam injection to dipping and different dipping period. The selected
best condition was then applied to Japanese cedar and Japanese larch to observe effects of this condition.
It will also help in finding the effects of laser incising on impregnation of liquid into wood.

MATERIALS
Three widely used species in Japan, i.e. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco), Japanese cedar
(Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis Gordon), were selected for the study.
Douglas-fir and Japanese cedar were air dried and Japanese larch was green. Different levels of moisture
content for different species were selected to find out its effect on the penetration of liquid. A long post of
square size (120 mm x 120 mm) was cut into 650 mm in length as a specimen for passive impregnation.
Both ends of specimens were sealed before steam injection with urethane resin to prevent end penetration
of liquid. Specimens for penetration analysis were taken from the center of the passive impregnated
samples.
METHODS
Through-hole was made with CO2 laser at longitudinal surface by controlling the irradiating time with the
power of 1500 kW. The same incising pattern was used for all species as shown in Fig. 1 by controlling
the numerical control (NC) table. Specimens were incised with different incising density as shown in
Table 1. Lateral direction
a/4
a/2
a
Longitudinal direction
Figure 1: Laser incising pattern on longitudinal surface and distances of holes for both directions
Saturated (made from saturated steam of 110°C through hot plate temperature of 120°C) and superheated
steam (made from saturated steam of 110°C through hot plate temperature of 160°C) were used for steam
injection with steam injection press (Kitagawa Seiki Co. Ltd.; VH2-1449). All these temperature could be
controlled only by controlling the steam pressure with continuous observation of pressure sensors. Three
levels of steam injection time were used (5, 10 and 20 minutes) to find out the effects of steam injection
time on impregnation of liquid.
The specimens were dipped into the water/Fuchsine solution (C19H17N3·HCl) after steam injection.
Fuchsine solution (0.05% w/w) has the similar level of permeability to water [3] but helps to identify
penetrated area easily because of its color. Four levels of moving time from the press to a liquid
(immediately, 3, 10 and 30 minutes interval before dipping) and 4 levels of dipping time (0.5, 1, 3 and 12
hours) were used.
Samples of 30 mm long were taken from these passive impregnated specimens. These 30 mm sample was
then cut into small pieces according to Fig. 2 by a sharp knife with the help of a hammer. The size of the
small piece was 30 mm x 30 mm x 15 mm. Pieces at center were considered as for radial direction (Fig.
2). Weighing with an electric balance (0.001 g) was done immediately after cutting. Moisture content of
each piece was determined by oven dry method (JIS Z 2101-1994). This moisture distribution indicates
the penetration of liquid into wood. Initial moisture distribution was also measured by the same method
where 5 specimens were taken from each long post of same distance apart.
30
30
30
1
15
2
15
15 15 15 3
15
Radial direction
4
9 10 11 12 13 14
120
30
5
8
Unit: mm
120
Tangential direction
Figure 2: Sample cutting plan for moisture distribution
There were four factors for the experiment (steam type, steam injection time, moving time and dipping
time). Depending on these factors, there were four experiments done with Douglas-fir and also two
additional experiments to implement the selected best condition of these four factors on Japanese cedar and
Japanese larch. From each experiment, the best condition was selected for a factor and was implemented in the
next experiment. Each experiment was done at least 3 times repeatedly. Penetration analysis was also done
according to species when samples were treated by the same condition (saturated steam was injected for
20 minutes and dipped into liquid for 12 hours). The detail experimental plan of the study is in Table 1.
Table 1: Detailed experimental conditions
Incising Steam
Experiment Moving time Dipping time
Species density Type of steam treatment time
No. (minutes) (hours)
(Holes/m2) (minutes)
Saturated
1 Douglas-fir 10,000 20 Immediately 12
Superheated
5
Best from
2 Douglas-fir 10,000 10 Immediately 12
Experiment 1
20
Immediately
Best from Best from 3
3 Douglas-fir 10,000 12
experiment 1 experiment 2 10
30
0.5
Best from Best from Best from 1
4 Douglas-fir 10,000
experiment 1 experiment 2 experiment 3 3
12
Best from Best from Best from Best from
5 Japanese cedar 2,500
experiment 1 experiment 2 experiment 3 experiment 4
Best from Best from Best from Best from
6 Japanese larch 10,000
experiment 1 experiment 2 experiment 3 experiment 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Penetration of liquid at different depth of wood varied due to the variation of treating condition as shown
in Table 2.
Table 2: Distribution of moisture content after passive impregnation
MC (%) of tangential direction
MC (%) of radial direction sample
Types of treatment samples
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Steam Superheated 109 137 141 152 152 153 147 138 116 139 141 149 145 118
type
Saturated 114 140 144 145 143 140 123 116 116 133 142 149 143 122
5 86 104 107 120 116 118 113 99 102 122 126 109 103 92
Steam
injection 10 93 113 117 135 131 130 120 113 120 134 136 117 112 105
time (min)
20 114 140 144 145 143 140 123 116 116 133 142 149 143 122
Immediately 135 170 173 173 177 171 154 117 118 150 173 171 159 124
Moving 3 106 155 164 167 169 170 165 125 124 158 169 162 150 107
time (min)
10 109 130 143 151 166 157 131 96 130 149 157 165 150 130
30 79 114 138 145 132 122 110 90 86 121 141 142 130 87
Dipping 0.5 78 84 90 93 94 96 90 68 56 83 88 100 90 69

time (hrs)
1 81 96 105 112 108 103 91 70 85 107 103 105 100 83
3 98 116 117 126 137 133 118 92 93 121 131 127 121 100
MC (%) of tangential direction
MC (%) of radial direction sample
Types of treatment samples
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
12 104 120 132 150 155 149 138 128 122 133 148 145 135 110
Best J. cedar 139 99 91 101 106 131 192 212 153 110 104 121 163 177
condition J. larch 83 90 108 111 115 111 97 80 88 108 116 98 79 69
It was observed that there was similar level of liquid penetration in wood when treated by different types
of steam though it was little higher in saturated steam than the superheated steam. But for both steam
types, the moisture content was higher at the central portion than the outer portion. Similar trend of
moisture content was also observed for all treatment types and species except Japanese cedar. In case of
Japanese cedar, moisture content was lower at central portion than the outer portion. Presence of
heartwood at the center of Japanese cedar samples and the lowest incising density (5,000 holes/m2) might
be the cause of this phenomena. Penetration of liquid increased with the increase of steam injection time
and dipping time but decreased with the increase of moving time.
It was observed that the air dried Douglas-fir lumber had the lowest initial moisture content (17%) with
gentle distribution as shown in Fig. 3a. After passive impregnation it had higher moisture content with
more gentle distribution of moisture in Fig. 3b, and the moisture content reached to 140-150% and 109-
129% at central and outer portion, respectively. It was observed that there was a significant difference in
moisture content between before and after passive impregnation treatment of wood preservation which is
shown in Fig. 4. At the center of the specimen the moisture content difference was maximum and it was
as much as 130%.
240 240
Moisture content (%)
200 200
160 160
37.5 37.5
120 120
7.5 7.5
80 80
-22.5 -22.5
40 40
0 -52.5 -52.5
0
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5 -52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Distance from center (mm) Distance from the center (mm)

(a) Before passive impregnation (b) After passive impregnation
Figure 3: Distribution of moisture content of Douglas-fir specimens
240

200
160
37.5
120
7.5
80
-22.5
40
-52.5
0
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Distance from the center (mm)
Figure 4: Moisture content difference between before and after passive impregnation of Douglas-
fir
The air dried Japanese cedar lumber had different types of moisture distribution. It was observed that
outer portion had significantly lower moisture content than the inner portion of Japanese cedar wood as
shown in Fig. 5a. Moisture content of green Japanese cedar is very high and there is big difference in
moisture content within and between logs as well as sapwood and heartwood which makes it difficult to
dry [4]. This might be the cause of this higher variation of moisture content between outer and inner
portion of Japanese cedar wood. The phenomenon was reverse after passive impregnation where outer
portion had significantly higher moisture content than the central portion in Fig. 5b. Presence of
heartwood at the center of the sample and high pit aspiration ratio which significantly decrease the
permeability might be the cause of this occurrence. The sapwood of Japanese cedar, i.e. the outer portion,
absorbed as much as 192% more moisture content because of passive impregnation but heartwood
absorbed less which is shown in Fig. 6.

240 240
200 200
160 160
37.5
120 37.5 120
7.5
80 7.5 80
-22.5
40 -22.5 40
-52.5
0
-52.5 0
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5 -52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Figure 5: Distribution of moisture content of Japanese cedar specimens
240
200
160
37.5
120
7.5
80
-22.5
40
0 -52.5
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Figure 6: Moisture content difference between before and after passive impregnation of Japanese
cedar
The trend of moisture distribution in green Japanese larch was similar to that of air dried Douglas-fir. The
initial moisture content was high but its variation between outer and inner portion was gentle as shown in
Fig. 7a. Moisture content in the outer portion was 31-58% whereas it was 60-65% in the inner portion.
Because of the higher initial moisture content of Japanese larch samples it absorbed smaller amount of
liquid when treated by passive impregnation but its distribution was gentle in Fig. 7b. Moisture content at
the outer portion varied between 68-82% whereas it was 107-111% at the central portion. Due to the
higher initial moisture content of Japanese larch it absorbed less after passive impregnation and the
difference was not significant and is shown in Fig. 8.
240

240
200 200
160 160
37.5 37.5
120 120
7.5 7.5
80 80
-22.5 -22.5
40 40
-52.5 -52.5
0 0
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5 -52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Figure 7: Distribution of moisture content of Japanese larch specimens
240
200
160
37.5
120
7.5
80
-22.5
40
0 -52.5
-52.5 -22.5 7.5 37.5
Figure 8: Moisture content difference between before and after passive impregnation of Japanese
larch
It was also observed that the moisture content at tangential direction was slightly higher than the radial
direction for Douglas-fir and it was not significant. This type of analysis was not done for Japanese cedar
and Japanese larch because of sawing of the post where the samples had no radial surfaces. The through-
boring done by drilling produced slight treatment improvements, and higher incising density might
produce acceptable treatment improvement, but these processes weaken the posts [5]. However, through
hole made by laser was found effective where the penetration of liquid is quite high with its uniform
distribution.
CONCLUSIONS
Penetration of liquid in Douglas-fir, Japanese cedar and Japanese larch was evaluated in the study. Similar
trend of moisture distribution was observed for Douglas-fir and Japanese larch both before and after
passive impregnation, but it was just reverse for Japanese cedar. Type of moisture distribution was
reasonably equal for specimens of Douglas-fir and Japanese larch but individual variability also affects
the distribution for Japanese cedar specimens. It can be concluded that the passive impregnation method
having through-boring with CO2 laser enhances penetration, and distribution of impregnated liquid deep
into wood even impermeable especially species such as Douglas-fir and Japanese larch.
REFERENCES
1. Hattori, N., Morinaka, Y., Ando, K., Yamauchi, H. and Kobayashi, N., “Passive impregnation of liquid
into laser incised lumber”. Paper Presented at the Seventeenth International Wood Machining
Seminar, September 26-28, 2005, Germany.
2. Rhatigan, R.G. and Morrell, J.J., “Use of through-boring to improve CCA or ACZA treatment of
refractory Douglas-fir and grand fir”. Forest Products Journal, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 33-35, 2003.
3. Kishima, T. and Hayashi, S., “Microscopic observation on the courses of water penetration into
wood”. Mokuzai Kenkuyu (Japanese), Vol. 24, pp. 33-45, 1960.
4. Saito, S., “A finish characteristic by drying temperature of sugi boxed heart square lumber”. Paper
Presented at the 8th International IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, August 24-29, 2003, Brasov,
Romania.
5. Gorvad, M.R. and Arganbright, D.G.., “Comparison of methods for preparation of moisture content
gradient sections”. Wood and Fiber, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 7-11, 1980.
The Behaviour of Circular Saws at High Speeds
Hutton, Stanley G.1 ; Warkentin, Matthew J.2

1
Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
1
Senior Consultant, FPInnovations – Forintek.
2
Process Optimization Engineer-Technologist, Forintek Canada Corp
ABSTRACT
The response of circular saws during cutting at high blade speeds is not well understood. This paper
presents a brief discussion of some of the issues involved and discusses experimental results that have
been obtained in order to assist in the understanding of the vibration characteristics of such saws under
the influence of lateral forces.
INTRODUCTION
Theoretical understanding of the response of circular saws during cutting is limited to the concept of
“Critical Speed Behaviour”. This concept is based upon the fact that an idling collared saw has well
defined mode shapes and corresponding natural frequencies. (Theoretically, for such conditions to exist
the relationship between the blade displacement and applied force must be linear.) Such frequencies
depend upon the geometric characteristics of the saw and the internal stresses in the saw. Such internal
stresses are commonly deliberately induced by roll tensioning; inadvertently induced by thermal
gradients; and arise as a result of centrifugal stresses due to saw rotation. In general, some of the natural
frequencies of the blade decrease in value as the speed increases. As a result, there exists speeds at which
these frequencies have a value of zero. The lowest blade speed at which this occurs is generally called the
“Critical Speed” of the saw.
Thus at a critical speed the blade has a natural frequency of zero. This in turn means that a constant lateral
force (one whose frequency is zero, or close to it) will cause the blade to resonate. The resulting large
deformations produce unacceptable cutting accuracy, if not destruction of the blade.
This concept works well with collared saws. Experience has shown that blade speeds should be kept
below 85% of the lowest critical speed. However, experience with guided saws (which are used in North
America for primary log breakdown) shows that this theory does not work for many guided saws. In
particular, small diameter thin saws can cut satisfactorily at and above the critical speed.
At present, no fundamental understanding exists to explain why the guided saws perform so differently
from the collared saws. In this paper some experimental results are presented that have been obtained in
the quest for further understanding of this issue.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
The forces that are experienced by a circular saw during cutting are complex and have components in all
three coordinate directions. In the present study a force transducer was developed that was capable of
applying a constant lateral force to the rim of the moving blade.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hutton and Warkentin - 33
Applied Load
Lateral Air Force
Figure 1: Schematic Representation of Air-Pressure Force Transducer
Figure 2: Details of Force Transducer
Figure 1 shows a schematic of force transducer designed to apply a constant lateral force to the blade
irrespective of fluctuations in blade position. The transducer works by applying an air jet onto the blade
that creates a force that is balanced by a suspended mass as shown. Figure 2 presents a photograph of the
transducer in place. Using this approach it was possible to apply different levels of constant force to the
rotating blade. In particular tests could be conducted where the blade was run at, or close to its lowest
critical speed. Non-contacting displacement probes were used to record blade displacement at different
locations around the blade. The applied force was at the top of the blade (90deg) near the rim, and
displacement probes were located, near the rim, at locations of 90deg, 180deg, and 270deg.
Figure 3: Clamped Saw
Figure 4: Guided Saw
Two different saw configurations were tested. In one case the saw was clamped at the eye as shown in
Figure 3, and in the other case, as shown in Figure 4 the saw was guided. In both cases the same blade
was used. The saw had diameter 17”, plate thickness 0.070” and a 6” diameter spline.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Static Tests
Guided Saw - Force Applied at 90deg Clamped Saw - Force Applied at 90deg
1.5 1.5
Displacement (V)
Displacement (V)
1 1
0.5 0.5
0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 500 1000 1500 2000
Suspended Load (gm) Suspended Mass (gm)

90 deg 180 deg 90 deg 180 deg
Figure 5: Blade Deflection - Load Applied at 90 degrees for Both Configurations
The effective flexibility of the clamped and guided saws for the case where the blade is stationary can be
seen from Figure 5. For the clamped saw, the deformation vs force relationship (the flexibility) is seen to
be linear, whereas for the guided saw it is non linear for higher displacements. Also it will be seen that the
flexibility of the guided saw is much higher than that of the clamped saw even at the highest speeds
tested. From this evidence one might expect the clamped saw to perform best.
Constant Speed Tests
In these tests the blade (both clamped and guided) was run at constant speeds to monitor the steady state
response both below and above the critical speed.
Figures 6 and 7 show response of the clamped saw for constant speeds of 3200, 3600 and 3800RPM for
the case of no applied load and then for the case of a load caused by a suspended 1000gm mass. As may
be seen, running the saw at 3600RPM produces a low frequency sinusoidal response from all three
displacement probes. The period of these waves is approximately 10sec and thus the frequency is 0.1Hz.
It may therefore be concluded that 3600RPM is close to the critical speed of the clamped saw.
(Theoretically, at the critical speed the frequency is 0Hz.) Also, from these same graphs at 3600RPM it
may be noted that the peak displacement does not occur at the same time for all measured locations
around the saw. This indicates that the mode shape consists of a traveling wave (as would be expected
from theoretical considerations). The addition of the 1000gm mass seems to have increased the amplitude
of the oscillations at the 180deg and 270deg locations but at 90deg the amplitude is essentially
unchanged. It may also be noted that the amplitude of the 0.1Hz oscillation is significantly larger than dc
displacement produced by the load.
Clamped 3200RPM - Zero Load
1.6
Displacement (V)
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time (sec)
90deg(V) 180deg(V) 270deg(V)
Figure 6A: Vibration Response at 3200RPM (Zero Load)

1.6
Displacement (V)
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (sec)
Figure 6B: Vibration Response at 3600RPM (Zero Load)

1.6
Displacement (V)
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (sec)
Figure 6C: Vibration Response at 3800RPM (Zero Load)
Clamped 3200RPM - 1000gm Mass
1.6
Displacement (V)
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time (sec)
Figure 7A: Vibration Response at 3200RPM (1000gm Mass)

1.6
Displacement(V)
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time(sec)
Figure 7B: Vibration Response at 3600RPM (1000gm Mass)

1.6
Displacement (V)
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10
Tim e (sec)
Figure 7C: Vibration Response at 3800RPM (1000gm Mass)
The maximum amplitude measured was of the order of 0.040”, which lies within the range for the
relationship between the applied load and the displacement to be linear. It is possible that larger
displacements could have been obtained at other blade speeds close to 3600RPM.
Figures 8 and 9 show the results for the guided saw under the same conditions. In this case the response
with zero applied load was significantly different to that obtained with a suspended mass of 1000gm. In
the case of no load no indication of critical speed response was measured. In the case where a load was
applied a low frequency response similar to that expected at a critical speed was obtained.
Run Up Tests
In these tests a specific load was applied to the blade (both clamped and guided) and then the blade was
run up from dc to 4000RPM. Probe reading were collected for each location. In these tests the run up time
was about 30sec.
Figures 10 and 11 show comparisons of run up tests for the clamped and guided saws with forces caused
by suspended masses of 500gm and 1500gms. The blade speed was increased uniformly by hand from dc
to 4000RPM over a period of approximately 30sec.
As may be seen the vibration levels experienced by the guided saw were much larger than those
experienced by the clamped saw. The results again would seem to indicate that the clamped saw would
perform better than the guided saw.
CONCLUSIONS
Experimental results have been presented regarding the displacement of the same saw when used as a
guided saw and when used a clamped saw. Both idling and laterally excited blades have been considered.
The response measured characteristics provide useful data for the further understanding of the behaviour
of saws running at high speeds.
Guided 3200RPM - Zero Load
2.6
Displacement (V)
2.1
1.6
1.1
0.6
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (sec)
Figure 8A: Guided (0gm Load) Response at 3200RPM

2.6
Displacement (V)
2.1
1.6
1.1
0.6
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (sec)
Figure 8B: Guided (0gm Load) Response at 3600RPM

2.6
Displacement (V)
2.1
1.6
1.1
0.6
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (sec)
Figure 8C: Guided (0gm Load) Response at 3800RPM
Guided 3200RPM - 1000gm
3
Displacement
2
(V)
1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (sec)
Figure 9A: Guided (1000gm Load) Response at 3200RPM
Guided 3600RPM - 1000gm

3
Displacement (V)
0
0 1 Time (sec)
2 3
Figure 9B: Guided (1000gm Load) Response at 3600RPM
3800RPM 1000gm
3
Displacement (V)
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (sec)
Figure 9C: Guided (1000gm Load) Response at 3800RPM
Clamped Saw - 500gm
4
Displacement (V)
3
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Blade Speed (RPM)

90deg 180deg 270deg
Figure 10A – Clamped Saw Run Up (500gm Mass)
Clamped Saw - 500gm

4
Displacement (V)
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Blade Speed (RPM)
90deg 180deg 270deg
Figure 10B: Guided Saw Run Up (500gm Load)
Clamped Saw - 500gm
4
Displacement (V)
3
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Blade Speed (RPM)
90deg 180deg 270deg
Figure 11A: Clamped Saw Run Up (1500gm Mass)
Guided Saw - 500gm

4
Displacement (V)
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Blade Speed (RPM)

Figure 11B: Guided Saw Run Up (1500gm Mass)
Effect of Temperature on the Bark/Wood Bond Strength of
Balsam Fir and Black Spruce
Laganière, Benoît1; Bédard, Normand2
1 2
FPInnovations –Forintek. Laboratoire des Technologies de l’Énergie (LTE)
319, Franquet 600, avenue de la Montagne
Québec, QC, Canada, G1P 4R4 Shawinigan, QC, Canada, G9N 7N5
benoit.laganiere@qc.forintek.ca bedard.normand@lte.ireq.ca
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to improve ring debarking efficiency in frozen conditions by thawing log
bark with infrared light. A ring debarker consists of five tool arms fixed on a rotating ring that peel the log
bark while feeding it through a debarker. Infrared light consists of emitting radiation that is absorbed by
the bark surface; heat is transmitted by thermal conduction to the outer and inner bark. In order to reduce
energy consumption, the first phase of this experiment consisted of determining the minimum bark
temperature to be reached in frozen logs to have a similar debarking efficiency to unfrozen logs where the
bark on wood bond strength (BWBS) is lower. The BWBS was evaluated on 200 fresh wood/bark balsam
fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.) and 200 black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P)] samples from –30°C
to 20°C. The results show that -5°C bark temperature is the point to reach to get similar debarking
efficiency to 20°C. BWBS decreased by a factor of 10 from -30°C to 20°C. A bark freezing point below
0°C is due to the presence of mineral in bark content can explain a below 0°C bark freezing point.
Our apologies:
This paper is currently under submission to the Forest Products Journal. Please contact the author for a
copy of the article once it has been accepted.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Laganiére and Bédard - 45
Heating and Cooling of Circular Saws
Lehmann, Bruce Ph.D., P.Eng.

FPInnovations – Forintek
2665 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1W5
ABSTRACT
Temperature variations in a circular saw strongly affect the stiffness, and hence, the cutting accuracy of
the saw. As saws become thinner, the sensitivity to temperature effects becomes larger. The questions are
how much heat is involved and how fast does it affect the saw? By using a lumped-mass model for heat
flow in the body of the saw, it was found that a heat sources on the order of 1 KW in the body of the saw,
and 5 KW at the rim can reproduce the experimentally measured temperature profiles. Heating takes
place in the time scale of seconds. Furthermore, a temperature gradient through the thickness of the plate
can bend the plate so that the saw will dish, perhaps enough to affect sawing accuracy.
INTRODUCTION
Temperature differences between the rim and the eye of a circular saw have major effects on saw stiffness
[Mote; Mote, Schajer and Holoyen]. Even small differences of say 10 C are significant, yet this can be
created by only a small fraction of the power produced at the tooth tip or when the blades rubs against the
wood. Measurements of the temperature of circular saws have shown temperature of 5 C to 10 C in
guided circular saws [Danielson and Schajer] to 60 C in collared saws [Mote and Holoyen]
The questions are how much heat is involved and how fast does it affect the saw? There are many
mechanisms to generate and dissipate heat in a saw. Cutting forces, sawdust spillage, rubbing of the saw
body with the wood, slivers in guides, etc. can put heat in the saw at different places. There are also
mechanisms to take away large amounts of heat away from the blade: air flow around the saw and guide
lubrication take heat away. Visualizing the heat flow is further complicated because the cutting process is
intermittent: the blade heats in the cut and cools between cuts.
This paper discusses where and how much heat is developed, how if flows through the saw, and how the
heat leaves. The end result is a versatile, easy to implement model that calculates the temperature
distribution in the saw blade. Such information is needed to understand how to design and operate
circular saws. Also, new materials such as stainless steel for the plate and cermet tips have different
thermal properties that need to be investigated.
EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON CIRCULAR SAWS

STIFFNESS
The problem of temperature changes in circular saws is that the rim usually gets hotter than the rest of the
saw, causing a loss of stiffness and resulting in an increase in sawing deviation. If ΔT is the temperature
difference between the rim and the eye, then, as a first approximation, the static stiffness is affected as
follows:
k = k 0t 3 − k1tΔ T
(1)
k 0 , k1 = Constants for material properties, and plate geometry
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Lehmann - 47

where t is the plate thickness. From this equation the relative change in stiffness due a temperature
change is
k1tΔ T ⎛ k1 ⎞ Δ T
=⎜ ⎟ 2 (2)
k 0t 3 ⎝ k0 ⎠ t
which can be interpreted to mean that thinner saws are more sensitive to temperature differences than
thicker saws. Given the industry trend to thinner saws, which have lower stiffness to begin with, the need
to understand and control how heat moves through the saw is more critical. Furthermore, as will be
shown below, thickness has a significant effect on heat flow.
DISHING
Previous investigations of heat flow in saws have assumed that the temperature is uniform through the
plate thickness. However, if there is a temperature variation through the thickness, then the plate will
bend. The simplest situation to analyze is where each side of the plate has a uniform temperature, but the
temperature difference between the surfaces is ΔT.
Figure 1: A disk deforms into a spherical surface due to a temperature difference through the
thickness of the plate.
A disk of thickness ‘t’, with a coefficient of thermal expansion, α, and a temperature difference of ΔT with
a linear temperature gradient between the two surfaces will deform into a spherical surface with a radius
[Timoshenko]
t
R= (3)
αΔT
Assuming that R>>D, then the deflection of a dished disk is:
D 2αΔT
d= (4)
8t
This deflection will be an upper bound since the temperature distribution is not uniform over the surfaces
of the saw.
As an example of the magnitude of the deflection, a 1° C temperature difference on a 2.0 mm (0.079 inch)
thick, 450 mm (17.71 inch) diameter steel disk is 0.139 mm (0.0055 inch).

A later section looks at heat flow through the thickness and the conditions which generate a thermal
gradient.
BUCKLING
Mathematically, buckling is defined when a plate has zero stiffness. From Equation 1, with k = 0
kot 2
ΔT = (5)
k1
Which means that for a given relative temperature distribution, the buckling temperature depends on the
square of the plate thickness. The practical implication is that thinner saws are much more sensitive to
thermal stresses.
HEAT FLOW CONCEPTS

Heat has a source, it flows through materials, and is absorbed or dissipated. Since it takes time for heat to
move, time is part of the discussion of heat flow in saws.
For a piece of material of mass, m, surface area, A, the change in temperature during a time period τ is
⎛ Q hA ⎞
Δ T = τ⎜ −
⎝ mC mC
( T − T∞ )⎟
⎠
(6)
Q is the amount of heat from some source. Note that the larger the mass the smaller the temperature rise.
The value of C, the thermal capacity of the material, is larger for materials that can absorb more heat for a
given temperature increase. The second term represents the loss of heat to the surrounding air or cooling
water. T is the temperature of the material, and T∞ is the temperature of the surrounding air. The
convection coefficient, h, accounts for how fast the air flows over the surface or the amount of water that
adheres to and spins off the blade surface. Heat is taken away faster as the surface area increases and the
difference between the temperature of the material and the surroundings increases.
Another aspect of heat flow is conduction through the material. Heat flows from one point to another
when there is a difference in temperature between the two points. The amount of heat is proportional to
the cross-sectional area that the heat must flow through and inversely proportional to the distance between
the points. Mathematically, the change in temperature during a time period τ is
kaτ
ΔT = (T − T )
mCΔ x 2 1
(7)
MODEL OF HEAT FLOW IN A CIRCULAR SAW

The drawing below shows how the heat flow model partitions the plate into rings, each with its own mass,
and surface area. Note that this model assumes all the heat flow to be radial. For the rotation speeds of
operating saws, the temperature around the saw can be assumed to be uniform [Hauptmann and Ramsey]

Figure 2: Lumped-mass model of radial heat flow through a circular saw. Nodes can extend into
the teeth.
Mass of node n = mn = ρπt(Rn+12 – Rn2)

Surface area of node n = An = 2π(Rn+12 – Rn2)
Conduction area of node n = an = 2πt Rn
Temperature of node n at time interval i = Ti,n
Time = iτ
To calculate the temperature of each node, the following equation is solved:
⎛ τ ⎞⎡ ⎤
Ti +1,n = Ti ,n + ⎜
⎝ mmC ⎠ ⎣
ka
Δ Rn −1
( ) ka
( ) ( )
⎟ ⎢ Qi ,n + n −1 Ti ,n −1 − Ti ,n + n Ti ,n +1 − Ti ,n − hAn Ti ,n − T∞ ⎥
Δ Rn ⎦
(8)
The same model can be extended to include the teeth by dividing the tooth into segments as shown above.
Heat Flux (Q/A)

0 1 2 3 N-1 N
dX/2 dX dX/2
Plate Thickness (L)
Figure 3: Lumped-mass model of heat flow through the thickness of the plate
⎧Tnm (1 − 2 F ) + 2 FTnm+1 + 2QFR / A n=0

⎪
Tnm +1 = ⎨ Tnm (1 − 2 F ) + 2 F (Tnm−1 + Tnm+1 ) n ≠ 0, N
⎪ Tnm (1 − 2 F ) + 2 FTnm−1 n=N (9)
⎩
kτ (dX )
F= ; R=
ρC (dX ) 2
k

where
Tn m = temperature at node n at time interval m
k = thermal conductivity
C = thermal capacity
ρ = material density
Q/A = heat flow per unit area
τ = time step
HEAT SOURCES
In sawing the sources of heat is caused by friction:
at the tooth tip (face, back and flanks)
from sawdust spillage
from rubbing with the wood surface
from jammed slivers
from tight guides.
An estimate of how much heat is generated at the tooth tip can be found from the Merchant model of
cutting forces by calculating the heat from the chip sliding over the face of the tooth.
Figure 4: Cutting force and chip flow model.
The friction force on the face of the tooth is:
μ FT
Ff = μ FN = (10)
Cosθ + μ Sinθ
The power lost to friction is
Pf = Ff Vc (11)
and the power driving the saw is
P = FTV (12)
The fraction of power that ends up as friction heat is

Pf ⎛V ⎞ ⎛ μ ⎞
= ⎜ c⎟ ⎜ ⎟ (13)
P ⎝ V ⎠ c ⎝ Cosθ + μ Sinθ ⎠
For a friction coefficient μ of 0.35 for wood on steel, a hook angle θ of 30°, and assuming V = Vc, then
the ratio Pf/P is equal to 0.34, which is a significant about. The amount of heat that goes into the tooth
rather than the sawdust is unknown at this time, but given that wood is a very poor conductor of heat
compared to steel or tungsten carbide, a first approximation would be to assume all of the heat from the
cutting action goes into the teeth. Some heat is also generated in the shear zones of the chip formation, so
the ratio my drop to 0.25 to 0.30. In contrast, in metal cutting about 20% of the heat goes into the tool,
65% into the chip, and 15% into the work piece [Juneja and Sekhon].
If 25% of the cutting power goes into heating the saw, and a typical cutting power required for a saw is 20
KW (27 Hp), then about 5 KW is going into the teeth and rim of the saw.
The heat from the rubbing due to a jammed sliver in the guide, assuming a contact force of say, 50N
(about 10lb), a friction coefficient of 0.3, and a blade surface speed of 40m/s, is
P = (2)(0.3)(50N)(40m/s)
= 1.2 KW
HEAT SINKS
The air flowing around a spinning circular saw can carry away a large amount of heat. The model
includes a formula for the convection coefficient, h, developed by Kreith [Kreith] that accounts for
laminar (smooth) and turbulent air flow depending upon the rotation speed and the size of the saw. See
Figure 5. Typical values of the convection coefficient are:
Near eye h = 5 W/m2C
Near rim h = 85 W/m2C
Figure 5: Convection coefficient for laminar and turbulent air flow
When water is used for cooling, especially with guides, the value of the convection coefficient could be 5
to 10 times that of air cooling. (These numbers are based on a comparison to experimental data from
other industries using water cooling.)

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
The thermal properties of the materials involved in sawing are given in the table below.
Heat
Density Thermal Conductivity Diffusivity
Capacity ρC
Material ρ k k/ρC
C KJ/m3C
Kg/m3 W/mC m2/s x 109
KJ/kgC
Wood 420 2.5 1050 0.10 95
Steel 7800 0.42 3280 36 11000
Stainless Steel 7880 0.46 3625 25 6900
Inconel 8500 0.42 3570 16 4480
Air 1.18 1.0 1.18 0.026 22000
Water 993 4.2 4170 0.62 149
Tungsten Carbide 14700 0.24 3528 63 17850
Cermet 6400 - - 15 -
These properties, especially the diffusivity, determine how fast heat flows through a material. The lower
the diffusivity value, the slower the temperature will change, or more precisely, the slower the heat will
spread to the surrounding material. As an example, heat will flow through a steel saw 60% faster than
through a stainless steel saw. See Figure 2.
If most of the heat enters the saw though the tooth tips a low diffusivity is beneficial because the heat will
stay in the teeth, resulting in less heating of the rim of the saw. Furthermore, because the tooth
temperatures will be higher, more heat will be carried off by convection around the teeth.
The other important thermal property is the heat capacity, ρC. The larger the heat capacity, the smaller
the temperature rise for a given amount of heat input. Figure 2 shows the temperature distribution for
steel, stainless steel and Inconel saws for a heat input in the body of the saw, possibly due to a sliver.
The value of ρC also affects the rate that the saw heats or cools. For example, see Figure 2, where the rim
of the saw is heated for 10 seconds and then allowed to cool.
In Figure 6 only one heating and cooling cycle is shown. In production, boards may be separated by only
a few seconds, which may not be enough time for the blade to completely cool. The result is a gradual
increase in blade temperature, eventually reaching a sustained amount, as shown in Figure 9. The
implication is that more cooling is required as the board piece-count is increased, even if the feed speed
remains the same.

Temperature above Ambient (C) 50.0
40.0
30.0
Steel
Stainless Steel
20.0
Inconel
10.0
Gullet Bottom
0.0
0.000 0.050 0.100 0.150 0.200 0.250 0.300 0.350 0.400 0.450 0.500
Radial Position (m)
Figure 6: Effect of material properties on temperature. 2KW at tooth tip for 100 seconds.
50.0
500 W Heat Input
Inconel
40.0
Temperature above Ambient (C)
Stainless
Steel
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
0.000 0.050 0.100 0.150 0.200 0.250 0.300 0.350 0.400 0.450 0.500
Radial Position (m)
Figure 7: Effect of material properties on temperatures due to a sliver

16.0

14.0
Rim temperature for a 500 W heat
12.0
input at the rim. Heating for 10
sec followed by 10 sec of cooling.
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (sec)
Figure 8: Heating and cooling of steel saw
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
Temperature at the gullet bottom.
Alternating 10 sec of 500 W heating at
4.0
the gullet bottom followed by 10 sec of
cooling.
2.0
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (sec)
Figure 9: Temperature at the gullet bottom due to repeated heating and cooling cycles as would
occur during production
EFFECT OF PLATE THICKNESS

The first investigation considers how does heat flow through the thickness of the plate using the model of
the infinite plate shown in Figure 1. The heat input on one side of the plate is based on the estimate of 1.2
KW for the heat generated from a sliver in the guides (see above). This input is assumed to put heat into a
10 mm wide band around the saw at a radius of 190 mm. This gives a head flux (Q/A) of about 100
KW/m2.

Figure 3 shows the temperature distribution through the plate at increments of 0.025 seconds for a 2.5 mm
(0.098 inch) thick plate. Figure 12 shows how the temperature difference from one side of the plate to the
other changes with time. Although the overall temperature continues to increase over time, the shape of
the temperature gradient is basically established in about 0.1 seconds. At steady-state the temperature
difference will be about 3.5 C.
The implications of this analysis are that heat flows quite quickly through the thickness, and that there can
be temperature difference on the order of magnitude large enough to cause thermal dishing.
Contant Heat Flow from One Side of Infinite Plate

100 KW/sq. meter
6
Time Step = 0.025 sec.
5
Temperature Increase (C)
0
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025
Distance from Heated Surface (m)
Figure 10: Temperature rise over 0.25 seconds for a plate heated on side. Initial plate temperature is
zero.
Reducing the plate thickness has two effects on radial heat flow:
1. The thermal resistance to heat conduction is higher because the cross-sectional area for the heat to
flow through is smaller.
2. The amount of mass available to absorb heat is smaller, resulting in higher temperatures.
In the case of heat conduction, the two effects exactly cancel each other resulting in the same temperature
distribution for plates of different thicknesses.

4
3.5
Temperature Difference (C)
2.5
1.5
0.5
0
0.0000 0.0500 0.1000 0.1500 0.2000 0.2500 0.3000
Time (seconds)
Figure 11: Temperature difference between surfaces on an infinite plate when one side is heated at
100kW/m2
50.0
40.0
500 W for 50
30.0
2 mm thick
3 mm thick
20.0
10.0
0.0
0.0000 0.0500 0.1000 0.1500 0.2000 0.2500 0.3000 0.3500 0.4000 0.4500 0.5000
Radial Position (m)
Figure 12: Effect of plate thickness on temperature
The differences in plate temperature for different thicknesses occur because the heat inputs do not
decrease in proportion to decreases in plate thickness. For instance, heating at the tooth tip is proportional
to the kerf, not the plate thickness; and the heat from a sliver is not affected by plate thickness, nor is
cooling from air flow. As a result, thin blades heat more because they have less mass to absorb the heat.
An example is shown in Figure 3.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Heat sources of the magnitude of 1 KW on the body of the saw can produce the temperatures seen in
experimental measurements.
2. The amount of heat entering the saw through the tooth tips is on the order of 25% to 30% of the arbor
power. This puts the cutting heat on the order of 5 KW. However, the cooling effect of the air
flowing around the teeth takes most of the heat away. Furthermore, water spray can absorb about five
times as much heat as does air cooling.
3. Alternate plate materials such as stainless steel improve the thermal response of the saw because it
can absorb more heat and the heat stays in the teeth rather than moving into the rim of the saw.
4. Heating and cooling times for circular saws is measured in seconds, not micro-seconds or minutes.
More heat and thinner saws result in faster heating. More external cooling and thinner saws result in
faster cooling.
5. A temperature gradient through the thickness of the plate can be produced from something like a
sliver caught in a guide that can produce thermal dishing that would show up as sawing deviation.
REFERENCES
1. Danielson, J.D. and G.S. Schajer 1993. Saw Blade Heating and Vibration Behavior in Circular Gang
Edger. Proceedings of SawTech ’93, Wood Machining Institute.
2. Hauptmann, E.G. and H Ramsey, 1969. Temperature distribution in a rotating thin disk. Appl. Sci.
Res. 20. pp 436-443.
3. Kreith., F. Principles of Heat Transfer, 2nd Ed. Int’l Textbook Co., Scranton, 1965
4. Juneja, B.L. and G.S. Sekhon. Fundementals of Metal Cutting and Machine Tools. John Wiley &
Sons, Toronto.
5. Mote, C.D. 1970, Unsymmetrical Transient Heat Condition: Rotating Disk Applications. J. Eng. Ind.
1970. pp. 181-190.
6. Mote, C.D. and S. Holoyen, 1973. The Temperature Distribution in Circular Saws During Cutting.
Norsk Treteknisk Institutt Medd., Nr. 49, Oslo.
7. Mote, C.D., G.S. Schajer, and S. Holoyen, 1981. Circular saw vibration control by thermal
membrane stresses. J. of Eng. for Industry, 103(1)81:89
8. Schajer, G.S., K.J. Kishimoto, 1996. High-speed circular sawing using temporary tensioning. Holz
als Roh- und Werkstoff, Vol. 54, pp. 361-367.
9. Timoshenko, S. Strength of Matericals: Volume 2. 3rd ed. Robert Krieger Publishing Co.,
Huntington, New York. Reprint 1976.

Sawblade Vibration Mode Shape Measurement Using ESPI
Schajer, Gary S.1; Steinzig, Michael2

1 2
University of British Columbia Michael Steinzig, Technical Bias
Vancouver BC, CANADA Los Alamos NM, USA
ABSTRACT
Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) is used to measure the vibration mode shapes of circular
and band saws. A video camera views a vibrating saw blade that is illuminated by a laser light. The
image within the camera is mixed with a reference light to create an interference pattern. The reference
phase is stepped by 180 degrees using a piezo-electric actuator before measuring each successive image.
Subtraction of the successive images gives a contour view of the vibration mode of the saw blade. The
technique is non-contacting and displays vibration mode shapes in real-time. It has the advantage over the
classical Chladni method because it avoids the need to spread a powder over the saw blade surface and
because it can also identify low-frequency vibrations.
INTRODUCTION
The Critical Speed Theory describes the vibrational stability of circular saws used for cutting wood [1, 2,
3]. The critical speed is reached when the saw rotation speed equals the wave speed of a vibration mode.
This is a resonance condition where large-amplitude, low-frequency sawblade vibrations occur. The
resulting side-to-side motions of the saw, called “snaking”, causes it to cut the wood with a curving
surface. The wood then needs to be cut oversize and heavily planed to correct the dimensional errors.
The resulting material loss is a serious waste of an environmentally valuable and economically costly
natural resource.
To enable stable circular saw operation that minimizes wood wastage, sawblades must be carefully
designed and maintained so that their vibrational natural frequencies avoid critical speed behaviour [4].
Each natural frequency has its own distinctive vibration mode shape. When doing vibration testing of
circular saws, it is fairly straightforward to measure the sawblade natural frequencies [5], but it is much
more difficult to identify the corresponding vibration mode shapes. The classical method to identify plate
vibration mode shapes was introduced by Chladni [6]. It involves mounting the plate horizontally and
exciting it at a resonant frequency. Some fine powder is then sprinkled onto the surface, where it tends to
move away from areas of high vibration, and collect along the nodal lines. The pattern of the nodal lines
defines the vibration mode shape. For a circular saw, these lines have the form of nodal diameters and
nodal circles.
While the Chladni method is effective, it is also somewhat limited in its capacity to resolve the details of
the vibration mode shapes, particularly for low frequencies. The use of quantities of fine powder can also
get messy. This paper describes an alternative method for plate vibration mode shape measurements. It
explores the use of Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) to measure the plate vibrational
displacements. It is a non-contact method that does not require the use of any powder. The technique
uses optical measurements and it displays the mode shape as a real-time video image.
SAWBLADE VIBRATION MODES

The vibration of a circular plate occurs in the form of nodal diameters and nodal circles [1, 2, 3]. The
nodal diameter modes with no nodal circles have the lowest natural frequencies and are the most
significant for circular saw vibration. The upper two rows of Figure 1 show perspective views of the
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Schajer and Steinzig - 59
displaced shape of a saw at the two extreme positions of the first four nodal diameter vibration modes.
For pictorial clarity, the figure greatly exaggerates the amplitudes of the vibrational displacements. The
third row of the Figure shows the arrangement of the corresponding nodal lines. In general, the simpler
the vibration mode shapes (fewer nodal lines) the lower the corresponding natural frequency.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Figure 1: Displaced shapes of a circular saw vibrating in various nodal diameter modes [3].
(a) 0 nodal diameters, (b) 1 nodal diameter, (c) 2 nodal diameters, (d) 3 nodal diameters
It is also interesting to consider the vibration of square plates because they can give some insight into the
vibrations of bandsaws. The simpler vibration modes are similar to those of a circular plate, while the
higher modes get more complex [7]. Figure 2 reproduces a series of Chladni’s mode shape
measurements.
Figure 2: Measured mode shapes of a square plate. Chladni, 1789. [6]
ESPI VIBRATION MODE SHAPE MEASUREMENTS

Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) provides an attractive alternative technique for
measuring vibration mode shapes. It is a non-contact optical method based on measuring the interference
of monochromatic light [8, 9, 10]. Since it is sensitive to vibrational displacements of a few wavelengths
of light (λ < 1μm), it can identify vibration modes with very small vibration amplitudes. Figure 3 shows a
schematic diagram of the optical arrangement used here
A monochromatic laser beam passes through a beam-splitter cube, half going on to form the illumination
beam and the other half to form the reference beam. The illumination beam illuminates the object, here
the sawblade, which is imaged by the CCD camera. The reference beam connects directly to the camera,
where its light combines with the light from the illumination beam to form a speckle pattern. On its path,
the reference beam is reflected on a piezo-actuated mirror. This mirror can be moved in steps of λ/4 or
λ/2, where λ = 532 nm is the wavelength of the laser light used here. This stepping action alters the
relative phase of the illumination and reference beams, and correspondingly alters the way in which the
beams combine.
Object
Illumination beam
Camera
Laser
sensitivity
di i
Computer Piezo
Reference beam
Figure 3: Schematic diagram of the ESPI arrangement used for mode shape measurements.
Adapted from Steinzig and Ponslet [11].
At a given pixel within the CCD camera (here 640x480 pixels), the intensity of the incident beam is Ii and
the reference beam Ir. The two beams combine vectorially so that their combined intensity is:
I = (I i + Ir ) − 2 I i I r cos φ (1)
where φ is the relative phase angle between the illumination and reference beams. This angle is random,
and is different for every pixel.
When the plate vibrates, the path length of the illumination beam varies sinusoidally, causing a periodic
variation in the relative phase of the illumination and reference beams. The light intensity at a given pixel
becomes
⎛ 4π ⎞
I (t) = (I i + I r ) − 2 I i I r cos ⎜ φ + Δ sin ωt ⎟ (2)
⎝ λ ⎠
where Δ is the plate vibration amplitude at the pixel position. This vibration amplitude is measured in the
“sensitivity direction” indicated in Figure 3. This direction bisects the angle between the incident and
reflected directions of the illumination beam on the test object. In the optical setup used here, the light
source and camera were arranged symmetrically, each as near as possible perpendicular to the surface of
the measured object (the sawblade). Thus, the sensitivity direction for the measurements reported here
was perpendicular to the sawblade surface.
The vibration angular frequency, ω, is high relative to the frame rate of the CCD camera, and so each
image measured by the camera averages the light intensity over several vibration cycles. The average
light intensity is:
∫
T
1 ⎡ ⎛ 4π ⎞⎤
I avg =
T ⎢(I i + I r ) − 2 I i I r cos ⎜ φ +
λ
Δ sin ωt ⎟⎥ dt (3)
0
⎣ ⎝ ⎠⎦
where T is the CCD camera frame measurement time. For T >> 2π/ω, equation (3) evaluates to:
I1 = (I i + I r ) − 2 I i I r cos φ J 0 (Ω) (4)
where J0(Ω) is zero order Bessel Function of the first kind, and Ω = 4πΔ/λ.
1.0
Bessel function, J0( )
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
0 5 10 15 20
Bessel Parameter,
Figure 4: Zero order Bessel function of the first kind, J0(Ω).
If the piezo actuator is stepped so that the path length of the reference beam changes by λ/4, the relative
phase angle, φ, between the illumination and reference beams changes in steps of π/2 radians (90°). At
three additional steps, the measured intensities are:
I2 = (I i + I r ) + 2 I i I r sin φ J 0 (Ω) (5)
I3 = (I i + I r ) + 2 I i I r cos φ J 0 (Ω) (6)
I4 = (I i + I r ) − 2 I i I r sin φ J 0 (Ω) (7)
where the trigonometric identity cos(φ+π/2) = – sin(φ) has been used.
The vibration measurement can be done at high speed by measuring just two successive frames with a
180° phase shift between them, say I1 and I3, and then subtracting the results:
I 3 − I1 = 4 I i I r cos φ J 0 (Ω) (8)
The pixel intensity differences from equation (8) can be plotted as a gray-scale image, with black
corresponding to zero intensity difference, and white to the maximum intensity difference. The Bessel
function, J0, has the oscillatory form shown in Figure 4. Thus, a plot of the measured intensity difference
gives a series of light and dark fringes corresponding to the peaks and zeroes of the Bessel function. In
practice, the absolute value of the intensity difference is plotted to avoid problems trying to represent
“negative” intensity differences. The zero displacement condition is easily recognized because it
corresponds to the highest Bessel function value, and therefore gives the brightest fringe in the displayed
image.
Equation (8) has the advantage that it involves only a simple subtraction of two images. This subtraction
can be done on most modern video cards at the camera frame rate, and thus the fringe pattern can be
displayed in real time. However, the phase angle φ varies from pixel to pixel, so the resulting fringe
pattern is somewhat grainy.
The phase angle dependence can be eliminated by using all four intensity measurements in equations (4) –
(7):
(I 3 − I1 )2 + (I 2 − I4 )
2
= 4 I i I r J 0 (Ω ) (9)
This measurement approach gives smoother fringe patterns, but at the expense of double the measurement
time. The slightly greater computational effort required is not a serious issue with modern computer
processors, and effectively the fringe display can still be done in real-time.
EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENTS
Figure 5: ESPI optical system used for the vibration measurements.
The ESPI system schematically shown in Figure 3 was set up on an optical bench. Figure 5 shows the
practical arrangement. This particular system, manufactured by Hytec, Inc. (Los Alamos, NM, USA), is
designed for another purpose, for which a relatively narrow field of view is needed. This narrow field of
view limited the size of the saw that could be imaged. The test piece used here is a very small circular
saw 7.25” (184mm) diameter, 0.057” (1.45mm) thick. However, with wider-angle optics, the
measurements can be scaled up directly to handle larger, industrial-size saws.
A small piezo actuator was attached to the back of the sawblade to provide vibration excitation. This
piezo was driven by a variable-frequency signal generator. Since the optical measurements are very
sensitive, it is only necessary to induce vibrations of low amplitude, typically just a few microns. The
signal generator was adjusted to achieve resonant vibrations in a sequence of natural vibration modes.
The optical mode shape measurements and the corresponding natural frequencies were recorded for each
vibration mode.
Figure 6 shows the measured vibration mode shapes of the circular saw. The first six images show the
zero to five nodal diameter modes with zero nodal circles, and the following three images the zero to two
nodal diameter modes with one nodal circle. The images clearly show the vibration mode shapes, with
the bright lines corresponding to the nodal diameter and nodal circle lines. This brightness occurs
because the maximum value of the Bessel function in Figure 4 occurs at Bessel parameter Ω = 0.
Increasing vibration amplitude away form the nodal lines corresponds to successive peaks of the Bessel
function, giving the effect of contour lines in the images. The mode shape images closely follow the
theoretically expected shape. The lop-sided mode shape for the [0,1] mode occurred because the
clamping diameter was very small, and did not give the saw fully effective support. In general, the
observed natural frequencies of the various vibration modes correspond well to the theoretically expected
values [12].
Figure 7 shows some vibration mode shapes for a centrally supported aluminum plate, 6.0 inches square
and 0.0625 inches thick. These mode shapes can be of interest because of their relationship to the
vibration of a band saw. In addition, many mode shapes have interesting patterns of nodal lines, many of
them more complex than those of a circular plate. Several of the mode shapes observed in Figure 7 are
also among those originally observed by Chladni in Figure 2 and by Waller [7]. Again, the observed
natural frequencies of the various vibration modes generally correspond well to the theoretically expected
values [13].
CONCLUSIONS
Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) provides an effective technique for observing the
vibration mode shapes of sawblades and other plates. The optical measurement is non-contacting, does
not involve the use of powders, and is effective at low frequencies. The mode shapes are displayed in
real-time on a computer screen.
(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e) (f)
(h) (i) (j)
Figure 6: ESPI measured circular saw vibration modes. [nodal diameter, nodal circles]
(a) 201 Hz [0,0], (b) 145 Hz [1,0], (c) 238 Hz [2,0],
(d) 508 Hz [3,0], (e) 875 Hz [4,0], (f) 1310Hz [5,0],
(g) 986 Hz [0,1], (h) 1144 Hz [1,1], (i) 1554Hz [2,1]
(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e) (f)
(g) (h) (i)
Figure 7: Measured square plate vibration modes.

(a) 209 Hz, (b) 308 Hz, (c) 566 Hz,
(d) 756 Hz , (e) 1239 Hz, (f) 1472 Hz,
(i) 1887 Hz, (g) 2462 Hz, (h) 2583 Hz
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC).
REFERENCES
1. Stakhiev, Yu. M. “Natural Frequencies of Vibrations and Critical Speeds of Circular Saws”, (In
Russian). TsNIMODa, Archangelsk, Vol.18, pp.155-163, 1965.
2. Mote, C. D., and Nieh, L. T. “On the Foundation of Circular Saw Stability Theory”, Wood and Fiber,
Vol.5, No.2, pp.160-169, 1973.
3. Schajer, G. S. “Guided Circular Saw Stability Theory”, Proc. SawTech ’89, Oakland, CA, October 2-
3. pp.7.1-7.14, 1989.
4. Szymani, R. “Using Computers to Design, Operate and Maintain Saws”, World Wood, Vol.25, No.8,
pp.28-31, 1984.
5. Szymani, R. “Electronic Evaluation of Circular Saw Tensioning”, Timber Processing, Vol.9, No.12,
pp.20-21, 1984.
6. Chladni, E. F. “Entdeckungen über die Theorie des Klanges”. Leipzig, 1787.
7. Waller, M. D. “Vibrations of Free Square Plates”. Proc. Physical Society (London), Vol.51, pp.831-
844, 1939.
8. Butters, J. N., and Leendertz, J. A. “holographic and Video Techniques Applied to Engineering
Measurements”, Measurement Control, Vol.4, pp.349-354, 1971.
9. Jones, R., and Wykes, C. “Holographic and Speckle Interferometry”, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK, 1989.
10. Cloud, G. “Optical Methods of Engineering Analysis”, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1995.
11. Steinzig, M., Ponslet, E. “Residual Stress Measurement Using the Hole Drilling Method and Laser
Speckle Interferometry - Part I ” Experimental Techniques, Vol.27, No.3, 2003.
12. Schajer, G. S. “Simple Formulas for Natural Frequencies and Critical Speeds of Circular Saws”,
Forest Products Journal, Vol.36, No.2, pp.37-43, 1986.
13. Leissa, A. W. “Vibration of Plates”, NASA SP-160, US Government Printing Office, Washington
DC, 1969.
Separate-sided Surface Height Measurement
Using a Handheld Profiling Device
Vadeboncoeur, Natalie; Schajer, Gary S.; Johnson, Alex; Rickard, David

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT
A novel and practical method for enhanced dimension quality control in a sawmill is presented. The
method involves the use of a handheld device that runs along the length of a lumber board while taking
height measurements of both sides. The device uses a multi-sensor arrangement that is capable of
identifying true surface height profiles independent of relative motions between the wood and the sensors.
This eliminates the necessity of a straight edge guide for the handheld device as it traverses the board. A
mathematical technique based on linear inverse theory is used to extract the true surface height profile by
separating the rigid-body motion effects from the raw height data. The reconstruction of surface profiles
is rapid and stable. This separate-surface profiling is advantageous because in many cases a different saw
or machine cuts each side of the wood. Thus, understanding the surface profile of each side of a board is
crucial not only in diagnosing a defect in the milling process but also in determining the location of this
defect. The device’s application in industry is demonstrated through its capability to identify common
defects occurring on only one side of a sample of lumber.
INTRODUCTION
Approximately 25 percent of the raw material that enters a sawmill is reduced to sawdust and planer
shavings [Nielson et al. 1985]. This represents a serious economic and environmental loss because
sawdust and planer shavings have the lowest value of the various byproducts in a sawmill, sometimes
even negative if a disposal cost is involved. Since typically 75 percent of total production costs are
accounted for by raw material, substantial economic and raw material savings can be achieved by the
implementation of a fast and reliable quality control system that reduces sawdust production [Maness and
Lin 1995].
Quality control methods in a sawmill traditionally involve the use of digital calipers to take thickness
measurements at a modest number of points along a board. Typically, six to ten thickness measurements
are used to gather statistical data. The mean and standard deviation are evaluated to characterize the
thickness average and variability of the board. This process is labor intensive and the measurements are
too sparse to provide a thickness profile that could provide useful information about the shape of the
board.
In-line laser sensors have been introduced as an alternative to caliper measurements [Jamieson 2002].
Although this method provides a detailed thickness profile, thickness measurements can only provide
information based on a combination of surface heights from both sides of a board. Given that a different
saw or machine typically cuts each side of a piece of lumber, separate-sided profiles are necessary to
identify specific defects in the mill process. Unfortunately, a single sensor is not effective at measuring
the surface height profile of one side of a board. This is because its reading is contaminated by rigid-body
motions of the board as it bounces along on the conveyor belt. The exact straight-line motion of lumber
that is necessary to avoid this problem is not practical in industrial environments.
The process discussed in this paper allows for complete separate-sided surface profiles of lumber boards
to be measured. These measurements are taken at closely spaced intervals, permitting a richness of
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Vadeboncoeur, Schajer, Johnson and Rickard - 69
surface height data. These two factors facilitate rapid and accurate detection of defects in sawn lumber
and their causes due to defects in the milling process. This procedure allows for problems in the lumber
breakdown process to be addressed more specifically and quickly. Ultimately, this may permit lumber to
be sawn closer to minimum target sizes, thereby reducing costly wood material losses and reducing
overall consumption of the forest resource.
A handheld tool for quickly scanning selected boards can provide a practical and portable method for
quality control in a sawmill. This paper describes a technique that uses multiple sensors to obtain accurate
surface profiles with a handheld device. The working principle is based on the premise that when taking
measurements along the length of a board with a multi-sensor system, surface features will appear
sequentially among the sensors while rigid-body motions will appear simultaneously. This distinction
allows the surface height model to be individually identified and separated from contamination of rigid-
body motions [Gazzarri and Schajer 2005].
This paper discusses the design and development of a handheld separate-sided surface profiler.
Experimental measurements are made on a selection of boards, demonstrating that the handheld surface
profiler is a practical device for use in a sawmill. Results of the measurements are highlighted and the
function and capabilities of the device are discussed.
SEPARATE SURFACE PROFILING

Figure 1 shows a board that has been cut with “snaking” saw blades. Each saw oscillated from side to side
with similar amplitude, frequency, and phase thus producing a similar sinusoidal shape on each side.
Under these conditions, the board thickness is approximately constant even though the overall shape
deviates greatly from linearity.
Figure 2 shows a graph of the thickness profile of the sinusoidal board shown in Figure 1. The data were
obtained by moving the board longitudinally between a pair of laser triangulation sensors. As anticipated,
the minimal thickness variation is modest (less than one millimeter) and fails to indicate the large
geometrical errors that are common to both sides of a board. Even when a geometrical error is evident in
the thickness measurements, it is not clear on which side the defect exists. Separate-sided measurements
are needed to identify the process- induced defects in sawn lumber.
Figure 1: Sinusoidal board with uniform thickness
36.6
36.4
Board Thickness (mm)

36.2
36.0
35.8
35.6
35.4
35.2
0 250 500 750 1000 1250
Board Length (mm)
Figure 2: Thickness measurements of sinusoidal board taken with in-line laser setup
Figure 3 shows a schematic of the proposed sensor arrangement for a handheld profiling device. It can be
seen that three sensors measure each side as the device traverses the board from left to right. The central
theory underlying a multi-sensor measurement is the observation that surface height features appear in
delayed sequence in the sensor readings, whereas any rigid-body motions of the wood, either translational
or rotational, appear simultaneously at all sensors [Gazzarri and Schajer 2005]. The delayed and
simultaneous components of the measurements can be separately identified using a method based on
Linear Inverse Theory [Menke 1989, Scales et al. 2001, Tikhonov et al. 2001], from which the surface
height profile can be extracted.
Figure 3: Sensor arrangement of handheld surface profiler
The idea of incorporating a multi-sensor arrangement in the production of surface profiles has been
previously employed in the inspection of railroad surface flatness [Cooper 1981, Corbin 1986, Grassie
1996]. These methods estimate the local curvature by calculating the second finite difference of the
displacement measurements. Surface height values are then obtained by double-integrating curvature
data. Despite this method’s effectiveness in filtering out rigid-body motions, the nature of double-
integrating curvature limits its ability to resolve both rapidly and slowly varying features.
The sequential measurements from the sensor setup in Figure 3 can be expressed mathematically
[Gazzarri and Schajer 2005]. Let a(x) through f(x) represent the raw “height” data from each of the six
sensors in the setup, while u(x) and v(x) are the true height profiles of the left and right surfaces,
respectively. Bulk translation is represented by w(x), while bulk rotation is represented by z(x). The
sequential measurements are expressed in equation (1) where m is half the span of each set of three lasers
(m = (p+q)/2).
a(x) = u(x) + w(x) − z(x) ⋅ (−m)/m

b(x) = u(x + p) + w(x) − z(x) ⋅ ( p − m)/m
c(x) = u(x + p + q) + w(x) − z(x) ⋅ ( p + q − m)/m
(1)
d(x) = v(x) − w(x) + z(x) ⋅ (−m)/m
e(x) = v(x + q) − w(x) + z(x) ⋅ (q − m)/m
f (x) = v(x + q + p) − w(x) + z(x) ⋅ (q + p − m)/m
It can be seen that the variable x has a dual character. For the surface height profiles u(x) and v(x), it acts
as a position marker for surface height along the board. However, for all other quantities in equation (1) x
acts as a time-like variable indicating that those quantities occur at the same time that sensor a measures
u(x), for instance. The distance between the adjacent sensors then become the quantities used to describe
the delay in surface features, not the time taken for the surface feature to travel between sensors. The
measurements, therefore, rely solely on the position of the handheld device on the board and not on the
speed at which it is traveling. This is advantageous in that the handheld device need not maintain uniform
speed as it traverses the board. However, for uniqueness, there should be no periods of zero speed
[Gazzarri and Schajer, 2005].
As a handheld device traverses a board in the absence of a straight edge to follow, the device tends to
point and drift either left or right. The translational bulk motion w(x) is the side-to-side displacement of
the sensors relative to the centerline of the board. This ensures that the displacement of the board relative
to each sensor is the same at all sensors simultaneously. The rotational bulk motion z(x) describes the
rotation of the device as it points either left or right, respectively. It is evaluated by multiplying the angle
of rotation by the distance m in order to maintain dimensional consistency. This aids in mathematical
stability [Gazzarri and Schajer 2005].
The sequential equations in (1) can be mathematically categorized as “Inverse Equations.” While it is
relatively straightforward to determine the raw “height” measurement given the surface height and both
bulk motions, the challenge lies in finding each component separately given only the raw height
measurement. Linear inverse theory may be employed in extracting the surface height profiles from the
raw sensor data. Schajer and Gazzarri (2004) provide further details on the procedure used to solve
equation (1).
PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the handheld profiling device that was designed and built according to the
diagram in Figure 3. The underside of the device has two guides to direct a piece of lumber past six
spring-loaded sensor arms that remain in constant contact with the wood during the measurement. The
device is designed to be run manually along the board at low speed (approximately 1 m/s). Each sensor
arm is connected to a digital encoder to track the sensor arm position. The three sensors on each side of
the device were set at 201 mm and 156 mm intervals creating the skew-symmetric configuration shown in
Figure 3. This sensor arrangement was found to provide more stable surface profile calculations than a
symmetrical arrangement [Schajer and Gazzarri 2004]. As the sensor arms slide past the wood, the
displacement of each arm is recorded as a raw “height” measurement. The device also includes a wheel
attached to a rotary encoder for recording the distance moved along the board. A switch in the handle is
engaged as the device begins its run along the board initiating data acquisition. A computer with custom
written software collected the optical and rotary encoder data and converted it into separate-sided surface
height profiles using the linear inverse method. In addition, thickness measurements are preserved with
this sensor arrangement. The data from two opposing sensors (either a and d or c and f) can simply be
added together to produce accurate and complete thickness measurements of the scanned length of a
board.
Figure 4: Application of handheld separate-sided profiling device
Figure 5: Underside of handheld device exposing “feeler arms” and tracking wheels
The handheld profiling device conducted separate-sided surface height measurements of the sinusoidal
board pictured in Figure 1, producing surface height profiles of each side separately. The handheld device
was run down the entire length of the board and surface height measurements were taken at intervals of
three millimeters.
For comparison, separate-sided surface height profiles were conducted by moving the same sinusoidal
board longitudinally on an accurate linear conveyor between two opposing laser triangulation sensors. A
total of 492 measurements were made at 3 mm intervals along the board. The graph in Figure 6 shows the
resulting profiles from the handheld device overlaying the true profiles from the lasers.
25
20
15
10
Surface Height (mm)
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
0 250 500 750 1000 1250
Board Length (mm)
Figure 6: Calculated surface height profiles (thin line) overlaying true profiles (thick line) of left
(top) and right (bottom) side of specially prepared sinusoidal board
25
20
15
Surface Height (mm)
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
0 500 1000 1500
Board Length (mm)
Figure 7: Five repeated surface profile measurements to investigate the repeatability of the
handheld device
It can be seen that the sinusoidal pattern produced by each method has a wavelength of 600 mm and peak-
to-peak amplitude of approximately 6 mm. The profiles produced with the handheld device and with the
lasers are decidedly similar, indicating that the handheld device is an accurate tool in conveying surface
height profiles. The small differences observed are believed to be mainly due to the difficulty of
measuring the wood surface along the exact same line on the board with both techniques.
A measurement of the sinusoidal board was taken five different times with the handheld profiling device
and then plotted for comparison. Figure 7 shows the results. All five measurements of each side are within
0.1 millimeters, indicating that repeatability of the handheld profiling device is good. This is important in
showing that the device is not only accurate but also consistent from measurement to measurement.
Practical use of the handheld device in a sawmill includes quality control checks. The tool should
therefore be able to reveal the characteristic shapes of any defects that may be present on each side. To
demonstrate the device’s capability of revealing such profiles, boards with three particular defects were
selected for measurement. These three defects include washboarding (high frequency surface
oscillations), scallop (surface produced by a chipper), and skip (sawn surface remnants too deep to be
smoothed by subsequent planing). Figure 8 shows the calculated surface profiles of a lumber board with
washboarding on both sides.
14 7
Right Surface Height (mm)

Left Surface Height (mm)
13 8
9
12
10
11
11
10
Left Side
Right Side 12
9
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Board Length (mm)
Figure 8: Calculated surface profiles of a sawn board with washboarding defect on left and right
surfaces and a slight bow of 2 mm.
The graph clearly shows the device’s capability to resolve and identify washboarding on each side
separately. In addition, the device was able to detect the slight bow in the board (approximately 2 mm).
Figure 8 demonstrates the ability of the measurement device to resolve small localized features
(washboarding) while restoring the large global features (bowing).
The next board chosen for profiling contained a scalloped surface produced by a chipper on its right side,
while the left side had a relatively smooth sawn surface. Figure 9 shows the calculated surface profiles.
Again the plot indicates the handheld device’s ability to identify separate-sided surface height profiles of
the lumber board. It can also be seen that the device was able to reveal both the small-scale scallops and
the large scale warping of the board.
45 29
Right Surface Height

31

44
33
43
(mm)
35
42
37
41
Left Side 39
40 Right Side
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Board Length (mm)
Figure 9: Calculated surface profiles of a board with scalloped surface defect on right surface
and sawn left surface
The third board selected for demonstration contained a subtle skip surface defect (less than 1 mm deep)
and a knot tear-out on the left side, with a relatively smooth right side. Figure 10 shows the measured
profiles. The graph indicates once again that the handheld profiler was successful in accurately depicting
each side of the chosen piece of lumber. The device captured the three skipped regions indicated. In
addition, the knot tear-out was correctly associated with the left side with negligible contamination of the
right side profile.
20 14
15
19
16
Right Surface Height (mm)
18
17
17 SKI
Knot 18
16 tear-out SKI 19
15
20
14 Left Side 21
Right Side
13 22
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Board Length (m m )
Figure 10. – Calculated surface profiles of a sawn board with three skipped sections and a knot tear-
out on left surface only
CONCLUSIONS
The discussed technique for separately measuring the surface height profiles of each side of lumber using
a handheld profiling device is shown to be effective and practical for industrial use. The device
incorporates measurements from multiple sensors, while the accompanying software extracts the surface
height profiles from the rigid-body motions by separating sequential from simultaneous sensor readings.
The calculated profiles are stable, while demonstrating a high degree of overlap with profile
measurements taken with a laboratory setup.
The handheld profiler is shown to be capable of detecting typical lumber defects on each side of a board
separately. The availability of separate-sided surface profiles of a board provides insight as to which saw
or machine may be the source of an observed defect. The results of this study indicate the practicality of
being able to achieve a more sophisticated system of sawmill diagnosis and, thus, improved quality
control techniques in a sawmill.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC) and the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS) at the University
of British Columbia.
REFERENCES
14. Cooper, J. 1981. Rail corrugation measurement. In: Proc. Rail Technology, Nottingham, UK. C.O.
Frederick and D.J. Round, eds. pp. 207-223.
15. Corbin, J. 1986. Method and Apparatus for Measuring Surface Roughness. U.S. Patent 4,573,131.
16. Gazzarri, J., and G. Schajer. 2005. Lumber surface profiling independent of bulk motion. Holz als
Roh-und Werkstoff. 63(5): 347-352.
17. Grassie, S. 1996. Measurement of railhead longitudinal profiles: A comparison of different
techniques. Wear. 191: 245-251.
18. Jamieson, S. 2002. Sizing up your mill. Canadian Wood Products. July/Aug. pp. 18-24.
19. Maness, T. and Y. Lin. 1995. The influence of saw kerf and target size reductions on sawmill revenue
and volume recovery. Forest Prod. J. 45(11/12):43-50.
20. Menke, W. 1989. Geophysical data analysis: Discrete inverse theory. International Geophysics Series.
Vol. 45. Academic Press.
21. Nielson, R. W., Dobie, J. and Wright, D. M. 1985. Conversion Factors for the Forest Products
Industry in Western Canada. Forintek Canada Corp. Special Publication SP-24R, 92pp.
22. Scales, J., M. Smith, and S. Treitel. 2001. Introductory Geophysical Inverse Theory. Samizdat Press,
Center for Wave Phenomena, Dept. of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines.
23. Schajer, G. and J. Gazzarri. 2004. Surface profiling using sequential sampling and inverse methods.
Part I: Mathematical background. Experimental Mechanics.44(4): 473-479.
24. Schajer, G., J. Gazzarri, D. Wong, T. Maness, and R. Kozak. 2005. Scanner system for separate-sided
lumber surface measurements. Forest Prod. J. 55(12): 175-180.
25. Tikhonov, A., A. Goncharsky, V. Stepanov, and A. Yagola. 1995. Numerical Methods for the Solution
of Ill-Posed Problems. Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Evaluation of Different Circular Saw Designs
Taylor, John1; Hutton, Stan G.2; White, John1

1 2
FPInnovations – Forintek Division University of British Columbia
2665 East Mall Vancouver, BC Canada
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1W5 huttonstan@gmail.com
taylor@van.forintek.ca
white@van.forintek.ca
INTRODUCTION
In the central region of British Columbia the Mountain Pine Beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae (MPB) has
attacked and killed some 7 million hectares of Lodgepole pine Pinus contorta stands. The sawmills are
having problems processing the dry wood and there has been a broad range of projects directed at helping
the forest products industry to better utilize the trees. The aim of this study was to investigate different
circular saw designs with respect to their ability to cut MPB attached wood.
To obtain information on existing saw designs and practices a mill study was conducted by Forintek
[White & Taylor, 2006 Part 1A]. From our interaction with the sawmills the ability to process the wood at
high feed speeds was of particular interest. With this in view the following saw parameters were
investigated: saw plate and feed speed; number of teeth and side clearance.

The experimental work was conducted at Forintek’s wood cutting laboratory in Vancouver. The wood
used in the testing was MPB attacked Lodgepole pine
It was decided to test four different basic saw designs to determine the one most suitable for processing
the MPB resource. Saws with 30, 40 50 and 60 teeth were chosen to span the range of saw pitches
currently in use. The four saw designs are shown in Figure 1. Three saws of each design were used in the
tests to average out the differences between individual saw performance.
The testing procedure involved making cuts in 10-ft long cants, made up from two rough green 2”x 8”
boards, and then measuring the cut surface of the wood. Sixteen cuts were used to determine the cutting
accuracy for each sawing condition. The overall depth of cut was 3.4”, this was considered a good
approximation of a single arbor machine cutting 4” lumber and a double arbor machine cutting 6” lumber.
These two dimensions are by far the predominant products produced in the BC interior. The cant height
was such that the saw remained completely buried during the cut. In this way, the conditions of the lead
saw in a double arbor machine were duplicated. Photo 1 show details of the saw and the positional
relationship between the 2 board cants and the saw. Photo 2 shows the two laser probes used to measure
the cut surface.
The codes used in the report, 301, 402,….302, 402, ….refer to the number of teeth and the set of saws.
For example 402 refers to the 40 toothed saw from Set #2.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Taylor, Hutton and White - 79
30 Tooth
40 Tooth
50 Tooth
60 Tooth
Figure 1: Tooth profiles for the saws
Photo 1: Details of guided saw and height of cant with respect to the saw
Photo 2: Laser probes used to measure surface deviation on cut board
Figure 2 shows a typical plot of the output from the laser probes from which the sawing accuracy was
determined. A negative deflection indicates the blade is leaning away from the cant. The standard
deviations of the profiles, measured at the top and bottom of each board, were calculated and recorded.
The mean value of the difference between the top and bottom probes was also recorded; this gives an
indication of the wedging (the amount the saw leans over) that is occurring.
Cut surface profile
0
-10
Deflection (thou)
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
Length of cut
Bottom of cut Top of cut
Figure 2: Laser plots of cut profiles at top and bottom of cant
The following tests were carried out:

a) A comparison of the effect of 4 tooth pitches and 2 different Gullet Feed Index’s (0.5 and 0.7). For
this test the side clearance for all saws was 0.016”. The blade speed was held constant at 3000 RPM.
b) A comparison of the effect of running the 60 tooth saw at a much higher GFI than is traditionally
recommended (500 fpm (152 m/min)).
c) A comparison of the effect of side clearance on saws with different numbers of teeth at high feed
speed. Side clearances of 0.016” and 0.005” were investigated. The tests were carried out at a
constant feed speed of 650 fpm (198 m/min).
Note: 1 metre = 3.048-ft; 2.54 cm = 1-inch; 1mm = 0.040-inches;
Lumber is 2” nominal (1.5” actual)
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Test A
Figure 3 presents a comparison of the standard deviation (SD) of the top and bottom traces, as well as the
mean value of the difference between the top and bottom records, for the four different pitched blades in
Set #1. In this figure the listed feed speeds correspond to gullet feed indexes (GFI) of 0.5 and 0.7. Figure
4 presents the same data for blade Set #2. As may be seen the data trends are similar in both plots.
These results indicate that increasing the GFI generally increases the saw deviation. The exception was
the deviation measured at the bottom of the cant, nearest to the guides, which remained relatively
constant.
Blade Set #1; Side Clearance 0.016" ;
Blade Speed 3000RPM
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Displacement (thou)
Mean Difference
30
20
10
0
60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30
(170) (240) (255) (360) (355) (495) (535) (650)
Number of Teeth (Feed Speed in fpm)
Figure 3: Effect of feed speed and number of teeth on cutting accuracy (blade Set #1)
Blade Set #2; Side Clearance0.016" ;

Blade Speed 3000RPM
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Displacement (thou)
Mean Difference
30
20
10
0
60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30
(170) (240) (255) (360) (355) (495) (535) (650)
Number of Teeth (Feed Speed in fpm)
Figure 4: Effect of feed speed and number of teeth on cutting accuracy (blade Set #2)
Test B
Figure 5 presents the results of running a 60 tooth saw at different feed speeds, up to a maximum of 500
fpm (152m/min). In these tests only four board samples were used. The tests were designed to see how
the 60 tooth saw responded to over feeding of the gullet. The results indicated that it was reasonable to
conduct further testing of the 60 tooth saw at such high feed speeds The GFI’s were 0.42, 1.25, 1.67 and
2.08 for the four increasing feed speeds shown. As would be expected the wedging and the standard
deviation, measured at the top of the cant, increase with feed speed.
Effect of Feed Speed
on Cutting Accuracy (4 cant samples)
40
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
30
Displacement (thou)
Mean Difference
20
10
0
602 (100) 602 (300) 602 (400) 602 (500)
Number of Teeth (Feed Speed)
Figure 5: Effect of feed speed on cutting accuracy of 60 tooth saw
Test C
Figures 6 and 7 present a comparison of the results for the four saws in Set #1, for side clearance values
of 0.016” and 0.005”. Figures 8 and 9 present the same comparison of results for the four saws in Set #2.
The blade speed was held constant at 3000 RPM and the feed speed was 650 fpm (198 m/min). The GFI’s
for this condition were 0.88, 1.36, 1.86 and 2.71 for the 30, 40, 50 and 60 tooth saws respectively.
These results indicate significant differences between the performances of saws with different numbers of
teeth. In particular, the saws with 60 teeth perform significantly worse when the side clearance is reduced
from 0.016” to 0.005” (when measuring the SD at the top of the cant). There is not a significant difference
between the cutting accuracy of the 30 tooth saws when the side clearance is reduced.
Blade Set #1; Feed Speed 650fpm;

Blade Speed 3000RPM
Side Clearance 0.016"
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Mean Difference
Displacement (thou)
30
20
10
0
60 50 40 30
Number of Teeth
Figure 6: Saw Set #1 with slide clearance of 0.016”
Blade Speed 3000RPM
Side Clearance 0.005"
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Mean Difference
Displacement (thou)
30
20
10
0
60 50 40 30
Number of Teeth
Figure 7: Saw Set #1 with side clearance of 0.005”

Blade Speed 3000RPM
0.016" Side Clearance
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Mean Difference
Displacement (thou)
30
20
10
0
60 50 40 30
Number of Teeth
Blade Speed 3000RPM
0.005" Side Clearance
50
S.D. Top
S.D. Bottom
40
Displacement (thou) Mean Difference
30
20
10
0
60 50 40 30
Number of Teeth
CONCLUSIONS
The tests conducted compared the performance of 0.070” thick saws cutting MPB wood with different
numbers of teeth, different side clearances and different feed speeds. Of particular interest was the
determination of those parameters that allowed the fastest feed speeds with acceptable cutting accuracy.
The results indicated that the saws with the lowest number of teeth (30) performed the best. These saws
had the largest gullet areas and the largest total gullet area. It was found that they could be run
satisfactorily at feed speeds of 650 fpm (198 m/min), which corresponded to a gullet feed index of 0.74.
Also these saws had essentially the same cutting accuracy with a side clearance of 0.005” as they did with
a side clearance of 0.016”. It will be noted that kerf width with a 0.005” side clearance is 22% smaller
than that with a 0.016” side clearance. Such a difference gives rise to a significant improvement in lumber
recovery and a corresponding reduction in sawdust produced.
The tests conducted to determine the effect of blade speed indicated that there was not a significant
difference in cutting accuracy as the speed was increased from 3000 RPM to 3600 RPM. The significance
of this result is that the higher the blade speed the higher the feed speed that can be handled.
The results pertaining to the fact that higher gullet loadings and smaller side clearances can be tolerated
may be a consequence of the fact that the MPB wood is drier than the green lumber traditionally
processed.
REFERENCES
1. White, John and John Taylor, 2006. “Improving processing efficiency of post-mpb wood, Part 1A:
Mill Survey”. Forintek Canada Corp. report for Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd.
2. White, John and John Taylor, 2006. “Improving processing efficiency of post-mpb wood, Part 1B:
Benchmarking cutting tests”. Forintek Canada Corp. report for Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd.
10p.
Examining Circular Saw Vibrations in the Sawmill
Valadez, Leonard
California Saw and Knife Works
721 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA USA 94103
ABSTRACT
Circular saw vibration was measured in a vertical arbor machine center. The saws were not cutting
accurately and appeared to be operating in a supercritical speed zone. Through vibration testing it was
determined that the saws were rotating between 3rd and 4th critical speeds. After the rotational speed of
the saws were reduced to operate between 2nd and 3rd critical speeds the sawmill personnel reported that
the total sawing standard deviation reduced from .060” to .015”.
INTRODUCTION
This study examines the saw stability of a guided circular saw by measuring the saw lateral vibration in a
vertical arbor machine center. The saw used in this machine is 27” diameter, .090” thick with an 8”
involute center. Although in sawmills measuring sawn boards is the primary method to evaluate circular
sawing performance, recording saw vibration provides a more sensitive measure of saw behavior and can
allow for the use of saw stability theory in the interpretation of results.
Another advantage of this approach is that if saw instabilities can be identified among all of the other
machine variables present (guides influences, drive motor, belts, etc.) chances are good that possible
solutions will take into account real world effects. Two drawbacks of attempting to do circular saw
stability studies in the sawmill are not being able to vary the arbor RPM to desired levels and time
constraints when testing in a production environment.
Previous laboratory circular sawing research (1, 2) has shown how determining a guided saw’s dynamic
stability characteristics may permit improved sawing performance. The critical speeds of a circular saw
are one of many factors that can affect sawing performance. Depending upon a saw’s operating speed, the
critical speeds can dominate the saw’s idling and cutting behavior. This is because operating near a
critical speed or resonance, a small input force can produce very large lateral displacements.
However, two potential benefits of operating between critical speeds are:
• Being able to use thinner saws than would be possible otherwise
• Being able the use higher rotational speeds to achieve higher feeds than gullet loading would
allow otherwise
BACKGROUND
After discussions with a head filer in British Columbia concerning the operating conditions of one of the
sawmill’s circular gang machine centers (Can Car vertical arbor gang), it appeared that the circular saws
in this machine might be operating in a supercritical speed region. The head filer described having to
tension the saws markedly different for the two depths of cut (4” and 6”) to obtain acceptable sawing
results. This is a very unusual procedure.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Valadez - 87

Very few circular gang machines operate in a supercritical speed region but what made this case even
more interesting was that it appeared that the saws were rotating in a supercritical speed zone not seen
before in a sawmill by the author, above the 3rd critical speed. It was believed by the author based upon
personal experience that a spline arbor or involute guided saw would not be sufficiently stable to cut
while rotating above its 3rd critical speed. Previous work (by the author and others (1, 2)) has shown that
guided spline-arbor circular saws can operate successfully between 2nd and 3rd critical speeds.
The objectives of the vibration work reported here:
• Confirm which critical speeds the saws are operating between
• Possibly determine a more stable RPM for the saws which could still maintain current feed
speeds
THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS OF THE CRITICAL SPEEDS

The computer program CSAW (3) gives estimates of the critical speeds of a saw. Entering the saw
dimensions and the approximate guide pad size into the computer model yielded the following critical
speeds:
Mode Critical Speed (RPM)
+/-2 1410
+/-3 1955
+/-4 2430
+/-5 3350
The 3rd critical speed is the mode +/-4 at 2430 RPM. Since the actual saws were reported to be rotating
at 2600 RPM, it appeared that the saws could be rotating above their 3rd critical speed even though the
saw tension was not considered in the calculations.
SAW VIBRATION TEST SET-UP AND PROPOSED TESTS

A non-contacting displacement transducer was attached to the bottom guide arm in the guide arm stack in
the vertical arbor machine. The transducer was located about 3 inches beyond the guide pad and about .5
inches below the gullet line. The transducer was placed opposite the sawing side of the guide pad so that
saw vibration could be measured during a cut. The assumption with this probe location is that measuring
the saw vibration on the non-cutting side of the guide correlates with the vibration in the cutting zone.
The saw vibration analog signal was input to an A/D converter. The digital signal was then input into a
computer for recording and analysis.
With limited time available between shifts, the plan was to conduct two cutting tests and two shut down
tests (described below). Due to instrumentation and cant feeding coordination problems, the two shut
down tests were conducted but only the beginning of one of the cuts was recorded.

THE FIRST 1.5 SECONDS OF A CUT
Figure 1 shows the entire time history of the saw idling and ending with the first 1.5 seconds of the only
cut that was recorded. The graph shows the maximum idling vibration before the cut to be about .015”.
The idling vibration amplitude gave little indication of what was to happen in the cut. The end of the
graph shows the saw beginning a cut.
For approximately the first second of sawing (about 6.5 ft) the saw moved in a low frequency oscillation
gradually downward (vertical arbor machine) in a direction away from the rest of the cant being sawn.
Suddenly the saw moved dramatically upward in a direction toward the cant beyond the range of the
probe and then back the other direction, continuing with large oscillations. The total peak-to-peak
oscillation at the probe location was over .070”.
This result indicates that the saw is not stable cutting and could be rotating in an instability zone or near a
critical speed or resonance.
SAW IDLING FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

Figure 2 shows the saw’s idling frequency spectrum. The most notable frequencies below 130 Hz
contributing to the saw’s idling lateral vibration are:
at 42.88 Hz, saw arbor rotating at 2573 rpm
at 85.6 and 128.32 Hz, harmonics of the saw arbor rotational frequency
at 29.86 Hz, drive motor rpm
at 120.2 Hz, probably 4x drive motor rpm
at 2.6, 3.82, 7.49, 11.96, and 28.64 Hz, these frequencies are most likely dynamic natural
frequencies of the saw although one could be the drive belt frequency
Additional work is needed to be done to determine if any of these dynamic natural frequencies are the
cause of the large saw oscillations during cutting.
RPM SHUT DOWN RESULTS

Two methods to detect a circular saw’s critical speeds while measuring saw lateral vibration are: (1) to
slowly increase the saw arbor rotational speed continuously or incrementally or (2) to slowly reduce the
saw arbor rotational speed starting at the idling RPM. At or near a critical speed the saw lateral vibration
may increase significantly, even under a no load condition.
The first method is the most common and has been performed by many researchers. The author has
conducted this method in the laboratory and in two sawmill machines that had frequency drive motors.
The second method of slowly reducing the RPM will display critical speeds only if the saw is rotating in
a supercritical speed zone when idling. Simply turning off the motor (shut down method) and measuring
the saw lateral vibration as the arbor coasts to zero RPM may detect critical speeds of the saw. It was
reported to the author that some years ago one sawmill’s personnel set their machine RPM using this
method.

Figure 3 is a view of the entire time history recorded during the first shut down test. The saw did not quite
reach zero RPM before the end of the recording. Chronologically from left to right the following events
are noted in the figure:
1. an external source vibrating the stationary saw
2. air/oil/water turned on vibrating the stationary saw
3. machine start-up in less than 1.5 seconds
4. saw idling
5. start of machine shut down
6. saw RPM appears to be passing through 3rd critical speed
7. saw RPM in a stable zone between the two criticals
8. saw RPM appears to be passing through 2nd critical speed
9. saw eventually stabilizing as RPM reduces
10. two resonances as saw continues to slow down
Figure 4 shows the second shut down test which started during idling and ended at zero RPM. This time
history shows good repeatability to the first shut down test and better displays the two resonances towards
the end of the test, the first one at about 930 RPM.
For comparison Figure 5 shows the time history of a saw during a shut down test (19.5” x .110” thick x #3
spline) that was idling (3600 rpm) in a sub critical speed zone. As the saw slows down a few resonances
are displayed but there are no indications of critical speeds as in Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 6 expands the time frame of the first shut down test in figure 3 in the vicinity of the critical speeds.
This expanded time frame can better display the saw rotational speeds during shut down. The saw RPM
during shut down was determined using frequency analysis. The accuracy of this method for determining
the saw RPM is estimated to be 50-75 RPM. Since conducting the tests in this report more accurate
methods for determining the RPM during shut down have been implemented.
From Figure 6 it appears that the saw is rotating between its 3rd and 4th critical speed. The saw appears
to be rotating about 160-260 RPM above the 3rd critical. Also from Figure 6 the 2nd critical speed is
estimated to be at 1850 RPM while the 3rd critical speed is estimated to be at 2300 RPM.
CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

The results indicate that in this study CSAW was useful in estimating between which critical speeds the
saw was operating. The partial cutting result indicates that the saw was not very stable cutting above its
3rd critical speed although the idling result did not indicate this. These test results support other reports
that guided spline arbor or involute guided saws have stability difficulties sawing above 3rd critical speed.
It is interesting to note that there is no sign of the 1st critical speed in the shut down time history graphs.
Since the actual 2nd and 3rd critical speeds are about 100 RPM lower than the CSAW predictions, we
might expect the 1st critical to be somewhere around 1300 RPM. Others have also observed (1, 2) the 1st
critical speed of guided spline arbor saws not producing any noticeable instability. This unexplained
property is the primary reason spline arbor guided saws can be designed with respect to their 2nd critical
speed.
During shut down the center of saw vibration is constantly moving in one direction away from the idling
center of vibration until very low RPM’s. This is best observed inspecting the graphs of Figures 3 and 4
that compress all of the vibration data to one page. The author has no explanation for this at present
although this is a common observation for guided circular saws during shut down tests.

In Figure 6 the region between 2nd and 3rd critical speeds appears to be a stable operating zone. It is
known that a few sawmill machines are operating in this zone. Thus, this is the region to lower the
rotational speed of the saws to potentially improve saw cutting stability while still maintaining the
machine’s current feed speed (390 fpm).
A reduction of rotational speed from 2600 to 2050 rpm was recommended. By designing larger gullets to
satisfy gullet loading requirements and maintaining the same number of teeth, the bite/tooth would
increase from .039” to .049”. This increase in the bite/tooth was considered to be within a satisfactory
range.
After the above changes were implemented it was reported from the sawmill personnel that after two
weeks of operation the total standard deviation of the 6” depth of cut boards had decreased to .015” from
a previous value of .050”-.060” before the changes. Thus, at least in this Can Car machine with the
current saws, it appears that the saws are significantly more stable cutting while rotating between 2nd and
3rd critical speeds rather than rotating between 3rd and 4th critical speeds.
In conclusion, utilizing CSAW and performing shut down tests can be an effective method to improve the
cutting performance of saws rotating in supercritical speed zones.
REFERENCES
1. Schajer, G.S. and Kishimoto, K.J. “Non-Classical Critical Speed Behaviour of Guided Circular
Saws.” Proc. 13th International Wood Machining Seminar. 1997.
2. Hutton, S.G., Lister, P.F. and Kishimoto, K.J. “Experimental Sawing Performance Results for
Industrial Supercritical Speed Circular Saws.” Proc. 13th International Wood Machining Seminar.
1997.
3. Schajer, G.S. 1993. “CSAW Guided Circular Saw Vibration and Stability Program.” User Guide.
Wood Machining Institute. Berkeley, CA.

Relating Saw Blade Cutting Accuracy to Lumber Quality in Double Arbor
Gang Edgers Using Guided Saws
Bird, Warren
California Knife and Saw Works
USA
ABSTRACT
Sawing process evaluation is increasingly concerned with the value of the lumber which is produced. It is
common for a saw mill to directly monitor the percentage of boards which exhibit a process defect which
exceeds the limit for the intended grade. The defect which characterizes double arbor sawing is the
mismatch -or offset- between surfaces generated by upper and lower saws. A method is proposed to
predict the shift in the percentage of boards with offset greater than a specified value, which results from
a change in either saw design or a process parameter. The same approach may be useful in estimating the
change in process reliability which results from an associated reduction in unscheduled saw changes
which are initiated by sawing inaccuracy.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Bird - 95

The Effect of the Power Transmission Method of the Spindle
on the Position of the Circular Saw Teeth
Wasielewski, Roman; Orlowski, Kazimierz A.

Gdansk University of Technology
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation,
Narutowicza 11/12, 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland
rwasiele@pg.gda.pl; korlowsk@pg.gda.pl
ABSTRACT
Sawing of wood with circular saws is a typical example of cutting with multi-blade tools. In that kind of
cutting, the position accuracy of following tool blades is a crucial factor which affects the cutting process
and machining final effects. Position tooth errors may cause: deterioration in cutting conditions, changes
in loads of individual teeth and the tool as a whole, and also a decrease in accuracy and surface quality
after cutting. In the paper causes and error analyses of circular saw teeth positions in relation to the
workpiece in static conditions are presented. Mentioned errors may originate from the circular sawing
machine spindle system. The effect of the power transmission method of the spindle on the position of the
circular saw teeth is analyzed. For the exemplary circular saw spindle systems determined error values are
performed.
Keywords: circular saw blades, spindle system, sawing accuracy
INTRODUCTION
Circular saw blades are typical multi-blade tools. Effects of cutting with that kind of tools depend in large
measure on the position accuracy of following tool blades in relation to the workpiece. Those tools are
very sensitive to tooth position errors in the sawing process because of their small proper stiffness values.
The tooth position errors may by analysed either in the static or dynamic conditions. In the static system,
the tooth position is an effect of the tooth position accuracy in the saw blade, accuracy of clamping on the
spindle, and the spindle axis of rotation static accuracy. In dynamic conditions, cutting system vibrations
caused by cutting forces and dynamic forces originating from spindle rotary motion are additional factors
affecting position of the teeth. However, these forces are a function of the static teeth position. Hence, the
static analysis is a basis for determination of the spindle system effect upon the circular saw tooth position
during sawing process.
Striving for improvement of sawing quality with circular saws requires minimization of circular saw tooth
position errors in the sawing system. Analyses of both causes of tooth position errors and sawing effects
coming from the tooth position accuracy are a basis of the minimization. Those analyses should concern
the whole sawing system and a method of the power transmission from the motor to the circular saw.
CIRCULAR SAW TOOTH POSITION ERRORS IN THE SAWING

SYSTEM
In the sawing system the circular saw tooth position errors in relation to the workpiece depend on tooth
position errors in relation to its axis of rotation, and also position errors of the axis of rotation in relation
to the assumed working plane Pf (Figure 1). In these two cases, the spindle system significantly affects
mentioned error values.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Wasielewski and Orlowski - 97
The position of the circular saw axis of rotation is an effect of the whole spindle system deformation
during sawing process (Figure 1).
a)
PYZ Z
Y
PXY Pf
PXZ
Pkp
Vf
Ppm
X
Y Z
N
M X
Pf Pfe fYZ
p
b) FN
vf
fy
XZ
fp F
fx
Figure 1: Cutting system of the circular sawing machine: a) theoretical, b) actual
The theoretical model of the cutting system of the circular sawing machine is presented in Figure 1a [1].
This model is orientated in the Cartesian co-ordinate system XYZ, where the axis Z is overlapped with
the theoretical spindle’s axis of rotation and the axis X is parallel to the assumed direction of feed motion
(X // vf). The axes X,Y,Z together with planes PXY, PXZ and PYZ defined by those axes compose the
reference system for determination of the geometrical-motion structure of the circular sawing machine. In
the theoretical model of the cutting system in the circular sawing machine it is assumed that the circular
saw rotates in the plane, which is perpendicular to the spindle axis (axis Z) and the geometrical centre and
the centre of gravity of the saw are placed on the geometrical axis of the spindle. Additionally, the
workpiece moves in the plane of feeding Ppm in parallel with the PXZ (Ppm // PXZ) plane, and is guided in
the perpendicular direction Pkp to the plane PYZ. The made assumptions follow both the assumed
machining surface of the cutting system Pf is situated on the plane PXY and the plane does not change its
location during operation of the sawing machine. In most significant cases, the analysis of the cutting
process is conducted with the theoretical model of the cutting system. However, that model does not take
into account a precision of cutting system, which is too large simplification in many cases.
In the actual system (Figure 1b) [2,3], spindle loads referred to the spindle axis of rotation (geometrical
axis), caused by the resultant cutting force F and the force FN (originating from the driving system),
produce deformations of both the spindle and the bearings. Thus, the saw blade position changes and
relocates to the working plane Pfe as a result of these displacements. The position of the working plane Pfe
in relation to the assumed working plane Pf may be determined in two the most characteristic for sawing
directions: assumed feed speed direction X and in direction Y, which is perpendicular to the latter (X). In
dependence of both the cutting force action direction angle Ψ and the angle of the driving force direction
Ψ N , spindle end displacements fx and fy, and also tooth displacements f pXZ and f pYZ in two
characteristic directions may have different values. In the examined static approach displacements of the
axis of rotation depend mainly on:
• factors connected with the load system – cutting forces and driving forces;
• factors connected with the spindle – longitudinal and crosswise dimensions,
• factors connected with bearings – a bearing type and initial stress.
Tooth position errors in the sawing system, apart from the circular saw blade displacement to the working
plane Pfe, may additionally arise from the radial run-out and the axial run-out of teeth in relation to the
circular saw working plane Pfe [4].
ANALYSIS OF TEETH POSITION IN THE SAWING SYSTEM

An example of the effect of the circular sawing machine spindle system upon position of circular saw
teeth in the sawing system is performed in Figure 2. For the traditional design issue of the spindle system
(Figure 2a) there are shown positions of circular saw teeth in the Figure 2b. In the presented example of
wood cutting with rotational speed n, when the process consumes cutting power Pc, the resultant cutting
force F and the driving force FN have values as in Figure 2b. It was additionally assumed that: these force
action directions are parallel to each other, their senses are the same and spindle bearings are rigid. In
these conditions, a spindle deflection causes movement of the circular saw to the plane defined by the
displacement of the spindle axis of rotation f and teeth displacement fp. Values of these displacements are
also performed in Figure 2b [2]. Mentioned displacements originating form the spindle deflection are
totalized with the position inaccuracies arising from the method of clamping of the circular saw on the
spindle, and also with inaccuracies of teeth positions in the saw blade. For the analyzed sawing design
system values of the total teeth axial run-out Botot and teeth radial run-out Bptot are presented in
Figure 2b [4]. These values were estimated on the basis of the commonly used by the circular saw
producers dimensional tolerances of the quality of work. On the grounds of the presented analysis it is
visible that for the common applied issues of circular sawing machine spindle systems total values of the
spindle deflections, radial run-out and axial run-out of teeth reach quite considerable values. The
component of deflection caused by the driving force has the largest value among other constituents [2].
a) c)
b l a
d
dw
Dt
Dp

Dp = 400 b = 65 Pc = 6 kW
Dt = 125 l = 381 n = 4500 1/min Dp = 400 b = 64 Pc = 6 kW
d = 30 a = 85 Dt = 125 l = 315 n = 4500 1/min
dw = 35 d = 64 a = 42
dw = 40
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar

fp
fp
b) f = 0,028 F = 90 N d) Bo tot f = 0,002 F = 90 N
Bp tot
fp = 0,085 FN = 1112 N fp = 0,005 FN = 0
Bp tot
Pfe
Bo tot
Bo tot = 0,418 Pf Bo tot = 0,144
Bp tot = 0,111 Bp tot = 0,111
f
F FN F
f
Pf Pfe
Figure 2: Schemes of spindle designs: a) traditional issue and its static displacements (b), c) modernized issue [5] and its static
displacements (d)
Wasielewski and Orlowski - 100

Unloading the driving system as it is shown in Figure 2c and Figure 2d, the spindle is only loaded with
a torque without the bending moment (originating previously from the driving force FN). This solution
significantly improves the circular saw position in the cutting process. Furthermore, in this design a value
of the teeth axial run-out is first of all a function of the saw clamping method. Limitation to the minimum
of the fixing element number may also reduce a value of the tooth run-out (Figure 2c, Figure 2d). The
further improvement of the system accuracy needs an increase of both the circular saw quality of work
and the spindle accuracy.
THE EFFECT OF THE SPINDLE DISPLACEMENT ON THE CIRCULAR

SAW OPERATION CONDITIONS
The use of the workpiece characteristic planes is the most convenient method for the assessment of the
effect of the spindle displacement upon the circular saw operation conditions [1]. The mentioned planes
are as follows:
• plane perpendicular to the saw blade and perpendicular to the feed direction (PYZ plane in
Figure 1a),
• plane perpendicular to the saw and parallel to feed direction (surface parallel to PXZ in Figure
1a).
The deviation of the machining surface Pfe , in the plane PYZ which is simultaneously perpendicular to the
both the saw and the feeding direction (Figure 3), can be caused either by the angle of vertical motion of
the spindle NN or the material operation plane angle NPO. Nevertheless, very often these two causes are
present. Thus, depending on senses of those angles the total machining plane Pfe deviation angle N is
equal to N = N N ± N PO . In the analysed plane (PYZ), the deviation of the machining plane Pfe causes
only dimensional and shape errors of the sawn workpiece and does not affect changes in both machining
conditions and circular saw loads.
PXY
Pfe
PYZ N
Ppm
N PO
PXZ ZYZ
Z
NN
Figure 3: Deviation of the machining surface Pfe in the plane PYZ

The deviation of machining surface Pfe , in the plane PYZ which is perpendicular to the saw and
simultaneously parallel to the feeding direction (Figure 4), can be caused either by the angle of horizontal
motion of the spindle MN or the material leading plane angle MPO. However, in the true system of the
circular sawing machines these two errors may be present. Hence, depending on senses of those angles
the total machining plane Pfe deviation angle M can be equal to M = M N ± M PO .
PYZ PYZ
PYZ
s''
''
PXZ ''
PXZ
'
PXZ PYZ '
PXZ
s' MN
Pkp
Z ZXZ
PXY '' PXZ
Pfe PXZ ''
MPO
PXY
' PXZ
PXZ '
M
Figure 4: Deviation of the machining surface Pfe in the plane PXZ

In the analysed plane (PYZ), the deviation of the machining plane Pfe causes dimensional and shape errors
of the sawn element and increasing of the kerf (Figure 4). It should be emphasised that the kerf is widest
at the circular saw innermost level (s’>s’’). Moreover, in the examined plane (PYZ) significant changes in
machining conditions may appear. If the deviation angle of the machining plane Pfe from the leading plane
Pkp differs from zero ( M ≠ 0 ) it can cause that:
• kerf dimensions on both sides of the circular saw blades are different, chip removal on both
sides is not equal, and finally there are additional lateral loads of the circular saw blade,
• working tool cutting minor edge angles are different and there are additional lateral loads as a
result.
Those additional transverse loads of teeth and the saw blade cause deflections of the saw blade, which
make the deviation of the machining plane larger and affect negatively cutting conditions. The burn of the
saw blade and a built-up of the burnt dust on the saw blade may occur and could be caused by those
deflections. The occurrence of the burnt dust on the saw blade, especially visible close to the rim, is
shown in Figure 5. The reverse side of the saw blade was clean and free from burns.
Figure 5: Burn of the saw blade surface with a built-up of the burnt dust
CONCLUSIONS
In the sawing system the circular saw tooth position errors in relation to the workpiece depend mainly on
tooth position errors in relation to its axis of rotation, and also position errors of the axis of rotation in
relation to the assumed working plane Pf.
The position of the working plane is first and foremost a function of the spindle system stiffness and the
motion transfer method. Moreover, values of axial run-out and radial run-out of the circular saw teeth
depend on the circular saw clamping method on the spindle and quality of operation of the whole spindle
system.
The errors of the geometrical – motional structure of the circular sawing machine, especially in the plane
PXZ, which is parallel to the feeding direction, are significant factors affecting sawing quality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors also would like to acknowledge firms PPH GASS Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Suwalki, PL),
Wydawnictwo Inwestor Sp. z o.o. (publisher, PLC, Tczew, PL) the firm ZPH Rafplast Ryszard Kropiwiec
(Warsaw, PL) and HANZA Grupa Inwestycyjna Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Sopot, PL) for their financial support for
the author1 participation at the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar.
REFERENCES
1. Wasielewski, R., “Precision of cutting system in circular sawing machine”. Annals of Warsaw
Agricultural University: Forestry and Wood Technology, No 59, pages 337-340, 2006.
2. Orlowski, K.A., “Analyses of static displacements of a spindle applied in typical circular sawing
machines”. Annals of Warsaw Agricultural University: Forestry and Wood Technology, No 57,
pages 101-105, 2005.
3. Wasielewski, R. & Orlowski K.A., “The effect of the spindle system on the position of circular saw
teeth – a static approach”. In: V. Medzinarodna Vedecka Konferencia Trieskove a Beztrieskove
Obrabanie Dreva ’06: zbornik prednasok, Stary Smokovec, Slovakia, 12-14.10.2006/ eds: L.
Dzurenda, A. Banski / Technicka univerzita vo Zvolene, Drevarska Fakulta, Katedra Obrabania
Dreva. – Zvolen : Tech. Univ., pages 305-310, 2006.
4. Wasielewski, R., “Clamping precision of a circular saw blade on a spindle of a sawing machine”.
Annals of Warsaw Agricultural University: Forestry and Wood Technology, No 57, pages 297-300,
2005.
5. Wasielewski, R. & Orlowski, K., “Układ konstrukcyjny wrzeciona pilarki tarczowej”. (Design system
of the circular sawing machine spindle). Zgłoszenie patentowe (patent pending) P 377132, 2005.
Machining Seminar
Session II
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Elmas, Jackson and Parkin - 105
Planing Timber with an Active Machining System
Elmas, S.; Jackson, M. R.; Parkin, R. M.

Loughborough University, Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics
Research Centre, Holywell Way, LE11 3UZ Loughborough, United Kingdom
s.elmas@lboro.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
Planing and moulding are widely used within the wood working industry. According to the particular
application, the surface of the machined timber is subject to a certain level of quality requirement.
Undesired variations and disturbances within the machining process can often affect the consistency of
surface quality. Especially, machining parameters, spindle vibrations and cutterhead inaccuracies have a
great impact on the resultant surface waviness quality. In this paper some of these effects are
demonstrated through simulation as well as through experimental work by a specially designed smart
spindle unit which is controlled by four piezoelectric actuators. This spindle unit is used to produce
surface waviness defects to order and thus improves understanding of the influence that cutter path
inaccuracies have on machined surface quality.
Keywords: Active vibration control, piezoelectric actuator, surface finish, wood machining.
INTRODUCTION
Rotary machining has been an essential part of the woodworking industry for over two centuries and is
applied to good effect in planing and moulding machinery. The principle of the rotary machining process
is such that a timber is fed towards a rotating cutterhead containing a certain number of cutting knives.
This process is illustrated in figure 1.
Cutterhead Knife
R
h p vc
vf
Timber
Figure 1 Principle of rotary machining process
Rotary machined surfaces are not ideally smooth and flat. The machined surface has a series of waves due
to the kinematics of the rotary machining process. The surface waves, also called cuttermarks, are
generally accepted as unavoidable. The length of the cuttermark p, also called pitch, is usually taken as a
measure of surface quality. A good surface finish should have a pitch p lower than 1.8 mm and surface
waviness should follow a uniform pattern [1]. The length of the cuttermarks p is dependent on workpiece
feed speed vf, cutterhead rotational speed vc and the number of finishing cutting knives N. This
relationship can be expressed by the following equation:
vf (1)
p=
vc ⋅ N
It is often assumed, for simplicity, that the shape of the cuttermarks is circular and that the surface can be
considered as a series of intersecting circular arcs. The waviness height h of the simplified surface can
then be expressed by the following equation:
p² (2)
h = R − R² −
4
Where as R is the cutterhead radius.

These equations (1) and (2) are well established and widely used [1]. Indeed, the shape of the cuttermarks
is cycloid and the surface height is ca. 5% lower than the simplified height expressed by the equation (2)
[2, 3]. This low error ratio justifies the use of surface waviness approximation by the circular arcs for
rotary machining process used within the woodworking domain.
Although the modern planing machines provide a good surface quality, the undesired variations within the
machining process do not guarantee a consistent surface quality. These variations can be divided into
three major groups. Firstly, workpiece properties such as wood species and moisture content affect the
surface quality. Secondly, machining parameters such as cutterhead speed, feed speed and number of
cutting knives primarily determine the waviness form. Thirdly, undesired vibrations and inaccuracies
within the machining process can reduce the surface quality severely. The subject of this paper is to
demonstrate the effect of the latter factor on the machined surface.
REVIEW OF RELATED WORK

The presence of the vibrations during the machining process has an adverse effect on the surface quality.
Vibrations mainly occur between the relative movements of the cutterhead and the workpiece. These
vibrations can be suppressed by a passive or an active approach. The passive approach comprises tuned
dampers and vibration absorbers. The active vibration control for the woodworking machinery is focused
on controlling the spindle vibrations. Some researchers developed design strategies for optimal spindle
design in order to avoid the structural vibrations [4, 5]. Others [6, 7] used active vibration control methods
to suppress the undesired vibrations in order to improve the overall performance. However, there is no
significant record of research within the woodworking machinery regarding the effect of vibration factors
such as cutterhead inaccuracies or spindle vibration on the machined surface [1].
Relatively small surface wave height values ranging from 2 – 20 μm make the waviness highly
susceptible to relative vibrations between cutting knives and the workpiece normal to the machined
surface. This displacement can be caused by either structural vibration or by cutterhead inaccuracies. Two
widely used techniques within woodworking domain, single-knife finish and multi-knife finish are
presented and the effects of disturbances on the resultant surfaces are discussed [1].
Single knife finish exists where the surface wave form is determined by the cutter with the largest radius
in the cutterhead. This results from the insufficient precision of the cutting knives due to the cutter
sharpening machine tolerances and the relocation inaccuracies between grinding machine and planing
machine spindles. The difference between the cutting knife with the largest radius and the cutting knife
with the shortest radius is defined as the “total indicated run-out” (TIR). The difference among the cutting
tool radii can reach up to 50 µm for knives set by hand in a cutterhead using a setting gauge. Cutters
ground in the cutterhead and then relocated on the planing machine spindle using Hydrogrip tooling
results in typically 5-10 µm TIR.
Knife A
Surface produced
by knifeA
Cutterhead
Height Surface produced vc
[μm] by knifeB
Knife B
Timber length [mm]

Figure 2 The effect of inaccurate cutting knives on the surface finish
The hand set tooling leads to lower surface quality and reduces the performance of the machining
operation (Fig. 2). For example, considering a cutterhead with two cutting edges and a TIR of 50 µm
located on a spindle rotating at 6000 rpm with a timber feed of 12 m/min. The resultant surface would
have a pitch of 2 mm which is in the low quality range, whereas with zero TIR, the ideal surface pitch
would be 1 mm which is a high quality finish (figure 3) because the number of finishing knives is now
N=2. This two knife case is actually the most exacting test of any tool grinder and planing machine
because the two cutting edges are diametrically opposed and the slightest error (~ 1 µm) can create a
noticeable waviness defect [1].
2 mm
Single-knife finish 1 mm
Two-knife finish
Figure 3: The effect of single-knife finish and two-knife finish on the ideal surface form
Despite the deployment of high precision knives and the grinding of the knives in the cutterhead, the use
of Hydrogrip tooling and super precision spindles the uniformity of the surface waviness with an
acceptable surface quality for multi-knife finish, where all cutters leave an equal width surface wave,
cannot be assured.
In high speed woodworking a machinery cutterhead can have up to 20 cutting knives. As it can be seen
from equation (1), the greater the number of cutting knives the higher the timber feed speed for a given
good quality (~1 mm) of wave pitch. The requirement for multi-knife finish is that all the cutting edges
have the same radius. To realise this goal the jointing process is applied at the rotating cutterhead with the
aim to true all the cutting edges to the same radius. The consequence of this jointing process is a cutter
with zero back clearance angle that rubs the timber surface. All of the aforementioned precision
improvement techniques have elevated the jointing process to a high level in order to reduce the rubbing
effect, but it is still present. In addition the joint land width, determined by cutter tracking errors and also
machine spindle/structural vibration, causes variations in normal cutting force (radial push off force)
which produces cutter spindle deflection and hence variation in the cutter path. This presents a barrier to
further surface finish improvements.
One particular case is where a four-knife cutterhead with cutters ground to the same radii is subject to a
1/rev displacement at the spindle rotational frequency [1]. Figure 4 shows that the cutting knives B and D
are not affected by 1/rev vibration, whereas cutting knife A is pulled out of the workpiece and on the
contrary cutting knife C is pushed into the workpiece by the vibration magnitude. This is shown for the
case where the positive maximum of the vibration displacement aligns with cutter A. Variations in this
particular case occur, depending on the phase relationship between the cutting knife rotational angle and
the maximum or minimum point of the interfering with the 1/rev vibration cycle.
magnitude [μm]
A A
Vibration
B D
C
Reference
0
cutterhead radius
Resultant surface defect for TIR≠0

Ideal surface form for TIR=0
Figure 4: Effect of 1/rev spindle vibration on the surface
The resultant surface model in figure 4 is based on the circular arcs theory and represents a surface defect.
Each cutting knife removes material from the surface with respect to their vibration magnitude. The
resultant surface defect is superimposed by the adjacent circles in a plane representing the depth and
length of the surface form. Figure 4 also demonstrates the greatest impact on the resultant surface, when
the knife passing frequency coincides with the 1/rev vibration crest. It should be emphasized that the
angular position of the cutterhead is not controlled on planing and moulding machines and so it is a
lottery each time a cutterhead is placed on the machine spindle. When this surface defect is compared
with the ideal surface form, the difference between the surface qualities is unacceptable. An alternative
higher quality approach could actively vibrate the spindle centre in order to compensate for these
vibrations and tooling inaccuracies. This needs a sophisticated control strategy to suppress and control the
undesirable spindle vibrations as well as to remove the TIR values so that a consistent surface finish is
achieved, with sharp cutters.
To date, it has not been possible to control the wood machining process so that the effect of specific
disturbances such as cutterhead inaccuracies or cutterhead vibrations can be generated to confirm the
theory presented. Although the systematic investigation reported [11] makes some attempt to understand
some of the basic engineering influences on machine performance. The mechatronic control approach
presented in this paper is capable of producing surface defects to order. Whilst this may seem at odds with
reducing defects it is part of the wider understanding of how tool path inaccuracies cause surface
waviness defects. A second benefit is to produce defective waviness surfaces so that human perception
can be tested. A third benefit is for calibration standards for measurement equipment – especially optical
sensing devices for surface assessment. This work builds on that previously reported [12].
MECHATRONICHS CONTROL APPROACH
The small scale planer consists of a base frame, on which the feed table and spindle system are mounted
(Fig. 5) [12]. The smart spindle unit is the main part of the test rig. Four piezo electric actuators are
mounted on the front bearing. Piezoelectric stack type actuators have been selected to control the
movement of the front bearing, because they are able to provide high force, fast response and a
controllable displacement in micrometer range. Two opposing actuators for each axis have been chosen in
order to achieve a “push-pull” operation. This approach was also adopted by other researchers [8, 9].
Applying appropriate voltage levels to the piezoelectric actuators controls the movement of the spindle.
The actuators are capable of moving the spindle by ±17 µm. Applying appropriate voltage levels to the
piezo electric actuators controls the movement of the spindle in the plane perpendicular to the spindle’s
rotational axis.
Spindle drive
Smart Spindle
Smart spindle
unit
Piezo actuator
mountings
Spindle
Cutterhead
Spindle unit
support
Feed table
Base frame
Figure 5: Small scale planer comprising of a smart spindle unit
The smart spindle unit is a novel mechatronics control approach which comprises appropriate sensors,
signal conditioning circuits, driving amplifiers and control computer in order to implement the controlled
cutterhead movement. The system diagram of the test rig, shown in Fig. 5, shows all key components of
the instrumentation along with the signal flow between the test rig and the control computer represented
by the multifunction I/O card. The spindle unit is equipped with two non-contact eddy current sensors to
measure the XY displacement of the spindle. The eddy current signals are then amplified with the eddy
current driver in order to increase the resolution and minimize the influence of the noise. These signals
are then converted into digital signals via the multifunction I/O card in the control PC. The smart spindle
unit is also equipped with an incremental encoder in order to measure the angular position of the spindle.
These two measures (XY displacement and the angular position of the spindle) are used as inputs to
control software that determines the appropriate signal for the 150 Volt driver amplifiers that power the
piezo electric actuators. The piezo actuators apply a force against the front spindle bearing mounted in
flexural hinges to cause a controlled spindle radial displacement. The Matlab xPC Target prototyping
environment is used to carry out this real-time control application.
A vibration sweep test was carried out on the smart spindle unit fitted with a 0.65 kg cutterhead.
Operating the spindle at speed close to one of the natural frequencies would result in excessive vibration
and this must be avoided. It is often desirable to operate machine tools spindles below the natural
frequency in order to avoid crossing any resonant regions during start up of the machine. Therefore, the
natural frequency of the spindle experimentally determined which is at 885 Hz (Fig. 6)
20
Gain [dB]
-20
Gain [dB]
-40
-60 0 1 2 3 4
10 10 10 10 10
-100
Phase [deg]
Phase [deg]
-200
-300
0 1 2 3 4
10 10 10 10 10
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 6: Frequency response of the smart spindle unit
The test rig was designed to operate at spindle speeds below 5000 rpm (80 Hz) and the experimental work
was carried out at 600 rpm (10Hz) which is well below the natural frequency of the spindle. Thus, any
excessive vibration is avoided.
SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK

Simulation of the machined timber surface profiles has been carried out to assist in analysis of produced
surface defects and to investigate the effects of disturbances independent of workpiece properties.
Simulation is based on the principal of circular arc theory with an improved waviness height calculation
algorithm that resembles the real height of the machined timber waviness. The smart spindle unit is used
to generate machined timber samples to produce defects of a desired character.
Initial tests involved simply generating a single knife finish to compare the simulation of a perfect surface
and that produced by the test rig with no radial displacement of the spindle centre. A cutterhead with two
cutting knives is chosen with a TIR value of 70 μm to ensure that only one cutter produces a finishing
wave. The machined surface profile was measured by a contact based stylus tracer (Fig. 7).
Data acquisition & analysis Interface card
Linear probe
PC
Incremental encoder Skid
Timber
Figure 7: Surface measurement system
With this surface measurement technique, the stylus tip contacts the machined surface and it is moved
along the timber. The surface profile is recorded by the vertical movement of the stylus tip.
Figure 8 presents a reference simulated ideal surface produced by the knife with the larger cutting radius.
Setting machining spindle speed to 400 rpm with a feed speed of 30 mm/s results according to the
equations (1) and (2) in wave length p of 4.5 mm. Analysis on the surface form with the Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT) provides a better insight into the dominant wavelengths which form the resultant surface
profile.
Simulation of ideal surface form Machined surface form

50 50
Waviness height [μm]
Waviness hight [μm]

40 40
Waviness [μm]
Waviness [μm]
30 30
20 20
10 10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Timber length [mm] Timber length in [mm]
10 10
8 8
Amplitude [μm]
Amplitude [μm]
Amplitude [μm]
Amplitude [μm]
6
6
4
4
2
2
0 -2 -1 0 1 2
-2 -1 0 1 2
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Wave length [mm] Wave length [mm]
Figure 8: Single-knife finish – simulated and machined surfaces in comparison
The simulated and machined surface forms are compared in Figure 8. Two graphs are shown to
demonstrate the single-knife finish. Results from FFT analysis show that both simulated and machined
surfaces have the dominant wavelength at 4.5 mm which is the pitch of the resultant surface. It should be
pointed out that the unit for the frequency is determined as 1/(unit length) i.e. 1/mm, which can be
perceived as the number of cuttermarks per unit length.
Experimental work on surface defects has been performed with the small scale planer. These defects are
successfully machined by a real time controlled displacement of the cutterhead during the machining
operation. The 1/rev case is reported here for a four knife cutterhead case. When the cutting knife first
touches the surface of the workpiece, it starts to move vertically downwards with a defined pulse
generated by the piezo electric actuators (Fig. 9). The height of the pulse correlates with the defined
vibration amplitude. Only the upwards pulse is shown in figure 9.
Vertical cutterhead
movement [μm]
Pulse required for

vertical movement
of the cutting knife
Displacement
feed speed vf h
0
Δtc
Surface defect
Time
Figure 9: Vertical cutterhead movement to produce surface defects
Simulation of surface defect Machined surface defect
30 30

25
A BCD

20
Knives 25
20
15 15
10
10
5
5
0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Timber length [mm] Timber length [mm]
4 4
Amplitude [ μm]
Amplitude [μm]
3
2
2
1
1 -1 0 1 2 0 -1
10 10 10 10 0 1 2
10 10 10 10
Wave length [mm]
Wave length [mm]
Figure 11: Surface defect caused by 1/rev spindle vibration
Figure 9 illustrates the vertical cutterhead movement, where the workpiece is stationary and the
cutterhead travels along the workpiece. This modification is chosen for a better illustration of the
cutterhead movement, since in the real machining operation, the cutterhead is fixed and the feed table
moves towards the rotating cutterhead. For the experimental work, only one cutting knife is chosen to
machine a specific surface defect. This allows generation of any type of interfering vibration and cutter
inaccuracy profile via the software map generated in the control PC.
Figure 10 shows the surface defect caused by the 1/rev spindle vibration. Machining parameters are
spindle speed vc at 600 rpm and feed speed at 20 mm/s. The 1/rev spindle vibration frequency is set to the
cutterhead speed with an amplitude of 3 μm peak to peak. It can be observed that the surface profile does
not consist of regular waves. For a normal machining operation (without spindle vibration) a wavelength
of 2 mm with 8.33 μm of waviness height would be expected. For the additional spindle vibrations, the
FFT analysis shows the dominant wavelength is at 2 mm and also at 8 mm which is four times larger than
the expected value of wavelength under normal operating conditions. This is because knife C is pushed
into the workpiece, hence cutting deeper while knife A is pushed upwards from the surface thus removing
less material from the workpiece. This reflects the superimposed 1/rev spindle vibration introduced via
the piezo-electric actuators. The resultant surface pitch is variable and does not have uniform pattern and
is of reduced quality.
FFT analysis of the machined surface also shows that the surface waviness consists of more harmonic
components than the simulated one this is due to the simulation which does not consider the
inhomogeneous workpiece properties. Both simulated and machined surfaces shows that the effect of the
undesirable spindle vibration on the resultant surface is evident.
CONCLUSIONS
The presence of the vibrations and cutting path inaccuracies during the machining process has a great
impact on the resultant surface finish. Vibrations which mainly occur between the relative movements of
the cutterhead and the workpiece can be caused by either structural vibrations or by cutterhead
inaccuracies. The effect of the 1/rev spindle vibrations on the resultant surface is first simulated within the
software program MATLAB/Simulink environment and then generated on a timber sample using a
specially designed smart spindle unit. FFT analysis of machined timber surface traces indicates good
correlation between simulated and actual surface frequency and amplitude characteristics. With this novel
mechatronics control approach the effect of the spindle vibrations on the resultant surface can be made to
order, thus aiding understanding of waviness generation mechanisms.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the project funding body EPSRC - Innovative Manufacturing and
Construction Research Centre at Loughborough University, UK.
REFERENCES
1. Jackson, M. R., Parkin, R. M., & Brown, N., “Waves on wood”, Proceedings of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, vol. 216, pp. 475-497, 2002.
2. Luo, G. Y., Osypiw, D., & Irle, M., “Surface quality monitoring for process control by on-line
vibration analysis using an adaptive spline wavelet algorithm”, Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol.
263, pp. 85-111, 2003.
3. Palmqvist, J., Lenner, M., & Gustafsson, S.-I., “Cutter head forces and load cell scanning”, Wood
Science and Technology, vol. 37, pp. 199-211, 2003.
4. Lee, D.-S. & Choi, D.-H., “Reduced weight design of a flexible rotor with ball bearing stiffness
characteristics varying with rotational speed and load”, Journal of Vibration and Acoustics,
Transactions of the ASME, vol. 122, pp. 203-208, 2000.
5. Brandon, J. A. & Al-Shareef, K. J. H., “Optimization strategies for machine tool spindle-bearing
systems: A critical review”, Journal of Engineering for Industry, Transactions of the ASME, vol. 114,
pp. 244-253, 1992.
6. Wang, X. G. & Sun, J. C., “Active sensing and control of vibration of circular saws - a comparison of
optimal and variable structure control”, Arlington, VA., pp 4294-4299, 2001.
7. Nagaya, K., Yamazaki, H., & Kashimoto, H., “Control of micro-vibrations of a machine head by
using piezoelectric actuators”, International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol.
8, pp. 315-328, 1997.
8. Palazzolo, A.B., Lin, R.R., Alexander, R.M., Kascak, A.F., & Montague, J. “Test and theory for
piezoelectric actuator-active vibration control of rotating machinery”, Journal of Vibration, Acoustics,
Stress, and Reliability in Design, 113, 167-175, 1991.
9. Dohner, J.L. , Lauffer, J.P., Hinnerichs, T.D., Shankar, N. , Regelbrugge, M., Kwan, C.-M., Xu, R.,
Winterbauer, B., & Bridger, K. “Mitigation of chatter instabilities in milling by active structural
control”. Journal of Sound and Vibration 269[1-2], 197-211. 2004.
10. Hynek, P., Jackson, M., R., Parkin, R., M., & Brown, N. “Improving wood surface form by
modification of the rotary machining process”. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture vo.213 No. 8, pp 875-887, 2004.
11. 1Jackson, M. R., Hynek, P. and Parkin, R. M., “On Planing Machine Engineering Characteristics and
Machined Timber Surface Quality”, Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part E: J. Process Mechanical
Engineering, 16 pages, In Press 2006.
12. Hynek, P., Jackson, M., R., Parkin, R., M. and Brown, N., “Improvement of Rotary Machining
Process”, Proceedings IWMS17-2005, Rosenheim, Germany, Published by Retru-Verlag, pp 346-355,
2005.
Influence of Vibration Coupling Between Bandsaw Frame and Feed-Carriage
System on Sawdust Spillage and Surface Quality of Workpiece During Sawing
Okai, Reynolds1; Iwasaki, Yoshihiro2; Nagase, Hideo2; Tanaka, Chiaki3

1 2 3
Faculty of Technology Education Iwasaki Saw Filing Cooperation Faculty of Agriculture
University of Education Ohda, 694-0064, Japan Kagoshima University
Winneba Kumasi Campus Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan
P.O. Box 1277
Kumasi, Ghana
reynoldsokai@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACT
Productivity, surface quality, and recovery are three parameters that compete for attention during lumber
production. The well known phenomenon of improved surface quality with decreasing workpiece feed
rate has been reported by several researchers. This paper reports on experimental results from the
relationship between workpiece feed rate and the surface roughness of Japanese Sugi (Cryptomeria
japonica) using a bandsaw machine whose feed-carriage is coupled to the bandsaw frame. The volume of
sawdust produced during sawing was determined using an electronic balance. Equation was developed to
determine the kerf-losses. It was observed that that as the workpiece feed rate increased, the saw blade
vibration decreased and the volume of sawdust also decreased contrary to expected results. It also was
observed that as the workpiece feed rate increased the surface roughness decreased contrary to expected
results. On the other hand, when the carriage feed rate increased the saw blade deviation also increased as
expected. The research findings clearly suggest that when there is vibration coupling between the feed-
carriage and the entire bandsaw frame, damping was brought into play. The amount of damping was
proportional to the feed rate. Thus the bandsaw machine whose frame is coupled to the feed-carriage is a
promising technique for increasing lumber recovery and improving upon surface quality.
INTRODUCTION
Saw blade vibration is a highly undesirable phenomenon in the wood industry that has to be investigated
thoroughly for efficient wood processing. Excessive blade vibration would lead to huge amount of
sawdust spillage or huge saw-kerf losses resulting in low lumber yield. Besides, excessive vibration could
contribute to the formation of washboards an undesirable phenomenon that occurs on surfaces of sawn
lumber [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. If one is able to quantify the volume or weight of sawdust produced during
sawing, then one can determine the saw-kerf loss knowing the kerf width of the saw blade.
It is universally acknowledged that excessive feed speed would lead to increase saw blade vibration and
consequently the kerf losses would increase, and surface roughness of the sawn lumber would also
increase. Besides, there is also a substantial increase in lumber thickness variation when saw blade
vibration increases [9]. Productivity can be increased if the workpiece is sawn at high feed speed.
However, any attempt to increase productivity could lead to a reduction in product quality. In order to
reduce the volume of sawdust spillage during sawing, thin-kerf saw blades have been introduced. A major
disadvantage of thin-kerf saw blades is that they are less stable than thicker saws. However if thin-kerf
saw blades are properly tensioned they can withstand the rigorous sawing conditions.
Researchers continue to conduct research to minimize saw blade vibration during cutting. One
fundamental issue that needs to be addressed during cutting is the vibration coupling between the
bandsaw frame and the feed carriage. Traditionally, the feed-carriage is decoupled from the bandsaw
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Okai, Iwasaki, Nagase and Tanaka – 117
frame and consequently, vibration of the feed-carriage is transmitted to only the saw blade during cutting.
However, some bandsaw systems in recent time have the entire frame coupled to the feed-carriage and
therefore vibration would be transmitted to both the saw blade and the bandsaw frame. So far, no work
has been reported on vibration coupling between the feed-carriage and the bandsaw frame and this has
been the motivation for the present study. The kerf-loss and surface roughness of lumber produced from
stellite-tipped and tip-inserted saws under vibration coupling condition between the feed-carriage and the
bandsaw frame at variable wheel rotation speed and feed speed is presented in this report.

The workpiece used for the study was Japanese sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) of moisture content greater
than 100%, specific gravity 0.43; thickness 30mm; and length 400mm. Cutting tests were conducted
using a 700mm diameter band saw with axle to axle wheel separation of 1250mm. The length, width, and
thickness of the saw blade were 4700mm, 50mm and 1.06mm respectively. Two saw blades were used
namely, stellite-tipped saw and tip-inserted saw. The number of teeth, pitch, and depth of gullet of the
saw blades were 188, 25mm, and 9mm respectively. The rake angle, clearance angle and sharpness
angles of the saw blades were: 270, 180, and 450 respectively. The saw kerf width was 2.03mm for the
satellite-tipped saw and 2.15mm for the tip-inserted saw.
Figure 1: Photo of the experimental bandsaw
SAWING TEST
The wheel rotation speed was varied from 250rpm to 850rpm in step of 200rpm and wood samples of
sugi sawn at feed rate of 3m/min to 15m/min in step of 3m/min. The workpiece were sawn parallel to the
grain at a nominal thickness of 20mm. Each cutting condition was repeated 10 times. Two displacement
sensors were positioned at 35mm below the workpiece to measure the saw blade vibration. Signals from
the sensors were saved to computer disk memory using an analog-digital converter. The signals were
digitized at a sampling rate of 2000 HZ. Component of cutting forces in the feed and vertical direction
were also measured by transferring the signals from 2 load cells to computer disk memory using the
analog-digital converter. A photo of the experimental bandsaw is shown in Fig. 1
MEASUREMENT OF SAWDUST VOLUME, BOARD WIDTH AND SAW

KERF-LOSS
An electronic balance was used to determine the amount of sawdust produced during sawing. The
dimensions and weight of each board to be sawn was determined prior to sawing. After sawing, the
weight of the sawn board and residual board were determined. The thickness of the sawn board and the
residual board at 5 points along the length of the boards were also determined. In order to obtain accurate
experimental results, care was taken to ensure that sawdust that adhered to the sawn board was gently
removed before weighing the boards. During sawing, the saw blade vibrates and so the measured kerf
width on the board ki is always bigger than the actual saw kerf width kb. The measured kerf width ki under
each sawing condition can be calculated from Equation (1):
2 mi
ki = (1)
( ρ i + ρ ( i +1)) × L × D
From the above equation, mi is the mass of sawdust, D is the depth of cut, L is the length of sawn board,
th
ρ is the density of the i board, and ρ is the density of the (i + 1)th board. The relative position of the
i ( i +1)
saw kerf width of the saw blade kb, and the measured saw kerf width on the sawn lumber ki is shown in
Fig. 2. The kerf-loss is the difference between ki and kb, that is, (ki – kb).
th
(i+1) board th
Ki i board
Kb
- +
Fe ed dire cti on
Sawn surface
Saw tooth
Figure 2: Relative position of kerf width of saw blade Kb and the measured kerf width on the sawn
board Ki
Legend: +: inner portion of the saw within a closed loop of the saw
-: outer portion of the saw within a closed loop of the saw
Note: Motion of the saw tooth is perpendicular to the feed direction
MEASUREMENT OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS
The surface roughness of the sawn boards was measured by using a stylus-type surface measuring
apparatus (Taylor-Hobson’s Surtronic 3+) equipped with inductive pick-up and a diamond tracer tip. The
tracer was moved perpendicularly to the teeth marks. The surface roughness parameter was measured
over a traverse length of 25mm, and cut-off wavelength of 0.8mm using a Gaussian filter. Gaussian
filtering does not simulate a specific electronic filter, but is a mathematical function that is applied to the
profile data. A property of a Gaussian filter is the ability to take account of data before and after the
effective stylus position. The response at the cut-off value is 50% of the maximum transmission within
the band. Traverse speed was set at 1mm/s. The measured value was expressed as an arithmetical mean
deviation of roughness profile over six sampling lengths. Measurement of the surface roughness was
determined using the Ra parameter because it is the universally recognized, and most used, international
parameter of roughness. It is the arithmetic mean of the departures of the profile from the mean line.
Measurement of the surface roughness is obtained from Equation (2).
L
1
Ra = L ∫ y ( x) dx (2)
0
The surface roughness of the inner and outer portions of the boards was measured. The inner portion
refers to the portion of the sawn board that is within the closed loop of the bandsaw blade whereas the
outer portion refers to the portion of the sawn board that is outside the closed loop of the bandsaw.
Considering figure 2, the inner portion of the board refers to the portion of the board on the right side of
the figure, that is, the ith board and the outer portion of the board refers to the portion of the board on the
left side of the figure, that is the (i+1)th board.
MEASUREMENT OF SAW BLADE VIBRATION AND DEVIATION

By using the Sigview software, the saw blade vibration and deviation were measured. The vibration
signals from the two displacement sensors were saved to a computer disk memory using an analog-digital
converter. The data was digitized at a sampling rate of 2000HZ.

FEED SPEED, KERF-LOSS AND SAW BLADE VIBRATION
The relationship between feed speed and kerf-loss under vibration coupling between the feed carriage and
the bandsaw frame during sawing with the tip-inserted and stellite-tipped bandsaw is shown in Fig. 3. It
can be seen that regardless of the type of saw tipping and contrary to expected results, the kerf-loss
decreased with increasing feed speed. These results deviate from the well known phenomenon, that is,
the increase in kerf-loss with increasing feed speed. The results presented in Fig. 3 suggest that there is a
vibration coupling between the feed carriage and the bandsaw frame. The results can be explained as
follows: There is vibration damping emanating from the motion of the feed carriage. As the feed speed
increases, the damping factor increases and accordingly the amplitude of the saw blade vibration decrease
resulting in decrease in the kerf-loss of the entire sawing system.
In order to understand the mechanics of vibration coupling between the feed-carriage and the bandsaw
frame, the relationship between saw blade vibration amplitude and carriage feed rate during idling and
cutting is presented in Fig 4. Also presented in Fig. 4 is the relationship between carriage feed rate and
saw blade deviation. It can be seen that as the carriage feed rate increases, the amplitude of the saw
vibration during idling and cutting decreases contrary to the expected results. However, when the
carriage feed rate increases, the saw deviation increases as expected. The research findings clearly
suggest that when there is vibration coupling between the feed-carriage and the entire bandsaw frame
damping is brought into play when the speed of the feed carriage increases. The damping is proportional
to the carriage feed rate. To further understand the damping effect of the saw blade vibration as the
carriage feed speed increases, there is the need to examine the surface profile of the workpiece to clarify
the experimental results.
0.60
Tip-inserted saw 250 rpm 450 rpm
650rpm 850 rpm
Kerf loss (mm) 0.40
0.20
0.00
0.60
250 rpm 450 rpm
Stellite-tipped saw
650 rpm 850 rpm
Kerf loss (mm)
0.40
0.20
0.00
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
Feed speed (m/min)
Figure 3: Relationship between feed speed and kerf loss of tip-inserted and stellite-tipped saws at
varying wheel rotation speed
0.50
Idling 650 rpm
0.40 850 rpm
Amplitude (mm)
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0.50 0.50
Amplitude: 650 rpm
Cutting
Saw deviation (mm)
0.40 Amplitude: 850 rpm 0.40

Amplitude (mm)
Saw deviation: 650 rpm

Saw deviation: 850 rpm
0.30 0.30
0.20 0.20
0.10 0.10
0.00 0.00
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
Feed speed (m/min)
Figure 4: Relationship between feed speed, vibration amplitude, and saw blade deviation
70 70
- +
S u rfa c e ro u g h n e s s (R a -u m )
Tip-inserted saw: 650 rpm - + Stellite-tipped saw: 650 rpm
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
inner side of saw (+) inner side of saw (+)
10 10 outer side of saw (-)
outer side of saw (-)
0 0
70 70
Stellite-tipped saw: 850 rpm
- +
Tip-inserted saw: 850 rpm -
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
inner side of saw (+)
inner side of saw (+)
10 10 outer side of saw (-)
outer side of saw (-)
0 0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 0 3 6 9 12 15 18
Feed speed (m/min) Feed speed (m/min)
Figure 5: Relationship between surface roughness and feed speed
SURFACE ROUGHNESS, WHEEL ROTATION SPEED AND FEED SPEED

The relationship between surface roughness and feed speed under set up wheel rotation speed of 650rpm
and 850rpm during sawing with a tip-inserted saw and satellite-tipped saw is shown in Fig. 5. It can be
seen that as the feed speed increases, the surface roughness decreases for the tip-inserted saw. In the case
of satellite-tip saw, the surface roughness appears to be independent of feed speed. One characteristic
feature of the tip-inserted saw is that the surface roughness of boards produced from the inner portion of
the saw within a closed loop are much bigger than boards produced from the outer portion of the saw
within a closed loop. For visual grading purpose, photos of the surface profile of boards produced from
tip-inserted and satellite-tipped saws under set up wheel rotation speed of 650rpm and 850rpm, and feed
speed of 3mm/min and 15m/min are presented in Fig. 6. It can be observed that the surface roughness is
smoother at high feed rate thus confirming the experimental results of decreasing surface roughness with
increasing feed speed.
Tip-inserted saw Stellite-tipped saw
Wheel rotation speed; 650 rpm Feed speed; 3m/min Wheel rotation speed; 650 rpm Feed speed; 3m/min
Figure 6: Photos of surface profile of boards produced at different feed rates and wheel rotation speeds
using tip-inserted and stellite-tipped saws
CONCLUSIONS
The timber industry is compounded with several problems such as poor surface quality, low productivity
and low lumber yield. Several attempts have therefore been made by researchers to address these
problems. The use of thin-kerf saw blades and automatic control of workpiece feed rate have been
introduced as promising techniques for improved lumber conversion.
In this study, a bandsaw machine whose feed-carriage is coupled to the bandsaw frame was used to saw
wood samples of Japanese Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) into boards. It was observed that as the
workpiece feed rate increased, the saw blade vibration decreased and the volume of sawdust produced
also decreased contrary to expected results. It also was observed that as the workpiece feed rate increased
the surface roughness decreased contrary to expected results. The research findings clearly suggest that a
bandsaw machine whose frame is coupled to the feed-carriage is a promising technique for increasing
lumber recovery and improving upon surface quality.
REFERENCES
1. Okai, R., Kimura, S., Yokochi, H. “What is the relationship between tooth passage frequency and
natural frequency of the bandsaw when self-excited vibration and washboarding are induced”.
Proceedings of the 12th International wood machining seminar, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 367-380, 1995.
2. Okai, R., Kimura, S., Yokochi, H. “Dynamic characteristic of the bandsaw I. Self-excited vibration
and washboarding during cutting”. Journal of the Japan wood research society, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp.
333-342, 1996.
3. Okai, R., Kimura, S., Yokochi, H. “Dynamic characteristic of the bandsaw III. Effects of workpiece
thickness and its position from the ground on self-excited vibration and washboarding during
sawing”. Journal of the Japan wood research society, Vol. 43, No. 7, pp. 551-557, 1997.
4. Luo, Z., Cheng G., Hutton, S.G. “Experimental study on washboarding in wide bandsaws”.
Proceedings of the 15th international wood machining seminar, Los Angeles, pp. 205-217, 2001.
5. Luo, Z., Taylor J., Hutton, S.G., White J. “An experimental investigation into washboarding in
bandsaws”. Proceedings of the 16th international wood machining seminar, Mastue, Japan, pp. 257-
267, 2003.
6. Hutton, S.G. & Dalziel M. “Analysis of washboarding in bandsaws”. Proceedings of the 16th
International wood machining seminar, Mastue, Japan, pp. 268-277, 2003.
7. Orlowski, K. & Wasielewski, R. “Washboarding during cutting on frame sawing machines”.
Proceedings of the 15th International wood machining seminar, Los Angeles, California, pp. 219-228,
2003.
8. Orlowski, K. & Wasielewski, R. “Washboarding during cutting on frame sawing machines.
Experimental study of the saw blade behavior”. Proceedings of the 16th International wood machining
seminar, Mastue, Japan, pp. 278-287, 2003.
9. Okai, R., Mitchual, J., Frimpong-Mensah, K. “Optimization techniques for minimizing saw teeth
deflection and lumber thickness variation”. Journal of the American Society of Precision Engineering,
Vol 30, pp. 39-46, 2006.
Some Special Problems of Thermosmoothing and Coating
Fuchs, Ingrid; Raatz, Christoph; Peter, Michael; Pflüger, Torsten

Institute for Wood Technology Dresden (IHD)
Zellescher Weg 24
D-01217 Dresden, Germany
fuchs@ihd-dresden.de, raatz@ihd-dresden.de, peter@ihd-dresden.de, pflueger@ihd-dresden.de
ABSTRACT
Thermosmoothing is a method to process wood and wood materials with heat and pressure. The result is a
very plane and compressed surface. This is the basis for coating with lacquer, powder lacquer or
lamination.
The main application of thermosmoothing is processing of furniture doors and doors from Medium
Density Fibreboard (MDF). There are two procedures to smooth profiles of MDF – Fixface and Rollface.
The Fixface procedure is used with CNC-routers, it works with one fixed and electrical heated smoothing
tool. The Rollface is for continuous milling machines and works with a number of 4 – 6 electrical heated
rolls.
The surface of the thermosmoothed wood or MDF is physically and chemically different to a milled or
sanded surface. Therefore it needs specific research to find coating methods for smoothed surfaces. The
IHD has tested different methods for coating of thermosmoothed MDF. The tests demonstrate that it is
possible to coat a thermosmoothed surface with powder lacquer, with water based lacquer, with solvent
lacquer, and by lamination. The coated surface is more plane and the coating adheres well. The
complexity of the coating processes is lower than in case of sanded surfaces.
INTRODUCTION
Thermosmoothing is an thermo-mechanical process to smooth the surface of wood materials especially
Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF). The importance of thermosmoothing for MDF is based on the
density profile of MDF. The medium layer of MDF has a smaller density than the surface. Therefore the
coating of the edges of MDF and of profiles within the surface is very costly.
In [1, 3] the technical details of the thermosmoothing process are described. There are some different
principles of thermosmoothing in dependence on processing of components. Fixeface is the solution for
CNC-routers. There is an electrically heated smoothing tool, which has the same profile as the milling
tool. The temperature of the smoothing tool has to be controlled. A temperature tolerance of 10 °C is
possible. The smoothing tool is clamped into the spindle of the CNC-router or into an adapter (figure 1),
which is only for the smoothing tools. The speed of Fixface tool is up to 12 m/min depending on the
aimed quality.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fuchs, Raatz, Peter and Pflüger - 125
Figure 1: Fixface module(Photo: IHD) Figure 2: Rollface unit (Photo: IHD)
Rollface is designed for continuous feed machinery (edge processing centre) (figure 2). The routed edge
is guided alongside several electrically-heated rollers – the required forces being produced by a counter –
pressure device. For the roller smoothing, the axes of the smoothing tools are electrically heated by means
of special heating cartridges. The hereby necessary constant temperature is obtained by a sensor with
powder regulator. The smoothing speed is higher in case of the roller smoothing than with Fixface,
because there is a number of 6 – 8 rollers, which smooth the edge. The tested speed of roller smoothing is
up to 40 m/min.
The thermosmoothing process smoothes the milled surface and increases the density on the surface. This
is a good basic for coating with liquid and powder lacquers. Another problem is the adhesion of coatings.
PROCESS PARAMETERS OF SMOOTHING OF DIFFERENT MDF

SMOOTHING WITH CNC-ROUTERS (FIXFACE)
The IHD studied some different types of MDF [2]. MDF of the categories
• Standard
• Deep milled (for profile milling)
• Conductive (for powder coating)
of different producers were checked.
The experimental design of the tests is shown in table 1. Figure 3 demonstrates the profile of the
smoothing tool.
Table 1: Experimental design of Fixeface-Tests
Pressure/preparation Smoothing
Type of MDF Speed [m/min]
[mm] temperature [°C]
Standard ST 300, 350, 400
Deep-milling TF 0,1; 0,15; 0,2; 0,25 3, 6, 9, 12 240, 300, 350
Conductive LF 240, 300, 350
20
1 2 ,5
There were 3 realisations of every type of MDF. The overall numbers of
test was 432.
The produced profiles (picture 4) were tested optically and hapticly by
40
people. There were 3 classes of quality (1 = very good, 2 = good, 3 =
low). The surface roughness of examples of every class was measured.
There was a good correlation between individual estimation and measured
roughness.
36,1
The results of the experiments are presented in figures 4-6 (last pages).
33
Figure 3: Profile of the smoothing tool
SMOOTHING WITH CONTINUOUS MACHINES (ROLLFACE)

Similarly tests were made by roller smoothing. The experimental design of the tests is in table 2.
Table 2: Experimental design of Rollface-Tests
Smoothing
Type of MDF Speed [m/min]
temperature [°C]
Standard ST
Deep-milling TF 10, 25, 40 300, 350, 400
Conductive LF
The results of individual estimation and surface measurement provide the following smoothing
parameters for the different types of MDF (table 3).
Table 3: Optimal parameters of roller smoothing
Type of MDF Quality Temperature [°C] speed [m/min]
Standard Very good (1) 350 10
Good (2) 350 – 400 25 – 40
Low (3) 300 40
Deep milled 1 350 – 400 10 – 25
2 350 – 400 25 – 40
3 300 40
Conductive 1 300 – 400 10 – 25
2 300 – 400 25 – 40
3 300 40
These tests were the basic of the subsequent coating test with different lacquers and powder lacquer.
COATING OF SMOOTHED MDF
WATER BASED LACQUERS
Water based lacquers produce some problems with coating of wood and wood materials, because the
swelling of water-contacted material downgraded the surface quality. Costly sanding processes before and
between the lacquer slides are necessary to produce a very smooth surface. It is usual to apply 4 or 5
layers to produce a good surface and not less than 2 sanding processes between the first layers. The
necessary drying processes are very costly too [4].
Different water lacquers, 1 PUR-water lacquer (3 layers), 1 UV-water lacquer (3 layers) and 1 Acryl-
water lacquer (2 layers) were tested.
All surfaces were tested including individual estimation, adhesion-test (Cross-cut), climate test ( humid
atmosphere, 40 °C, 85 % r.h, 3 weeks). The climate test is very hard, it is a pointer about the flexibility of
the coating, because the MDF swells from 4 to 8 % in this climate. This test is usual for kitchen- and
bathroom furniture.
The results of the edge profiles were good, the optic impression was convincing, the adhesion was only
little lower than by the sanded edge-profiles. The edge-profiles do not break in the climate test.
The results of the internal profiles were not so good. The optical impression and the adhesiveness were
not convincing. The test of adhesiveness with the cross-cut-method is not applicable for profiles which
are in the intermediate layer of the MDF. The density of MDF is in the intermediate layer so low that the
adhesiveness between the fibres is lower than the adhesiveness between the MDF-surface and the coating
layers.
Figure 7 presents the results of climate test of water-lacquer coated, smoothed and sanded components.
Figure 8 and 9 show the surfaces of edge and internal profiles.
Climate test of MDF (Producer A and B)

Relatively change of mass and thickness [%]
10,00
9,00
8,00
7,00
6,00
dm
5,00
dt
4,00
3,00
2,00
1,00
0,00
AT Sanded AT medium AT very BT sanded BT medium BT very
smoothed well smoothed well
smoothed smoothed
version
Figure 7: Change of mass and thickness of different processed components in wet climate
A, B = producer of the MDF, T = deep milled quality,
Figure 8: Micrograph of an edge profile Figure 9: Micrograph of an internal profile
(thermosmoothed and water (thermosmoothed and water
lacquer coated), Photo: Weiss, lacquer coated), Photo: Weiss,
IHD IHD
Additional components were coated with a 2 layer coat application. The top coat is always an acryl-water
lacquer, the basecoats are different (1 acryl/water based, 1 solvent based, 1 water based). The results are
very interesting. The test components demonstrate a better surface quality of the smoothed profiles, edge
profiles and internal profiles, in comparison to the sanded profiles. The effect is higher in case of
Standard-MDF than with Deep-milled MDF (figure 10).
a1 b1
a2 b2
Figure 10: Photo of internal profiles of sanded Standard (b1) and Deep-milled (a1) MDF and
thermosmoothed Standard (b2) and Deep-milled (a2) MDF, water lacquer coated (Photo:
Pflüger, IHD)
SOLVENT BASED LACQUER
Solvent based lacquers have very good useful properties but the are problematic with regard to
environmental properties. Furniture with high mechanical loads are often coated with solid lacquers. The
investigation of solvent based lacquer coated thermosmoothed surfaces should demonstrate the properties
of these surfaces and the possibilities to save lacquer layers.
Two different types of 2K-PUR-lacquer were checked. They usually should consist of 4 or 5 layers. The
test was carried out using the original design. Subsequently, the number of the layers was reduced. As the
result, 4 versions of every lacquer were tested (table 4).
Table 4: Versions of different PUR-lacquer configurations
2K-PUR-lacquer 2K-PUR-lacquer
A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4
type A type B
Primer X X Primer X
Base coat X X reduced Primer X X
Coloured lacquer X X X X Base coat X X X
Top coat X X X X Base coat X X X X
Top coat X X X X
The test components had edge profiles and internal profiles that were processed in different ways (figure
11). The tests were the same as with water based lacquers. They demonstrate the possibility to save one
layer (primer) of lacquer by thermosmoothed surfaces. The results differ with respect to the different
materials (Standard MDF, Deep milled MDF). The effect of thermosmoothing convinced in case of
Standard MDF. The results of the tests are summarised in table 5 (Standard MDF) and 6 (Deep milled
MDF).
Sanded edge
profile Thermo-
smoothed
edge profile
Milled High quality

profile thermo-
smoothed
profile
Sanded Medium quality smoothed
profile profile
Figure 11: Test component
Table 5: Results of thermosmoothed surfaces (Standard MDF) coated with solvent-based lacquers
Demonstration Cross cut Climate test
Version Optical Cross cut - Change
Position Position Position
estimation value [%]
A1 148,0 1 11 1 3,61 1
A2 152,5 2 19 2 4,67 2
A3 170,8 3 22,5 4 6,14 3
A4 198,75 4 21 3 6,85 3
B1 134,25 2 10,5 1 6,13 1
B2 137,75 3 15,5 2 7,2 2
B3 127,75* 1 22,5 3 7,55 3
B4 195,5 4 28 4 10,71 4
*) This value is an outlier, it is not explicable
Table 6: Results of thermosmoothed surfaces (Deep milled MDF) coated with solvent-based
lacquers
Demonstration Cross cut Climate test
Version Optical Cross cut - Change
Position Position Position
estimation value [%]
A1 104,25 1 8,5 1 4,11 1
A2 106,2 2 10,5 2 4,61 2
A3 107,5 3 19 4 5,56 3
A4 152,75 4 15 3 8,56 4
B1 101,75 1 7,5 1 4,87 1
B2 106,25 2 10 2 19,42 4
B3 111,5 3 25 3 12,84 3
B4 127,0 4 26 4 11,39 2
The Tables 5 and 6 demonstrate that the Deep milled MDF provides a better optical impression. The
results of the climate tests of Deep milled MDF are below Standard MDF because they have a higher
density.
Version A1 and A2 as well as B1 and B2 are similar in all points. This led to the conclusion that it is
possible to save one lacquer layer.
POWDER COATING
The powder coating of MDF is a new possibility of coating MDF. The powder coating of metals is well-
known for more than 40 years. But metals are very good conductive materials with a high temperature
resistance. The conductivity of MDF is very low, it depends on its humidity. The temperature resistance of
MDF is low. For powder coating of MDF it is necessary to produce a special conductive MDF with an
equable density and a powder lacquer with low melting temperature. In principle there are two different
types of powder lacquer – low bake smelting powder lacquer and UV-powder lacquer [5, 6]. Here only
low bake (LB) powder were tested.
The tests demonstrate a better (smoother) surface of coated thermosmoothed profiles (figure 12). There
are not much defects (bubbles, scratches, cracks) in the lacquer layer than in case of sanded surfaces. The
thickness of the powder layer is more even since the powder does not diffuse in to the surface.
Figure 13: Powdercoated MDF surfaces a) thermosmoothed, b) sanded (Photo: Pflüger, IHD)
The results of the climate tests are not ambiguous. Some thermosmoothed powder coated components had
a better climate durability (figure 13) but these results were unreproducible.
Climate test of MDF (Producer B and C)
1,60
CC sanded
1,40
change of thickness [mm]
1,20 CC very good

smoothed
1,00
CC middle smoothed
0,80
CC little smoothed
0,60
0,40 BC sanded
0,20 BC very good

smoothed
0,00
BC middle smoothed
25.10 4.11 14.11 24.11
date of test
Figure 13: Change of thickness of powdercoated, differently processed components in wet

climate(Conductive MDF)
RESULTS
Thermosmoothing is a very interesting procedure of finishing MDF profiles. Particularly it provides a big
benefit for edge profiles. The coated surfaces have a better quality and it is possible to save some coating
layers depending on the quality target.
Different types of MDF need different processing conditions (temperature, speed) to smooth the surface
in an accurately defined way. It is easy to determine these parameters. There are guidelines for parameter
determination. It makes sense to start with lower temperatures ( Fixface: 240 °C by conductive MDF, 300
°C by Standard or Deep milled MDF; Rollface: 300 °C for all MDF) and go up in steps of 10 °C. The
lowest speed is 3 m/min for Fixface and 10 m/min for Rollface, the steps are 3 m/min for Fixface and
5m/min for Rollface.
It is possible to coat thermosmoothed surfaces with different lacquers (water-based, solvent-based,
powder coating) and foils. It is possible to save lacquer layers and, in this connection, material, energy
and work time for handling and sanding of components with respect to the quality target.
LITERATURE
[1] Rehm, Klaus and Christoph Raatz: Developing of dust-free finishing processes for industry
Proceeding of the 17th IWMS, 2005, Rosenheim, p. 495 – 501
[2] Fuchs, Ingrid; Raatz, Christoph; Peter, Michael und Thorsten Pflüger: Einfluss technologischer
Parameter auf das Glättergebnis bei unterschiedlichen MDF-Qualitäten. Thermoface und
Beschichtungen in der Anwendung, IHD-Kolloquium 22.-23.09.2005, Dresden (Tagungsband)
[3] Sandig, Claus and Christoph Raatz: Smoothing of Profiles with Friction Tools. International
Conference on Woodworking Technologies. Ligna´93, Hannover
[4] Porzelt, R.: Wasserlack auf MDF. dds, Stuttgart 106(2006)11, S.58-59
[4] Fuchs, Ingrid: Powder coating: Fundamentals. International Wood Academy, Hamburg, 26.09.2006
[5] Bauch, Helmut: Powder Coatings of Wood Based Materials: Technologies, Benefits and
Performance. Symposium IMP, Warsow, 2002
Standard MDF
Quality
Qualität
3
A
3
Producer
Hersteller
B
3
C
3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12
300°C 350°C 400°C
v [m/min]
Figure 5: Smoothing quality of Standard MDF (different producer) in depend of temperature and
speed
Deep milled MDF
Quality
Qualität
3
A
3
Hersteller
Producer
B
3
D
3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12
240°C 300°C 350°C
v [m/min]
Figure 6: Smoothing quality of Deep milled MDF (different producer) in depend of temperature
and speed
Conductive MDF
Quality
Qualität
3
A
3
Hersteller
B
2
Producer
3
C
3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12 3 6 9 12
240°C 300°C 350°C
v [m/min]
Figure 7: Smoothing quality of different conductive MDF in depend of temperature and speed
Simulation of the Effectivity of Suction Hoods
Heisel, Uwe; Dressler, Martin

Institute for Machine Tools
University of Stuttgart
Holzgartenstr. 17,
D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany
heisel@ifw.uni-stuttgart.de
martin.dressler@ifw.uni-stuttgart.de
ABSTRACT
The examination of the chip trajectory of wood particles under real-life cutting conditions laid the base
for simulating suction hoods as early as in the design phase thanks to a flow simulation program and a
particle calculation program developed in the course of this thesis. In order to achieve this goal, a initial
basic examination of the individual parameters affecting the particle trajectory was carried out. It was
determined that some of these parameters could be left aside due to their insignificant impact on the
trajectory.
In-depth experiments were conducted for the relevant parameters affecting the trajectory and the
properties of wood particles of selected materials. They included the behaviour of chips ejected from the
tool, the air resistance coefficient of the chip particles, the behaviour of chips upon their impact on a
suction hood panel and the chip size distributions resulting from using different processing methods and
materials.
For each examination, a careful assessment was made as to which models and mathematical
approximations would serve best to process the measured values in a simulation program, often
investigating and comparing several approaches.
Finally, the findings of the examinations were implemented into a simulation program in a two-step
process. This simulation program is independent of the flow calculation program used and may therefore
be used universally together with any common flow calculation program.
INTRODUCTION
This article focuses on examining and simulating the characteristics of the trajectory of wood chips. A
simulation calculation is an excellent, currently not used means to combine a good chip capture rate with
low follow-up costs and low energy consumption of the capturing device on the one hand with an
effective, cost-efficient and short development period of the equipment on the other hand. A major goal of
this thesis is to establish and provide suitable data which will facilitate an FEM calculation of the chip
capturing process based on a flow simulation program. The necessary data is gathered during sample
cutting operations and converted into a mathematical format which can be processed by computers.
EXTERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
First of all, the different variables affecting trajectory calculation were estimated in a spreadsheet by
means of a parameter variation. The result confirmed that the main factors influencing chip trajectory are
air resistance coefficient and air speed. Figure 1 shows the impact of the different factors affecting the
length of a particle’s trajectory (at a height of fall = 1m), calculated as a horizontal trajectory in a
horizontal environmental air flow.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Heisel and Dressler - 135
The number of examined materials was limited to the two most important types of board material (particle
boards and medium density fibre or “MDF” boards) and one hardwood (beech) and coniferous wood
(spruce) type, respectively. Many other materials are based on these materials. Laminated boards, e.g.
have characteristics similar to those of solid wood.
Figure 1: Influencing variables
An important influencing factor is the produced chip size of the chip mix with different materials and
processing methods. Figure 2 shows the identified chip size distributions. The high percentage of fine
dust with MDF boards is a particularly striking finding. The other values of chip size distribution are in
line with normal Gaussian distribution.
Figure 2: Chip size distributions
For the examination of the air resistance coefficient, a tower was built, enabling the chips to be examined
in an equilibrium under floating conditions. Since it is not possible to realize exactly the same air speed
over the whole cross section, the chips do not get into a static floating condition. To measure the floating
speed nevertheless, the test time has to be chosen sufficiently long. If the test time of a speed level is
chosen long enough, it is then assumed that the chips may leave the pipe at the top roughly with floating
speed. After leaving the pipe, the chips are collected in a funnel and can be weighed out. Figure 3 shows
the test stand for measuring the air resistance coefficient.
Figure 3: Test facility for measuring the air resistance coefficient
The air resistance coefficient is calculated using the following equation 1, including floating speed, chip
weight and chip cross-section area.
2⋅m⋅ g
cW = (1)
ρ Luft ⋅ v s2 ⋅ A
If the measured air resistance coefficients are related to the Reynolds number, different approximation
equations for the air resistance of the particles results for different materials and processing methods (see
figure 4).
Figure 4: Air resistance coefficients in relation to the Reynolds number
The test set-up for determining the chip reflection on a solid wall was put up on a spindle moulding
machine. The chips were produced with a milling cutter and directed through a metal sheet onto a solid
wall in a defined way. This wall was pivoted in order to examine different angles of impact. The
rebounding chips were collected with a grid of collection tanks. The weighing of the tanks revealed the
distribution of the chips after the rebound. Figure 5 shows the test facility.
Figure 5: Test facility for determining the chip reflection
The impact on a simulated hood panel was examined by means of a high-speed camera, including
measurements of the chip speed before and after the collision with the panel as well as impact and
rebound angles. Different impact angles result in different rebound angle distributions. The different
rebound angles cannot be transformed into a reasonable mathematical approximation function. The
measured data for this parameter must be transferred directly to the simulation calculation. However,
when calculating the mean value from all percentage values of chip speed difference before and after the
impact on the panel, a clear linear correlation with the reduced rebound speed can be determined. Figure 6
shows this correlation.
Figure 6: Rebound speed reduction in percent
A further test stand was designed to examine the ejection probability of the chips in the periphery of a
tool. Once again a grid was placed around a tool. Then cutting tests were carried out with the tool for
different materials. Directly after leaving the chip space, the chips were directed into the collection tanks.
They could be weighed out at the end of the tests.
RESULTS
The final part of this paper deals with formulating a simulation calculation for the individual chips. The
flow simulation model with its calculated air speed values at the model’s nodes is incorporated into this
simulation calculation. This data is used to calculate the trajectory of individual chips across the model,
taking the rebound angle distribution at the panel into account my means of a probability calculation.
When looking at the chips which leave the model through the suction pipe and other design-related
apertures, the chip capture rate finally determined by calculation is affected by the design of the suction
unit. Figure 7 shows the software developed during the chip trajectory calculation.
Figure 7: Chip trajectory calculation
DISCUSSION
A simulation calculation of the chip capture processes in a suction hood does not constitute a complete
examination of the chip trajectory simulation. Other applications with additional issues to examine, e.g.
wear on suction hoods and tool bodies, is also conceivable. This, however, presupposes results of further
testing, e.g. of the mechanical impact energy and abrasiveness of chips. Generally, chip trajectory
simulation may be used successfully in the following areas:
• Calculating chip ejection from the tool
• Calculating suction hood wear due to abrasive particles
• Calculating tool body wear due to abrasive particles
• Preventing double cutting by the tool
• Optimising critical processing operations (for example grooves in synchronous milling)

Even today various programs for flow simulation can calculate the transition from rotating systems such
as tools or ventilating fans to stationary systems such as suction hoods. By calculating the tool and
transferring the results to the flow model of the suction hood, it can be omitted to measure the air speed
around the tool. In this way, tools that are still in the development phase can be simulated as well. By
means of calculating the flow of the air speeds within the chip space of the tool itself, it is possible to
optimize the chip removal from the tool through simulation calculations. In addition to the previously
measured values, the speed and direction of the chips must be determined directly at the tool edge for that.
This can be done by means of high-speed images. With these initial conditions and the flow calculation in
the chip space, it is possible to establish the trajectory of the individual chips in the tool itself. If
additionally calculating the flight time of the particle in the chip space, it can be determined at which
place on the tool periphery the chip leaves the tool and enters the suction hood. If, on top of that, the exit
angle of the chip when leaving the model with rotating coordinates is transferred now and transformed
into the stationary model of the hood, then the examination of the chips' ejection from the tool is
unnecessary as well.
Occurring again and again in practice are suction hoods that were really "shot through" by siliceous
particles in the chips from the surface layer or the board itself after a short amount of time. However, the
machine designers often do not know beforehand at which places this increased wear will occur. Hence it
cannot be said at which places the suction hood must be particularly safeguarded or reinforced by means
of reinforced metal sheets or further measures. Figure 8 shows the probability with which the chips
impinge on the hood wall in a simulation calculation. If connecting these results with the particle mass,
impact velocity and impact angle of the chips, it is possible to generate a load of the suction hood as
added impact energy.
Figure 8: Depiction of the impact energy of chip particles on the suction hood wall (left), worn
suction hood (right)
Wear problems, which may lead up to the failure of the tool or the breakout of cutting edges, occur on
tool bodies in the field of tool development. Figure 9 shows an example from the practice of laminate
machining. In this case the life of the tool body was shorter than the life of the tool cutting edges. Thus
the potential of the expensive diamond cutting tool material could not be exploited completely. Here a
simulation of the particle impact energies in the calculation of the chip flight in the chip space of the tool
may also lead to important findings about the tool wear behaviour to be expected.
Figure 9: Worn tool of a laminate panel dividing saw
A badly designed suction hood may be another problem for short tool lives. For instance, cases are known
where the distance of the suction hood clearly prolonged the tool life. Double cutting due to badly
designed suction hoods is based on the chips being thrown back from the hood wall into the tool.
Depending on where the tool cutting edge is just at this moment, the chip impinges on the cutting edge
again and causes another unnecessary load of the cutting edge due to chips that actually have left the tool
already.
By simulating the chips in the chip space of the tool, it is possible to improve chip removal as early as in
the design phase, in the case of well-known tool concepts. A far more interesting case is, however, the
opportunity to look for tool concepts for cutting problems, for which no acceptable solution could be
found by conventional means up to now. Down milling with satisfactory removal of chips may be
mentioned as an example here. Up to now it has not been possible to find a solution here, through the
design of the tool or the chip space, to lift the chips so far out of the produced groove that they can be
collected. To date the units for down milling in continuous machines have reached only very insufficient
degrees of chip collection. Moreover, the produced grooves get blocked up with chips and must be
cleaned laboriously.
SUMMARY
The investigation into the chip flight of wood particles under real cutting conditions created the basis for
simulating suction hoods as early as in the design phase, by means of a flow simulation program and a
particle calculation program developed within the scope of this work.
The Router Moulder Story
Jackson, Mike R.
m.r.jackson@lboro.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
This paper introduces the revolutionary Router Moulder that was conceived in the 1970s and produced in
quantity during the 1980s by Wadkin plc. The technical story has never been reported. This paper
provides an outline of this unique machine. The thinking behind this machine and the technological
challenges are outlined together with selected solutions. This technology pre-dates some of the current
woodworking innovations by 25 years. Many of the machines produced in the 1980s are still giving
excellent service today.
Keywords: wood moldings, tooling, single knife finish, high speed machining
INTRODUCTION
In 1976 a group of engineers and salesmen led by the then chairman of Wadkin plc, Mr Bill Sims OBE,
embarked on journey to realise a radical solution to the problem of achieving higher output speeds and
high quality machined timber surfaces from timber moulding (profiling) machinery. The solution was
based on the technique of single knife finish – accepting that only one cutter leaves a surface wave mark
on the resulting machined timber surface. This approach uses two diametrically opposed cutters for
balance, the second cutter removes material but leaves no surface wave. Rotating the cutter at high
angular velocities allows increased timber feed speeds for the normal range of wave mark pitches (1-2
mm) as well as producing a smoother texture on the surface of the timber. This approach was
fundamentally different to the established technique of jointing 4 or more cutters to a common cutting
circle to allow nominally equal width wave marks at higher timber feed speeds. Whilst jointing was
widely applied to planing machines, it was difficult to apply to profiled timber sections due to the
difficulty of matching the jointing stone shape to the cutter shape . This paper describes the technological
development of the unique Router Moulder.
BACKGROUND
There were some psychological barriers to increasing cutterhead rotational speeds. Koberle [1] stipulated
that 40 m/sec was a recommended cutting velocity for good surface texture and speeds above this were to
be avoided. This was based on old work but was also the view of Kivimaa [2] and also Koch [3,4]. These
three researchers had carried out the majority of the timber machining research throughout the 1930s and
1950s. This work led the industry to believe that 40 m/sec was a safe maximum cutting velocity. Whilst
many researchers and practitioners had experience that increased cutting velocity could reduce tear out
and generally improve surface texture, there was apprehension about the effect on tool life, bearing life,
tooling strength and noise levels as well as the resulting timber surface quality. At least two woodworking
machinery manufacturers were investigating and producing limited quantity planer moulders with high
spindle speeds in the 1950s [5]. This technology did not achieve strong sales, partly because these were
exotic and expensive engineering solutions at the time. It is questionable [5: page 164] whether the higher
speeds of 14,400 rpm were widely used in practise since a choice of lower speeds was possible. Figure 1
shows the output possible via the single knife finish approach for given surface wave pitch and specific
rotational speed based on equation (1) where N=1 for single knife finish.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Jackson - 143

V = p.N .n (1)
where:
p is the surface wave pitch (mm)
V is the work piece feed velocity (mm per minute)
N is the number of cutting edges
n is the angular velocity of the cutter head (rpm)
Single knife finish (SKF) at 24,000 rpm would give the same wave pitch quality and feed speed as a
conventional four knife jointed cutterhead running at 6,000 rpm. However this was deemed too risky by
Wadkin, given that the maximum single knife finish speed at the time (1976) was 9,000 rpm. The
compromise was 15,000 rpm, providing 2.5 times the 6,000 rpm SKF output and 1.6 times the 9,000 rpm
output.
80
70 6000 rpm
15000 rpm
60
Feed speed (m/min)
24000 rpm
50
2π (2)
40 V = rpm. .R
60
30
R = cutting radius (m)
20
10
0
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3
Wave pitch (mm)
Figure 1: SKF Spindle Speed and Feed Speed
Wadkin had an established background in both metal cutting machine tools and also woodworking
machine tools. The company’s long tradition in router head design for high speed machining of
aluminium in the aerospace sector had provided a knowledge base second to none. Given this, the
company felt confident that the router head technology (frequency changers, high motor power ~20 KW)
could be transferred into a woodworking ‘Router Moulder’ that could provide fast set up and much higher
production rates for short runs (~500-5,000 metres) of customer controlled profiles. This requirement had
profound implications for tooling, tool grinding and for the Router Moulder machine. The router head
experience to date in the metalworking industry had involved machining of timber, plastics and aerospace
grades of aluminium with relatively small diameter cutters (~50 mm). The introduction of user generated
profiles on individual cutters raised the base tool cutting circle diameter to the relatively large value of
100 mm. The profiling depth of 15 mm increased the cutting circle further to 130 mm. This new Router
Moulder tooling system extended all the design and operational experience well in excess of the current
operational boundaries. Equation (2) can be used to calculate the peripheral cutting velocity at the tool tip.
Later tooling revisions increased the base cutting circle diameter to 110 mm taking the maximum
profiling diameter up to 150 mm. Figure 2 shows how the cutting velocity changes with rotational speed
for the second tooling revision case. The cutting velocity of the new router moulder was of the order of
125 m/sec as compared to 40 m/sec for established woodmachining technology. This represented a
significant increase in both cutting velocity and also potential improvements in the surface quality of
machined timber.

200.0
180.0
Cutting velocity (metres/sec)

160.0
140.0
120.0 R=0.075 m
100.0 R=0.055 m
80.0 R=0.013 m
60.0
2π (2)
40.0 V = rpm. .R
60
20.0
R = cutting radius (m)
0.0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000
Spindle speed (rpm)
Figure 2: Cutting velocity changes with rotational speed and cutting radius
The design philosophy for the first Router Moulders was partly influenced by machine tool experience
and resulted in a radical departure from the slideway across the machine approach of previous machines
such as the FB and FDB. The latter was an emulation of the historical world beater – the 4” FD, a profiler
of high pedigree. In contrast on the Router Moulder, the main horizontal head vertical slideways were
arranged parallel to the timber feed direction, a design feature not previously applied by Wadkin, even on
conventional lower speed machines. Another factor of greater significance was the use of machine tool
type location systems for the cutting tools. A 40 degree International machine tool taper location system
was used as shown in Figure 3. This was a radical departure, especially for horizontal spindle
arrangements which had not been used in machine tools because all routers were of a vertical spindle
arrangement. The horizontal router heads projected from the front of the machine frame which made for a
lower cost arrangement but introduced setting up difficulties. If the Router Moulder had been fitted with
(the later available) full CNC setting facilities this would have been a lesser issue. As it was, traditional
moulder operators were put off by this unconventional arrangement. However, for this fledgling Router
Moulder there were a number of fundamental technical engineering issues which initially seemed
insurmountable.
Figure 3: 40° International taper router head and tooling

NOISE ISSUES
Woodworking machinery is well known for high levels of acoustic noise generation. The noisiest machine
in the Wadkin range in the late 1970s was the 9” FB running at 9,000 rpm producing 110 dB(A) at 1
metre from the machine footprint. The prototype Router Moulder produced 130 dB(A) – the equivalent of
three 747 Aircraft taking off simultaneously. The nature of the noise spectrum is shown diagrammatically
in figure 4. The fundamental peak at 500 Hz is due to the two blades of the tooling running at 15,000 rpm
(250 Hz). The two other peaks at 1000 Hz and 1500 Hz are the first and second harmonics of the
fundamental. This volume of noise is produced by the large flat area of the tooling blade that contains the
customer generated profile. The high power and fairly low frequency makes this type of noise energy
difficult to contain in any sound enclosure. Wadkin had the aim to introduce a new generation of planning
and moulding machines with close fitting sound enclosures with main controls accessible from outside
the machine to aid run time adjustments. In order to realise this goal with the Router Moulder the noise
had to be reduced at source in particular the lower frequency noise content.
Figure 4: Prototype Router Moudler Noise Spectrum

Figure 5 : Segmental Tooling and associated Noise Spectrum
A novel solution was produced by splitting up the desired cutter profile into a series of segments mounted
in thin cutter bodies as shown in figure 5. Each segment is staggered around the periphery of the
cutterhead to break up the sound pressure generation. The shapes on each cutter segment are ground on a
template following grinding machine.
Figure 6: Router Moulder Prototype Close Fitting Sound Enclosure

The noise spectrum produced by the segmental tooling system approach reduces the blade passing
frequency fundamental so that a close fitting sound enclosure can reduce the level further to the legal
limit of the time (1980) of 90 dB(A). This was achieved by this combined approach. The prototype Router
Moulder sound enclosure was originally built from steel frame, 20 mm thick chipboard lined with noise
absorbing acoustic foam 50 mm thick. The enclosure was arranged so that the front could be opened to
reveal all of the controls. During this mode of operation the router head speed was reduced to 3000 rpm
for reduced noise whilst adjustments were carried out. Once the prototype enclosure had been evaluated
and found to be successful, the units were manufactured in Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GRP) with
chipboard and foam lining. By colouring the enclosure gel coat yellow the high visibility safety enclose
was also born.
Figure 7: Mk1 Production Noise Enclosures
VIBRATION ISSUES
The rolling element ball bearings of the design shown in figure 3 lasted approximately 20 minutes during
the first running test with the 40° International tooling. This was a disaster and not expected. After some
detailed investigation of manufacturing capability it emerged that the established 40° International tool
grinding and machine spindle taper grinding were such that it was not possible to ensure that the centre of
mass of the rotating cutter and spindle system could be located better that 25 μm eccentricity. The
significance is that machine vibration is increased and rolling element bearing life is reduced due to
higher imbalance loads. Consideration of some basic facts reveals that, assuming acceptable spindle
balance, tooling masses of typically 10 kg eccentric by 25 μm and 15,000 rpm operation lead to the
significant forces given by equation (3):
Fimb = M × e × ω 2 (3)
where:
Fimb is the imbalance force (N)
M is cutterhead mass (kg)
e is mass eccentricity (metres)
ω is cutterhead angular velocity (rad/sec)

Figure 8 shows the non-linear increase in imbalance force as spindle speed is increased for a 10 kg mass
eccentric by 25 μm. The force at 18,000 rpm is nine times the force at 6,000 rpm indicating how critical
imbalance control must be for higher speed operation. Whilst the rolling element bearings can support
these high loads, longevity is seriously compromised. More importantly these bearings were lubricated
with high technology aerospace grease but even this could not support the high radial loads due to the
high imbalance and high rotational speeds.
1800
1600
Imbalance force (Newtons)
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Rotational Speed (rpm)
Figure 8: Effect of rotational speed on imbalance force (10 kg mass eccentric by 25 μm)
Figure 9 shows the influence on cutterhead imbalance caused by increased eccentric running of various
cutterhead masses at 15000 rpm. The effect of reducing cutterhead mass and eccentric running is linear
and indicates that a 25 fold increase in imbalance force is possible for the 10 kg mass when eccentric by
50 μm, as compared with the 2.5 kg mass eccentric by 5 μm. Whilst choosing lighter tool body materials
will help reduce imbalance forces there is a trade off against the required tool body strength which must
support the centrifugally induced stresses, especially at the higher rotational speeds.
1400
1200
2.5 kg
5.0 kg
Imbalance force (Newtons)
1000
7.5 kg
10.0 kg
800
600
400
200
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Cutterhead eccentricity (um)
Figure 9: Effect of Cutterhead Eccentricity and Mass on Imbalance Forces at 15000 rpm

The solution to this imbalance and vibration problem was multi-faceted, but primarily focused on
reducing the eccentricity of the rotating tooling. The approach adopted utilised emerging technology from
the Swedish aerospace sector via the ETP company. A range of Hydrogrip tooling sleeves was already
being marketed and used by Wadkin. ETP were a natural partner to make the low profile sleeve required
for the Router Moulder. Figure 10 shows a revised router head design utilising a 30 mm diameter plane
spindle on to which the Hydrogrip sleeve was fitted. The segmental tooling system, comprising a number
of discs on the same Hydrogrip sleeve was centred on the spindle when the sleeve was pressurised to 650
bar via grease gun. This improved tooling imbalance considerably, to an eccentricity of typically 5 µm
and also because the imbalance component associated with cutter position location was now distributed
angularly around the periphery of the cutterhead assembly. This disc based tooling approach also created
a form of vibration damper to help smooth running at these high speeds, especially during run up and run
down situations where rotor resonances were encountered. With the new spindle, Hydrogrip sleeve and
segmental tooling system the router head bearing life exceeded 2000 hrs in practical machining. This was
considered acceptable given the high level of service support available and the performance of the
machine in terms of high volume production of high quality timber profiles.
Figure 10: Router head with 30 mm diameter tooling spindle
130R ROUTER MOULDER

The 130R Router Moulder utilised the 30 mm diameter spindle router heads, Hydrogrip sleeves and
segmental tooling mounted on a new modular machine construction. Pre dressing 6000 rpm belt driven
spindles were provided, again in a number of different head configurations. Whilst this modularity of
construction gave the sales force almost unlimited options to put before a customer, it created significant
production problems and hidden costs. Despite this a 1980s 4 belt driven head, 5 router head 130 R
Router Moulder would sell for £70,000 and was profitable. Figure 11 shows a 130R in a furniture factory
in the UK. The compact nature of the GRP noise enclosure and the striking yellow colour was an
immediate success with progressive woodworking companies.

Figure 11: 130R in operation
170R ROUTER MOULDER

The success of the 130R and the increasing demands from customers in the high quality joinery market
produced a wider version of the router Moulder, the 170R. Whilst the 130R had been deliberately
conceived for use without outboard bearings, the 170R was designed from the outset with this in mind.
The arrangement in figure 12 shows the degree of complexity in this direct drive high speed spindle unit.
The router head outboard bearing was of a matched double angular contact type supported by a Hydrogrip
outboard bearing sleeve to ensure true running and stability during cutting. In addition to the segmental
tooling range the 170R used a small diameter (100 mm) Hydrogrip cutterhead for planing operations. The
machine was not only an immediate success with joinery manufacturers but the strip mouldings
manufacturers also became interested in sales because the extra width provided the possibility of
additional processing at one pass through the machine (e.g. for dowelling). Figure 13 shows a 170R in
action in the Netherlands during the mid 1980s.
XR130
By the mid 1980s the Router Moulder market was reducing simply because of increased costs of these
exotic machines. The technology advance that Wadkin had over the competition meant that the
engineering team could look at lower cost ways of achieving 130R type outputs on a number of limited
head configurations based on a low cost machine – the GA. From this base the XR130 15000 rpm belt
driven spindle technology emerged to not only produce a high performance machine at a highly
competitive price, but also produce a highly profitable machine for Wadkin.
Figure 12: 170R Router Head Unit

Figure 13: 170R in operation
CONCLUSION
The Router Moulder was one of the most significant innovations for both Wadkin plc and the
woodworking industry. Sales were made widely in the UK and also to the Netherlands, France, Germany
and USA during the 1980s. Many of these machines are still in production today, fulfilling an active role
in quick set up fast response short batch production machining of timber profiles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge all of the people at Wadkin plc, Leicester, England and all of the
external suppliers of components and equipment that made the Router Moulder such a ground breaking
success.
REFERENCES
10. Koberle, J., ''Richtlinien fur die Wahl wirtschaftlicher Tourenzahlen an Kehl- und Frasmaschinen'',
Bern 1935. (Separatdruck aus der Technischen Rundschau, Bern, Nrn. 44, 45, 47, 48, Jahrgang
1935.).
11. Kivimaa, E., Cutting Forces in Woodworking, PhD Thesis, University of Helsinki, 1950.
12. Koch, P., An Analysis of the Lumber Planing Process: Part I, Forest Products Journal, August 1955,
pp 255-264.
13. Koch, P., An Analysis of the Lumber Planing Process: Part II, Forest Products Journal, Vol. 6, Part 10,
October 1956, pp 393-402.
14. Simms, W. L., “Two Hundred Years of History and Evolution of Woodworking Machinery”.
Published in 1985 by Walders Press, Burton Lazars, Leicester LE14 2UH, England.

Wood Machining Center with Parallel Kinematic for
High Performance Cutting and Workpiece Handling
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Loohß, Torsten; Armbrecht, Christian

Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF)
Technical University of Braunschweig
Langer Kamp 19 B, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
h.hoffmeister@tu-bs.de, t.loohss@iwf.ing.tu-bs.de, c.armbrecht@tu-bs.de
ABSTRACT
The task of the work presented in this paper is the development of a machining center for wood working
on the basis of a parallel kinematic. In contrast to the conventionally used serial machine structures whose
kinematic elements are arranged one after another, parallel concepts have a higher structural stiffness
within lower moved masses. This affects the attainable machining precision and especially the
acceleration capability in a positive way. The main advantage of the kinematic concept follows from the
linkage’s ability to snap through and thus to use two different working configurations, which results in an
extension of the working area.
A basic element to raise the productivity of the machine is the function of workpiece handling which is
integrated into the parallel structure. By the use of a vacuum gripper, a fully-automated continuous flow
production is implemented, which includes pick-up, transport and commissioning of the workpieces. Due
to the linkage’s ability to snap through, an alternating as well as a flowing processing of the workpieces is
realizable. A further main focus of the concept is the integration of an optimized system for dust removal
into the parallel structure. Therefore, especially developed suction hoods as well as a fluidic advantageous
suction channel, which is placed into one of both linkage arms and which assures a low-loss dust and chip
removal, are applied. The design of the kinematic components aims at a high modularity and at an
application of modern lightweight principles and materials. For instance aluminum and carbon fiber
reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used.
The application area of the machine is primarily the complete processing of workpieces, especially in
furniture production. As a result of the integration of a handling device into the machine concept,
furthermore the »Nesting« function, which enables a multitude of shapes to be cut out of a large panel,
can easily be applied. With the help of a novel discrete event simulation it is possible to show that
production times could be reduced by more than 50% due to the high acceleration and velocity of the
structure in combination with high speed cutting (HSC).
Keywords: Furniture Production, Handling, Machine Tool, Simulation, Wood Machining
INTRODUCTION
Besides mass- or serial production, an increasing trend towards high individuality, functionality and
quality of products becomes apparent in industrial furniture production. This leads to a production with
batch sizes becoming smaller and smaller up to a batch-size-1 production. Under these circumstances the
request for new robot wood machining centers is of major importance. To keep up with changing trends,
shorter product life cycles and increasing demands, wood machining centers with high flexibility will
come to the fore [1, 2].
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hoffmeister, Loohß, Armbrecht - 153
In order to gain a better productivity the operating speeds have to be increased. The ability of parallel
kinematic machines (PKM) to mount all drives in the frame or near to the frame results in low moved
masses allowing high operating speeds and accelerations [3]. Due to the fact that the end effector is
supported by several guiding chains, further advantages are a high structural stiffness and a modular
design with standard elements. In particular a wood machining center based on a closed kinematic chain
offers the possibility to reduce the process mean time. Combined with high speed cutting (HSC) process
technology, this leads to an improved efficiency of the wood machining centers.
Nevertheless, by decreasing the process mean time the non-productive time cannot be neglected. Thus,
the ratio between mean time and non-productive time for high speed machining processes will be inverted
[4]. In this case, the handling of the workpieces as well as the cleaning of the workroom have to be
optimized. A possible solution is to integrate both the machining as well as the handling device into the
parallel kinematic structure. Thus, the new wood machining concept ParaBAZ presented in this paper can
be used as a combined machine including not only the manufacturing but also the machine feeding itself.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A NEW MACHINE CONCEPT

The machining center is supposed to enable a complete machining of wooden workpieces both on their
broad surfaces and on their small sides (edges). This includes particularly the production processes
milling, sawing and drilling in horizontal as well as in vertical direction. Besides the integration of an
optimized dust and chip removal system with suction hoods that are adapted to the tool, a device for the
handling of the workpiece shall be integrated in the parallel kinematic basic structure. Further, a fully
automated tool change shall be possible within the production process.
The integrated handling device is supposed to enable high flexibility, especially in batch-size-1
production. Therefore, the machine must possess a preferably large workspace. An enlargement of the
workspace shall be attained by a configuration change of the parallel kinematic basic structure.
Furthermore, the high flexibility of the concept allows an application of the so called “nesting” function.
The “nesting” function in machining centers enables a multitude of shapes to be cut out of a large panel,
so that the off-cut size is minimized.
The machine ought to have a workspace of about 4 m × 1.5 m. The required axis- and path accelerations
in the x-y-plane should amount to 1g at least, the maximum axis-velocity in x-direction should add up to
160 m/min. Due to very good dynamical machine behavior and the functional integration, a reduction of
at least 20% of the mean time and non-productive time in the production process shall be achieved. In this
regard, the verification and validation of the machine concept will be carried out by means of the
examination of a cabinet body, a typical example for furniture industry.
KINEMATIC STRUCTURE
The starting point for the development of the kinematic structure is the definition of the necessary degrees
of freedom (d.o.f.) F of the mechanism and the number k of guiding chains. Furthermore, one has to
distinguish between two types of kinematic structures: (a) hybrid structures in which at least one serial
chain is included, or (b) full parallel structures with one drive per sub chain. In general, hybrid parallel
structures have a better mobility but lower rigidity compared to fully parallel ones. Taking this into
account, a hybrid concept with a planar parallel (sub) structure is chosen. Thus the number of guiding-
chains of the basic structure is greater than the d.o.f. of the whole mechanism. On this condition the
Grübler or Kutzbach formula for calculating the d.o.f. of spatial mechanisms can be derived for basic
parallel structures [5].
∑f
i
i = F + 6 (k − 1) (1)
There k denotes the number of guiding-chains, Σ fi the sum of joint d.o.f. and F the d.o.f. of the
mechanism itself. Considering the structural classification every known parallel mechanism can be
carried back to these basic structures. The possibilities of distributing the degrees of freedom of the joints
are given schematically in Figure 1. The resulting first concept of the mechanism is called kinematic
scheme. Here a symmetric design with two branches and two degrees of freedom for the high dynamic
planar motion is realized.
Figure 1: Structure synthesis [5]
In the next step, choosing the appropriate drives and joints leads to a more detailed structural concept,
which is called mechanical principle in the following. In order to use the potential of the high dynamics of
the parallel structure with a large workspace, powerful feed-drive systems have to be used for the new
wood machining center. Considering the stretched rectangular workspace, a parallel arrangement of them
is the best solution. With the additional ϕ-z-axis, the hybrid structural concept offers both a large
workspace and an optimized movability of the tool according to the flexibility demands of given wood
machining processes.
WORKSPACE ENLARGEMENT AND CROSSING SINGULARITIES

The idea of mixing machining and handling processes for oscillating and flowing production requires a
further improvement of the machine workspace. As depicted in Figure 2, the parallel kinematic has to
work on the left and right side of the machine bed. However, both sides belong to different working
configurations and can not be reached by standard parallel kinematic machines. Working configurations
are different solutions of the direct kinematics as shown in Figure 3c. This way, different sub workspaces
are obtained and both sides can only be assessed by a reconfiguration of the kinematic structure.
The two sub workspaces cannot be combined to one overall workspace due to the fact that they are
separated by a singularity of the second type. Singularities of the second type occur at poses of the
manipulator where the Jacobian matrix J of the direct kinematics becomes singular. In such poses an
infinitesimal small motion of the end-effector without any actuated joint being moved is possible which
leads to an over-mobility of the manipulator [6]. In order to realize such a workspace enlargement by a
save motion of the machine through singularities, a special control concept is required (Figure 3). Starting
from any point in one working configuration, the machine is moved over a singularity of the first type,
which can be done in a save way for every kind of parallel kinematic machine, in a so-called transfer
configuration (Figure 3a).
Oscillating processing Flowing processing
of the workpieces of the workpieces
Pick-up
Machining
Pick-up
(Snap-through)
Delivery
Pick-up
© 446-32-00
Figure 2: Processing modes for the workpieces
Singularities of the first type are given, when one link is perpendicular to the drive axis. On the other
hand, the next step, the crossing of singularities of the second type, cannot be treated as simple. A
singularity of the second type is given, when one link is in line with the other. In this case the left
respectively the right side belong to different solutions of the direct kinematic (working configurations).
If one actuated joint is moved in a singular configuration of the second type, there is no unique answer to
the question on which branch of that bifurcation the manipulator continues its move. Therefore, a secure
movement or positioning of the manipulator cannot be guaranteed and the machine can be destroyed. To
overcome this problem, an enhanced concept was developed. When the machine is moved into the
singularity of the second type (Figure 3b) with one drive disabled, the inertia of the moved parts slides the
machine through the singularity of the second type [7]. Therefore, the machine is moved in articulated
coordinates from its actual pose to a pose close to the singularity. Then one drive is disabled and the still
enabled drive moves the machine into the singularity. When the singularity is reached, a minimum speed
is obligatory. In this case the inertia of the machine components can be used as a virtual force –
compensating the under-actuated system – to move the complete structure through the singularity. If an
additional sensor in the common rotational joint detects whether the crossover was successful (Figure 3d),
the kinematic equations are adjusted in the control software and finally the disabled drives are enabled. So
the structure has changed into the second working configuration shown in Figure 3e.
© 446-33-00
Figure 3: Concept of crossing singularities for workspace enlargement
The sum workspace (white area) of Figure 3a and Figure 3e, which is the final overall workspace
(Figure 3c), is about 40% greater than the workspace of one working configuration. Due to the fact, that
the Tool Center Points (TCPs) reach areas outside of the machine bed, the kinematic structure is more
flexible according to existing wood machining centers based on parallel kinematics. Thus, especially the
desired handling task – including the oscillating and flowing processing of the workpieces – is realizable.
MACHINE DESIGN
The topology of the entire machine can be seen in Figure 4 on the left side. The machine base carries on
both its long sides the main guides and drives as well as corresponding linear measuring systems. Two
caged ball linear guides are used on each side. Rack-and-pinion drives are designated as main drives. The
advantages of rack-and-pinion systems are the low costs of the components and the arbitrarily long
feeding paths at constant overall-stiffness. Furthermore, the requirements on the surrounding construction
regarding stiffness, sensors or cooling are considerably lower.
Figure 4: Machine topology (left) and position for the automated tool change (right)
For the clamping of the workpiece a stationary worktable is designated, which works according to the
principle of vacuum exhaust. Furthermore, the use of single suction blocks is possible, which can be
positioned optionally on the stationary worktable. They allow for a clamping of the workpiece at single
“points” and therefore enable a better machining of the small sides, for example. Both driving units
(columns) are basically constructed in the same way considering lightweight aspects, and so are both
linkage arms. This reduces the complexity in construction, production and assembly. The special
requirements consist in the integration of machining unit and handling device each to one of both linkage
arms. Figure 5 shows on the left side the exploded view of the machining unit with all its essential
components. The feed motion of the HSC-spindle is realized using a linear table with ball-screw and
servodrive. Additionally, the unit is provided with a swivel axis (C-axis) for the orientation of the sawing
or the horizontal drilling tools, driven by a further servomotor.
Figure 5: Linkage arms with integrated machining unit (left) and handling device (right)
In constructing the linkage arms, a functional structuring into three sections – in each case consisting of
an aluminum screw-construction – was carried out. The first section serves the pivoting bearing of the
arms at the driving units by means of inclined axial roller bearings. The second section serves as
connection link which generates stiffness. The distinctive feature of this section is the integrated pipe
segment which is simultaneously used for dust suction. The third section serves the flexible connection of
both linkage arms also by means of two inclined axial roller bearings. The driving units are likewise
predominantly accomplished as aluminum screw-constructions. Besides both linkage arms they carry the
main drives. Furthermore, the energy and data transmission for the machining unit and the handling
device as well as the dust exhaustion are realized with the help of the respective driving unit.
INTEGRATED AUTOMATED TOOL CHANGE

The machining center is supposed to enable a complete machining of wooden workpieces. This includes
the production processes milling, sawing and drilling in horizontal as well as in vertical direction. So the
tools have to be changed within the production process automatically to minimize the secondary
processing times. In Figure 4 on the right side the pose of the kinematic structure for the tool change is
shown. This happens near by the 1st type singularity. Driving through this singularity is no control
problem, because it can be influenced directly by the drive.
Within the optimization of the kinematic concept it was aimed to reach the tool changer beyond the
driving unit. This could be influenced by the length of the linkage arms and by the position of the main
spindle on the arm. On the one hand the position of the tool changer guarantees a good accessibility by
the machine operator. On the other hand it can be reached in both working configurations on the shortest
way.
INTEGRATED WORKPIECE HANDLING

The handling device serves an automated loading of the woodworking machine. With the kinematic
structure it is possible to take up workpieces from outside of the machine. Therefore, this device renders
an autonomous machining operation possible. Compared with the nowadays mainly practiced manual
loading of machines, the automated workpiece-handling enables a clear reduction of non-productive times
in the production process.
The handling is done by means of a vacuum gripper device, which is shown in detail in Figure 5 on the right side.
The bellows suction pads show two essential advantages – damping when it is put on the workpiece as well as
compensation of irregularities in workpiece thickness or surface. Two suction pads build a functional unit because
they are coupled with a magnetic valve. After joint exhaustion of several parts, a separate unloading and thus, for
example, a systematic stacking is possible. This can be used advantageously with the “nesting” function. In
addition, blowing off for cleaning processes etc. is possible. The handling device (ball-screw) can perform a
rotational motion with the help of a ball-screw nut as well as a linear motion by the use of a spline nut. It is driven
with belt transmissions by means of servomotors.
INTEGRATED DUST AND CHIP REMOVAL SYSTEM

An optimization of the dust and chip removal system is on the one hand necessary to minimize cleaning
processes of the machine and thereby to reduce the non-productive times in the production process. On
the other hand, an efficient exhaust equipment is required during the machining process. The high cutting
and feed speeds that arise in the course of the reduction of the mean time demand an ideal removal of
chips from the machining area.
The constructive challenge to integrate an optimized dust and chip removal system is the cramped
installation space. The solution can be seen in Figure 6. The dust stream is taken up by means of an
optimized suction hood. This suction hood is made of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) and a
special polyurethane foam (PUR) with a chain mail for sealing the machining area.
Figure 6: Integrated dust and chip removal system
The dust stream is led into the linkage arm by means of bellows. The elastic steel membrane of the
bellows secure a high form stability, for instance when negative pressure arises. This is necessary to avoid
deformations. On account of the constructive conditions, the bellows must show a rectangle profile with
rounded corners. From the bellows the dust stream is conveyed into a pipe segment. The tube has been
integrated constructively in the linkage arms and serves, besides the dust removal, especially the
structural stiffness of the parallel kinematic.
The legally required minimum exhaust velocities at the suction hood are 20 m/s for dry chips and 28 m/s
for wet chips [8]. By means of simulation, different exhaust velocities (speeds in the pipe section) from
20 m/s to 40 m/s, which are typical for wood machining, have been examined. Moreover, a constructive
optimization was carried out, especially to avoid “dead zones” and turbulences.
PROCESS SIMULATION
In order to support the dimensioning of the new machine concept, the manufacturing sequences of the
wood machining center were simulated. The aim was to verify the requirements regarding axis speeds and
accelerations. By calculating throughput times and the ratio between mean time and non-productive time
during machining and handling of workpieces, optimized technical specifications of the main drives were
determined.
Therefore, a parameterized model of the new wood machining center was developed with the help of the
discrete event simulation (DES) eM-Plant 7.0. All parameters are stored in an external relational database.
This data includes feed and cutting velocities of the machining center, number and properties of the main
and auxiliary spindles, tool changers, edge banding systems and the different tools like cutters, drills and
saws. Moreover, workpieces and assembled products are stored in the form of part lists and the
corresponding task schedules. The connection between the discrete event simulation and the database was
realized via Structured Query Language (SQL) with the help of the programming interface Open
Database Connectivity (ODC).
The wood machining center and other means of production like sawing stations, handling and transport
devices and quality control systems are programmed as universal classes in which operation sequences
and mutual dependencies are declared. After the start of the simulation, the parameters required for the
current experiment are retrieved from the database. Based on these parameters instances are derived from
the classes which represent the specific machines and their technical specifications. This method allows
fast and simple changes to the simulation system without having to remodel the manufacturing systems
themselves [9, 10].
7
2
Part List TASK SCHEDULE
3…
1 Bottom panel
2 TOP COVER
2 Top cover 8
3 1 BOTTOM PANEL
3 Shelves (4 x)
1 Milling F
4 Front panel
6 2 Sawing S
5 Center panel
3 Drilling 8
9
6 Rear panel, bottom
4 Drilling H8
7 Rear panel, top
5 …
8 Side panel, left 1
9 Side panel, right 5
© 446-47-00 4
Datebase
Figure 7: Piece of furniture as reference product for the simulated manufacturing process
For the validation of the simulation model a piece of furniture was manufactured on a conventional wood
machining center type BIMA Quadroform 280. The parts of this shelf system combine machining
sequences typical for the industrial furniture production like milling, sawing of grooves and drilling of
holes for dowels and shelf panels (Figure 7). Part lists and task schedules of the cabinet body as well as
technical properties and specifications of the machining center were entered into the database.
200
BIMA QF 280 SINGLE PARTS
Simulation 1 Bottom panel (top)
sec
2 Bottom panel (bottom)
120 3 Top cover (top)

Production time
4 Top cover (bottom)
80 5 Shelves (4 x)
6 Front panel
40 7 Center panel (Side 1)
8 Center panel (Side 2)

0
9 Rear panel
1 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
10 Side panel, left
Part number 11 Side panel, right
TOTAL PRODUCTION TIME © 446-48-00
> real production (BIMA QF 280): 25.77 min
> simulated production (DES): 26.17 min
Figure 8: Validation of the simulation model with the help of the reference product (cabinet body)
During the manufacturing on the conventional machining center, production times were measured. These
were compared to the times calculated with the help of the simulation model for the reference product.
The results are shown in Figure 8. The simulated production times correlate very exactly with those
measured during the real production.
In the following, conventional wood machining centers were compared to the new parallel kinematic
concept. Therefore different manufacturing strategies were examined based on the reference product. For
example number and type of machining and handling devices as well as production orders and their
distribution to the different machining centers were varied.
30
© 446-53-00
Non-productive time
Set-up time
min
Machining time
20
Production time
15
10
0
BIMA ParaBAZ, ParaBAZ,
Quadroform 280 conv. machining HSC
Figure 9: Comparison of production times for the reference product of a conventional machining
center and the new parallel kinematic concept
It could be shown that the combination of integrated handling systems with high axis velocities and
accelerations leads to a significant reduction of non-productive times. Moreover, by applying the
technology of high speed cutting (HSC) to the new machine concept, production times can be reduced by
more than 50% (Figure 9). The experiments also show that in this way two conventional machining
centers could be replaced by one parallel kinematic system.
CONCLUSIONS
By the help of special algorithms for structure and dimension synthesis for the design of parallel
kinematic structures, a machine concept was developed for a wood machining center. This concept is
based on a hybrid kinematic structure with parallel kinematic basic chain and two serial axes for
workpiece machining and handling [11, 12]. What is particular about this concept is that it enables a
workspace enlargement by a configuration change of the parallel structure. With that, a fully automated
oscillating and flowing processing of the workpieces can be realized on the machining center.
Furthermore, an optimized dust and chip removal system was integrated into the machine concept.
The constructive challenges were to be found in the integration of all functional components into the
parallel kinematic basic structure while also considering aspects of lightweight construction. Due to very
good dynamic properties and a high degree of functional integration, it becomes possible to reduce the
processing times in industrial furniture production clearly. The efficiency of the machine concept,
compared with conventional production devices, could be shown by means of a discrete event simulation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the Priority Program 1099
“Production Machines with Parallel Kinematics”.
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10. Hesselbach, J., Hoffmeister, H.-W., Armbrecht, C., Kessel, M. H., “Simulation of Automation
Concepts for an Optimized Production of Timber-frame Houses”. Production Engineering. Research
and Development, No. XIII/1, pp. 131-134, 2006.
11. Hesselbach, J., Hoffmeister, H.-W., Loohß, T., “Examination of a parallel kinematic concept for
stationary high performance cutting in wood machining centers”. Proceedings of the 5th Chemnitz
Parallel Kinematics Seminar, Chemnitz, Germany, April 25-26, pp. 22-23, 2006.
12. Hoffmeister, H.-W., Loohß, T., “Development of a Parallelkinematic Concept for Stationary High
Performance Cutting in Wood Machining Centers”. Abstract booklet of the Forest Products Society
60th International Convention, Newport Beach, USA, June 25-28, pp. 20+50, 2006.
Process-integrated Cleaning of Tools and Machine Parts via
CO2-Particles
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Strauß, Henning

h.hoffmeister@tu-bs.de, h.strauss@iwf.ing.tu-bs.de
ABSTRACT
The cleaning of machine parts in timber industry is an expensive process. The milling and sawing of
wood generates deposits which consist of resin and dust and which lead to a bad surface quality and
higher tool wear. As the cleaning-process usually takes place outside the machine, the tool has to be
completely dismantled. Consequently, this leads to higher machine breakdown times in which production
is not possible. Another point is that in most cases the tool is not yet blunt, but nonetheless has to be
removed as there are too high built-up edges. When the tools are dismantled, they are not only cleaned but
also sharpened. For those reasons, the aim is to reach a high level of surface quality, reduce the tool wear
and machine breakdown time.
The aim of the work presented in this paper firstly is to clean the tool and the assemblies around the tool
in the machine. Secondly, it is useful to optimize the cleaning interval to reach a long tool life and keep
the surface quality on a high level.
In the first chapter, this paper presents results about the resin deposits on the tool. In the second chapter, a
cleaning tool which was developed in close collaboration with the Institute for Machine Tools and Factory
Management, TU Berlin, is displayed.
Keywords: Cleaning, CO2-Partikels, tools, machine parts, deposits
INTRODUCTION
In nearly every field of the machining timber industry deposits occur. These deposits do not only consist
of wood-specific substances as resin and lignin. Glue, emplastics or even lacquers soften as a result of the
machining temperature in the manufacturing process. In combination with dust, they form an adhesive
conglomerate which sticks on tools and machine parts. As a result, built-up edges develop. They reduce
the surface quality and rise the temperature of the tool in the cutting process. Unbalance and tool
deformation are another disadvantage. In the worst case the deposits lead to the destruction of the tool or
wear the blades out.
DEVELOPMENT OF DEPOSITS DURING THE MILLING AND SAWING

PROCESS
There are different kinds of deposits on milling cutter blades and body material and they occur both in
milling and in sawing processes. The worst deposits which cause most damage arise when wood which
contains a large amount of resin like larch, pine or spruce are handled. The deposits occur on the blades
and the body material. They emerge especially on major flank, undercuts and the cutter mounting bolt, but
carrier roller, entrance table and nip roller are also concerned. Furniture industry has to cope with the
same problems. After the bonding of the edges, the sharp edges have to be removed. Due to this cutting
process the tools often get impurified by the hotmelt adhesive. When deposits emerge, the operator often
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hoffmeister and Strauß- 163
has to remove the tools earlier than it would usually be necessary. In this case the tools are not yet blunt
but too much added with impurities for the milling process. Finger jointing products or veneered furniture
often show residues of glue on the surface which lead to similar problems. Even producers of wood-based
panels like OSB or MDF have problems with glue or binding material. One example is the manufacturing
of laminated flooring. Due to the high amount of corundum, the production of laminated flooring requires
ultra-hard cutting materials like CVD diamond blades. These blades tend to high built-up edges on the
first face and large deposits of resin and glue on the major flank [1].
built-up edges
resin and glue deposits
© 445-63-00
Figure 1: Resin and glue deposits on blades (left) and on the tool body material (right)
Figure 1 shows the built-up edges on the chip face and on the clearance face on a CVD-Diamond tool
after the milling of laminated flooring. On the right hand side of figure 1, resin and glue deposits on the
body material of a circular saw blade are shown. The deposits on this saw blade led to an unbalance and
heightened the friction of circular saw blade and workpiece on the contact surface, so that several teeth
broke out and cracks in the body material appeared.
Deposits of glue and resin have an influence both on the surface quality and on the tool life. From a
certain size onwards, the residues on the major flank get in contact with the workpiece and lead to
deformations of the cutting edge and deformations in the cellular structure of the workpiece. Through the
amplified friction in the tooth contact area the process temperature rises. This leads, for example in
milling and planing processes, to burned parts on the surface caused by pyrolysis of the upper cell layer.
Resulting from the formation of built-up edges, the cutting edge geometry changes. The orthogonal
wedge angle rises and the tool becomes blunt. This increases the cutting force and reduces the surface
quality of the workpiece [2,3].
Lately, the coating of tools for wood manufacturing has been examined. BCN coatings (boron-carbon-
nitrate hard material coatings) were analysed, for instance, with the aim to rise the tool life distance and to
lower the friction capacity [4,5]. Other examinations concentrate on the tool wear of extremely rigid
coatings based on carbon [6] and the optimisation of the CVD coating process [7]. Not only coating
systems, but also cutting materials like cermets [8] and sub micro-ceramics [9] were developed and
tested. However, none of the studies is concerned with the reduction of the deposits on the blades or tool
bodies. Instead, all previous projects concentrate on rising the tool life distance and minimizing the tool
wear. The first attempt at reducing the deposits was to coat the tool with a microstructure (lotus-effect)
[10]. The coating based on a modified amorphous carbon coating with silicon and oxygen. The results
were positive but depend on the workpiece material, moisture content and the tool. An advancement in
reducing the deposits can not be achieved solely by means of coatings.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CO2-CLEANING TECHNIQUE
CO2-snow blasting is, as well as dry ice blasting, a high pressure process with solid carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is a non-metallic and anorganic one-way blasting abrasive that sublimates when
impinging on the surface. CO2-snow blasting is comparable to dry ice blasting but has not the same
abrasive effect. In CO2-snow blasting, carbon dioxide is released from the liquid phase and the developing
solid, CO2-snow, is used as blasting abrasive at a temperature of -78°C. Compared with conventional
blasting processes like sand or glass beads, the effect can be ascribed to different mechanical and thermal
effects (figure 2).
Thermal energy
Deposits cool down and embrittle
Formation of cracks in the deposit
(reduction of cohesive power) τ
Lifting of the deposit from the substrate S
due to different thermal expansion coefficients
(reduction of adhesive power)
Kinetic energy
CO 2 -particles impinge on the deposit and generate
compression strength
Flaking of the deposit
(reduction of cohesive and adhesive power)
Sublimation energy
Increase in volume in the sublimation
leads to shock pressure
Lifting of the deposit from the substrate
because of inflating gas
(reduction of adhesive power)
© 445-64-00 Quelle TU Berlin
Figure 2: Effects of blasting with CO2-particles
When the particles impinge on the surface of the deposit, the deposit cools down and embrittles. As a
result, cracks develop which reduce the cohesive power. Furthermore, the hitting of the particles on the
surface causes compression strength. The sublimation energy has another flaking effect. All three effects
together cause the flaking or blasting of the deposit from the surface without leaving residues. Figure 3
shows all procedural effects. The cold particles change their condition of aggregation directly into gas.
For the woodworking industry this is a great advantage compared to other cleaning techniques as the
water-air-mixture used in sawmills. As the moisture content of the wood in sawmills is very high, the
cleaning of tools and the reduction of dust during the process can be handled by spraying a mixture of
water, oil and air into the machine. After the wood has dried, it is futile to re-spray the wood surface with
water. Therefore, the CO2-particle cleaning is a good attempt as cleaning particles and anhydrous wood
are involved in the cleaning process.
abrasive volume flow m
blasting pressure p
volume flow VL
output injector-
diameter dD
feed speed vf
open jet diameter dF blasting time t
particle diameter dP
particle speed vP
distance a
jet angle ß coating sL
deposit
temperature of the jet TSg
© 451-11-00 substrate
Figure 3: Procedural parameters of the blasting process
Due to the relatively light abrasivity of the CO2-snow blasting, the tools are not damaged in the cleaning
process. Damages appear only after a blasting time of more than one minute without any movement of the
jet (figure 4). Clearly visible are the small scratches besides the vertical score marks of the grinding
process on the first face. As the nozzle is under continuous movement during the cleaning process, the
surface of the blade is not damaged.
© 445-65-00
Figure 4: SEM micrograph of the first face (3.000 times magnified), left blade before the
blasting, right after the blasting (duration 1 minute, pS= 6 bar, CO2= 0,275 kg/min)
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE JET
As conventional CO2 blasting technology is either too large to be integrated into a wood working machine
or needs a too high level of air volume flow, a new blasting gun had to be designed and developed. The
development has to meet average carpenter’s workshop requirements. Air pressure, for example, must be
round about 8 bar. Another point was the installation size. Customary blasting guns are available from a
length of 650 mm or more and are used for cleaning metal parts from paint or for the cleaning of
electronic components. These diffuser nozzles are either too large or too small for integration into a wood
working machine. With the development of a minimized plant technology (figure 5), it is possible to
integrate the cleaning diffuser both in a wood working machine as an automatic planer or moulder and
even as manual cleaning tool for the user. For the sawing process, a separate diffuser was developed. This
ice gun consists of two separate cups. The saw blade rotates between the two cups. There is a small joint
between both cups so that the carbon dioxide reaches both cups although there is only one flexible supply
tube.
CO2
compressed air
CO2
saw blade
© 445-66-00
Figure 5: Minimized ice gun (left), one of two cups for the cleaning of saw blades (right)
Integrated into every cup are up to four separate small difusors (drilled wholes between 0.2 to 0.5 mm
diameter). The diffusor and the supply tube are connected by a conduit. The CO2 inflates in the conduit
and blasts as snow out of the small blowing nozzles directly on the surface of the saw blade. With this
construction, it is feasible to approach the saw blade as near as possible.
In order to prove the process capability of the developed blowing nozzles, tests with dirty tools from
milling and sawing pine and spruce were done. In the tests with the milling tools the tools were cleaned
after 750 and 1000 m feeding path and the tool wear was determined by means of the profile method. For
comparison, a third tool which was not cleaned was measured, too. The cleaning was done as well as with
customary made cleaning tools and by means of the new development (figure 6).
Figure 6: Cleaning interval when milling (left,) nozzle technology by Fa. Kipp, cleaning of a
dismantled saw blade (right)
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Based on the milling process of fresh pine wood, the building of the deposits was documented. The rising
degree of deposits both on the chip face and on the clearance face could be seen. Even the tool body and
the cutter mounting bolt were full of deposits after a feeding path of 1000 m (figure 7). Without any
previous cleaning it was not possible to remove the bolts and, consequently, to change the tools.
100 m 500 m 1000 m

© 445-84-00
Feeding path
Figure 7: Building of deposits while milling pine wood
The developed nozzle technology enables the complete cleaning of the tool body, the blades and the
clamping elements (figure 8). However, the air streaming around the tool hinders the cleaning during the
milling process, as the rotating tool creates an air stream which depends on the number of revolutions, the
contour of the blades and the tool diameter. The air stream prevents the contact between the deposit and
most of the CO2-particles. Therefore, a satisfactory cleaning process during the milling process is
currently not possible.
© 445-85-00
Figure 8: Milling tool after 1000 m feeding path while cutting pine wood (left) and after the
cleaning process (right)
A possible solution to this problem can be an automatic cleaning interval while the tool is not rotating. In
tests, a cleaning time of 0.5 seconds per millimetre cutter length could be achieved, depending on the
intensity of the deposits. In contrast to conventional cleaning technology, the new development only
needs a volume flow of 3 m³/h with 6 bar of air pressure. Additionally, by cleaning the blade, the tool life
could clearly be increased. In the experiments it became evident that a cleaning interval after every 750 m
feeding path leads to the best results (figure 9). Exclusion criterion was a wear mark higher than 60 μm.
Test parameters:
vf=0.14 m/min, distance 120 mm, Typ Icemaster,
volume flow 8 m³/h, 9 bar
120
µm Cleaning
interval
Wear mark
750 m
60 1000 m
without
30
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 m 6000 © 446-08-00

Feeding path
Figure 9: Wear mark in dependence on feeding path and cleaning interval in the milling process
By cleaning the blades it is possible to achieve a tool life twice as high than without cleaning.
Considering the CO2 -consumption and the machine breakdown times due to the cleaning interval and the
change of tool, it is possible to lower the tool costs about 10% (in case of milling 12000 m flat rods).
The cleaning during the sawing process proves to be more complex. On the basis of a computational-
fluid-dynamics (CDF)-simulation (figure 10), different blasting angles (radial, tangential and 15° degrees
angular to the saw blade) were simulated as well as practically tested (figure 11). The axial blasting
nozzle position provided the best results. The influence of the air stream around the saw blade is even
higher than during the milling process. Although it is possible to reduce the distance between the sawing
blade and the nozzle by means of the developed cups, it is not yet possible for all CO2-particles to break
through the air stream and clean the saw blade during the process.
© 445-87-00
Figure 10: CFD-simulation of a rotating saw blade including the developed cup difusor
The use of the cup difusor is a first step that allows, documented by industrial tests, a particular cleaning
of the rotating saw blade. Another possibility is the constant cleaning with CO2-snow during the whole
sawing process. However, this enables only a small optimisation and raises material costs. New
investigations with special coatings on the sawing blades are promising.
CO2 developed cup jet
saw blade
rotation
rotation
saw blade
jet © 445-86-00 Quelle TU Berlin

saw blade CO2-snow
Figure 11: Developed cup difusor with radial nozzle positions (detail) and deposits on the saw blade
after 200 m feeding path (cleaning impulse every 5 m feeding path)
An alternative to the cleaning during the machining process could be a special cleaning interval with a
saw blade rotating with low revolutions or the manual cleaning with the cleaning tool developed for the
milling process. In both cases the saw blade has not to be removed. The first case could be automated for
the second case as air service units are part of every machine. Only the cleaning tool has to be added near
the machine.
CONCLUSIONS
The cleaning of wood processing tools by means of CO2-snow is possible without leaving residues and
without any damages on either milling cutter or saw blade. Even very small saw blades are not damaged.
The studies enable a reduction of the installation size of the blast technology so that the integration into a
wood working machine becomes possible. Another possibility is to establish a cleaning interval after the
manufacturing process. This could be an automated process with either stopped tool and moving ice gun
or with slow rotating tool and adapted cleaning unit. After the cleaning process the production can be
restarted with the blades still being sharp. With a cleaning interval after every 750 m feeding path the tool
life is doubled. On the whole, CO2-particle cleaning is a new, efficient cleaning technology which allows
the user to clean tools without removing them.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support for this work was provided by the German Society for Wood Research (DGfH) in collaboration
with TU Berlin, Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management Technical University Berlin, Reich
Spezialmaschinen GmbH from Nürtingen / Germany, Heliotec GmbH from Obernburg a. M. / Germany
and AMCO GmbH from Kirchbrak / Germany.
REFERENCES
1. Gittel, H.-J., “Hart, härter, am härtesten – wie reiner Diamant“. HOB - Die Holzbearbeitung, No. 6,
pp. 40-44, 1998.
2. Fritz, A.H., Schulze, G. (Hrsg.), et al., “Fertigungstechnik”. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 2001.
3. Maier, G., “Holzspanungslehre und werkzeugtechnische Grundlagen”. Würzburg, Vogel Verlag, 2000.
4. Niemeyer, W.-H., “Leistungssteigerung beim Fräsen durch BCN-Beschichtungen”. HOB – Die
Holzbearbeitung, No. 12, pp.33-34, 2201.
5. Niemeyer, W.-H., “Standwegsteigerung beim Fräsen durch BCN-Beschichtungen”. HOB – Die
Holzbearbeitung, No. 10, pp. 79-82, 2002.
6. Fuchs, I., Endler, I.; Raatz, C., “HM-Werkzeuge mit superharten Schichten”. HOB – Die
7. Paterok, L. J., Paterok, L. F., ”Resistente Mikroschicht – Optimiertes CVD-Beschichtungsverfahren
für Minizinkenmesser”. HK – Holz- und Kunststoffverarbeitung, No. 9, pp. 67-71, 2002.
8. Fendeleur, D., Gittel, H.-J., “Schneidstoffe für morgen – Werkzeughersteller suchen Alternativen im
Werkstoffbereich”. HOB – Die Holzbearbeitung, No. 5, pp. 142-144, 2001.
9. Hoffmeister, H.-W., Gogolewski, P., Krell, A., Klimke, J., “Neue Keramiken auf dem Vormarsch -
Einsatz von Schneidkeramiken zum Fräsen von Holzwerkstoffen”. HOB – Die Holzbearbeitung, No.
12, pp. 53-56, 2004.
10. Gäbler, J., Schnettker, T., “Kohlenstoffschichten reduzieren Ablagerungen auf
Holzbearbeitungswerkzeugen”. Diamond Business, No.2, pp. 71-74,
A New Safety System for Dimension Saws “Cut-Stop”
Heisel, Uwe; Tröger, Johannes; Schumacher, Kai

University of Stuttgart, Institute for Machine Tools
Holzgartenstraße 17, D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany
kai.schumacher@ifw.uni-stuttgart.de
http://www.ifw.uni-stuttgart.de
ABSTRACT
Circular sawing machines are amongst the more dangerous tools, especially when they are used by less
experienced staff or laypersons. Up to now, there are existing only safety systems for light table saws.
Therefore was on the sector of dimension saws a need to increase the safety at work with this machines.
The new safety system for dimension saws „Cut-Stop“ consists of two components: A device which
detects human extremities in the danger area and triggers a mechanism, which stops the rotating saw
blade in a time period as short as possible.
A functional model was developed, which consists of a modified dimension saw. The hand detection
device is able to identify most of the usual movements of hands in direction to the danger area. The brake
system stops the tool in case of danger in an adequate time span. This safety system will be integrated and
optimised in established circular saw machines.
INTRODUCTION
Dimension saws are one of the most dangerous working tools, on which accidents in the majority of cases
will result in seriously injuries. Reasons for such accidents, which could happen even to experienced
personnel, are in first line the break on the existing instructions of employment protection and safety. For
example, the protection cover over the saw blade, is often demounted or the slide rod, which is obligatory
required for working with small workpieces to keep the hand out of the danger area, is frequently not
used. Finally, distraction und inattention of the operating staff could cause a contact of the hand with the
saw blade [3, 8, 9].
Because of those high risks the German industry for table- and dimension saws demanded the
development and checkout of a safety device for dimension saws. The object of this work is the concept
of a procedure to stop the fast rotating saw blade in an effectual period of time after detection of a
potential dangerous situation. It is aspired a braking period of around 15 - 20 ms from a rotary speed of
6000 rounds per minute. This time period is calculated out of the dimension of the danger area and the
usual hand speed [4].
DETECTION OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS

The first part of the safety system is a system to detect human extremities in the danger area of the
dimension saw. This part was realized by our partner, the Institute for Industrial Information Technology
(IIIT) from the University of Karlsruhe.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Heisel, Tröger and Schumacher - 173
This multi-sensor-system works in two steps. The danger area is divides into two parts. One part is the
area close to the rotating saw blade and the second area is the field in front of the first area. If human
extremities enter those two zones, the reaction will take two different ways: In case of entering the zone
in front of the real danger zone, an optical warning lamp will flash. If the Hand will get closer to the saw
blade, a braking system will stop the rotating tool in a very short period of time.
Both areas are observed by a combination of capacitive and thermal sensors. Further information about
the sensors, their constellation and analysis algorithms are described in the final report of this subproject
[1].
BRAKING SYSTEM
The second part of the safety system is an appliance to stop the rotating saw blade in a sufficient time
period to prevent an accident.
The complete brake system consists out of three modules:
An impulse device, which has to close the brake very fast.
The intrinsic braking device. This Module has to stand very high mechanical and thermal stress.
And finally a brake disc, which is fixed at the sawing arbor. This solution has a lot of advantages,
which will be explained later.
To close the brake as fast as possible, a special impulse device was developed. This module is shown in
figure 1:
Figure 1: Function drawing of the impulse device
The impulse device gets its power from a pyrotechnical firing of an airbag fuze. The emerged gas
pressure moves over a rod a bolt, which releases a piston. The pre-stressed compressed spring accelerates
the piston. This movement is supported by the gas pressure, which can arrive at the back area of the
piston through a duct. So the fuze works as trigger and as accelerator. The piston is designed hollow to
save weight. A high acceleration is given by the fuze, while the compression spring applies a force to the
brake, even when the gas pressure is slowing down.
The braking effect is realized with the principle of self-locking. To achieve this effect, two cotters will be
pushed between the brake disc and two adjacend flanks. The cotters are wedging with the designated
result of the concept of self-locking.
The function of the braking device is shown in figure 2:
Figure 2: Function drawing of the braking device
After the ignition of the impulse device, the piston is moving out with high speed, in figure 2 to the right.
This movement is transfused to the cotters with a shank. Due to the fact that the cotters are guided at two
contrary cotters, they will touch the rotating brake disc. The high energy of rotation will support this
movement, to have finally the designated effect of self-locking.
This principle is the special feature of the module, and with those wedge shaped brake shoes the brake
differs from a usual disc brake.
As mentioned before, the third module of the braking system is a brake disc. This solution has a lot of
advantages:
The brake is independent from the dimensions of the saw blade and the form of the teeth.
In case of exchanging the saw blade, the brake is no obstacle for the user.
The entire braking system can be designed capsuled and with that the brake is better protected
against manipulation or other outer effects like dust or dirt.
Due to the fact that the brake is located outside the plane of the saw blade, no chipping or small
pieces of wood can enter the brake.
Axial amplitudes of the saw blade, which occur during sawing, would be no problem, even with a
narrow crack in the housing of the braking device.
It is implausible, that the saw blade will be destroyed in consequence of the braking effect.
Even if the saw blade will gum in case of sawing natural wood, the braking effect will not be
debased.
On the other hand there are just a few disadvantages:
The brake disc can not be assembled at the engine shaft, because in case of braking the fan belt will be
slipping which can destroy the belt in the worst case. If this will occur, the brake system will fail totally.
So the brake disc must be fixed at the sawing arbor. And with that, the diameter of the disc may not be
greater than the diameter of the wheel flange, because else the brake disc would rise over the machine
table.
In addition to the saw blade and the sawing arbor, the brake disc has to be stopped too. But the brake disc
has a small diameter, so this extra mass moment of inertia is not too great.
This brake system was integrated in a experimental dimension saw. The constellation can be seen in
figure 3:
Figure 3: Braking system integrated in experimental sawing machine
Impulse and braking device are installed at the motor holding, so in case of changing elevation or
inclination of the saw blade, the brake system will move synchronously with engine and sawing arbor.
BRAKING EXPERIMENTS
With the braking system described in the previous chapter, some experiments were carried out to
determine the braking time depending on the diameter of the saw blade and the rotary speed. For the tests
were 11 tools with diameters from 250 to 400 mm available. The experimental saw has four different
rotary speeds 3.000, 4.000, 5.000 and 6.000 min-1. Each saw blade has a rotary speed limit given by the
producer, which had to be followed. Every combination of saw blade and rotary speed was measured
three times. The brake was triggered at the push of a button.
The results of the brake experiments can be seen in figure 4:
Figure 4: Braking times using different saw blades and rotary speeds
In the diagram is a good linearity of the measured values over the rotary speed axis visible. This is an
indicator for a nearly constant braking moment. And the brake times are going up with the diamater of the
saw blades, like expected. This rising is non-linear, because the mass moment of inertia of the tool is
mounting quadratic with its diameter.
The braking periods were from 7 ms up to 38 ms, depending on the diameter of the saw blade and the
rotary speed. These values are absolutely acceptable, regarding the defaults. To get the machine ready for
use again it took a setup time of around 6 minutes. If the impulse device can be changed completely, for
example like a cartridge, the setup time can be reduced to 3 minutes.
Due to the immense forces during the braking act, the component parts of the brake are under a big
mechanical and thermal stress, especially the brake disc and the two brake shoes. The brake disc is made
out of hardened steel and the two brake shoes out of a special material [5]. In figures 5 and 6 are shown
used brake shoes and the brake disc after around 35-40 brake acts. It is visible, that the material from the
shoes is removed to the brake disc. In the numerous brake tests it was necessary to change the brake shoes
after 50 brake processes. And it is recommended to change the disc after 100 processes.
Figure 5: Used brake shoes
Figure 6: Used brake disc
After the complete braking experiments, the two systems hand-detection and brake are combined and
tested. The sensors were able to differentiate wood, chipboards and a human hand. And only in the last
case, a trigger signal was generated to activate the braking system.
CONCLUSIONS
All abstracted could be told, that in this project was developed and tested a system which can in case of
emergency stop the rotating saw blade of a dimension saw in an adequate period of time to prevent an
accident.
With the successful development of a safety device for dimension saws synergy effects will be expected
for the whole industrial sector of the machine tools. Generally the possibility exists, to transform this
system to detect human extremities in the danger area of circular saws and with this triggering the
abruptly brake of the rotating tool, on other production machines, which are holding a potential risk of
injury. Furthermore, this technology could be transformed in principle on the cutting of plastics and light
metal as well.
REFERENCES
1. Barrho, J, “Entwicklung eines Sicherheitssystems für Formatkreissägen „Cut-Stop“. Teilvorhaben:
Erkennen von Gefahrensituationen.“ (Development of a Safety System for Dimension Saws „Cut-
Stop“. Subproject: Detection of Dangerous Situations.) Final report, Institute for Industrial
Information Technology (IIIT) from the University of Karlsruhe, 2006.
2. Boeckh, M., „Wissenschaft im Unternehmen: Bremsen im Verbund.“ (Science in the Company,
Spectre of Science), Spektrum der Wissenschaft, p. 92, October 2002.
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maschinen – Kreissägemaschinen – Teil 1: Tischkreissägen, Formatkreissägemaschinen und
Baustellenkreissägemaschinen.“ (Safety of Woodworking Machines – Circular Saws – Part 1: Table
Saws, Dimension Saws, Construction Saws), European standard prEN 1870-1, October 2003.
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Annäherungsgeschwindigkeiten von Körperteilen.” (Safety of Machines. Adjustment of Protective
Equipment in view of Approximation Speeds of Body Parts, Beuth-Verlag, Berlin 12/1998
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Choice of Material), Werkstoffkunde LU (303.004), 2002
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7. Holz-Berufsgenossenschaft, “Arbeitssicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz in Schreinereien/Tischlereien,
Auszug aus der Berufsgenossenschaftlichen Information 725“ (Job Safety and Health Protection in
Cabeinetmaking/Carpentry, pullout from the Information 725 of the Employers Liability Insurance
Association), chapter 4: Woodworking machines
8. Holz-Berufsgenossenschaft, “Tisch- und Formatkreissägemaschinen, Lehrgangsbegleitheft
Meisteranwärterlehrgang, Handhabung und sicheres Arbeiten.“ (Table- and Dimension Saws, script
Seminar for the Master-Aspirants, Handling and Safe Working)
9. Holz-Zentralblatt Nr. 64, “Größere Kreissägen weiterhin schwer gegen Unfälle abzusichern.“ (Bigger
Circular Saws ase still difficult to assure against Accidents), Holz-Zentralblatt 8/03
10. Mayer, R., Gropp, H., “Neue Generation von Verbundbremsscheiben: Alternatives Fügeverfahren für
hohe Drehmomentübertragung“ (New generation of Composite Brake Discs: Alternative Joining
Method for high Transmission of Torque), essay, Konstruktion 3, p. 57 – 60, 2006
11. Sterk, W., “Manipulationen von Schutzeinrichtungen – Handlungsbedarf für die Normung?“
(Manipulation of Protective Equipment – Need for Action for the Standardization?) Kommission
Arbeitsschutz und Normung, KAN-letter No. 4/03 p. 8
Basics and Realisation of Edge Band Bonding Using
Laser Technology
Oertel, Michael; Gottlöber, Christian; Wagenführ, André; Buchelt, Beate; Schwarz, Ulrich
Technische Universität Dresden
Institute of Wood and Paper Technology
01062 Dresden
Germany
christian.gottloeber@tu-dresden.de
ABSTRACT
The glue application system is one of the most important units regarding the edge processing. After
heating the hot melts are applied on the board or the edge material using a special roll. This process is
very intensive concerning energy and time. The melting of the glue with laser allows a direct positioned
energy placement. So there is no energy necessary for the permanent heating of the glue container.
The arranged investigations show that standard glues can be melt using laser and the adhesion of the
coating material and the board can be realized under production conditions. Using the new technology
very good strength values can be reached. Furthermore an increase of the process rate is possible.
In the paper basics of hot melt reactivation by laser radiation are presented. The transfer of the procedure
to an industrial edge banding machine is described. The properties of the glued joint, the economics and
the potential of the procedure are discussed.
Keywords: laser, edge band bonding, edge processing, glue, boards
INTRODUCTION
The edge bonding is one of the main working steps within the machining of furniture. Today such
machine equipment is used as a standard in the industry as well as in the handicraft. Therefore hot melts
are applied on the board or the edge material using a special roll. The melting of the glue is very intensive
concerning the energy. To reach the process temperature (150-210 °C) a rather long time is necessary of
about 30 minutes. Caused by the direct contact of the roll with the board pollutions can be occur
especially with chip boards. Those pollutions influence the gluing process. The spreading system of hot
melt glue is very difficult to clean up. A change from one glue system to another takes a lot of time and
efforts. The cooling behaviour of the thermoplastic glue limits the work piece feed rate and the quality of
the joint.
In a research project funded by the German government and the industry (AiF) a laser based procedure
for edge band bonding was developed by the Institute of Surface and Manufacturing Technology and the
Institute of Wood and Paper Technology at Technische Universität Dresden together with Ingenieurbüro
Schwarz Dresden. Thereby a pre-coated edge band material is warmed up together with the board
material by laser directly before the jointing.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Oertel, Gottlöber, Wagenführ, Buchelt and Schwarz - 179
MATERIALS
There are a lot of glue systems and band materials for edge band bonding which are used in practice. That
is why in the beginning of the project a survey on currently applied materials in the production of user
companies doing edge band bonding was done. This was very important in terms of material selection for
the project. Conforming to the results of the survey and large preliminary investigations the following
glue systems1 and band materials were selected for the tests:
Ethylene vinyl acetate - hot melts (EVA) are applied with all edge band materials. That is why 3 EVA hot
melts with 3 different grammages and filler contents were used.
• AS 202/5 EVA hot melt with filler content of 55 %
• Q 603 EVA hot melt with filler content of 35 %
• Q 838 EVA hot melt without filler
Poly olefine - hot melts (PO)
• US 280/2 PO hot melt without filler
Edge band materials (23 mm width for boards (chip board and MDF) with 19 mm width)
• Polyvinyl chloride PVC
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styren ABS
• Veneer
• Melamine impregnated paper
Table 1: Transmittance (T) and reflection (R) of the investigated hot melts concerning different
wave length of the laser radiation in dependence of the grammage (glue spread)
Grammage 940 nm 1064 nm 10,6 µm
Title (Glue Spread)
in g/m2 T in %
R in % T in % R in % T in % R in %
filled
AS 202/5 110 2,60 25,90 2,76 25,90 2,71 22,39
AS 202/5 188 2,05 22,20 2,28 22,20 2,98 4,63
Q 603 121 2,00 0,23 2,39 0,23 3,36 22,43
Q 603 155 2,00 0,24 2,19 0,24 2,14 23,37
unfilled
US 280/2 231 0,46 0,08 0,48 0,07 3,90 0,22
Q 838 408 0,01 0,29 0,01 0,27 3,20 0,23
As reference board material chip board was used in the experiments.
APPLICATION OF THE PROCEDURE ON AN EDGE BANDING MACHINE

Parallel variations of laser type and power class were considered because of its importance for the laser
integration inside the machine. Thereby the way of computer animation was chosen. The edge banding
machine, especially the gluing and the laser module, was transferred to a 3D data format and different
1
All glue systems for the investigations were kindly delivered by Henkel Dorus Company.
arrangements and set-up were investigated. Based on animations and together with the machine
manufacturer possibilities of module position, heating and laser beam guidance were discussed and
improved. Figure 1 shows an example of animation.
Figure 1: Experimental equipment of the laser and the oscillating reflector concerning the jointing
investigations at the edge banding machine (computer animation)
For the investigations a high-power diode laser was used as source of beam because of its compact
dimensions. This permanent (cW) working laser has an average power of 2,7 kW. This high-power results
from an internal coupling of a few diode stacks which are emitting two different wave lengths,
λ = 808 nm and λ = 940 nm. The mobile laser device and its optical parts are cooled by water respectively
air.
The set-up of the laser and the optics necessary for redirection of the beam (scanner optics) was realised
by a sub frame on a standard edge banding machine of the type Homag Optimat KL77. This machine can
be used for machining of boards with 12 mm to 60 mm thickness. The thickness of the edge banding
material is limited to a maximum of 20 mm.
The existing glue module (smelter tank with spreading roll) was demounted during the experiments to get
an unopposed approach for the laser beam to the pressing zone. The rest of the aggregates in the machine
remained on the original positions. Consequently a set-up resulted with a practical orientation.
The redirection of the laser beam to the joining area on the narrow face of the work piece was done by a
oscillating reflector (Figure 1). Simultaneously the cross cut of the laser beam was widen to a line in order
to reactivate the glue layer respectively the glue film completely and equably. During the investigations
the laser power, the feed speed, the board material, the edge band material and the type of glue system
were varied. The scanning frequency of the oscillating reflector amounted 300 Hz constantly. Two
different focusing optics with focal lengths of f = 300 mm and f = 500 mm were used. The advantage of
the optic with the short focal length can be described by the higher quality of focusing (effect mark). A
longer focal length permits a longer working distance and better orientation of the beam to the glue area
within the joining zone.
The glue can be applied as separate film or as a pre-coating on edge banding material. The second
possibility was used for the experiments. Pre-coated band material made of thin melamine tinctured alpha
cellulose paper are offered as repair material by the specialized trade. Additionally thicker edge banding
materials and veneer were prepared and coated with different hot melts. The used material was supplied
by the companies FURWA Furnierkanten GmbH, Braun GmbH, Döllken Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH
and Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau GmbH.
The joining process is followed by a milling operation to cut the protruding edge material. There it was
possible to see the influence of the used glue system to the chip disposal of the milling unit. After a short
period of milling the low melting ethylene vinyl acetate - hot melt (EVA) led to obstruction of the exhaust
hood and depositions on the grope roll of the system. When using a high melting poly olefine - hot melt
(PO) the effect was totally opposed. Even after processing of high grammage of this gluing system and
long feeding length nearly no depositions and clumping of chips were registered.
RESULTS
The first investigations have already shown very good results in an early stage of the project. The joining
process could be realised with feed speeds between 25 m/min and 40 m/min. As expected the thin veneer
was easier to join than the 2 mm edge band material made of PVC. Beside that the board material had a
significant influence to the joining process. In comparison to the conventional joining on chip board
narrow faces the strength is less then on MDF.
During the reactivation of the glue the temperature inside the glue line was observed by an infrared
pyrometer. Thereby a special work piece was prepared with a hole to insert the pyrometer. Thus a
monitoring of the glue temperature was possible without direct irradiating of the sensor by the laser. The
temperatures within the joining zone showed a clear dependency to the intensity of laser radiation (Figure
2). Furthermore the extreme fast reactivation time of up to 18 K/s as well as the fast cool down of the
coating was visible. The temperature seceded under 50 °C within less than 10 s.
250
E / W cm - 2
200 426
temperature T / °C
362
309
150 234
155
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
time t / s
Figure: 2 Trend of the temperature in the glue line in dependence of the intensity of the laser
radiation
Additionally measurements of temperature distributions on the coated narrow faces were executed to
evaluate the equability of the laser energy input. For this measurements two pressing rolls were taken
from the joining zone of the machine to get space for installation of a thermo camera. Resulting of the set-
up and the redirection of the laser extreme values of temperature near the marginal zone could be
indicated. Approximately the effect mark of the laser describes a zigzag line on the joining area of the
work piece. Around the after and bottom dead centre of the redirected laser beam near the marginal zone
of the coating the velocity of the laser beam is slower caused by the kinematics. That is why this area is
more warmed up. Thus results a positive effect regarding the adhesive joint in this area near the edge of
the board in case of tightness and strength of the glue line.
During the investigations some defects were detected caused by insufficient quality of milling, by
material breaks on narrow face of the board or by to less grammage of glue. Using the conventional
processing these effects occur too.
The strength of the gluing joint was determined by a new developed method. Thereby a defined
momentum is generated inside the glue line by a force which effects in a direction parallel to the wide
face of the board. Then the force is measured when the fracture of the edge material happens. This test is
more realistic to the stress under practical conditions instead of the familiar roll peel test respectively the
test for determination of the loss of adhesion.
The aim of the strength investigations was particularly to find out the influences of used laser power, the
feed speed and the filler content of the glue. Thereby the introduced filled EVA and unfilled PO hot melt
gluing systems were tested for joining of PVC edge material and chip board. The used feed speed range
was 15 m/min to 40 m/min. The laser power stages were varied with 1400 W, 1750 W, 2000 W and 2200
W.
The influence of laser power to the strength of the adhesive joint within the investigated range was
negligible (Figure 3). The breaking force varied around an average value in a small range with increase of
laser power. The most important magnitude is the feed speed of the machine. During the experiments a
constant scanning frequency of the laser beam was applied with different feed speeds. Thereby different
values of energy input were obtained. That means a smaller frequency of the relative pathway which the
laser beam draws on the edge material surface results in a higher feed speed. Thus it leads to a smaller
energy input to the glue.
300
Laserleistung
laser power
breaking strength 0 / N
250 2000
2000 W W
Laserleistung
laser power
200 1400
1400 W W
Laserleistung
laser power
150 1750
1750 W W
100
50
0
10 20 30 40 50
feed speed v f / m/min
Figure 3: Influence of the feed speed and the laser capacity to the breaking strength of the glued
joint
ECONOMICS
To assess the economics of the new procedure it is useful to compare it with the conventional procedure
of joining coating materials on narrow faces of board materials. Figure 4 gives an overview about both
procedures.
Conventional procedure Laser based joining procedure
Edge material Glue Board Edge material Glue Board
Melting of the Pre-heating of

hot melt the joining Laser JOINING
(up to 30 min) area
Application of the glue with a

special roll
JOINING
Figure 4: Comparison of the joining processes
The total costs consisting of variable and fixed costs. Resulting from the laser technology and the relating
purchase costs of the laser device there is a large part of fixed costs. Currently such a laser with all the
belonging systems like cooling system and protective housing costs approximately 110.000 €. In opposite
to that the price for a conventional gluing system amounts to ca. 5.000 € and for a changeable aggregate
ca. 3.000 €. Gluing apparatus for application of polyurethane adhesives are more expensive to purchase as
well as the run of it. This is caused by the necessary use of inert gas. In this economical considerations
such apparatuses are not included.
Looking to the variable costs the conditions are totally opposite. Contrary to general expectations the
biggest part of variable costs are not the efforts for energy regarding the laser procedure. Similar to a
conventional source of light like a lamp only during the start-up time energy is necessary. Experiential the
cooling system of the laser aggregate works only 50 % of laser start-up time. Thus the necessary energy
consumption for the joining process can be derived with the feed speed and the total length of work piece
measured in feeding direction. The resulting costs amounts of 2 € up to 7 € per shift depending on the
usage rate of the machine. The biggest part of the variable costs arises by cleaning and maintenance due
to the gluing process. This work must be done by a skilled employee. Mostly the hourly rate of the
machine must be added if the maintenance or cleaning takes place during the regular production time.
With the laser based joining procedure those costs can be reduced significantly. Then there could be
calculated with only 10 € per shift. Today 60 € per shift are caused by the conventional procedure.
This costs were calculated on the example of a machine type Homag Optimat KL77. Thereby it was
calculated with a feed speed of 25 m/min and an absolute joining time of 75 % of the total time. This can
be considered as a nominal value. Own investigations have shown that the absolute time of the joining
process in practice is located clearly bellow. In general with decreasing usage rate the economy is always
decreasing. This is valid for the new laser based procedure as well as the conventional procedure.
Figure 5 shows the connections between the economics and the usage rate regarding the joining process.
0,08 €
0,07 € laser based joining handicraft
conventional joining handicraft

0,06 €
cost per m edge material
laser based joining industry
0,05 € conventional joining industry
0,04 €
0,03 €
0,02 €
0,01 €
0,00 €
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
usage rate
Figure 5: Development of costs in dependence of the usage rate relating to the joining process
The calculation indicates that under current production conditions the costs with the conventional
procedure are lower than the costs when using the new technology. Additionally there are some
influencing factors which were not taken into account for this calculation. These are factors without a
possibility to value or unknown values because of the company secret. First of all end parts and
complaints belong to the factors of the last mentioned category. It is to expected that the new joining
procedure with laser will lead to a clear high and constant quality. For instance with the exact dosage of
glue a pollution with reactive glue of the milling aggregates with all belonging parts after the joining
module of the machine will be avoided nearly complete. This following aggregates will work more
reliable without breakdowns. Furthermore cleanings caused by undefined rests of glue on the machined
work piece can be reduced. A poll in a furniture company resulted that two additional employees are
necessary to clean the coated work pieces in a production of decorative furniture parts.
The quality of the product is determined by the strength of the adhesive joint and the thickness of the glue
line between the board and the edge material. Particularly the appearance of the glue line on single-
coloured coating materials regarding the wide face of a board leads to visible problems. Customers mostly
complain about that. With the new laser procedure the thickness of the glue line can be reduced to be
nearly invisible.
Another aspect of economics is the applied gluing system. With the laser based joining procedure gluing
systems with a higher melting point can be used without increases of energy costs. Thus products with a
higher temperature stableness can be manufactured. This is important regarding extended operating
ranges of the products. Also the pollution of the machine can be reduced by using such adhesives. In the
calculation this costs are excluded. Currently the laser based joining procedure is realised with pre-coated
edge banding materials. The costs for pre-coating are between 0,60 €/m2 and 1,30 €/m2 depending on the
thickness of the band. This is many times over the specific price of the glues applied today.
OUTLOOK
In the framework of the introduced project basic approaches for a laser based joining procedure were
introduced. With that two different ways of further developments seem to be useful. First the application
of the procedure on continuous machines should be possible. On the other hand stationary machines like
machining centres offer potential of usage and special development. For that area of machines a further
development of adhesive films is necessary. Thus work pieces with individual demands regarding the
edge bonding can be manufactured without additional costs for setting-up time.
The procedure can be an economic alternative to the conventional procedure when looking to the
permanent increase of costs for energy and when taking into account all the discussed aspects which
could not be valued and included into the calculation so far. Potentials to reduce the current costs of the
new laser based procedure are the lowered expenditures for laser systems and the pre-coating of the
decorative edge materials.
REFERENCES
1. N.N.: Schmalflächenbeschichtung mit Laser. - In: Dresdner Transferbrief 13 (2005) 3, S. 10
2. Wust, H.; Oertel, M.; Schwarz, U.; Buchelt, B.; Wagenführ, A.; Beyer, E.:
Schmalflächenbeschichtung mit dem Laser – Alte Technologie in neuem Licht, Teil 1: Grundlagen
zur Reaktivierung von Schmelzklebstoffen mit Laserstrahlung. – In: Holztechnologie 47 (2006) 3, S.
37-42
3. Wust, H.; Oertel, M.; Schwarz, U.; Buchelt, B.; Jansen, I.; Wagenführ, A.; Beyer, E.:
Schmalflächenbeschichtung mit dem Laser – Alte Technologie in neuem Licht, Teil 2: Der
Fügeprozess an der Kantenanleimmaschine. – In: Holztechnologie 47 (2006) 5, S. 24-29
Flexible and Adaptive Production Systems for Manufacturing
of Wooden Components
Usenius, Arto
VTT Technical Research Centre Of Finland
ABSTRACT
Following features characterize present conversion in the sawmill industry are.
1. Conversion from the forest to the customer is not considered as an unbroken chain. Delivery and
processing time may require weeks or months.
2. Volumes and cost minimisation is emphasized in production.
3. Production is not flexible allowing only marginal freedom. Production and business are not
adaptive. Feed back information is not generated and cannot be utilised.
4. Limited volume of reliable and less reliable data is measured, however only locally used.
5. Product properties vary considerably due to the inhomogeneous wood raw material. It is not
possible to produce special products with desired, specified properties. Products which are not
desired fall in the manufacturing processes.
The project aims at
1. develop new flexible production system concepts for processing of wood raw material into
different type value added wooden components and/or standard sawn timber. The concepts are
based on intelligent measurements, systematically gathered data throughout the conversion chains
and data processing providing qualified information for controlling of processing and material
flow.
2. develop new measuring techniques, integrated control systems and generation of feed back
information for self learning procedures strongly supporting economy of current production
systems.
3. implement new systems in the industrial environment and evaluation of the benefits estimated to
be achieved.
Essential elements of the new concepts are:
1. Control and optimisation of information and material flows in planning and production systems
2. Intelligent, flexible and self learning measuring, production and logistic systems
3. Integrated information systems covering entire conversion and suppy chains
4. Creation and utilization of the feed back information in order to make manufacturing adaptive
5. Optimised mechanics and conveyer systems for production concepts and cells.
InnoSIM model and simulation systems has been developed covering whole conversion chain – from the
forest to flexible manufacturing systems and further to the different type of sawn timber and value added
component products. Model system includes precise description of stems and logs including single
internal knots as well as specified quality requirements for four faces of the products.
The results clearly show that it is possible to increase sales value and profit of the conversion
considerable by implementing new technologies and concepts in the production. Key elements are
integrated information systems and flexible machinery in the manufacturing.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Usenius - 187

INTRODUCTION
Typical features of present sawn timber production:
1. Production is bulk product oriented emphasising volumes and minimisation of costs
2. Products which are not desired fall in the manufacturing processes.
3. Product properties vary considerably due to the inhomogeneous wood raw material.
4. It is difficult to produce products with desired, specified properties.
5. Delivery and processing time is long binding a lot of capital.
6. Production is not flexible allowing only marginal freedom.
7. Production and business are not adaptive.
8. Reliable and less reliable data is measured and produces, however only locally used.
VTT started 2006 to execute a big national project in close co-operation with leading sawmill companies,
machine manufacturers, information and measuring technology suppliers and wood drying system
suppliers. The main objectives of the project are to
1. develop new flexible production system concepts for processing of wood raw material into
different type value added wooden components and/or standard sawn timber. The concepts are
based on intelligent measurements, systematically gathered data throughout the conversion chains
and data processing providing qualified information for controlling of processing and material
flow.
2. develop new measuring techniques, integrated control systems and generation of feed back
information for self learning procedures strongly supporting economy of current production
systems.
3. implement new systems in the industrial environment and evaluation of the benefits estimated to
be achieved.
Essential elements in new concepts are:
1. Control and optimisation of information and material flows in planning and production systems
2. Intelligent, flexible and self learning measuring, production and logistic systems
3. Integrated information systems covering entire conversion and delivery chains
4. Creation and utilization of the feed back information in order to make manufacturing adaptive
5. Optimised mechanics and conveyer systems for production concepts and cells.
In the following some of these aspects are described
GLOBAL VIEW INSTEAD OF LOCAL VIEW

The utilization of wood raw material resources starts with the supply of raw material, including the
bucking of sawlog stems, and proceeds via the manufacture of sawn timber and its further conversion into
final products and their end uses. Traditionally different stages of the wood conversion chain have
operated too much independently. In the conversion chain the product of the former phase provides raw
material for the latter one. Raw material and semi-finished products are not optimal or even good in
respect to the final product. The incompatibility between wood raw material, conversion products and the
final product causes a lot of waste and considerable economic losses.

Figure 1 The phases in wood conversion chain are interacting to achieve maximum profitability
The stages involved in converting wood raw material to final products influence on each other as well as
the result. To obtain a good economic result the chain must be seen in its entirety. Wood raw material have
to be chosen taking into account the requirements of the final products. This is the only way for optimal
utilization of wood raw material. The material flow proceeds from the forest to the customers. The
information flows in the same direction but should also take the reverse course (Figure 1).
INNOSIM MODEL AND SOFTWARE SYSTEM FOR SIMULATION OF

FLEXIBLE CONVERSION
With the development of industrial scanning technology and the rapidly growing computing power of
modern computers, more sophisticated sawing simulators based on real log shape and internal defects can
be developed and used in research and even in sawing process control. The biggest advantage of such
kind of simulator is that each individual log could be sawn with an optimal way for the log so that the log
is fully exploited with regard to its value yield under the prevailing market condition. InnoSIM sawing
simulator, adding a new functionality of research and analysis to VTT’s WoodCIM® system, is based on a
real log model. InnoSim was developed to investigate the potential of value yield improvement as logs are
cut into dimension lumber or user-defined wood components. Input logs for the simulator were either
built with a log reconstruction model where log external envelope, geometrical shape of log internal
heartwood core and internal knots are the main features of the numerical logs. As outputs of the sawing
simulation, the software presents sawing results as dimension, length, grade of dimension lumber or user
defined wood components for a simulated sawing pattern under the condition of input sawing parameters.
By wood components, we mean user-defined special sawn goods usually with special dimension and
shorter length as compared with dimension lumber, but with strictly quality specifications concerning
knots, wane and other quality properties like grain angle, resin pockets, checks, pith and annual ring width
etc. The quality requirements can be specific for each face and each edge of a component. Wood
components are normally produced for making furniture, joinery parts or finger-jointed wood products.
Traditionally dimension lumber products have well defined dimension series and widely accepted grading
rules in the Nordic countries, e.g. the Nordic Timber Grading Rules. Comparatively EN 1611-1 grading
rules, which is a European standard for sawn timber -- appearance grading for softwoods, can also be
used for dimension lumber grading for Scots pine and spruce. Dimension lumbers can also be
alternatively graded according to the Nordic visual strength grading rules for timber (INSTA 142).

Figure 2 External and heartwood core envelopes, and internal knots of constructed logs and a
stem
Heartwood content based classification rules, which are defined according to customers' requirements, are
used to evaluate heartwood content class of lumbers. In InnoSIM sawing simulator, Heartwood lumber
classification is done by checking "heartwood wanes" of both faces and the edge with more "heartwood
wane".
Therefore the following data are needed for defining lumber and side products i.e. chips and sawdust:
• Lumber grading rules with respect of knots and allowed wane rates for each grade and lumber
dimension;
• Components grading rules including limitations on knots and wanes etc.
• Heartwood content classification rules and prices for each class;
• Components, lumber and side products prices.
Sawing process related input data for the model include following information:
• Sawing pattern data (i.e. blade settings for different log diameter classes)
• Sawing process parameters such as saw kerf, data of green lumber sizes for given nominal sizes.
• Other production system parameters specific to the sawmill.
The simulation outcome is specification of the products including economical data.

GENERATION OF VIRTUAL STEMS AND LOGS INCLUDING
INTERNAL KNOTS
Input stems/sawlogs for the sawing simulator are based on a stem/sawlog model defined with an external
envelope, an internal knots structure, and a heartwood core envelope, which are shown in Figure 2. The
virtual stems and sawlogs can be reconstructed with either the automatic method using scanning and
measurement data of sawlogs (Figure 3) or so called flitch method (Figure 4). Virtual stems can also be
generated through Growht simulation systems.
Figure 3: Virtual stems and logs can be generated with x-ray scanning
Figure 4: Virtual stems and logs generated with flitch method

In the flitch method, logs were live-sawn into 20 mm thick flitches, which were then scanned by RGB
camera system and measured with image processing software to gather data of flitch surface geometry
and knots. After that a log reconstruction model is used to generate a numerical form of the log with
internal knots by assembling the log’s flitches together. As logs from a tree stem are reconstructed, they
can be assembled together according to between-logs connecting information to form the stem, i.e.
external envelope, internal knots and heartwood core of the stem. However, no matter which of the two
log reconstruction methods is used, the reconstructed 3D logs have to comply with the defined log data
model which is described in detail below.
Geometry of a reconstructed log is represented with a series cross-section in the model and the cross-
section of each segment is described with 24 evenly dividing vectors. Likewise, with 24 evenly dividing
vectors originating from log pith, heartwood core geometrical shape is described numerically in the log
model.
SCANNING FOR GRADING AND INTERNAL CHARACTERIZATION OF

LOGS KEY ELEMENT
Future grading will be based more and more on customer specific requirements and hence also specific
grading procedures will be needed. It is almost impossible for a human grader to adopt and change
continuously new grading rules, which makes the customer specific visual grading particularly difficult.
In order to avoid economical losses in standard grading and in order to support grading according to the
individual needs of customers we need machine vision based grading.
In the grading supported by machine vision physical measurements are carried out concerning the surface
properties or the internal characteristics of the wood material. Black and white, color or IR cameras are
used in the measurements. The data is computerized into a map of defects, which in turn is input
information for the software to determine the quality of the piece. X-ray scanning provides information
for the internal characteristics of logs or sawn timber pieces. (Figure 5)
Figure 5: Internal characterization of logs trough x-ray scanning

ACTIVE MATERIAL FLOW MANAGEMENT THROUGH MARKING
TECHNOLOGY
Figure 6 presents in principle the volumes of information in different stages of the forest - wood chain.
Measurements and observations throughout the chain produce data and information. In individual stages
information is growing rapidly. This information is, however, used only locally. After the wood material
has left the processing phase, almost all specific information has been lost. This happens all the way
throughout the supply chain. It is not possible to link final products, raw materials and processing
parameters together. The picture also shows an accumulated curve assuming that all the information from
previous phases would be available in the later phases. If the lost information could be regained, much
more effective business could be realised. Information "recovery" can be achieved through marking
pieces, reading of the markings and storing the corresponding data in a database.
Figure 6: Recorded and lost information throughout the conversion chain
A new system for an advanced control of forest - wood chain through marking pieces, reading the
markings and data processing establishes a strong opportunity to make better business. A MRI (Marking
Reading Information processing) control system comprises e.g. the following functions:
• marking of logs (coding) in the forest by harvesting operation using colour marking or tags
• storing information produced by harvesting measurements and observations into databases
• reading of the log code by an intelligent colour camera in the log sorting station
• transferring detected and observed data into database
• reading of the log code by an intelligent colour camera in the sawing line
• transferring sawing set up information into database
• marking of sawn timber pieces with an individual alphanumeric code
• reading of the board code by an intelligent colour camera system
• transferring defect maps on all four faces of boards produced by an automated grading system
into database
The principal design of the system is presented in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Marking Reading Information system
Concepts for the industrial implementation of MRI systems have been created. Some concepts are based
on the collective following of wood material batches producing information on how to process certain
categories or classes of wood. Other concepts are more detail oriented and necessitate following
individual pieces of wood raw material, semi-finished products and final products. Economical analyses
can be carried out to identify the profitability of different concepts.
Marking of pieces can be done using different techniques i.e. RF-tags, transponders and ink jet markings.
The most potential and economical marking method for forest - wood chain at present seems to be
colour marking, which can be done in the forest using traditional equipment existing on harvesters,
however slightly modified. For marking boards an ink jet writer is capable to produce a high quality
alphanumerical code. Reading of the marking or the code on logs and boards can be done by a colour
camera. The core of the reading system is neural network software for decoding the code.
MRI-control system applications may concern quality control, process control, planning procedures and
customer service. Marking of pieces is also a way to show the origin of pieces and can be for instance
used to ensure that the material originates from a certified source. MRI provides a quite new approach for
the management of material and information flows from forest to the end products supporting customer
oriented business and added value production.

ADAPTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CUTTING BASED ON THE
DETECTION OF ACOUSTIC AND DUST EMISSION
In many industrial processes i.e. woodworking and stone industries there are several phases where
material is worked in smaller pieces. The machines cut material e.g. by chipping producing desired
products or semi finished products, waste, dust and noise. Energy is also required. Cutting process is
presented in Fig. 8. Input data comprises machine, tool etc. related items. Output can be divided into two
categories: products and their quality and human and environmental impacts.
Figure 8: Principle of adaptive control of the woodworking process
The adaptive control system comprise sensors for detecting dust and noise, quality of the products,
sharpness of the knives, hardware and software for processing and storing the data, software based on
cutting model for calculating optimum parameter values for cutting. The system will be provided with a
subsystem capable to make the control system adaptive by storing cutting parameters and cutting results
into the files and processing and converting the data to information and further to the knowledge.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Anonymous, 2000, Nordic visual strength grading rules for timber, in Finnish, Finnish Forest
Industries Federation, Finland
2. Oja, J., Wallbäcks, L., Grundberg, S., Hägerdal, E., Grönlund, A., 2003, Automatic grading of Scots
pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sawlogs using an industrial X-ray log scanner, Computers and electronics in
Agriculture 41 ( 2003)
3. Pinto, I., Usenius, A., Song, T., and Pereira, H., 2005, Sawing simulation of maritime pine (Pinus
pinaster Ait.) stems for production of heartwood containing components. Forest Product J. 55(4):88-
96
4. Song, T., 1999, Log/stem construction model based on measurements of flitches. Destructive "glass-
log" measurements of trees. VTT Building Technology. Final Report subtask A1.3, FAIR CT96-1915,
STUD - Improved Spruce Timber Utilisation, Espoo, 25 p. + app. 5 p.

5. Song, T., 2000, Software for simulating output of components, VTT Building Technology, Final
Report subtask A4.3, FAIR CT96-1915, STUD - Improved Spruce Timber Utilisation, Espoo, 16 p.
+app. 4 p.
6. Song, T., 2003, SortSim Documentation, VTT Building Technology, Unpublished Internal Report,
Espoo, 2003, 7 p. app. 7 p.
7. Usenius, A., Song, T., 1994, Optimization system for wood components production, VTT Building
Technology, rakentavaa Tietoa 2/94, 4p. (Report in Finnish). Espoo
8. Usenius, A. 1999, Wood conversion chain optimization, IUFRO WP S5.01-04 "Connection between
forest resources and wood quality: modelling approaches and simulation software", La Londe-
LesMaures. Ed. G. Nepveu.INRA, Nancy, pp 542-548.
9. Final report of Growth Project GRDI – 1999-10351 “Envicut” Environmentally friendly cutting and
milling of materials co-ordinated by Arto Usenius VTT
10. Mäkelä, A., Usenius, A. 2000. Impact of thinning strategy on the yield and quality distribution of
Scots pine stems –projections of the PipeQual growth model and the WoodCim conversion system.
Cost Action E10, Third Workshop, 19 – 21 June, 2000. Espoo, s. 29-47.
11. Mäkelä, A., Mäkinen, H., 2003. Generating 3D sawlogs with a process-based growth model. For.
Ecol. Manage. 184, 337-354.
12. Usenius,A., Vihavainen, T.2003, Efficient and Effective Production and Delivery of Forest Products. Key note
paper in IUFRO Division V Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand 11-15.3.2003. 10p.
13. Usenius, A., 2000, WoodCim® - Integrated planning and optimizing system for sawmilling industry.
VTTs Building Technology internal report. 8 pp
14. Usenius, A., Song, T., Marjavaara, P., 2005, Automated Heartwood Detection and Optimization of the
Manufacturing of Heartwood Components, ScanTech Conference 2005, Las Vegas, USA
15. Song, T., Pinto, I., Usenius, A. 2005. Sawing Simulation of pine heartwood products as a new
WoodCIM® feature. In: Nepveu, G. (ed.). Proceedings of IUFRO WP S5.01-04 Fifth Workshop
‘Connection between forest resources and wood quality: Modelling approaches and simulation
software’. Waiheke Island Resort, Auckland, November 20-26, 2005, ew Zealand. (in print)
16. Usenius, A., Song, T. 2005. Optimal Model system for optimal allocation of wood raw material
throughout conversion chains. . In: Nepveu, G. (ed.). Proceedings of IUFRO WP S5.01-04 Fifth
Workshop ‘Connection between forest resources and wood quality: Modelling approaches and
simulation software’. Waiheke Island Resort, Auckland, November 20-26, 2005, New Zealand. (in
print)
17. Usenius, A., Heikkilä, A. and Song, T. (2006) WoodCIM®Sistema de Software Integrado para Soporte
en la Toma de Decisiones en Aserraderos – desde el Bosque hasta los Productos Finales (WoodCIM® -
integrated software system supporting decision making at the sawmills - from the forest to the end
products. Proceedings of Scantech 2006. Buenos Aires, Argentina 2-3.11.2006 Expo VESTAS and
Wood Machining Institute, Berkeley, USA, pp. 4 - 30

The Profile Independent Wood Moulding Machine-II
Jackson, Mike R.; Taşcıoglu, Yiğit

m.r.jackson@lboro.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
The concept of the profile independent wood-moulding machine (PIMM) was introduced at IWMS17.
This paper provides an update on the machine development and details performance on a range of profiles
tested. The PIMM market is examined and the business opportunities discussed. Feedback from key
potential users is discussed. Future product development options are outlined.
Keywords: wood mouldings, tooling, contouring control, customised manufacture
INTRODUCTION
The idea of a profile independent wood moulding machine was first introduced in year 2000 [1]. Further
design solutions were reported in 2004 [2]. The PIMM realisation test rig was revealed at IWMS17 [3] in
2005 and received wide acclaim from academics and industrialists. The aim of this machine was to allow
the production of profiled timber components without the use of shaped cutting tools. The PIMM concept
(Figure. 1) deploys a 1.6 mm thick 50 mm diameter slotting cutter rotating at high speed (17000 rpm)
mounted on a computer controlled X-Y carriage. The profile required on the timber is generated by the X-
Y slide movement from a ‘soft’ profile stored in computer memory. The profile is generated in a simple
CAD system built into the user interface or via a proprietary CAD system as desired. The timber to be
profiled is indexed in the feed direction after each pass of the slotting cutter by an amount equal to the
desired surface wave pitch; normally 1-2 mm. Timber is machined on both the left-right and the right-left
passes of the cutter. The work detailed in [3] showed typical output speeds and profiling accuracies
attained first by simulation and then by a test rig facility. The time taken for the PIMM to execute one
pass of the profiled section is typically 1 second, but this is influenced by the size and features of the
profile to be produced. The rate of production from the PIMM is influenced by the ‘contouring speed’
which is the time taken for the cutter to travel from one side of the timber to the other along the width
while cutting and the ‘profile quality’ in terms of geometric accuracy and surface waviness.
x-axis
y-axis
θ-axis
Figure 1: PIMM Concept
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Jackson and Taşcıoglu - 197
d
wp
profile width profile length
Figure 2: Profile dimensions
A number of commercial profiles were measured and compared with their profile widths as identified in
figure 2. The maximum dimensions for profile width wp and depth of cut d were limited to 100 mm and
25 mm respectively. On average, profile lengths were found to be 20% longer than the corresponding
profile widths. A mean velocity of 120 mm/sec along the profile length should result in a 1 second pass
over a 100 mm wide moulding. If the timber is indexed at 1.5 mm at the end of each pass2 then a timber
feed velocity of 1.5 mm/sec results. This translates into 90 mm/minute or 5.4 metres/hour. Whilst this
appears to be incredibly slow compared to even the slowest spindle moulder operation (2-6
metres/minute) the main purpose of the PIMM has to be considered. The aim is to produce a machine that
is flexible and quick to respond to short runs of timber profiling. Figure 3 shows how the cycle time must
be reduced to increase the feed velocity to 110 metres per hour. The section of the graph above 0.5
seconds is achievable today or in the near future. To produce 110 metres per hour will require a cycle time
of 0.05 seconds and is not attainable under computer controlled motion with current actuation technology.
This is the longer term research challenge.
120.0
Timber Output (Metres/hour)
100.0
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
PIMM Cycle Time (seconds)
Figure 3: Influence of PIMM cycle time on timber output
Work reported in [3] showed that a test case profile of 70 mm width and 15 mm depth of profile
2
One pass or cycle is defined as left-right or right left in figure 2
comprising of radii, bevels and flats could be machined to an accuracy of 0.09 mm at a cycle time of 1.17
sec for a 1.8 mm index distance (wave pitch) at a production rate of 128 mm/min. This was the starting
point for the work reported in this paper. Further explanation of system modelling and performance is
given in [4].
PIMM MARKET
An overview of the Woodworking Machines market is shown in Table 1. This is sourced from a reputable
UK consultancy group [5]. Data is obtained from national statistics as well as industry trade associations.
The term Avail in Table 1 represents the envisaged market share that may be reasonably targeted for any
new product development. This is based on the degree to which certain branded products have secured an
immovable hold on a particular market. Whilst nothing is certain, an available world wide market of 550
million GBP shows there is plenty of business to be had. Further research in the wood products
manufacturing sector shows that low volume production of architraves, skirting boards (both modern and
traditional) and other similar mouldings for both domestic and professional markets household, marine
and hobby/DIY markets are growth areas. These markets are large enough to support the introduction of
PIMM domestically (in the UK) first of all, followed by export sales. The data suggests that a focus on
wood materials for DIY markets represents the most attractive opportunity for PIMM technology.
Table 1: Market forecast for spindle machne sales in 2006 (GBP Millions)
Total Avail Total Avail Total Avail
Description
UK UK US US Europe Europe
Spindle Machines Light
25.8m 11.2m 247.3m 92.5m 192.6m 84.5m
Duty (<1.5 KW)
Spindle Machines
Medium Duty (1.6-4.9 27.5m 16.5m 248.3m 65.8m 184.3m 90.0m
KW)
Spindle Machines Heavy
37.7m 12.4m 272.8m 101.5m 171.4m 72.5m
Duty (>5KW)
Figure 4 shows a comparison of the production output from the PIMM compared to the conventional
shaped cutter and spindle moulder approach. The set up time for the PIMM is negligible in comparison to
the tooling preparation time for the conventional approach. During the tool preparation time for the
spindle moulder the PIMM is producing profiled timber at a rate of 8 metres/hour. For the example shown
in figure 4 the PIMM can produce 16 metres of timber, so for short runs this is very attractive, especially
if the profile is a one-off never to be repeated custom job. Also shown is the cost per metre of timber
machined. With a purchase price of 5000 GBP amortised over two years the PIMM adds approximately
0.20 GBP to each metre of timber. Several hundred metres of timber need to be produced with the
conventional method to achieve this cost, mainly because of the set up time for both tools and machine
and also because an operator is needed to operate the machine. In contrast, because the feed speed of the
PIMM is slow, the machine can operate un-attended for long periods (typically 1 hour), thus releasing a
skilled craftsman to work on other tasks. Other production scenarios can involve the multiple PIMM
machines each producing the same profile – parallel production for higher rates or each PIMM producing
a different profile – specialised production of low volume mouldings, or some combination of these two
possibilities. The PIMM offers the opportunity to change the cross-sectional profile along the length of
the timber, thus producing mouldings that are not possible with conventional shaped tooling.
70 10.0
PIMM
60
Conventional 8.0 Conventional
Timber ouput (metres)
PIMM
Cost per metre (£)

50
6.0
40
30 4.0
20
2.0
10
0 0.0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 10 20 30 40 50
Elapsed time (hours) Timber profiled (metres)
(a) Timber produced (b) Cost per metre of timber

Figure 4: Comparison of conventional and PIMM machining
PIMM CUTTING FORCES

Fundamental to the PIMM solution is the consideration and identification of cutting forces involved in
this novel machining process. Little or no work is available to estimate the PIMM cutting forces directly.
In order to quantify the magnitude and character of the PIMM machining action a series of tests and
analyses were carried out. The aim of this work was to establish the influence of the cutting forces on the
ability of the X-Y manipulation system to achieve a reasonable profiling speed with the desired accuracy.
The basic cutting forces for the PIMM profiling system are shown in figure 5. A test facility (shown in
figure 6) was created to estimate the PIMM cutting forces. The facility was based around a linear slide,
Dremel power unit and various slotting cutters and sawblades. The depth of cut was adjusted and then the
linear slide moved the cutter at a constant depth across the section of timber being machined. The cutter
was advanced along the feed direction of the timber manually at the end of each pass. In effect, this was a
planing operation.
Fsn
tool Fst
face
Ftt
Ftn
Figure 6: Cutting forces on the PIMM tip Figure 6: Cutting force test facility
The cutter under test was attached to a collet and driven by the Dremel Multi-Tool via a flexible shaft.
The Dremel motor was a 250 W, 220V AC with manual speed adjustment in the range of 5000 – 22000
rpm. The cutter rotational speed was measured with a non-contact optical tachometer having 1 second
sampling rate. The feed speed of the cutter across the timber was adjusted up to a maximum of 125
mm/sec by means of the drive motor on the linear slide. Initially the test-rig was designed to use with a
Kistler three-axis dynamometer, attached to the feed table and carrying a timber specimen. Initial tests
showed that meaningful cutting force data could not be acquired in any of the three directions. The small
cutting forces of the slotting cutter could not be detected among the vibration forces of the test-rig and the
electrical noise of the charge amplifiers. Design and manufacture of a special purpose load cell was
outside the scope of this research work; consequently, measurement of cutting forces directly was not
carried out.
As an alternative approach, it was decided to estimate the cutting power and forces from the power input
to the cutter motor. Timber specimens were screwed directly to the feed table and an AC watt-meter,
which is capable of measuring the average power in one second intervals, was connected between the
cutter motor and the mains socket. Similar methods, utilizing a watt-meter, are reported in [5]. The
findings show that, very high correlation exists between the power calculated from measured cutting
forces and the power measured directly with a watt-meter; and this correlation permits estimation of
cutting forces for given machining conditions. The results from this approach indicated that 100 Watts of
power for the cutter drive would be sufficient to remove 15 mm depth at a rate of 120 mm/sec using a 50
mm slotting cutter with four blades rotating at 17000 rpm. The corresponding cutting forces were
estimated to be of the order of 1 Newton for each of the forces identified in figure 5 (Fsn, Fst, Ftt, Ftn).
The forces shown in figure 5 are in the sense of acting on the timber; the forces acting on the cutting tip
are equal and opposite to these. These low forces allow the PIMM to machine delicate sections that would
cause problems with conventional profiling. The low forces also, fundamentally affect the way the PIMM
prototype is designed and realised. It is not necessary to produce substantial metal structures to resist such
small cutting forces, thus enabling lighter weight system components that can be moved at higher
profiling speeds to increase timber output.
PIMM PROTOTYPE
The PIMM project team obtained an innovation grant from Loughborough University Intellectual
Property Group to take the test rig reported in [3] closer to market. The approach taken was very radical
in that rapid manufactured nylon parts were created for the main structural elements. This allowed a
number of configuration options to be evaluated quickly and also provided a professional solution for
presentation to potential users. The prototype shown in figure 7 utilises a push-feed works to transport
long lengths (~2 metres) through the PIMM profiling zone. The PIMM test rig is 350 mm high, 250 mm
wide and 350 mm long, therefore, it can be considered as a typical PC peripheral device size for desktop
use. The horizontal axis moves 120 mm and the vertical axes moves 30 mm respectively. The rig allows
machining of profiles having width of maximum 100 mm. The maximum cutting depth is limited only by
the cutter radius and can be up to 30mm. Since the cutting forces are low (~1 Newton) the PIMM is quiet,
safe and easy to use by people with no woodmachining experience. This opens up the market
considerably. The estimated selling price for this size of unit with stand alone controller is 5,000 GBP for
the first machines, with the price falling to 2,500 GBP for mass production.
Y Axis Drive
Feed X Axis
Drive
Cutting Blade
Blade Drive
Profiled Timber Timber Feed
Figure 7: PIMM Prototype
MACHINING WORK
A number of profiles (figure 8)were machined on the PIMM prototype machine. A 1.6 mm wide slotting
cutter with four square cut edges was used. The cutter X-Y path speed is primarily limited by the power of
the cutter motor. If the depth of cut and the cutter angular speed is kept constant, increasing the path
speed results in larger chips to be severed, and therefore increases the cutting power. Care has to be taken
not to stall the cutter motor and also not to exceed the width of cut of the slotting saw (1.6 mm in this
case); otherwise the surface finish quality becomes very poor (stepped surface). To determine the
maximum path speed for reliable operation of the cutter, a set of experiments were performed on a 70 mm
wide redwood test specimen. The cutter speed, the depth of cut and the feed increment were set at 17000
rpm, 10 mm, and 1 mm respectively. This produced a planed surface. Starting from 90 mm/s, the
maximum path speed was increased by 10 mm/s after each pass, and the cutter speed measured. A
significant reduction (i.e. 30%) in cutter speed was observed when the path speed is 140 mm/s, and on the
following pass, when the path speed is 150 mm/s, the cutter stalls. The control system uses this data to
ensure this cutter load is not exceeded by reference to the profile being cut. This stall limit is largely
independent of wood species and condition. The cut samples were inspected by Coordinate Measuring
Machine and also sectioned and scanned using a document scanner, then image processed to get the cross
section geometry. As a general rule the steady state sections such as flats and bevels were produced to an
accuracy well within the surface texture of the timber (+/-0.025 mm). There was some error at changes in
direction such as transition from bevels to flats, or flats to radii. These were generally within +/-0.15 mm.
These errors were not noticeable by touch or visual inspection on the actual profile because of their short
duration. General surface texture and waviness was good, but lacked the polished effect associated with
rotary machining with profiled cutters.
Figure 8: Examples of profiles machined by the PIMM protype
USER COMMENTS
As part of the innovation programme, telephone interviews were carried out with a number of potential
PIMM customers. These ranged from large companies with 100 million GBP turnover to one person
businesses. The number of people contacted was limited to 20, simply by the time available. In addition, a
PIMM prototype video was shown on the Wadkin Ultracare stand at the October 2006 W6 Woodworking
Machinery and Wood Products exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.
This generated a great deal of interest and some useful feedback. A number of PIMM demonstrations
have been given to potential users, mainly furniture manufacturers. The feed back from all of these
activities has been useful and all positive. Every one of the companies would buy a PIMM, especially the
small businesses making bespoke products where one-off profiling is expensive and usually avoided
where possible. Restoration workers also gave a positive response. Comments from woodworking
artisans were particularly interesting, since many used sub-contract machining services for bespoke
profiles because they felt that shaping profiled cutters was engineering work. The PIMM was seen as
being just an add-on to their PC based design environment, not intimidating, like a spindle moulder for
example. The provision of a tenoning PIMM was seen as exciting, and the possibility of a universal
profiler for mouldings, tenoning and general edge shaping was discussed.
CONCLUSION
The PIMM market investigation, the realisation of a prototype machine and undertaking initial testing
against different potential users have all been useful activities. The potential for niche market usage such
as bespoke profiling work is strong. The possibility of changing the profile shape along the timber length
is seen as a powerful sales feature. The PIMM approach is very useful for tenoning, especially the
production of matched sets of comb joints. The next challenge is to find exploitation partners with the
vision to make PIMM a reality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge support from the Loughborough University PhD programme during the
research phase of the PIMM project and also the Loughborough University Intellectual Property Office
for innovation funding.
REFERENCES
1. Jackson, M. R., Neumayer, R., Parkin, R. M. and Brown, N. Profile independent wood moulding
machine dynamic model and control system. In Mechatronics 2000, Georgia Inst. of Technology,
USA, 2000, 6 pages.
2. Tascioglu, Y. and Jackson, M.R., ''Design Alternatives for a Novel Wood Moulder'', Proceedings of
Mechatronics 2004, the 9th Mechatronics Forum International conference, Ankara, Turkey, 30th
August 2004, pp. 833-839.
3. Tascioglu, Y. and Jackson, M.R., ''Profile independent wood moulding machine'', IWMS 17, Proc.
17th International Wood Machining Seminar, Fachhochschule Rosenheim, University of Applied
Sciences, Retru-Verlag, Germany, 26th September 2005, pp. 337-355. 4 Tascioglu, Y. and Jackson,
M. R., Mechatronic Design of a Novel Wood Moulder, Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part B: J. Engineering
Manufacture, 11 pages, In Press 2006,
4. PIMM Business Profiling Report, Loughborough University, UK
5. Aguilera, A., Meausoone, P. J., Martin, P. Wood material influence in routing operations: the MDF
case. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, 2000, 58, 278-283.
Machining Seminar
Session III
Cutting Mechanics
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar McKenzie - 205

Power Demand in Routing Wood and Wood Composites
McKenzie, W. M.
3 Bowles Avenue, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
ABSTRACT
Information on power demand in routing appears to be currently more economically important in this
application than in the other long-established ones. The power of the router motor head is critical in
design, selection and operation of numerically controlled routers, which are very expensive and hence
demand high productivity. In particular, the power and hence weight of the motor places affects how
rapidly the routing head can be moved and re-positioned during a processing run. Fortunately, the most
common routing operation, cutting across the full width of the edge, is a relatively simple configuration
for modelling.
A general linear multivariate regression model uses cutting force results from basic cutting research
(conducted on laboratory equipment providing a simple cutting configuration) by Kivimaa, the author and
others, and tested against results from trials on an industrial routing machine by Smith at NCSU. The
model covers solid wood, composite boards, specifically medium-density fibreboard and particleboard.
Effects have commonly been investigated separately or a few at a time, ignoring significant interactions.
Thus it was necessary to combine results from various experiments and experimenters and hypothetical
relationships with less empirical support.
A general linear model for cutting force for routing has been developed using the variables density, chip
thickness, rake angle, fibre angle and dullness. The computer program which converts material and
machine operating variables into these basic variables for the range of values required, and then computes
power.
This kind of project would benefit greatly from information provided by full factorial experiments (i.e.
including all interactions) covering the five factors mentioned above. The presentation will focus on two
of the factors mentioned above, namely fibre angle and dullness, because new data and analyses have
thrown new light on their contribution to models.
Key words: Wood, Wood composites, Machining, Routing, Cutting power, Modelling
INTRODUCTION
At the IWMS meeting in Los Angeles in 2001 I discussed a general model for estimating power for rotary
cutting via the cutting force. My attempts to refine it to provide sufficiently useful accuracy across
important types of operation, particularly planing, sawing and routing, have failed so far for reasons
discussed later. Hence I have focussed attention on power for routing, because currently information on
power demand appears to be more economically important in this application than in the other long-
established ones. The power of the router motor head appears to be critical for design, selection and
operation of routers, which are very expensive and hence demand high productivity. In particular, the
weight of the motor places affects how rapidly the transport speed of the routing head can be changed and
how quickly it can be positioned during a processing run... Also, the cutting force affects the vibrations of
the cutting system, and hence the quality of the cut surface. Also, the most common routing operation,
cutting across the full width of the edge, is a relatively simple configuration.

The difficulties of modelling cutting force and power for rotary cutting were mentioned in my 2001 paper,
and I will re-visit them here to explain problems and expand on the discussion of some. The model has
two parts, a basic model estimating cutting force (the tangential component) to material and tool
variables, and a rotary cutting model using the cutting force derived using the basic model to estimate the
power demand for a head in a particular operation.
THE BASIC CUTTING MODEL

The model consists of a general linear equation, that is, one based on linear effects including interactions
between the independent variables. The graph of a two dimensional example is sketched in Figure 1.
Figure 1 The form of the model for two dimensions.
The independent factors included in the basic model are material density, fibre angle (for solid wood),
chip thickness, rake angle and dullness. Friction angle (arctangent of the coefficient of sliding friction
between tool and work-piece material) is incorporated with rake angle in a single variable. Moisture
content was standardized at 12%, a value near the middle of the air-dry (8-15%) range, since the model is
considered most applicable to secondary processing and the effects of moisture content are relatively
small.
DENSITY
Physical and mechanical properties vary considerably within and between wood species and with
moisture content. An indicator of their importance in cutting is that Figure 30 in Kivimaa (1950) obtained
a four- to six-times range in cutting force over an air-dry density range from 0.15 to 1.2 (eight-times). The
ratio of the two ranges is about 0.7. Comparison of graphs A and B in Figure 30 show a substantial
interaction with fibre angle, and a smaller one with dullness. Interactions with rake angle and dullness are
evident, but relatively small (McKenzie and Cowling 1971).
Thus some proxy for basic cutting resistance is required in a predictive model. Density is a gross property
of both solid and composite wood, and affects all mechanical properties, but not consistently, as Eyma
(2002) has pointed out. He found that density was somewhat less accurate than certain standard
mechanical properties in ranking cutting force and power for different specimens and materials. However,
density is much more easily measured than mechanical properties. Also, the Wood Handbook (1990)
notes that density has a high correlation with mechanical properties, and that the relationships tend to be
linear for individual species. Also, in most cutting configurations the standard measures developed for
engineering purposes do not apply to wood cutting, where the main intention is to produce a stress
concentration at an edge in a cellular anisotropic material. The thickness of the edge is of the same order
as the cell wall thickness (2-30 µm), so that imposed stress is not actually very highly concentrated. Also,
wood is only partially elastic. Thus stresses around the cutting edge are very complex, and large
distortions and even rupture in zones away from the edge may occur before severance at the edge begins.
These phenomena are especially evident in 90-90 cutting (edge and motion both at 900 to the fibres)

(McKenzie 1963, 1966). They result in cyclic chip formation and cutting force and in variation in average
cutting force. Further, fibre direction may vary with or against the grain over a range from 0
Considering all this, in the present model density has been has been adopted as they most practical proxy
for mechanical properties of the work-piece material. If desired, density could be obtained conveniently
on each shipment in the plant by measuring and weighing cuboid samples. Basic density (oven-dry
weight divided by water-saturated volume) is adopted because it has correlated better than air-dry density
with cutting force in experiments (McKenzie 1971). While Kivimaa (1950) and others have found a
slightly curved relationship with air-dry density, but a linear relationship with basic density was adopted
as sufficiently accurate over a shorter range of density, and more convenient for a general linear analysis
including interactions. The graphs in Kivimaa (1950) and Franz (1958) and general linear analyses show
interactions of density with chip thickness, angle, fibre direction and dullness. An additional feature of
density affecting modelling is that cutting force is expected to be zero at zero density, i.e. force is
proportional to density, regardless of the other factors, implying interactions with all others. This does not
apply to any of the other factors.
CHIP THICKNESS
Chip thickness is defined here as the nominal thickness (before cutting) of the material between the
forward extreme point on the edge and the surface, measured normally to the instantaneous (tangential)
cutting plane. In rotary cutting, chip thickness varies as the edge moves through the cutting arc.
Kivimaa (1950, Fig. 25) obtained a ten-times range of cutting force for a chip thickness range from 0.125
to 5 mm (20-times). The ratio of these ranges is about 0.5, and substantial interactions with the other
variables have been found. Graphs are commonly downward curving. This attributed to edge
dullness, the contribution of which to cutting force decreases with increasing chip thickness. Where the
edge tends toward ideal sharpness, the relationship tends become more linear, according with theory
advance by Albrecht (1960), with an intercept representing the effect of dullness, e.g. McKenzie (2001). It
is noted that the total cutting force cannot be assumed to be proportional to chip thickness, since the edge
is never ideally sharp. In basic experiments, repeating a cut without advancing the tool demonstrates this.
However, the term representing the separate effect of chip thickness assumes proportionality. Albrecht’s
relationship was adopted in the model, along with interactions.
RAKE ANGLE
Cutting force diminishes steeply with rake angle from 00 to a minimum about 40-500, where the tool
deflections interfere (see for instance Kivimaa 1950 Figure 33). The trend is curved, being related to tan
(β-α), the tangent of the difference between the friction angle β (=arc tan (friction coefficient)) and the
rake angle α (Franz 1958); McKenzie and Cowling 1971). All of these results show a relationship with tan
(β-α) that is approximately linear over the common range of rake angle up to 300, and interactions with
other variables (Figure 2). The parameter tan (arc tan µ) was used in the model, along with significant
interactions. For simplicity, a single friction coefficient value of 0.365, corresponding to a friction angle
of 200 was used for air-dry wood, approximating the average value of rake angle where the normal force
is zero in Kivimaa’s Figure 33 and the results of McKenzie (1968; 1991). In routing in particular the rake
angle is commonly 200 for inserts with a wedge angle of 550, the factory setting. For Kivimaa’s Figure 33
for a rake angle varying from 10 to 400, tan (β-α) = tan (0.35-α) varied from 0.18 to -0.36 a ratio of 2
while the cutting force varied from 18 to 10, a ratio of 1.8.
FIBRE ANGLE.
This model is confined to machining with the feed and tool motion vectors parallel to a plane containing
the fibre axis of solid wood, so that the fibre angle takes values between 00 (90-0) and 900 (90-900), values
with and against the grain being combined in the present model.
The importance of fibre angle is indicated by ratios of cutting force values given for the three cutting
orientations in Kivimaa (1950: 42). From these date the ratio for of his values 90-90 over 90-0 is
calculated to be 2.6 and his Figure 22 shows an increase in the ratio with chip thickness. Also, Kivimaa’s
Figure 22 shows substantial deviations from a sinusoidal curve, especially in the vicinity of zero fibre
angle. The minimum occurs, not at zero fibre angle, but at 10-150 against, and the maximum occurs, not at
900, but about 700 against. Stewart (1969) using a rake angle of 400 and chip thickness 0.25 mm,
observed deviations at angles other than at zero fibre angle and the ratio of maximum to minimum was
1.9. My own unpublished results show a ratio of 3.6 for 190 rake angle and 0.25 mm chip thickness and
for 300 rake angle the ratio was 1.75. Thus interactions of fibre angle with chip thickness and rake angle
are indicated. The effects of fibre angle are difficult to model, and the available data slight. They show a
complex sinusoidal curves, differing in the “with-the grain” and “against-the–grain” quadrants. These
deviations were much less pronounced in my results, suggesting that they may be artefacts. My recording
of peaks and valleys show that the differences vary greatly with fibre angle, being very large in the region
from 600 with and 600 against. This ratio Range/Mean increases as rake angle decreases, from about 0.15
at 300 to about 1.0 at 100 (the value in Kivimaa’s Figure 22), suggesting high variability of the mean at
any angle in the range given above. Since the curves are different in shape for counter and climb cutting,
and the force is not consistently greater for one than the other, in the present model the results were
combined, setting the force to be a minimum at zero fibre angle. Also, possible offset of the minimum and
maximum values of force were set at 00 and 900 respectively. Further research might enable refinement
here. Fibre angle is set at zero when the vector of edge motion is parallel to the feed vector and 900 when
the two vectors are at 900. Since the force ranges from a minimum at a fibre angle of 00 to a maximum at
900, whereas the function F = sin A ranges from minimum to maximum over 1800, it was necessary to use
the function F = sin 2A, and offset it on the angle axis by π/2 to make the value a minimum at A = 0. The
minimum force is not zero, but a value determined by the other variables for zero fibre angle. The
relationship of force to values of 1+sin (2A-900) is shown in Figure 2.
25
20
Force per mm width
15
10
5
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
1+sin 2 (FAD-45)
Figure 2: Tangential force versus transformed values of fibre angle, deg. (FAD) Data from Kivimaa
(1950), Stewart (1969), McKenzie (unpubl.) Chip thickness 0.2-0.25 mm, rake angles 10-
30 deg.

DULLNESS
One indication of the importance of dullness is in Kivimaa’s Figure 30, which compares force values for a
“work-sharp” edge (after making a few cuts) and a “dull” edge (presumed to be fully dulled). The force
ratio is about 1.5 but varies with fibre angle and density. My own experiments with saw teeth showed a
ratio between very dull and sharp teeth of 1.3. (McKenzie IWMS 1991). Smith (1996) found that the ratio
was increased very little when edge thickness was increased from 45 to 125 µm artificially by lapping.
McKenzie and Karpovich (1975) observed a doubling of force on the corner of very dull sawtooth cutting
hardboard. In 90-90 cutting McKenzie and Cowling (1971) observed a doubling of force from work sharp
to dull. Interactions with the other four variables may be significant. In the range of dullness commonly
allowed in secondary processing where surface quality is important, dullness is the least important of the
five variables in the model, for solid wood, at least.
As discussed in a previous paper to IWMS (McKenzie 2001), dullness is difficult to model, and in the
present model dullness is represented by a number from 1 to 5 notionally proportional to clearance loss,
the radial distance between the radially extreme point on the tool and the tangentially extreme point on
the tip (McKenzie and Karpovich 1975). The concept and method of measurement are illustrated in
Figures 3 .
Ratios of ranges for the dependant and independent variables are collected together in Table 1.
Clearance side (face hidden)
Clearance loss 3-13 µm, average 8 µm. Length of edge shown is 0.3 mm.
Figure 3: Method of measuring clearance loss, and sample image.

Table 1: Ratio of force range divided by ratio of range of independent variable1
Independent Variable Ratio of Ranges Proportionality2
Density 0.7 Yes
Chip Thickness 0.5 Yes3
Rake Angle 0.9 No
4
Fibre Angle 2.6 – 3.6 No
Dullness 0.4 No
THE MODEL FOR BASIC CUTTING

The data for the basic cutting model subjected to general linear regression analyses including all
interactions came primarily from the combined results of Kivimaa (1950) and my own research on cutting
across the edge of a board of Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera on a lathe, with varying rake angle
(McKenzie unpublished). Other experiments provided data concerning the other variables and their
interactions, and the coefficients for medium density fibreboard (MDF) and particleboard. After
assembling the coefficients from the various general linear regression analyses, the following equation
used in the basic model was
TNNMMSQR=1.5*BSGKPL+6*CHIPMM+3*TANMBA1+0.4*SIN2AMP1+0.5*DULL
where TNNMMSQR=the square root of cutting (tangential) force component. The square root was used
to correct for increase in variance with increase in some variables,
BSGKPL= basic specific gravity, kg. m3, oven-dry mass divided by the water-saturated volume,
CHIPMM=chip thickness, mm, measured radially, i.e. normally to the plane containing the instantaneous
vector of relative motion between work-piece and the (straight) cutting edge,
. TANBMA – tan (arc tanµ-α), after Franz (1954), the difference between the friction angle
(arctan µ) and the rake angle α,
. FAR – fibre angle in radians, the angle between the instantaneous vector of relative motion and the fibre
direction, measured from the feed direction (FEEDIR) relative to the cutting head,
DULL – dullness index, an integer from1 to 5, representing the range from work-sharp to fully dull.
The error of estimate of this model was 0.4 N.
MODEL FOR POWER

The power model is used to estimate the cutting power under one or more sets of operating conditions.
This calculates values of the variables for the basic model equation from the characteristics of the
machining operation, the work piece, the tool, machine and operating conditions. As developed so far for
1
Approximate, from curves. Maximum/minimum on force axis divided by maximum/minimum on axis of
independent variables.
2
Conceptually, cutting force equalz zerio when variable equals zero.
3
This refers to an ideally sharp edge with dullness being a separate variable always greater than zero.
4
With a range of fibre angle from 0° to 90° a ratio of ranges is not appropriate. This is the ratio of forces for 90-90
and 90-0. Force for 90-0 is not zero

use with SYSTAT, these need to be assembled in a file. The file for a particular operation could contain
several levels of certain operating variables such as feed direction (fibre angle), depth of cut, width of cut
and feed speed, or these might be requested by the program. The program is listed in the Appendix. Its
first task is to convert machine operating variables to a standard metric form. Then the angles of entry and
exit of the cutter are calculated, along with the associated fibre angles. In its present form, for reasons
discussed earlier the program makes no distinction between angles with- and against the grain. Pitch angle
(angle subtended by the arc between successive cuts by the same type of edge, average number of edges
in action, and average power per edge are calculated. Finally, the average cutting power demand on the
head is calculated in watts and horse-power.
In Figure 5 the estimated power is plotted against the values observed by Smith for each of the four work
piece materials across the other manipulated variable. The graphs approach the goal of a linear
relationship with a slope equal to 1.
Figure 5: ots of estimated versus net routing power as measured by Smith (1996).
The correlation between the estimated power and that determined by Smith over all his results was 0.90,
implying an error of estimate of 19%. In applying the model this could be taken into account by adding
this error to the estimated power, thus providing an upper bound, but this is not done in the program.
The program in SYSTAT basic language is given in the Appendix
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
This model for routing could be refined by conducting more extensive factorial basic and machine–based
experiments to evaluate interactions. Resin-faced materials and wood from at least three widely sampled
trees of each species should be included. Use of simple plant- or supplier-based tests for specific gravity
and cutting resistance would increase accuracy, as would tool-material tests of the kind investigated by
Meausoone, Aguilera and Martin (2001).
Modelling of power in planing and moulding is difficult because in the former the fibre angle is low and
in the latter the chip formation type varies in a complex way with fibre angle, density, rake angle and chip
thickness. Modelling of power in sawing is complicated by cutting at the sides of teeth and variation in
tooth shape in and between teeth. Also, in both of these well-established kinds of machining there is less
need for power modelling.

REFERENCES
1. Albrecht, P. 1960. New developments in the theory of the metal-cutting process: the ploughing
process in metal cutting. A.S.T.M.E. 28th Annual Meeting Collected Papers 60(1). Paper No. 251.
2. Eyma, F. 2001. Study of the rotary cutting process (90-0): relations between mechanical
characteristics, density and cutting forces. In R. Szymani (ed.) Proceedings of the 15th International
Wood Machining Seminar Los Angeles, California July 30-August 1 2001 pp. 25-35.
3. Forest Products Laboratory. 1999. Wood handbook—Wood as an engineering material. Gen. Tech.
Rep. FPL-GTR-113. www.fpl.fs.fed.us Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Forest Products Laboratory. 463 p. 37-45.
4. Franz, 1958. An analysis of the wood-cutting process. University of Michigan Press, Engineering
Research Institute Publications, Reports, Ann Arbor Michigan.
5. Kivimaa, E 1950. Cutting force in woodworking. The State Institute for Technical Research, Helsinki,
Finland.
6. McKenzie, W.M. 1960 Fundamental aspects of the wood cutting process. Forest Products Journal
10,9: 447-456.
7. ----------------------1966 Die Grundanforderungen an Schneideinrichtungen für Holz als spannung
werkstoff).Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 24, 9: 380-389. In German. English version “Wood as a
material to be cut - the basic requirements of cutting devices” presented to the International Union of
Forest Research Organizations Section 41 Forest Products Meeting, Melbourne, 1965, available from
the author.
8. -----------------------1991. Application of the slow-cutting experimental approach to some sawing
problems. In Lemaster, R.L. (ed.), Proceedings of the Tenth International Wood Machining Seminar,
October 21-23, 1991. University of California Forest Products Laboratory, Richmond California.
9. -----------------------2001. In R.Szymani, (ed.), Proceedings of the 15th International Wood Machining
Seminar, July 30 – September 1, 2001. A computer program for deriving peripheral loading on rotary
tools from edge forces University of California Forest Products Laboratory, Richmond California.
10. ---------------------- and Cowling, R.L., 1971. A factorial experiment in transverse-plane cutting of
wood. Part 1. Cutting force and edge wear. Wood Science 3,4:204-213.
11. -----------------------and Karpovich, H. The frictional behaviour of wood. Wood Science Technology 2
(2) 138-152 (1068) Springer-Verlag.
12. Meausoone, P.J., Aguilera, A. and Martin, P., 2001. Choice of optimal cutting conditions in wood
machining. In R. Szymani (ed.) Proceedings of the 15th International Wood Machining Seminar Los
Angeles, California July 30-August 1 2001 pp.
13. Smith , T.G., 1996. An experimental investigation of the power requirements for high-speed CNC
router spindles. MSc thesis North Carolina State University Department of Wood and Paper Science,
Raleigh, North Carolina.
14. Stewart, H.A. 1969. Effect of cutting direction with respect to grain angle on the quality of machined
surface, tool force components, and cutting friction coefficient. Forest Products Journal 19, 3: 43-46.

Mechanical Analysis of Cellular Deformation and Fracture
in Wood Cutting Process
Ohtani, Tadashi
School of Education
Ibaraki University
Bunkyo 2-1-1, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
t-ohtani@mx.ibaraki.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
Elastic-plastic deformation and fracture behavior in wood cutting process was examined at the cellular
scale level in order to obtain the mechanical information for simulation and optimum design in machining
wood. The shear angle observed in wood chip formation was analyzed by the chip thickness and cellular
deformation, and the analysis of individual cellular deformation changed to link with the chip formation
of split type in condition without previous check, and also corresponded to the chip formation in that with
previous check. The fracture progressed in cutting parallel to the grain was categorized by following four
types: one type progressed in the intracellular layer, another type progressed in lumina, the other types of
shear and normal rupture.
Keyword: Mechanical analysis, Cellular Deformation, Shear angle, Fracture, Cutting Process
INTRODUCTION
Research on machining material has recently been possible to deduce the optimum cutting condition by
simulating the ideal processing condition at the design stage. The research on machining wood has been
reported that the optimum cutting condition was investigated in basis of the automatic control parameter
such as optical position-detector and acoustic emission [1,2]. However the research on the simulation for
optimum wood machining condition has been investigated little at the design stage before cutting material
[3]. Therefore the mechanical information of the elastic-plastic and fracture behavior in wood cutting
process is necessary for simulation and optimum design, especially the analysis of shear angle and the
large crack propagation such as previous check during chip formation is important in basis of the
simulation and optimum design. In this study, the behavior of elastic-plastic deformation and fracture at
the cellular scale level is examined in order to obtain the fundamental mechanical information for
simulation and optimum design in machining wood.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
MATERIAL
The species used for this experiment were Spruce and Japanese ceder (Sugi). The densities of the Spruce
and Sugi woods were 0.40 g／cm3 and 0.35 g／cm3, respectively. The Sugi test specimen in early-wood
was used for the cutting test because Sugi has the double layer structure with the different density in the
early-late wood. The test specimen was prepared to shape the rectangular parallelepiped with the length of
5 mm in the radial and longitudinal direction, and was shaped with that of 10 mm in the tangential
direction.
ORTHOGONAL CUTTING TEST

Orthogonal cutting test parallel to the grain was conducted in order to observe the shear and fracture
behavior in the cellular deformation from the side view. High-speed tool steel (SKH) was used for the
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ohtani - 215
cutting test, and the cutting tool with the tip radius of 5μm was prepared in condition of rake angle with
40° and the clearance angle with 10°. Figure 1 shows the flow chart of the mechanical behavior in wood
cutting process. The chip formation in wood cutting process can be thought by the continuous process
with elastic-plastic deformation and fracture behavior. Therefore the behavior of the elastic-plastic
deformation and fracture until the chip formation was observed from the side view by using the high
resolution camera. The cutting test in parallel to the grain was conducted, and the cutting image was
analyzed in the interval of each cutting distance with L=100μm.
ANALYSYS OF SHEAR ANGLE FOR CHIP FORMATION

The cellular deformation progressed in front of the tool tip was observed from the side view in Spruce
cutting parallel to the grain. With the progression of tool tip, the cellular deformation as shown in Figure 2
was observed. Considering the shape of grown chip and the cellular deformation, the shear angle was
analyzed by three methods as shown in Figure 2(a)-(c). The shear angle φt1/t2 was calculated from the
relationship between the depth of cut t1 and the chip thickness (t2)min as shown in Figure.2(a). Another
shear angle φt as shown in Figure.2(b) was estimated by the angle which connected the tool tip from the
part of the bending deformation on the base line of the chip surface. The other shear angle φs as shown
in Figure 2(c) was defined by the angle which connected between the multiple bending deformation S1-S3
of the intercellular layer in front of the tool tip.
Cutting process (a) (t2) min
t1 tool
Elastic deformation
Depth of cut
Plastic deformation
(b)
Base line
Fracture
φt
Chip formation
Tip
(c)
S1
S2
φS S3 tool
100μm
Intercellular layer
Figure 1: Flow chart of mechanic behavior Figure 2: Analysis method of shear angle

ANALYSIS OF CRACK PROPAGATION IN FRACTURE BEHAVIOR
The cellular fracture behavior in front of the tool tip was observed from the side view in Sugi cutting
parallel to the grain. The fracture behavior was observed in two conditions of which were cut into the
intercellular layer and the center of lumina. From the observation of the fracture behavior, the length d of
crack propagation and the crack angle γ , as shown in Figur 3(a)-(b) were analyzed in order to examine
the property of the crack propagation. The crack length d and angle γ was measured by using the image
analysis software when was cut both into the intercellular layer and the center of lumina as shown in
Figure 3(a)-(b)
(a) Cleavage Tool (b) Cleavage
γ d
d
γ
Lumina
Intercellular layer 100μm
Figure.3: Example of crack propagation in cutting parallel to the grain (a) Cleavage in
intercellular layer, (b) Cleavage in lumina
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

PROPERTY OF SHEAR ANGLE IN CUTTING PARALLEL TO GRAIN
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the shear angle φ and the cutting distance L in the Spruce cutting
depth with t=100 μm. The values of shear angle φt1/t2, φt andφs defined by the analysis method as shown in
Figure 2 (a)-(c) change around about 70°. The values φt and φs change up and down with the cutting
distance increase, while the value φt1/t2 which was calculated from the chip thickness is almost constant.
The result indicates that the shear angle φt and φs estimated from the cellular deformation changes to link
with that of the split type. Figure 5 shows the relationship between the shear angle φ and the cutting
distance L in Spruce cutting depth with t=400 μm. In the lager depth of cut, the value of shear angle is
smaller in order of φs >φt1/t2 >φt unlike the result as shown in Figure 4. This result indicates that the
shear angle with previous check is greatly different by the analysis method and point which extracts the
shear deformation.

120 120
○ ：φ s ○ ：φ s
Spruce Spruce
100 ● ：φ t 100 ● ：φ t
t=100μ m
△ ：φ
t=400μ m
△ ：φ t 1/ t2 t 1/ t2
Shear angle φ
Shear angle φ
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Cutting distance L (mm) Cutting distance L (mm)
Figure 4 Relationship between the shear Figure 5: Relationship between the shear
angle φ and cutting distance L in angle φ and cutting distance L in
depth of cut with t=100μm depth of cut with t=400μm
Figure 6 shows the relationship between the shear angle φ and the depth of cut t in Spruce cutting
parallel to the grain. The value of shear angle φt is smaller and that of φs slightly increase in the depth of
cut with more than t=100 μm, while the values of φt1/t2, φt and φs are almost same in cutting depth with
less than t=100 μm. From above result, it is found that the shear angle in condition without previous
check changes in the value of approximately 70°, and that with the previous check greatly different by the
analysis method and the point which extracts the shear deformation.
PROPERTY OF CRACK PROPAGATION IN CUTTIG PARALLEL TO GRAIN

Figure 7 shows the relationship between the crack length d and the depth of cut t when the fracture
behavior was observed in Sugi cutting parallel to the grain. The crack propagation which was analyzed by
the method as shown in Figure 3(a)-(b) was categorized by following four types: one type that the crack
propagation with cleavage progresses in the intracellular layer as shown in Figure 7(a); another type
progressed in lumina as shown in Figure 7(b); the other types of shear and normal rupture. The crack
length d as shown in Figure 7(a) is small in the cutting depth with less than t=100μm when the tool tip
cuts in the intercellular layer. However, the longer crack grows in the depth with more than t=100μm
when the tool tip cuts in both of intercellular layer and lumina. This result indicates that the previous
check considered macroscopically mean the large crack propagation grown in the intercellular layer. In
contrast, the crack length with less than d=200μm as shown in Figure 7(b) is observed when the tool tip
cuts in lumina.
Figure.8 (a)-(b) shows the relationship between the angle γ of crack propagation and the depth of cut t.
The crack with either depth of cut as shown in Figure 8(a) progresses in range of the angle with less than
γ=15°. When discussed from the results of Figure 7(a) and Figure 8(a), the both results are concluded that
the cleavage fracture in cutting parallel to the grain almost progresses along the intercellular layer. In
contrast, the cleavage in lumina as shown in Figure 7(b) progresses around about 20° for cutting direction
of the tool tip. This crack propagation might be derived from the wooden cellular structure.

120 1400
○ ：φ s (a) Cleavage in intercellular layer
Spruce 1200 ●： Cut in intercellular layer
● ：φ t
(μ m)
100 ○： Cut in lumina
△ ：φ t1 / t 2 1000
Shear angle φ
800
d
80
Privious check
600
Length of crack propagation

60
400
200
40
0
(b) Cleavage in lumina
20
600 △： Cut in lumina
400
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Depth of cut t (mm) 200
0
0 100 200 300 400
Depth of cut t (μ m)
Figure 6: Relationship between the shear Figure 7: Relationship between the length of
angle φ and the depth of cut t. crack propagation d and the depth
of cut t. (a)Cleavage in the
intercellular layer, (b) Cleavage in
the lumina
(° )
80
(a) Cleavage in intercellular layer
60 ●： Cut in intercellular layer
○： Cut in lumina
γ
40 Privious check
Angle of crack propagation
20
0
(b) Cleavage in lumina
60 △： Cut in lumina
40
20
0
0 100 200 300 400
Depth of cut t (μ m)
Figure 8: Relationship between the angle of crack propagation γ and the depth of cut t.
(a)Cleavage in the intercellular layer, (b) Cleavage in the lumina

CONCLUSION
The behavior of elastic-plastic deformation and fracture at the cellular scale level was examined in order
to obtain the mechanical information in wood cutting process. The obtained results are as follows.
(1) The shear angle which was analyzed by the chip thickness and cellular deformation changed around
about 70° in condition without previous check, and the shear angle in that with the previous check
was greatly different by the analysis method and the point which extracts the shear deformation.
(2) The shear angle which was analyzed by the individual cellular deformation changed to link with the
chip formation of split type in condition without previous check, and also corresponded to the chip
formation in that with the previous check.
(3) The crack propagation in cutting parallel to the grain was categorized by following four types: one
type progressed in the intracellular layer; another type progressed in lumina; the other types of shear
and normal rupture.
(4) The fracture property in cutting parallel to the grain was concluded that the fracture with previous
check meant the large crack propagation grown in the intercellular layer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I thank Shiroichi, D., and Koshizuka, M. for extensive assistance with the experimental apparatus.
REFERENCES
[1] Hattori, N., et al., ”Feedback Control of the Running Position of a Band Saw with an Actuator,
Mokuzai Gakkaishi”, Vol 28, No.12, 783-787 , 1982
[2] Tanaka, C., et al. “A New Technique for Adaptive Control Optimization in Circular Sawing”, Mokuzai
Gakkaishi, Vol.34, No.9, 769-771, 1988
[3] N.Kinoshita, Analysis of the Veneer-Formation Process Ⅱ(in Japanese), Mokuzai Gakkaishi, 29(12),
877-883, 1983

Cutting Force Prediction in MDF Boards Machining.
Tani, G.1; Mantega, C.1; Mazza, M.2

1 2
DIEM: Department of Mechanical SCM Group , CSR: Consorzio
Construction Engineering, University of Studi e Ricerche, Via Emilia, 77 -
Bologna, viale Risorgimento 2,. 47900 Rimini , Italy.
40136, Bologna, Italy. micmazza@scmgroup.com
giovanni.tani@mail.ing.unibo.it
claudio.mantega@mail.ing.unibo.it
ABSTRACT
This paper refers to the prediction of the cutting force in milling machining operations on MDF (Medium
Density Fibreboard) boards. An analytical model, well known and used in metal cutting operations, has
been upgraded in order to be applied to the wood panels cutting process. The analytical model allows to
estimate, in short computational time, the three components of the cutting force. The cutting forces are
modelled as a function of cutting conditions, tool geometry and cutting coefficient of MDF, and are
related to the tool rotational angle and to the time.
Milling machining tests operations were performed in order to determine the experimental cutting
parameters used in the analytical model. Experimental tests have also been performed to tune and verify
the response of model.
The model has been implemented into Simulink (Matlab® code), in order to realize a friendly user
computational system.
Further analytical models for cutting forces prediction, generally used in woodworking operations and
represented in literature, were analyzed and discussed in the paper.
Some of them were also applied for the evaluation of the average cutting force in MDF boards milling.
Finally a comparison between the proposed model and the ones in literature has been carried out.
Keywords: MDF panel, cutting force prediction, milling woodworking.
INTRODUCTION
Cutting forces prediction has an important role in technological parameters optimization, as well as in tool
wear behaviour and in worked surface quality. In machine tool design too the cutting forces prediction
can be useful utilized for dimensioning machine tool components and structures [1].
Several mathematical models are presented in literature to evaluate the cutting forces; some of them take
into account experimental parameters that has to be obtained by cutting tests.
In this paper different techniques and models are reported in order to evaluate cutting forces developed
during MDF milling.
The major work in the mechanics of wood cutting was carried out in the 1950s by Kivimaa (1950), Franz
(1958) and McKenzie (1960).
To studying orthogonal milling process, Kivimaa [2] and Pahlitzsch/Jostmeier [3] suggest an analytical
cutting force model based on the Equation 1:
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Tani, Mantega and Mazza - 221
Fc = k c ⋅ hm ⋅ b Eq. 1
Where:
K
k c = w0 + Eq. 2
hm
and Fc is the mean cutting force, hm is the mean chip thickness, b is the chip width, and kc is the cutting
coefficient.
The cutting coefficient kc also called “ kc value” is largely discussed in literature [4][5][6] and could be
assumed as an hyperbolic function of the mean chip thickness.
Tröger, and Dietz define that the relation between kc value and hm could be written as in Equation 2
where the parameters K e w0 are experimentally defined.
Scholz collects different analysis results of experimental data available from publications [4], he also
compare different experimental data results and verify that the linear dependence of kc coefficient and
the inverse of the chip thickness ( 1 )is well defined for mean chip thickness greater then 0.2 mm.
hm
Unlike in metal cutting, where the process is dominated by plastic shear, the MDF and wood machining is
dominated by fracture and compression of MDF fibre dust between the incoming material and the rake
face of the tool, so, some models that provides cutting forces for metal cutting (based on plastic shear) are
not useful to the wood cutting. Nevertheless, thanks to the steady isotropic behaviour of MDF others
approach, developed for metal cutting, could be transferred to wood machining.
In metal working literature, the force model due to Altintas and Lee [7] is widely used; this model
calculate the cutting forces thanks to six specific cutting parameters (K..), evaluated from machining tests.
In this paper milling process of MDF boards has been approached using Altintas model [7] [8], that has
been implemented into Simulink (Matlab® code), in order to realize a friendly user computational system.
Machining tests were therefore performed in order to evaluate the cutting coefficients (K..) requested by
the model.
Some Matlab routines, implemented into Simulink (MATLAB®) environment were developed in order to
execute all the procedures: experimental data collection, simulation and comparison between the
simulated and the measured cutting forces.
The Kivimaa-Pahlitzsch techniques has also been implemented in order to evaluate the mean cutting
forces, and a comparison between Altintas model and Kivimaa-Pahlitzsch model has been done.
THE CUTTING FORCE MODEL

In the analytical model of Altintas [7] [8], the global force on a point Pz on the cutting edge has three
elemental force components, that can be expressed by a local tool reference system (tangential, axial and
radial directions, as showed in Figure 1a) in the following form:
dFt = K te dS + K tc h (φ , κ ) db
dFr = K re dS + K rc h (φ , κ ) db
dFa = K ae dS + K ac h (φ , κ ) db
where dS is the incremental length of an helical cutting edge segment, db is the projected length of an
infinitesimal cutting flute in direction of the cutting velocity and h is the chip thickness (function of radial
and axial immersion). The point Pz on the cutting edge has elevation z, radial distance R(z) on plane XY,
and axial immersion angle κ(z) and the lag angle ψ(z, κ), Figure 1a).
The axial immersion angle is defined as the angle between the cutter axis and the normal of cutting edge
at point Pz.
In the generalized model, the relation between the uncut chip thickness and the feed per tooth st is
reported in Equation 5. The helical cutting edge can be wrapped around the cutter, and the radial
immersion angle φj varies as a function of the rotation angle φ, as shown in Equation 6, considering the
first flute (j=1) to be a reference edge, and were its rotation angle, at an elevation of z = 0 is φ, and φpj is
the pitch angle between the preceding flutes.
db = dz ⋅ sen(κ ) Eq. 4
h = st ⋅ sen(φ j ) ⋅ sen(κ ) Eq. 5
N
φ j ( z ) = φ + ∑ φ pj −ψ ( z ) Eq. 6
j =1
Figure 1: a) Generalized Model of the tool, b) and c) Different tool shape parameterization
Thanks to the generalized model (Figure 1a) the tool type, the tool diameter, the length, and the helical
inclination angle and the number of cutter, could be varied, in order to simulate different milling tools, as
shown in Figure 1b) ,1c).
The prediction of the cutting forces requires the definition of six cutting parameters K.. , that are constant
for defined cutting conditions: process technological parameters, tool geometry and material, and MDF
board type.
The cutting force components in Equation 3, written in a local reference system, are translate in an global
Cartesian reference system, accordingly to Equation 7.
⎡ dFx ⎤ ⎡ − sin φ j ⋅ sin κ − cos φ j − sin φ j ⋅ cos κ ⎤ ⎡ dFr ⎤

⎢ ⎥ ⎢
⎢ dFy ⎥ = ⎢ − cos φ j ⋅ sin κ sin φ j − cos φ j ⋅ cos κ ⎥⎥ ⋅ ⎢⎢ dFt ⎥⎥ Eq. 7
⎢ dF ⎥ ⎣⎢ − cos κ 0 − sin κ ⎦⎥ ⎢⎣ dFa ⎥⎦
⎣ z⎦
The cutting forces are obtained by the integration of Equation 7 along the depth of cut (in the range z1, z2)
as reported in Equation 8.
N z2
Fx = ∑ ∫ ⎡⎣ − dFrj ⋅ sin φ j ⋅ sin k j − dFtj ⋅ cos φ j − dFaj ⋅ sin φ j ⋅ cos k j ⎤⎦ ⋅ dz
j =1 z1
N z2
Eq. 8
Fy = ∑ ∫ ⎡⎣ − dFrj ⋅ cos φ j ⋅ sin k j + dFtj ⋅ sin φ j − dFaj ⋅ cos φ j ⋅ cos k j ⎤⎦ ⋅ dz
j =1 z1
N z2
Fz = ∑ ∫ ⎡⎣ − dFrj ⋅ cos k j − dFaj ⋅ sin k j ⎤⎦ ⋅ dz
j =1 z1
At the beginning the depth of cut is divided in a number of increments Δz along the Z axis (tool axis).
Then, for each Δz increments, the corresponding parameters (dS, h, db) are calculated.
The integration reported in Equation 8 is performed at each simulation time step, when the point Pz is
engaged with the workpiece (so when φst < φex), and h become higher then zero.
The definition of the start and the exit angle (φst, φex) allows to realize different working end mill
configurations, such as down-mill, up-mill and slot-mill operations, as showed in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Definition of φst and φex parameters
The structure of the developed simulation software is organized in modules, see Figure 3, linked each
others, in order to realize an updatable system, to allowing the insertion of new modules. A part of the
blocks are dedicated to the definition of the input parameters (shapes and geometrical characteristic of the
tool) and the others are dedicated to the numerical computation and outputs plotting.
Figure 3: Implemented model in simulink (Matlab) environment
It’s then possible to calculate the torque acting on the spindle and the cutting power.
By this model, the inertia forces, the vibrations, the workpiece surface roughness and the mandrel run-out
can not be taken into account. Although, these factors strongly influence the cutting process quality and
for a whole process simulation they must be taken into account.
THE CUTTING COEFFICIENTS.

Experimental test was performed to obtain the K.. coefficients by the following procedures [10] [11].
The average cutting force over a full revolution of the cutter are in Equations 9.
⎧ st
⎪ Fx = − K te S + K reT − 4 (− K tc P + K rc Q ) P=
aN aN
[ cos 2ϑ ]φexst ; S = [sin ϑ ]φexst
φ φ
⎪ 2π 2π
⎪ st
⎨ Fy = − K teT − K re S + (K tc Q + K rc P ) Eq. 9 Eq.
⎪ 4
⎪ aN
⎪ FZ = − 2π K ae (ϑex − ϑ st ) + st K ac T Q =
aN φ
aN
[ 2ϑ − sin 2ϑ ]φ ex T = 2 [ cos ϑ ]φ t
φex
⎩ 2
10
Were a = z2 – z1. and the parameters P, Q, T, S are constant during the test for a defined cutting
configuration, and they are calculated as shown Equation 10.
Assuming a linear relation between the cutting force and the feed rate, it is possible to write the Equation
11, where the cutting force has two component named respectively edge force (F.e) and the cutting force
components (F.c).
⎧ Fx = Fxe + s t Fxc
⎪⎪
⎨ F y = F ye + s t F yc Eq. 11
⎪
⎪⎩ Fz = Fze + s t Fzc
In Equation 11 the cutting force over-signed are measured during experiments (next paragraph), than the
cutting coefficient are evaluated thank to the Equation 12
Fxc P + Fyc Q K = Fzc K te S + Fxe
K tc = 4 ac K re =
P2 + Q2 T T
Eq. 12
K tc P − 4 Fxc Fxe S + FyeT 2π Fze
K rc = K te = − K ae = −
Q S2 +T2 aN (φex − φst )
EXPERIMENTAL TESTS.
MDF boards with an 19 mm thickness and 12% specific humidity, were milled with a 10 mm radius
cylindrical end-mill tool (router) with one straight cutting edge (Figure 4) in sintered hard metal, 0 degree
rake angle (α) and 45 degree clearance angle on a 5 CNC axis: SCM Record 110 AL Prisma, Figure 4.
The cutting forces were measured with a Kistler Multicomponent piezoelectric dynamometer .
A design of experiment (DOE) were planned in order to realize a factorial plane with 2 factor: st (feed per
tooth [mm/tooth]) and vt (cutting speed [m/min]) with, respectively, 5 and 4 levels (st = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5
0.6 [mm/tooth]; vt = 360, 380, 400, 420 [m/min] ), and 3 replications.
The factorial plan has been used for 25% Up-mill (φst = 0°, φex = 45°), 50% Up-mill (φst = 0°, φex = 90°),
and 100% Slot mill (φst = 0°, φex = 180°:) radial immersion.
The MDF board density, as well as hardness, varies along the board thickness. All the cutting operations
were conduct at a 9.5 mm axial immersion in order to eliminate the factor related to the different shear
strength distributions along the MDF board thickness.
Considering that the dynamometer structure has the first natural frequency at 550 Hz the cutting speed
during tests must be lower than 420 m/min in order have an exciting frequency less than half of first
dynamometer natural frequency.
Figure 4: Five CNC axis milling machine; machine head; used cylindrical tool; dynamometer
instrument, MDF board fixation on dynamometer
The cutting forces collected at 12 kHz sampling frequency were then filtered with an low-pass and an
High-pass Butterworth filters. The Butterworth orders and cutting frequency of the filters are different for
each measured signal.
From the measured cutting forces the average cutting coefficients were calculated for each cutting
velocity separately (table 1), using Equations 12.
During tests the adsorbed power were also been collected at the spindle inverter thanks to a digital
oscilloscope, Figure 5. Thanks to this measurement is possible evaluate the average cutting force, in a
parallel manner, as shown in figure 5, and using the relations in figure 5 and Equations 13.
Figure 5: Procedure to obtain the mean cutting force from data collected at the inverter
RESULTS, SIMULATIONS AND COMPARISONS.

The statistical analysis of the planned DOE confirms the level of significance of the chose factors in the
factorial plan, while the residue distribution confirm that the variance is very low. The analysis of
variance also confirms the validity of the principal assumption of linearity made in Equations 11 , which
is very important in order to obtain the cutting coefficients. In table 1 are reported the K.. constants for the
100% Slot mill operation calculated by Equations 12.
Table 1: K.. constants for the 100% Slot mill operation
K.. coefficients for Vt = 420 [m/min] Vt = 400 [m/min] Vt = 380 [m/min]

100% slot mill Ktc = 5,7002 Ktc = 6.0442 Ktc = 3.9425
operation
Krc = -3,0374 Krc = -2.2866 Krc = -1.8781
Kac, Kae =0 Kte = 0,7807 Kte = 0.4609 Kte = 0.4367
(Cylindrical tool
shape) Kre = -0,3995 Kre = -0.5463 Kre = -0.5574
Once the cutting coefficients are calculated it’s possible to perform simulations of cutting force, just
introducing the cutting coefficients, the tool parameter and the cutting process parameters into the model
implemented in Simulink. Note that the procedures to obtain the cutting coefficients from experimental
data, as well to insert the coefficients into Simulink are realized thanks to a user interface masks
developed by the authors in order to facilitate the use of the system. These user interfaces are useful
especially for the technical staff of companies because they doesn’t need to know the Matlab code to
perform simulations.
Figure 6: Comparison of simulated and experimental results for slot mill operations
Some comparisons between the simulated and the measured cutting forces are shown in Figure 6. Cutting
forces are plotted as a function of the instantaneous angle of rotation and in assumption of the steady state
cutting process, the cutting force distribution could be related to the time variable as well.
The simulated average cutting force acting during the engage tooth period, Ft _ simulated = Fx2 + Fy2 were
also evaluated. The measured forces acting during the engage tooth period has been calculated by
considering Ft _ dynamometer = Fx2 + Fy2 .
In Table 2 are shown the average forces and the relative errors.
Table 2: Measured and calculated mean cutting force comparison (vt=420m/mm, Slot-mill)
Calculated mean cutting

Feed per tooth Measured mean cutting force Error
(from the piezoelectics dynamometer) force (from Simulink implemented
model )
st [mm/tooth] Ft_dynamometer [N] Ft_simulated [N] [%]
0.2 5.66 7.27 28
0.3 7.45 9.03 21
0.4 8.8 10.8 23
0.5 10 12.6 25
0.6 12 14.4 19
The quite high value of the error is caused by the superposition of the first mode of vibration of the
dynamometer with the exciting frequency of the cutting process. The frequency spectrum of the system,
collected during the test presents two peaks quite coupled. The filtrated signal is affected to the dynamical
behaviour of the dynamometer, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Collected and filtered signal in frequency and time domain
A further investigation has been made, starting from cutting power measurement on the spindle inverter in
order to determine the kc-value described in Kivimaa/ Pahlitzsch procedure [2] [3].
In order to evaluate the kc-value has been considered the relation in Equation 1.
Where b is the width of cut and hm is the average chip thickness which for both procedures is evaluated
(for used tool geometry) from Equation 17 in case of Slot-mill operation, and from Equation 18 for 25%
Up-mill operation:
2 ⋅ st
hm ⋅ R ⋅ (φex − φst ) = Achip ≅ 2 R ⋅ st ⇒ hm = Eq. 17
(φex − φst )
st
hm ⋅ R ⋅ (φex − φst ) = Achip ≅ R / 2 ⋅ st ⇒ hm = Eq. 18
2(φex − φst )
Appling, in Eq. 1, the average cutting force Fc (from Eq. 15), calculated for the different measurement
performed at different st, considering the relations kc = w0 + K , and applying a linear regression , the
hm
kc-values for both procedures are determined.
In Table 3 are reported the average cutting power values, collected by a digital oscilloscope. The average
cutting force gives by Equation 15, and kc-values evaluated by linear regression of these data, in table 3
are also compared the averages forces given by Eq. 1 applying the kc-values evaluated from experiments.
The percentage error between measured and calculated forces are also exposed.
Table 3: Measured and calculated data from digital acquisition of spindle inverter cutting power
Feed per FROM MEASURED CALCULATED BY THE

Error
tooth CUTTING POWER AUTHORS
st [mm/tooth] Pt [kW] Ft [N] kc-values [N/mm2] Ft [N] [%]
0.2 18.06 5.16 4.40 5.32 -3. 12
0.3 25.98 7.42 3.81 6.91 6. 86
0.4 29.75 8.50 3.52 8.51 -0. 07
0.5 34.63 9.89 3.34 10.10 -2. 06
0.6 39.93 11.41 3.22 11.69 -2. 47
In Table 4 the results and the comparisons between K and w obtained from the experiments to others
taken from literature are shown.
Table 4: K and w parameters comparison, literature data taken from [4]
Calculated by AUTHORS Tröger Kivimaa Scholz IHF Dresden

K [Wsmm/cm3] 0.3 2.4 1.6 1.5 1.0
3
w0 [Ws/cm ] 2.6 7.0 8.0 48 13.0
The differences between the data are due to the different technological parameters, different tool type and
shape and different type of MDF boards machined from author to author.
Finally a further comparison between the average cutting force, calculated by the Altintas model and from
implemented Kivimaa/ Pahlitzsch are in Table 5, together with the measured values.
Table 5: Average cutting force values, respectively measured by dynamometer, measured by
Inverter, calculated by Kivimaa implemented model, calculated by Altintas implemented
model
Feed per Calculated Calculated

Measured Measured
tooth Follow Kivimaa Follow Altintas
st [mm/tooth ] Ft_dynamometer [N] Ft_Inverter [N] Ft_calculated [N] Ft_simulated [N]
0.2 5.66 5.16 5.32 7.27
0.3 7.45 7.42 6.91 9.03
0.4 8.8 8.50 8.51 10.8
0.5 10 9.89 10.10 12.6
0.6 12 11.41 11.69 14.4
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper were compared different models and techniques for the prediction of cutting forces to the
milling cutting of MDF boards. The models proposed were implemented in SW environment, in order to
realize calculation tool for industries.
It is shown that is possible to transfer the metal cutting force model, to the MDF board milling cutting
force prediction. The cutting forces were expressed as a function of feed-rate, tooth engagement with
MDF board, cutter geometry, and cutting costants. The cutting constants (K..) can be evaluated directly
from machining tests.
The proposed model, implemented in Simulink, permits a deep investigation, but require more
experimental equipment and technical know how.
By this model is possible to predict the force distribution, and the tree Cartesian components of cutting
forces are related to the tool rotation angle as well as time.
Kivimaa/ Pahlitzsch model it’s less complex and require less experimental equipment, but permits to
predict only the mean cutting force acting during the engaging time period.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to thank the industrial group SCM S.p.A. for the technical support. Thanks are also
extendedto Eng. R. Varotti for taking part of the team work.
REFERENCES
[1] Fortunato A., Mantega C., Donati L., Tani G., Milling force prediction by means of analytical model
and 3D FEM simulations, Proceedings of the 9th CIRP International Workshop on Modeling of
Machining Operations.
[2] E. Kivimaa, Cutting force in wood-work, PhD thesis (1950), Finland State Inst. For tech, Research,
Helsinki, Finland.
[3] G. Pahlitzsch, H. Jostmeier, Untersuchungen beim Frasen von Spanplatten und Schichtsoff-
Verbundplatten. Moderne Holzverarbeitung 3\66- 7\66.
[4] F. Scholz, J. Troeger, Modelling of Cutting Forces, in: Proceedings of the 17th International Wood
Machining Seminar 2005 part2: Posters , pp. 1-5.
[5] U. Heisel, J. Troeger, H. Dietz, Am Schneidkeil wirkende Krafte (2), Mitteilung HK (1995) 6, S.884-
888.
[6] W.M. McKenzie. Fundamental aspects of wood cutting process, Forest Production Journal, vol.41 (9),
pag. 61-64.
[7] Y. Altintas, P. Lee; Prediction of ball-end milling forces from orthogonal cutting data; International
Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, Vol. 36, No. 9, 1996, pp. 1059-1072
[8] Y. Altitas, S. Engin, 2001, Generalized modeling of milling mechanics and Dynamics: part I- Helical
End Mills, Departement of Mechanical Engineering, the state University of British Columbia.
[9] S. Engin, Y. Altitas, F.B. Amara, Mechanics of routing Medium Density Fiberboard, in: Forest
Products Journal, v 50, n 9 , Sep 2000, p 65-69.
[10] E. Budak, Y. Altintas, E. J. A. Armarego, Prediction of Milling Force Coefficients From Orthogonal
Cutting Data, Transactions of ASME 118 (1996) pp. 216-224 .
[11] J. Gradisek, M.Kalveram, K. Weinert; Mechanistic identification of specific force coefficients for a
general end mill; International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, Vol. 44, (2004)
[12] J.P. Costes, C. Decès-Petit, Y. Altintas, P. Ko, Estimated stress and friction distribution on tool rake
in the medium density fiberboard cutting process; orest Products Journal, vol.53 n. 11/12, pag. 59-66.
Particleboard Cutting Model
Wong, Darrell C.1; Schajer, Gary S.2
1 2
FPInnovations – Forintek Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
2665 East Mall, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1W5, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
darrell@van.forintek.ca schajer@mech.ubc.ca
ABSTRACT
A simulation model of the interaction between particleboard (PB) and the cutting tool has been developed.
Linear elasticity, particle fracture, particle buckling and particle-to-particle bond breakage are modeled in
three zones to represent the cutting force variations that are observed in experimental measurements. The
instantaneous reactions and magnitudes of the cutting forces show some differences, but have less
influence on the prediction of cut surface quality. Reduced surface quality is primarily caused by
fractures that propagate into the PB panel, and is modeled by the simulation. This modeling enables
factors such as particle size, wood species, particle orientation, and glue bond strength to be examined to
determine how they affect fracture propagation and surface quality. Future work is planned to include
characteristics such as zone interaction and chip bending.
INTRODUCTION
Particleboard (PB) is the most widely used panel material for non-structural applications [1]. Its
popularity of is due mainly to its low cost compared with other panel materials such as medium density
fibreboard. Common applications include furniture, cabinets and counter tops. PB can be manufactured
in different sizes, thicknesses, densities and grades that further expand its utility. However, the
disadvantage of PB is that its coarse and inhomogeneous internal structure makes it very difficult to cut it
and produce smooth surfaces.
The structure of PB consists mainly of wood particles of various sizes bonded together by an adhesive
(resin) under heat and pressure [2, 3]. Figure 1 schematically shows the structure. Although only a few
components make up PB, many factors affect its characteristics. The key factors are the wood species,
particle size, geometry and orientation, layering, resin, moisture content, densification and panel density
[1]. To complicate matters, most of these factors are interdependent and cannot be changed without
affecting other factors.
The highly variable particle size, ranging from under 1 to over 5 mm, causes PB to have a coarse and
inhomogeneous structure. In addition, the particles have a wide range of aspect ratios (1:1 to 1:10) and
irregular shapes that spatially resist a close fit with adjacent particles, even when compressed under high
pressure into a panel. This produces voids in the PB as shown in Figure 1.
Voids between
particles
Figure 1: Machined particleboard (adapted from [4])

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Wong and Schajer - 233
In panelling applications, PB properties can be reasonably assumed to be plane-isotropic [5] when
considering macro characteristics such as bending stiffness (MOE), bending strength (MOR) and internal
bond strength (IB). During cutting, when micro behaviour is of interest, PB properties can be anisotropic
[6]. The reason is that the cutting tool instantaneously contacts only a very small volume of the material.
Consequently, the local properties of the particle and the bonds that connect it to neighbours are important
factors. Random local variations in PB properties such as particle size and glue distribution have a minor
effect on panel properties, but can have a much larger effect on the cutting process as well as the quality
of the cut surface.
PB panel variability can lead to machining quality problems and be very costly. A medium-to-large
Canadian furniture manufacturer may use up to 10,000 square meters of PB panels per day. When
machining-related problems occur they can require days and weeks to resolve, particularly when the
problem is rooted in the panel. Degraded quality, discarded components and lost production can amount
to $10,000 or more per day. As a result, a small reduction in the occurrence or duration of such problems
can give a major financial benefit to secondary wood product producers.
Extensive research has been conducted in PB cutting over the last three decades. [7, 8, 9] Most of this
work has focused on the edge quality of plastic laminated PB and related tool and process parameters
such as tool geometry, tool wear and cutting speed and bite. [10, 11] More recently, the focus has shifted
to examine the PB substrate in more detail to understand its role in the machining process and how this
affects the machined surface quality. [6] The complexity of PB cutting makes understanding PB cutting
through empirical studies a challenge. Analytical examinations of the cutting mechanics have typically
applied metal cutting theory and/or finite element analysis to models with only a few of the factors that
affect PB cutting. The reason is that many factors affect PB cutting and the cutting process is highly
dynamic and is characterized by multiple simultaneous cutting mechanisms. This makes modeling using
typical empirical relations or FEA challenging.
This project takes a different approach to modeling PB cutting by considering the particulate structure of
PB and applying general stress-strain and established wood strength relations. In addition, the interaction
of the tool with PB is not assumed to be uniform across the tool. It is divided into zones to allow local
differences in the cutting mechanisms. This also allows for factors such as tool sharpness to be included.
In each zone, the PB is modeled as an inhomogeneous aggregate of particles with randomly distributed
voids. The reaction of each particle to cutting is individually examined. This allows for differences in
particle size and strength and glue bond strength to be examined. This paper describes this model and
compares its predicted cutting force to that of experimental measurements.
TOOL INTERACTION ZONES

When PB is cut, the work piece is divided into two products: the chip and the finished surface. PB
cutting can be initially divided into these zones, chip formation zone and finished surface, as shown in
Figure 2. In the chip formation zone, particles are compressed to failure and then flow over the tool in the
form of the chip. In the finished material zone, material is also compressed to failure and then flows
under the tool to form the cut surface.
Chip Tool
Formation
Zone
Finished Material
Zone
PB panel surface
Figure 2: Chip formation and finished materials zones
Some additional unexplained characteristics of the cutting process suggest that the interaction of the tool
with the PB is more complex than is shown in Figure 2. First, the chip is typically pulverized during
cutting with the glue bonds broken and the particles damaged. However, in the finished zone, the surface
typically remains intact and is relatively uniform. Second, the separation of the chip and the cut surface
typical occurs in close proximity to the tool tip with behaviour that is unlike the chip formation or the
finished surface zones.
Chip Formation
Zone Tool
Chip
Tool Tip Zone
Finished Material Zone Cut PB
Figure 3: Tool tip zone
These two discrepancies suggest the existence of an interface zone between the chip and the finished
surface. This zone, shown in Figure 3, is at the tip of the tool, and controls most of the cutting. The
behaviour of the PB in this zone differs from either the chip formation or finished surface zones because it
involves failure modes that do not occur in the other zones. These additional failure modes are
responsible for the cutting that initiates in this zone. The unique cutting mechanisms in each zone and the
ways in which they interact are examined in the next section.
CUTTING MECHANISMS
To examine the PB cutting behaviour in the three zones, several assumptions have been made about the
cutting mechanisms. They are:
• PB/particle response to tool advance is either linear elastic or causes particle or glue bond
failure.
• The cutting process begins in the linear elastic regime. Cutting occurs due to failure of
particles or breakage of glue bonds.
As the cutting tool initially contacts the PB, it compresses the material, causing the stress to increase
linearly with the advance of the tool relative to the PB, as shown in Figure 4. As the stress increases
beyond the elastic limit, failure of the PB can occur in one of three forms. First, a particle can be crushed
when the particle strength is exceeded. This is assumed to be constant-stress buckling deformation.
Second, a particle can fracture, spitting into two parts. Third, the glue bonds can fail if the bond strength
is exceeded, causing the particle to be separated from the panel. When a glue bond fails, the resulting
crack propagation may be limited to the particle under stress or it can extend beyond the particle causing
the separation of several particles. This is assumed not to occur when a particle is fractured or spilt
because, in this case, the crack would stop when it reaches the particle boundary.
Tool Tool Tool
Initial Linear Elastic Particle and Glue Bond Failure
Figure 4: PB cutting process
Mathematical relations for linear elasticity, buckling, particle fracture and glue bond failure are applied as
shown by equations 1, 2 and 3.
u (θ =0 )πE
σ= (1)
d
t d log
r
PQ
N= (2)
P sin θ + Q cos n θ
n
bond strength
glue strength = × resin load × surface area (3)
area
Equation (1) is Timoshenko’s expression for a uniform line force on a semi-infinite medium. [12] u(θ=0)
is the deformation within the medium in line with the load at a distance r from the surface. d is the
distance at which the deformation is zero within the medium. td is the width of the line stress, which in
this case, is the radius of the tool tip.
Equation (2) is a modified Hankinson expression for strength of solid wood. [13] P and Q are the
strengths parallel and perpendicular to the fibre for the particular wood species. θ is the stress direction
relative to the grain. n is an empirically derived value ranging from 1.2 to 2.5.
Equation (3) is an expression based experimental measurements and observed trends. Bond strength is
measured using a lap shear test. [14, 15] The resin load is the weight fraction of resin added to the PB
expressed as a ratio of the saturation weight fraction. At the “saturation” level, sufficient glue exists to
coat all particle surfaces fully, and no further increase in bond strength occurs with further glue addition.
The surface area is the surface of the particles available for bonding.
PREDICTED CUTTING FORCE

The interaction of the tool with the PB is unique in each zone, and consequently the cutting mechanisms
and forces generated are also unique. In the Tool Tip Zone, the tool initially displaces the PB increasing
stress linearly, as shown at (a) in Figure 5. As the stress increases, it reaches the bond strength and starts
to break the particles apart. The movement of the particles out of the cutting path relieves the stress as
shown at point (b). As the tool advances forward and comes in contact with the next particle, again the
stress increases linearly. This time, as the stress increases the particle fails and buckles maintaining
constant stress. The particular failure method, either bond breakage, particle buckling or particle fracture,
occurs by chance, depending on the local particle strength, glue bond strength and particle orientation.
[14, 15]
The interaction of the tool with the PB in the Chip Formation Zone is distinguished by the cutting
mechanisms that do not occur, as shown in Figure 6. Similar to the Tool Tip Zone, the tool initially
displaces the PB, and increases the local stress linearly. Unlike the Tool Tip Zone where particles are
only deformed and displaced in the same direction as the advancing tool, the particles can move in two
directions in the Chip Formation Zone. As shown in Figure 7, the rake angle causes particles to move
perpendicular to the tool feed direction. This creates relative motion between the particles, which tends to
break glue bonds and separate the particles, as shown at (c). Particle fracture and buckling do not occur
in the Chip Formation Zone. Linear elasticity occurs but only to a limited degree.
In the Finished Material Zone, the cutting process is again distinguished by what does not occur. Like the
Tool Tip Zone, the tool initially displaces particles and increases stress linearly, as shown at (d) in Figure
8. Like the Chip Formation Zone, particles can move in two directions, in the direction of the advancing
tool or underneath the tool to form the finished surface. The difference in this zone is that the movement
is significantly constrained by the panel. The flow of the particles under the tool eliminates particle
fracture as a cutting mechanism but increases the likelihood of buckling/crushing and bond breakage, as
shown at (e) in Figure 8.
Stress relief, which occurs when a particle is fractured or a glue bond is broken, is common during
cutting, and consequently is a significant feature of the cutting force diagrams. When stress relief occurs
because of particle fracture, the drop in force tends to be small. On the other hand, glue bond breakage
will often lead to crack propagation into both the Chip Formation and Finished Material Zones, as shown
in Figure 9. This leads to large stress relief such as occurs at (f) in Figures 5, 6 and 8. It also often leads
to a poor finished surface.
80
70
Cutting force (N) 60
50
40
30
20 (f)
(b)
10
(a)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Tool feed advance (mm)
Figure 5: Graph of tool edge zone cutting force with tool feed
80
70
60
Cutting force (N)
50
40 (f)
30
20
10 (c)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 6: Graph of chip formation zone cutting force with tool feed
Chip Formation
Zone Tool
Tool Tip Zone
Figure 7: Tool advancement in the tool edge and chip formation zones
80
70
60
Cutting force (N)
50 (f)
40
(d)
30
20
(e)
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 8: Graph of finished surface zone cutting force with tool feed
Figure 9: Particle bond breakage crack propagation through many particles
COMPARISON TO MEASUREMENTS
The ability of the model to simulate PB cutting was examined by comparing the force it predicts to that
measured in laboratory cutting. The orthogonal cutting force diagram measured cutting 12.7 mm thick
PB with a 1 mm chip thickness is shown in Figure 10. Figure 11 shows the simulated cutting force
resultant within the component forces from the three zones. A comparison of these graphs shows that
there are similarities and differences in the measured and predicted cutting force.
The graphs show similar initial linear stress increases as shown at (g). When the stress peaks, a particle
fractures or a glue bond breaks and the stress is relieved as shown at (h). Later in the cutting process,
there is larger scale stress relief from the propagation of cracks through larger section of the PB as shown
by (i).
The major differences in the graphs are in the magnitudes of the cutting force, instantaneous cutting
mechanisms and the frequency of cutting force variation. It appears as though the simulated cutting force
has a higher frequency of variation than the measured values. This apparent difference is due to a
limitation in experimental sampling frequency. The actual frequency is much higher, as shown in
previous experiments. [14] On the other hand, it is expected that the magnitude of the simulated cutting
force would be lower than measured. Several characteristics of the cutting process such as the interaction
between the zones and the chip bending have not yet been implemented in the model.
The actual instantaneous cutting mechanisms and as a result, the cutting force will likely always be
somewhat different from the simulated values. The reason is that it is difficult to predict the instantaneous
micro properties of the PB. Factors such particle size and glue bond variation and grain angle orientation
cannot be predicted for an individual particle. The simulation is based on empirically derived probability
distribution functions.
400
350
300
(i)
Cutting force (N)
250
200
(h)
150
(g)
100
50
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 10: Graph of experimentally measured cutting force
160
140
120
Cutting force (N)
100
(i)
80
60 (h)
40
(g)
20
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 11: Graph of simulated resultant cutting force from the 3 zones
NEXT STEPS AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

The developed simulation has the ability to represent many aspects of PB cutting and the interaction of
the tool. This will allow many important PB manufacturing parameters such particle size, wood species
and resin loading to be examined for PB improvement and troubleshooting. The model predicts the
frequency of large fractures and as a result, quality problems. Other factors such as the magnitude of the
cutting force and instantaneous cutting mechanism are not as well represented but are also not as
important to this process. The magnitude of the cutting force may be important to examining tool wear
but is less important to predicting quality. Quality is typically examined over larger section of the panel
so instantaneous behaviour is less important than the average behaviour.
The next steps in the model development process are to incorporate several of the key missing PB cutting
behaviours such as the interaction of two zones and chip bending. In addition, the experimental sampling
rate will be increased to one that is closer to the simulation.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
PB is a widely used composite material composed primarily of small wood particles and resin. It
advantages are its low cost and structural properties. Unfortunately, its inhomogeneous structure also can
create quality problems when it is machined. These problems can be expensive for manufacturers of PB
products such as cabinets and furniture. No tool that can assist in the troubleshooting or improvement of
PB to reduce these problems currently exists. This project developed a simulation model of the
interaction between the tool and the PB. It divides this interaction into three zones, Chip Formation, Tool
Tip and Finished Material. Particle linear elasticity, fracture and buckling and particle glue bond
breakage are contained in the model. The resultant cutting force predicted from the model has similar
characteristics to experimental measurements. This seems to model the behaviour of particles
realistically, especially the propagation of cracks through larger portions of the PB. This is important
since these larger cracks tend to lead to quality problems in the machining of PB.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service and
Forintek for their financial support for this research project. The authors would like to express their
appreciation to the Brian Jung and Alex Precosky who assisted in the data collection and development of
the simulation. They would also like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Thomas Maness for the loan of
the 3-axis cutting force dynamometers and CCD digital camera and Dr. Gregory Smith for the loan of the
PB blender. They would also like to thank Richmond Plywood for the donation of plywood veneer and
Borden Chemicals and Uniboard for the donation of PB furnish.
REFERENCES
1. Maloney, T. “Modern Particleboard & Dry-Process Fiberboard Manufacturing”. Miller Freeman Inc., San
Francisco, CA, 1993.
2. National Particleboard Association. “Particleboard from start to finish”. NPA, Gaithersburg, MD, 1996.
3. American National Standard, “Particleboard ANSI A208.1-1999.” Composite Panel Association,
Gaithersburg, MD. 1999.
4. Troger, J. “Ausgewaehlte Forschungsgebiete der Holzbe- und -verarbeitung”. Draft manuscript, Institut
fuer Werkzeugmaschinen, Stuttgart, Germany, 2001.
5. Conrad, M., Smith, G., Fernlund, G. & Knudson, B. “Literature Review: Fracture Mechanics of Solid
wood and Wood Composites”. Forintek Report, Contract No. 2000-2649, 2001.
6. Wang, X. “An Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Machining of Anisotropic Materials
Including Wood and Wood Composites”. Doctoral Thesis, NC State University, NC, 2000.
7. Pahlitzsch, G. & Jostmeier, H. “Boebachtungen über das Abstumpfungsverhalten beim Fräsen von
Spanplatten, Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, vol. 4, 1964.
8. Saljé, E. “Machining of veneered and plastic-laminated particleboards in the furniture industry”.
(Spanendes Bearbeiten von furnierten und kunststoffbeschichteten Spanplatten in der Mobelindustrie).
Proceedings of the International Particleboard Symposium, FESYP '78, Hamburg. pp. 335-342, 1978.
9. Boehme, C. & Münz, U. V. “Machining cutting Behaviour and Abrasion Effect of Coated Chip Boards”.
(Zerspanungsverhalten und Verschleißwirkung von beschichteten Spanplatten). Holzbearbeitung, vol. 34,
no. 6, pp 19-25. 1987.
10. Saljé, E. & Dubenkropp, G. “Tool Wear and Edge Quality, Milling of Laminated Particle Boards”. Paper
Presented at the IUFRO Division 5 Conference, Oxford, April, 1980.
11. Stühmeier, W & Lempfer, K. “The chippability of inorganically and organically bonded particleboards”.
(Zerspanbarkeit von anorganisch und organisch gebundenen Spanplatten). Holz-als-Roh-und-Werkstoff.
Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 153-157, 1989.
12. Timoshenko, S. “Theory of Elasticity”. McGraw-Hill Companies, 3RD edition, New York, 1970.
13. Hankinson, R.L. “Investigation of Crushing Strength of Spruce a Various Angles of Grain”. Air Service
Information Circular, No. 259, US Air Servce, 1921.
14. Wong, D. C. and Schajer, G. S. “Effect of Particle Size on Particleboard Machining”. Proceedings of the
16th International Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, Japan, 2003.
15. Wong, D.C. and Schajer, G. S. “Particleboard Machining Quality Improvement by Control of Particle
Geometry”. Proceedings of the 17th International Wood Machining Seminar, Rosenheim, Germany, 2005.
Machining Seminar
Session IV
Surface Quality
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Simon - 243

Roller Bar and Knife Settings on Veneer Peeling Quality
Dai, Chunping; Wang, Brad

FPInnovations – Forintek
2665 East Mall
ABSTRACT
This presentation discusses the effect of roller bar and knife settings on veneer peeling quality. A
computer model is developed to simulate the relative geometric changes between the roller bar, the knife,
the veneer and the log during the process of peeling. It calculates and illustrates the variation of bar-to-
log contact area and knife-to-log rubbing area as a function of log diameter, veneer thickness, bar
diameter, vertical gap, horizontal gap, knife height and pitch angle. Experimental tests using a laboratory
lathe are conducted to determine the veneer quality in terms of thickness variation, roughness and
flatness. The effects of roller bar diameter, gaps, knife height and pitch angles are presented.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Dai - 245

Influence of Sawing Conditions on the Quality of Particleboard Edges
Garrido, Nuno1,2; Martins, Jorge1,2; Carvalho, Luisa1,2; Mendes, Joaquim3;

Costa, Carlos2
1 DEMad-Dept. of Wood Engineering, Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Viseu, PORTUGAL
2 LEPAE-Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto,
PORTUGAL
3 Dept. of Mechanical Eng. and Ind. Management, Faculdade de Engenharia da Univ. do Porto,
PORTUGAL
ABSTRACT
Edge quality evaluation is an important quality control concern in many areas of the woodworking
industry. From a critical assessment of the cutting edge, the producer can determine the final product
quality, general wear of the cutting tools, as well as inaccuracies in the machine cutting parameters. An
operator generally monitors the cutting machine conditions by watching or listening to the traditional
wood machining process. An effective monitoring scheme should make the operator alert and
automatically adjust the machining parameters to maintain the required quality.
The objective of this work is therefore to investigate thoroughly the influence of several operating
conditions (feed speed, rotation speed, number of teeth, etc.) of particleboards sawing on edge quality. For
edge quality evaluation, an innovative artificial vision system was build up, which permits, after
numerical treatment, to establish an edge quality criterion. For monitoring machining operation, piezo-
electric sensors were placed on the sawing machine and their data was collected with a high speed data
acquisition system. The relations between those criteria and the sawing conditions are also presented and
their ability to be used on an on-line control system is discussed.
Keywords: edge, particleboard, sawing, quality
INTRODUCTION
Particleboard is still the most extensively used wood-based material and is largely applied in furniture and
cabinet manufacture. This sector faces nowadays the competition of other materials and markets, making
it urgent, through scientific advances in process and products, to attain higher economic, technical and
environmental standards. The last concern (environmental impact) driven manufactures to the use of
wood from different sources, species, recycled and used wood. This situation leads to an increase in wood
raw-material variability, demanding a more rigorous control in all processes, board production and panels’
utilisation in order to comply with products specifications. Particularly in the furniture industry, the
machining processes are often neglected when optimization strategies are developed having as target the
improvement of productivity.
The performance of particleboard does not depend solely on its mechanical and physical properties but
also on machining conditions. From a careful assessment of the cutting edge, the user can estimate the
final product quality, the general cutting tools wear, as well as inaccuracies in the machine cutting
parameters.
Edge quality is a possible quality criterion for the particleboard machining process, which has to be free
of any disruptions after milling or sawing. Increasing tools wear, the processed edge of the work piece
will have more probability of being disrupted. As a result, it is obtained a work piece edge, with a sharp
heightened chipping and with a lower optical quality [1].
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Garrido, Martins, Carvalho, Mendes and Costa - 247
However, edge quality of particleboard is very difficult to characterize. Endogenous factors such as raw
material, pressing conditions, adhesives may also induce some changes in the surface characteristics of
particleboards. Moreover, during the machining process the cutting conditions influence directly the edge
quality. The automation of the cutting process of particleboard is sometimes limited to the lack of
information about the effects of the key variables. Therefore, it is of utmost importance the study of the
effects of process variables, such as rotation speed, cutting speed, depth of cut, cutting direction and feed
speed, on the cutting forces and cutting process quality. The monitoring of the magnitude of the
developed forces is crucial not only to assess the process behaviour, but also for controlling process and
product quality.
The direct monitoring of the cutting forces is usually done by using a dynamometer on the tool spindle,
but this method has limitations and is very expensive. An indirect method is to measure the mechanical
power generated by the motor through its electrical power consumption. However, this method has also
limitations, such as a small resolution and also the electromagnetic noise generated by the motors. So, an
alternative method, using a pair of piezoelectric sensors, was developed.
Some investigations were focused on the assessment of surface quality for wood and wood based
materials [2, 3, 4]. Lemaster and Stewart [5] developed an optical system capable of distinguishing the
difference between random defects, such as pitting in particleboard and “periodic” defects, such as knife
marks and sanding chatter. A novel method for evaluating the influence of the operating parameters of
wood machining (planning and sanding) on the quality of a finished surface was established by Coelho et
al. [6]. In this work, several parameters was studied related to the machining operation and product
application, assessed by means of an artificial vision system for the determination of the pseudo-
roughness of wood surfaces.
Aiming to study the influence of the machining process parameters on the edge quality of particleboard,
several experiments were carried out, changing rotation speed, depth of cut speed, feed speed and
monitoring the cutting forces and the electrical power consumption. Edge quality was then evaluated
using an innovative artificial vision system. This artificial vision system, composed by a camera and a
light source, is a modified version of the one presented by Coelho et al. [6] and can be installed on an
industrial wood sawing machine.
MACHINING CONDITIONS AND LEVEL’S

The samples were obtained from three commercial particleboard grades: ST (standard), MR (moisture
resistant) and HG (homogeneous). Some of their physical and mechanical properties are illustrated in
Table 1.
Table 1: Particleboards mechanical and physical properties
Modulus of
Particleboard Density Bending strength Internal bond
elasticity in
grade (kg/m3) (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
bending (N/mm2)
ST 655 13 1600 0,35
MR 675 16 2400 0,45
HG 700 14 --- 0,55
The sawing operation was performed on a semi-automatic 5 heads multi-function machine (MIDA R5M,
see Figure 1). The sawing element was equipped with a 300 mm diameter steel blade (3 mm in thickness)
composed of 48 cutting elements, and rotating with a nominal speed of 3200 rpm.
Four feed rates (FR) and three rotation speed (RS) levels were fixed in order to attaint different levels of
machining (see Tab. 2). For each of the ten levels of machining, three samples of each particleboard grade
were processed totalizing 90 runs.
Table 2: Levels of machining (expected)
Feed rate (FR) Feed per tooth (FPT) (µm)
(m/min) 30 Hz 40 Hz 50 Hz
1 10,9 8,1 6,5
2 21,7 16,3 13,0
3 32,6 24,4 19,5
5 32,6
Figure 1: Semi-automatic 5 heads multi-function machine (MIDA R5M)
In order to permit the on-line manipulation and measure of several operating conditions, the machine was
instrumented with: a high performance vector AC drive (to control the rotation speed); a current
transducer (to measure the power consumption) and a pair of low-cost Murata piezoelectric sensors (to
measure work piece vibration).
The tool is directly driven by an electrical motor with 3 hp of nominal power. The machining conditions
(feed rate, effective feed per tooth, electric power consumption) and the vibrational sensors (piezo-
electric) signals were recorded for analysis (see Figure 2). For acquisition and control of signals, an
application in LabView® 7.1 was developed, including a Matlab® module enabling the calculation of the
effective feed per tooth using FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) filtering of the vibrational signals.
Figure 2: Vibrational (piezo-electric) sensors output and signal FFT
OBJECTIVE EDGE CHARACTERIZATION

For the characterization of particleboard edge, an artificial vision methodology was used. This method
consists in illuminating the surface with two light sources (laser and lamp) and recording the image (see
Figure 3). The apparatus is composed by a CCD BW video camera (model Sony XC-ST30), a modified
video zoom lens (VZM300), a diode micro laser (VLM 10° line) and a single channel monochrome image
acquisition board (NI1407). The equipment is connected to a PC computer running an image acquisition
and processing software developed in Labview®. The numerical treatment was performed with an external
application developed in Matlab®.
Camera
Laser
Light source
Particleboard
(a) (b)
Figure 3 Edge evaluation apparatus: (a) scheme; (b) photo
In order to obtain the images needed for evaluating the edge quality, each sample was photographed using
the apparatus. One sample-camera angle (β=15º) was used with a focalized leaser beam light source and a
total of 4 photos per sample were taken. For each image, a virtual profile was extracted (see Figure 4).
From this virtual profile, a quality evaluation criterion (called “total waviness”) was obtained applying a
filtering method based on Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT). This procedure is illustrated by Figure 5, which
was obtained using the laser as light source.
Figure 4 Labview® application for image acquisition and processing
Figure 5: Image processing methodology
RESULTS
The effects of the machining conditions on edge quality were studied. Three factors were considered:
particleboard grade (PB), feet per tooth (FPT) and rotation speed (RS). Edge quality was evaluated by the
quality criterion (total waviness), but also by total energy consumption and the effective feet per tooth
(FPT-fft). In order to evaluate the performance of the parameters response, an analysis of variance
(ANOVA) for each variable was performed, permitting to assess the significance level of the effects of the
factors. For that purpose, a commercial statistical software package – JMP was used. The effects of the
several factors in each variable response are presented in Table 3 and in Figure 6 their prediction profiles.
Table 3: Statistical significance level of the effects of the different factors on total waviness, total
energy and effective feet per tooth (+5%, ++1%, +++0,1%)
PB FPT (mm) RS(Hz)

Total Waviness +++ +++ +++
Total Energy (J) +++ +++ +++
FPT – fft (mm) +++ +++ +++
Total Energy (J) Total Waviness
0,96473
0,923544
0,8959
43,223
24,77885
13,0283
FPT - fft (mm)
0,00312
0,001596
0,00038
MR
HG
ST
0,0005
0,0025
30
60
0,00155 43,6475
PB FTP (mm) RS (Hz)
Figure 6: Prediction profile of the ANOVA analysis
Table 3 shows that the three factors considered have a significant effect on total waviness, total energy
and effective feet per tooth. In figure 6, it can be observed that total waviness increase with feet per tooth
(FPT) and rotation speed (RS). The total energy decreases with FPT and increases with RS, whereas
effective feet per tooth, even dependent on all the three factors, increases dramatically with FTP.
Figure 7 illustrates the relationship between the total energy consumption and the feed per tooth. As it
can be observed, even if globally the correlation curves are similar for the three particleboard grades, it
seems that HG particleboard grade is the easiest to saw, while the other two grades (ST and MR) are very
similar.
50
40
Total energy [J]
30
20
10
0
0 0,0005 0,001 0,0015 0,002 0,0025 0,003
FPT [mm ]
ST MR HG
Figure 7: Correlation between the “total energy” and “feed per tooth”
In order to verify the sensibility of the piezo-electric sensor, the effective feed per tooth (calculated
directly from the data collected by the sensors) was plotted against the expected feet per tooth (calculated
from the machining conditions). Figure 8 shows a very good correlation between the two variables,
which confirm the ability of this kind of sensors to detect the intake contact between each teeth of the
blade with particleboard surface.
0,0035
0,003
FPT-fft [m m ]
0,0025
0,002
0,0015
0,001
0,0005
0
0 0,0005 0,001 0,0015 0,002 0,0025 0,003
FPT [mm]
ST MR HG
Figure 8: Relationship between effective (FPT-fft) and expected (FPT) feet per tooth
Figure 9 shows the dependency between the edge quality criterion (total waviness) and effective feed per
tooth (FTP-fft). Although this dependency is very sensitive to particleboard grade, the total waviness
increases always with FTP-fft, particularly for HG grade particleboard, which attains a maximum quality
around 0,0022 mm.
0,97
0,96
0,95
Total waviness
0,94
0,93
0,92
0,91
0,9
0,89
0 0,0005 0,001 0,0015 0,002 0,0025 0,003 0,0035
FPT-fft [m m ]
ST MR HG
Figure 9: Relationship between total waviness
CONCLUSIONS
The influence of machining conditions on particleboard edge quality was assessed. Three factors were
considered: particleboard grade (standard, moisture resistant and homogenous), feed per tooth and
rotation speed. The effects of these factors on an edge quality criterion (total waviness), on a machining
condition dependant variable (total energy consumption) and on the response of a piezo-electric sensor
were presented. The main conclusions are:
-All the factors considered are highly significant;
-The inexpensive piezo-electric sensors used are able to detect the intake contact between each teeth of
the blade with particleboard surface;
-Even if the selected machining levels correspond to a high edge quality, the system was able to detect
quality differences;
-Although the structure of the three grade particleboard is not too different (all of them have three layers
and are produced from the same type of wood “mix”, but the homogeneous has higher volume of external
layer and the moisture resistant have a different adhesive from the other two), the artificial vision system
used to assess edge quality seems to be very sensitive to those differences in the three particleboard
grades.
The low cost and high sensitivity of the two systems combined (piezo-electric sensors and CCD camera)
make possible their use for on-line monitoring and control of wood-based panels industrial sawing
machines.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support
granted to Nuno Garrido. Thanks to Sonae Industria (Oliveira do Hospital particleboard plant) for
supplying particleboard samples.
REFERENCES
1. Hoffmeister H., Grübler T., Loohß T. (2005): Image Processing as a Tool for Process-Integrated
Quality Assessment. Proceedings of the 17th International Wood Machining Seminar, Rosenheim,
Germany.
2. Lemaster R., Dornfeld D. (1983): Measurement of surface quality of sawn and planed surfaces with a
laser. Proceedings, University of California Forest Products Laboratory, 7th Wood Machining
Seminar, October 1982. pp. 52-70.
3. Lemaster L., Beall F. (1996): The use of an optical profilometer to measure surface roughness in
medium density fiberboard. Forest Products Journal, Vol. 46(11/12): 73-78.
4. Whitehouse D. (1994): Handbook of Surface Metrology. Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol an
Philadelphia.
5. Lemaster R., Stewart J. (2005): Research in Process Monitoring of Surface Quality Conducted at the
North Carolina State University Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program. Proceedings of 17th
International Wood Machining Seminar, Rosenheim, Germany.
6. Coelho C., Martins J., Carvalho L., Costa C., Masson D., Méeausoone P. (2005): A Novel Method for
Evaluating the Influence of Wood Machining Conditions on the Quality of a Finished Surface.
Proceedings of the 17th International Wood Machining Seminar, Rosenheim, Germany.
The Use of Advanced Lighting Techniques to Detect Localized and Biological
Surface Defects in Wood
Lemaster, Richard L.
Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program
Department of Wood and Paper Science
Campus Box 8005
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC USA 27695-8005
richard_lemster@ncsu.edu
ABSTRACT
The work on surface quality assessment that has been conducted at North Carolina State University
during the last few years has revealed several categories of surface defects that are difficult for a
profilometer (either optical or contact) to detect. These are localized defects such as holes and dents
caused by mishandling as well as edge chipping and sanding rollover. While a profilometer can detect
such variations in the surface of a workpiece, the probability of the profilometer coming into contact with
these types of defects can be very small in an industrial situation. The objective of this research project
was to explore the feasibility of using complementary technology to the optical profilometer to detect
these types of surface defects including edge chipping and sanding rollover. The work also investigated
the ability of these techniques to detect biological defects such as reaction wood and mineral streak.
Much of the effort was on attempting to develop various image analysis systems to detect surface defects
as a complementary technique to the optical profilometer. This included evaluating the various lighting
techniques and the subsequent image processing steps. One technology that shows promise is the use of
bi-chromatic light. Another similar approach that also shows promise is the use of both visible and
infrared images of the surfaces. Combining the images reveal surface characteristics that are often
undetectable by either type of image alone.
This presentation will show the advantages and limitations of the techniques investigated to date.
Keywords: defect detection, image analysis, machine vision, process monitoring and control
INTRODUCTION
Considerable work has been conducted in developing systems to detect various defects in wood and
wood-based products. These include the use of machine vision cameras to detect knots, wane, stain,
splits, and holes to name a few. Other optical systems include the use of optical proximity sensors to
detect shape profile and surface quality. Sensors that have been used to detect defects include use of x-
rays, microwaves, ultrasonics, acoustic emission, and acouto-ultrsasonics. None of these have had
complete success in detecting all types of defects in wood. In addition, many of these techniques are
expensive and difficult to apply in a production environment. Recent advances in machine vision include
the use of highly accurate cameras with increased resolution as well as increased sensitivity to a wider
spectrum of light. Considerable progress has also been made in the development of improved lighting
systems, such as light emitting diodes (LED), that are consistent in intensity across the required field of
view as well as consistent with time. Image analysis software has also improved in both processing power
and speed while becoming more affordable. Many cameras are now available that have the image
processing algorithms build into the camera. Cameras that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light,
such as near infrared (NIR) and thermo infrared, are now available. The work presented here evaluated
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Lemaster – 257

the feasibility of using some of these types of cameras and lighting systems to detect various defects,
consistently and economically.
BACKGROUND
Much work has been conducted on trying to automate the wood processing industry. This has included
systems to determine the best way to saw logs, cants, and boards based on geometry and defects as well
automatic lumber graders based on strength, geometry, and the size and location of defects. In 1981,
Szymani and McDonald reviewed the state of the art scanning systems at that time. Szymani (1985) later
presented a similar but updated comprehensive review on scanning systems for lumber and sawmills. In
these reviews optical, ultrasonic, microwave, x-ray, and neutron based systems were reviewed with their
advantages and disadvantages being tabulated. At that time, the optical systems used lasers or fluorescent
lighting as their light sources. In this review it was stated that a combination of techniques would
probably be required to completely scan a log or board. This is still true today. Pham and Alcock (1998)
presented an excellent state of the industry for the end of the millennium. In their review, they discussed
the advances in various defect detection systems including, x-ray and computerized tomography (CT),
ultrasonics, laser triangulation, and machine vision. During that time, many predicted that x-ray or
similar techniques would be common in wood processing facilities. While it is true that many optimized
cutting systems do employ x-ray as one of the sensor types used, the widespread use of x-rays or the
complete internal scanning of logs using CT has not occurred. Since that time, computerized image
analysis, as well as the cameras themselves have greatly improved. Since the review of Pham and Alcock
in 1998, some of the greater improvements in machine vision have been the speed of the cameras, the
speed of the computers, as well as a lowering in cost of both.
Considerable work has been conducted on developing algorithms to distinguish the various defects from
the surrounding material. Some of these involved the use of gray scale images (Pham and Alcock, 1996)
while others have experimented with the use of color images. Conners et. al. (1985) used a color (red,
green, and blue) and grey scale system to determine which was the best. In their work they discovered
that the use of all four channels gave the best performance (76%), though the red and blue together
yielded a performance of 70% and all three color channels combined yielded a performance of 71%. The
gray scale or individual color channels only yielded 58% accuracy. Funck et. al. (1990) determined that
color cameras could detect pitch in softwood veneer with an accuracy of 93% compared to 70% for
images from a black and white camera. Brunner et. al. (1990) discussed one of the main problems with
the early use of color systems was the increased computational requirements. In a study by Kline et. al.
(1998), defect detection of red oak in a rough mill operation using a color camera was investigated. In
this study the color camera did not perform as well as visual inspection. False positive defects detection
(clear wood being classified as a defect) was the primary reason for the camera system not performing as
well as visual classification. The authors state that multiple sensors including color vision will probably
be required to improve the performance of automated inspection systems. Color image segmentation
algorithms can be classified into one or more of the following techniques (Ruz et. al., 2005): histogram
thresholding, feature space clustering, region-based approaches, edge detection, fuzzy approaches, neural
networks, physic-based approaches, or a combination of the above. Funck et. al. (2003) compared the
performance of nine types of segmentation algorithms on images for Douglas-fir veneer. They found that
an algorithm based on a combination of clustering and region-growing techniques had the best
performance. A recent work (Ruz, et.al., 2005) attempted to use both neural networks and fuzzy logic to
increase the defect detection rate and decrease the occurrence of false positives. In their work, the
neurofuzzy color segmentation method resulted in a successful defect detection rate of 95% and a false
positive rate of 6%.
Computer technology continues to developing faster and cheaper computers. This is of benefit to the
machine vision industry, where the application of the image analysis algorithms has often been limited
due to the limitation of affordable computing power. Another major innovation of the machine vision
industry is the development of “smart cameras”. This is a class of cameras where many of the exposure
controls as well as image analysis algorithms have been installed inside the camera, thereby reducing the
need for an external computer or at least the required power and speed of the external computer (McKay,
2004).
Machine vision has become a very common technique in a variety of processing industries. However,
proper lighting of the object to be scanned or measured remains a critical and often difficult task for
machine vision systems. Standard ambient light can vary significantly during the day so is not
recommend as a light source for machine vision applications. Other lights sources that have been
evaluated during the development of machine vision systems include: tungsten incandescent, fluorescent,
halogen, laser, and xenon light sources. However, many of these light sources still suffered from uneven
illumination or intensity that changed with time. With the development of both colored and white light
emitting diode (LED) technology, a dependable light source is not available for a variety of machine
vision applications.
The direction of light can have a significant effect on the type of features or defects that are detected.
Tatari and Haittich (1987) used standard backlighting to detect open defects, overhead lighting to detect
closed defects, and low angle lighting for surface texture. Considerable work has also been conducted to
try to compensate for variations in lighting (Lan, 2004) inside the image analysis program.
Other innovations that show potential is the use of vision systems sensitive to wavelengths other than the
classic visible bands. This include the use of cameras sensitive to thermal infrared (IR), short wave IR,
near IR, or ultraviolet bands. These techniques also include using a thermal IR camera to detect defects
as the defects are stressed or set in motion with an ultrasonic source (Hogan, 2005). Infrared
thermography is also becoming a technique that is being used to detect moisture and decay in buildings
(Wyckhuyse and Maldaque, 2002). Tsai (2004) discusses examples of uses for near IR versus thermal
imaging. Often near IR can be used as an extension of the visible range whereas thermal imaging is a
separate imaging technique.
Machine vision hardware has become affordable to allow installation into a number of situations where it
would not have been cost effective just a few years ago. In addition, the image analysis software has
become “user friendly” enough to allow for experimentation by people other than computer programmers
as in the past. The software has become a tool for the machine vision practitioner.
The results discussed below are part of a current research project to determine the advantages, limitations,
and possible uses of various lighting techniques to enhance defect detection and classification for wood
and wood-based products.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
DETECTION OF REACTION WOOD
One application evaluated is the detection of reaction wood such as compression wood in softwood
lumber. Reaction wood consists of abnormal cells that are difficult to machine and also have abnormal
shrinking and swelling properties. The presence of this abnormal wood in various products is
undesirable. One goal is to detect the presence of the abnormal cells and then remove it from the
manufacturing process. Figure 1 shows a cross section of a specimen that has compression wood. The
arrow shows where a large portion of the compression wood is present. Images were taken with a
standard Sony digital camera that is also equipped with “night vision” infrared lighting and detection
capabilities. Each of the images was then dissected as far as the image components and exposure settings,
etc. Figures 2-3 show the most successful image process technique as determined from this feasibility
study.

Figure 1: Cross section of specimen with the presence of compression wood in pine (see arrow)
Figure 2: Image with only saturation plane visible
Figure 3: Saturation plane of image with contrast (left) and intensity (right) manipulated to
enhance visibility of the compression wood

This series of experiments illustrate the ability of a machine vision system to detect the presence of
compression wood. Additional work will need to be conducted to determine the full ability of the system
as well as a species effect if any.
GRADING OF HARDWOOD FLOORING

One problem in the wood products industry that was investigated is the grading of wood flooring. Many
of the flooring companies still visually grade their wood flooring products. This results in grading errors
and slower production throughput. While this work is still underway the following images illustrate the
potential of the various lighting techniques.
One method of testing the lighting system was to determine if the lighting could detect characteristics
above and below the surface of the specimen. Figure 4 shows a specimen of oak with coins on the
surface as well as a dent and a scratch. This figure shows how difficult the below surface are to detect
with “conventional” lighting. Figure 5 shows the average of two images, one with green light from one
side and the other image with a red light for the other side. From this figure it can be seen that both above
surface and below surface “defects” can be detected while the figure of the wood is still readily visible.
Figure 4: Image of oak with coins, a dent, and a scratch using conventional overhead lighting
Figure 5: Average of two bi-chromatic images of oak sample with above and below surface
“defects”

Figure 6 shows an example of maple flooring. In many cases it is not the presence of defects such as
knots that downgrade a piece of flooring but deviations in the desired color and figure as well as the
presence of undesirable coloration such as mineral streaks and blue stained wood. Figure 7 shows the
same specimen but while using the “night vision” feature of the digital camera. This image highlights the
stain but does not pick up the mineral streak.
knot
stain
mineral
Figure 6: Image of maple flooring showing, knot, stain, and mineral streak
Figure 7: Image of maple flooring using “night vision” feature of camera
The next series of images (figure 8) is acquired by dividing the two images above from each other and
then dividing the result again by the night vision image. These images greatly highlight the presence of
the mineral streak.
This experiment illustrated the power of machine vision when using advanced image processing
techniques.

Figure 8: Highlight of knot and mineral streak by dividing images (left – single division, right –
multiple divisions)
DETECTION OF EDGE CHIPPING OR SANDING “ROLL OFF”

The work on surface quality assessment that the Wood Machining & Tooling Research Program at North
Carolina State University has conducted during the last few years has revealed several categories of
surface defects that are difficult for a profilometer to detect. These are localized defects such as holes and
dents caused by mishandling as well as edge chipping and sanding rollover. While a profilometer can
detect such variations in the surface of a workpiece, the probability of the profilometer coming in to
contact with these types of defects can be very small in an industrial situation. The objective of this
research project was to explore the feasibility of using complementary technology to the optical
profilometer to detect these types of surface defects, specifically edge chipping and sanding rollover.
One technology that shows promise is the use of bi-chromatic light. Following is a brief explanation of
the use of the technique as well as some examples of the potential for detecting these types of defects.
BACKGROUND
The use of bi-chromatic light is simply using two colors of light (green and red) and projecting them on
two separate and somewhat opposite directions to the wood. This technique has been used for years to
detect tool wear on toolmakers microscopes. One color of light was projected on the surface of the tool
and the other color was projected at right angles to the surface of the tool. As any tool wear or rounding
occurred on the surface of the tool, the light projected at right angles to the surface would start showing
up on the surface of the tool. This same concept is used to detect edge chipping and sanding rollover.
Figure 9 shows the surface of a sample of particleboard that has sanding rollover with the two colors of
light sources showing how the rollover becomes visible. Figure 10 shows a close-up of the same sample
with the lights adjusted to highlight the sanding defect.

Figure 9: xample of bi-chromatic light illumination on sample of particleboard with sanding
rollover
Figure 10: ample of particleboard with sanding rollover
The next set of figures shows chipping of particleboard and the bi-chromatic image and the resulting
computer images. Figure 11 is the photograph of the particleboard with edge chipping. Figure 12 shows
the specimen being illuminated with the bi-chromatic light.
Figure 11: hotograph of particleboard sample with edge chipping

Figure 12: hotograph of particleboard sample with edge chipping using bi-chromatic lighting
Figure 13 shows the surface of the same specimen but from the image analysis software which was trying
to highlight the presence of the green light. This figure shows that the software can accurately image just
the color representing the edge chipping. Two methods of quantifying the presence of the edge chipping
can then be applied. The first method simply measures the width of the edge chipping numerous times in
the software and calculates the average width of the edge chipping. The second method calculates the
area of the defect. Either technique could be used to establish a threshold level to determine when the
edge chipping was unacceptable.
Figure 13: omputer image of particleboard sample with edge chipping using bi-chromatic lighting
(red represents the edge chipping)
CONCLUSIONS
This paper represents a portion of the work being conducted on various lighting techniques. The
preliminary research shows the potential of using other wavelength then the normal visible range.
Preliminary research has also shown that a simply machine vision setup using bi-chromatic lighting
should provide a quick, easy, and inexpensive method of determining the degree of edge chipping or
sanding rollover. Additional work will be conducted to determine how well the technique can work in an
industrial environment. This is not expected to be a problem since the machine vision equipment and
software has already proven themselves in numerous types of industrial environments.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the USDA Special Grants: Wood Utilization Research, 2003-34158-13717
and 2005-06309.

REFERENCES
1. Brunner, C.C., C.B. Shaw, D.A. Butler, D., and J.W. Funck. 1990, Using color in machine vision
systems for wood processing. Wood and Fiber Science 22(4):4.
2. Conners, R.W., C.W. McMilling, and C.N. Ng. 1985, The utility of color information in location and
identification of defects in surfaced hardwood lumber. Proceedings of the First International
Conference on Scanning Technology in Sawmilling. Miller-Freeman Publications, Forest Prod.
Society., Madison, WI. Pp. XVIII 1-33.
3. Funck, J.W., C.C. Bruner, and D.A. Butler. 1990, Softwood veneer defect detection using machine
vision. Proceedings on Process Control/Production Management of Wood Products: Technology for
the 90s. Forest Products Research Society. Madison, WI pp113-120.
4. Funck, J.W., Y. Zhong, D.A. Butler, C.C. Bruner, and J.P. Forrer. 2003, Image segmentation
algorithms applied to wood defect detection. Comput. Electron Agr. 41(1-3):157-179.
5. Hogan, H., 2005. Aircraft inspections improved with photonics. Photonic Spectra, June pp:54-58.
6. Kline, D.E., A Widowyoko, J.K. Wiedenbeck, and P.A. Araman. 1998, Performance of color camera
machine vision in automated furniture rough mill systems. Forest Prod. J. 48(3):38-45.
7. Lam, E.Y., 2004. Robust minimization of lighting variation for real-time defect detection. Real-Time
Imaging Vol. (10):365-370.
8. Wyckhuyse, A. and X. Maldaque. 2002. Wood inspection by infrared thermography. Proceedings of
the IVth IWASPNDE, TONES (ASNT pub.) Vol. (6):201-206.
9. McKay, M.. 2004, Trends in camera design increase functionality. Photonics Spectra, August pp. 82-
85.
10. Pham, D. T. and R. J. Alcock. 1996, Automatic detection of defects on birch wood woods.
Proceedings Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E. Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering,
210:45-52.
11. Pham, D. T. and R. J. Alcock. 1998, Automated grading and defect detection: a review. Forest Prod.
J. 48(4):34-42.
12. Ruz, G.A., P. A. Estevez, and C.A. Perez. 2005, A neurofuzzy color image segmentation method for
wood surface defect detection. Forest Prod. J. 55(4):52-58.
13. Szymani, R. and K.A. McDonald. 1981, Defect detection in lumber: state of the art. Forest Prod. J.
31(1):34-44.
14. Szymani, R.. 1985, An overview of scanning technology in sawmilling. Proceeding of the 1st
International Conference on Scanning Technology in Sawmilling. Miller Freeman Pub., San
Francisco, CA. pp. 1-33.
15. Tatari, S. and W. Haettich. 1987, Automatic recognition of defects in wood. Advances in image
processing, SPIE – The Inter. Soc. For Optical Engineering, Vol. 804:229-236.
16. Tasi, J., 2004, Beyond the visible: near-IR vs. thermal imaging. Photonics Spectra, September pp.
100-102.

The Effect of Tool Geometry and Machine Parameters on the
Surface Finish of Machined MDF
Ribarits, S. G.; Carmond, P. J.; Romilly, D. P.; Evans, P. D.
ABSTRACT
Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is widely used by the furniture and kitchen cabinet industries as a
substitute for solid timber. MDF is more homogenous than solid timber and it machines well without
developing the large defects such as torn grain that can be found in solid timber. Nevertheless, small
defects such as raised fibers and pits can be created during the machining of MDF, particularly when
cutting tools are used to create deep recesses and curved profiles in MDF. These defects may be large
enough to be seen beneath the finishes that are applied to MDF and hence there is interest in reducing the
occurrence and severity of such defects. This study examined the effect of tool geometry and two machine
parameters (chip load and spindle speed) on the surface quality of MDF following peripheral milling
using a modern CNC router. The surface quality of machined MDF was positively correlated with both
the rake and shear angles of peripheral milling tools, but negatively correlated with chip load. However,
the latter effect could be overcome to some extent by increasing spindle speed. Further research is needed
to confirm this interesting finding, and to explore in more detail some of the complex interactions
between tool geometry and machine parameters on the surface quality of MDF following peripheral
milling.
INTRODUCTION
Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is a wood composite that is widely used as a substitute for solid timber
by the furniture and cabinet industries (Leffel 1999). These industries machine sheets of MDF into a
range of components, many of which contain geometrically complex surface profiles including recessed
pockets and curved edges. The machining of these profiles is done at high speed using peripheral milling
tools and sometimes leaves defects such as raised fibers and pits at the machined surface (Altekoester
2003). These defects may be large enough to be seen beneath the finishes (vinyl overlays and paint) that
are invariable applied to machined MDF components. Hence, there is interest in reducing the occurrence
and severity of such defects to improve the overall suitability of MDF for the manufacture of furniture
and kitchen cabinets.
It is well known that the surface finish of solid wood during machining is influenced by the geometry of
the cutting tool and various machine parameters. For example, previous studies have shown that the
surface quality of solid wood decreases as chip load increases (McKenzie 1960, 1970). The surface
quality of MDF has been shown to decrease with increasing tool rake angle during orthogonal and
peripheral milling (Stewart 1987, Stewart and Drawer 1988), and recently Akbulut and Koç (2004) found
a positive correlation between tool sharpness and the surface quality of MDF during peripheral milling.
Apart from these studies, little information is known on how the geometry of cutting tools and machine
parameters influences the surface quality of MDF during peripheral milling.
In this study we examined the effects of tool rake and shear angles, chip load and spindle speed on the
surface quality of MDF following peripheral milling using a modern CNC router. The aim was to
understand how each of these parameters, and interactions between them influenced the surface quality of
MDF. The work forms part of a larger study that is developing ways of improving the machinability of
MDF for the furniture and kitchen cabinet industries.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ribarits, Cramond, Romilly and Evans – 267
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND STATISTICAL MODELING
A factorial experiment was designed to examine the effect of three fixed factors: (a) Tool type consisting
of 12 tools with varying shear and rake angles; (b) Chip load (3 levels) and; (c) Spindle speed (9000 or
18000 rpm) on the surface quality of machined MDF. MDF samples cut from three boards manufactured
at different times provided replication at the higher level. Samples cut from each board were randomly
allocated to the different tool type × chip load × spindle speed combinations (12 × 3 × 2 = 72 in total).
The resulting experimental design accounted for random variation in the material properties of MDF
(between and within boards) and the effects of tooling and machine parameters on the surface quality of
MDF. Analysis of variance was used to model the effect of fixed and random factors on the surface
quality of the machined MDF. Statistical computation was performed using Genstat 5 (Lawes Agricultural
Trust 1994). Before the final analysis, diagnostic checks were performed to determine whether data
conformed to the underlying assumptions of analysis of variance, i.e., normality with constant variable.
Significant results (p < 0.05) are presented graphically and least significant difference (lsd) bars (p < 0.05)
can be used to compare differences between individual means. In addition we present a table that presents
the significant effects and interactions of fixed factors on the surface quality of machined MDF.
PREPARATION OF MDF SAMPLES, TOOLING AND PERIPHERAL MILLING

Three MDF boards measuring 122 cm by 244 cm were purchased commercially. The boards were
manufactured at different times (Nov. 03, July 04 and June 05) by West Fraser mills under the brand name
Rangerboard. Each board was stored at ambient ‘shop’ conditions for up to several months and was sawn
into 72 samples measuring 200 mm by 200 mm using an Altendorf Elmo table saw. These samples were
stored at ambient ‘shop’ conditions for several days prior to machining. Samples from the first board
(replicate 1) were machined first and their surface quality was assessed and then samples from board 2
and then 3 were machined and surface quality was assessed.
Twelve tungsten carbide insert tools were designed and then manufactured by BC Tool and Saw Inc.
(Toronto, ON). Each of these tools had different combinations of four shear (0°, 8°, 16° and 24°) and
three rake (0°, 12° and 24°) angles (Figure 10). The tools were 60 mm in diameter and were inserted into
rigid Tribos chucks to minimize their lateral vibration during machining.
Figure 10: The twelve custom carbide insert tools
All machining was performed using a computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) router (SCM Routech
Record 121). An individual test piece was placed on the table of the router and fixed in place using the
machine’s vacuum system. Three chip loads (0.167, 0.333 and 0.667 mm/tooth/rev) and two spindle
speeds (9000 and 18000 rpm) were employed for machining. The desired chip load was obtained by
adjusting the feed speed for a given spindle speed. The feed and spindle speeds were set using the Xilog 3
software for the CNC router. All tools were ‘run-in’ prior to the machining of the experimental pieces
because previous research has shown that tungsten carbide tools undergo rapid initial wear during
machining followed by a period when the rate of wear is much lower (Ko et. al. 1999). The tools used
here were run-in by machining scrap pieces of Rangerboard MDF making sure that each insert traveled
300 m. After such machining the tool had passed through the phase of initial rapid wear, but was sharp by
commercial standards. The tools were used to machine separate 60 mm wide, 8 mm deep troughs into
separate MDF samples using the different chip load × spindle speed combinations. The machined samples
were stored in a conditioning room at 20 ± 1°C and 65 ± 5% r.h. for 7 days and then re-sawn into three
sub-samples, approximately 60 mm by 60 mm square. The machined surfaces of these sub-samples were
analyzed using profilometry.
ANALYSIS OF SURFACE QUALITY

Optical profilometry was used to assess the surface quality of machined MDF samples (Lemaster and
Beall 1996). The samples were placed on the x-y stage of an optical profilometer (Cotec AltiSurf 500).
Light was focused on the machined surface of the MDF sample through an optical probe with a range of
300 μm. This probe had a sampling frequency of 300 Hz (surface points measured per second) and a
vertical resolution of 9.2 nm. An area of 200 mm2 on each MDF sub-sample was scanned at a horizontal
resolution of 200 μm, and a range of surface parameters were calculated using the post-processing
software supplied with the profilometer (PaperMap) installed on a P.C. attached to the profilometer. Three
roughness parameters, which are commonly used to assess the quality of machined surfaces, were
selected for further analysis. These were: (a) Sa, mean surface roughness; (b) Sq, quadratic surface
roughness and; (c) Sz, maximum roughness calculated using the five highest peaks and five deepest
valleys on each machined surface. Preliminary analysis of machined surfaces indicated that they
possessed a type of surface irregularity with larger amplitudes than the aforementioned roughness
parameters, possibly arising from form (tilt) in the sample during machining. Such an irregularity can
interfere with calculation of surface topography and hence all data was filtered using an averaging routine
to remove any confounding effects of form on roughness parameters. These parameters were exported to
a spreadsheet for statistical analysis and selected topographical maps of machined surfaces were recorded
as bitmap files.

Table 1 summarizes the significant effects of, and interactions between, the three different fixed factors on
the different roughness parameters (responses). There were significant effects of all the tool and machine
parameters on the surface roughness of machined MDF (except for spindle speed on Sz). There were also
significant interactions of spindle speed × chip load and tool type × spindle speed × chip load on Sa and
Sq, but not Sz.
Table 1: Significant effects of tool type (T), chip load (CL) and spindle speed (S) on the surface
roughness of machined MDF
Fixed factor
Roughness
T S CL S × CL T ×S × CL
parameters
Sa *** * *** *** *
Sq *** ** *** *** *
Sz * NS *** NS NS
Legend: * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0 .001, NS = not significant
The effects of tool geometry (rake and shear angles) on surface roughness are shown in Figures 11 and
12. Surface roughness decreased as shear angle increased for tools with the same rake angle. Similarly,
surface roughness decreased as rake angle increased. These findings suggest that the best surface was
produced by tools with the highest rake and shear angles, although shear angle appeared to be more
important than rake angle as an increase in shear angle (for a given rake angle) tended to produce a
smoother surface than an increase in rake angle for a given shear angle. On the basis of his experiments,
Stewart (1987) suggested that moderate rake angles (between 10° and 30°) should be used for the
peripheral milling of MDF. Our results accord with his suggestion, which was based on the need to limit
tool wear during machining. In our experiments we limited the effect of tool wear on surface quality and
therefore our findings suggest that tool angle (rake and shear angles) have a direct influence on surface
quality in addition to their indirect effects achieved by minimizing the dulling of tools.
0.016
Mean Surface Roughness, S a (mm)
0° Rake Angle
LSD = 0.000584
0.015
12° Rake Angle
24° Rake Angle
0.014
0.013
2 )
)
T4 6°)
T5 °)
T8 6°)
T9 °)
1 )
T2 °)
T3 °)
T6 °)
T7 8°)
T1 °)
T1 16°
4°
T1 (8°
4
4
(0
(8
(0
(0
(2
(1
(2
(1
(2
(
(
0
T1
Tool (Shear Angle)
Figure 11: The effect of tool geometry on mean surface roughness
0.021
Quadratic Surface Roughness, S q (mm)

0° Rake Angle LSD = 0.000755
0.020
12° Rake Angle

0.019
24° Rake Angle
0.018
0.017
0.016
2 )
)
T4 6°)
T5 °)
T8 6°)
T9 °)
1 )
T2 °)
T3 °)
T6 °)
T7 8°)
T1 °)
T1 16°
4°
T1 (8°
4
4
(0
(8
(0
(0
(2
(1
(2
(1
(2
(
(
0
T1
Tool
Figure 12: The effect of tool geometry on quadratic surface roughness
Figures 13, 14 and 15 show that surface roughness increased as chip load was increased. These findings
accord with previous results from studies of the effect of chip load on the surface quality of solid wood
during machining (McKenzie 1960, 1970; Mitchell and Lemaster 2002).
0.016
0.015
0.014
LSD = 0.000292
0.013
CL1 CL2 CL3
Chip Load (mm)
Figure 13: The effect of chip load on mean surface roughness
0.021
0.020
0.019
0.018
0.017
LSD = 0.000377
0.016
CL 1 CL 2 CL 3
Chip Load
Figure 14: The effect of chip load on quadratic surface roughness
0.270
Height of Ten Points, S z (mm)

0.260
0.250
LSD = 0.0069
0.240
CL 1 CL 2 CL 3
Chip Load
Figure 15: The effect chip load on height of ten points roughness
However, Table 1 indicates that the effect of chip load on surface quality depended on spindle speed (note
the highly significant interactions of S×CL on Sa and Sq) and this effect is shown in Figures 16 and 17.
From these figures it can be seen that at a low spindle speed (9000 rpm) there was a positive correlation
between chip load and surface roughness, as expected. In contrast, the same relationship did not hold
when the spindle speed was increased to 18,000 rpm. At this higher spindle speed there was no significant
difference in the surface roughness of MDF samples machined at the intermediate (0.333 mm/tooth/rev)
and the highest (0.667 mm/tooth/rev) chip loads. This interaction has not been reported previously, but it
may be beneficial for manufacturers of MDF because they may be able to increase chip load thereby
maximizing output, without greatly compromising surface quality by machining at high spindle speeds.
Further research is needed to confirm this finding and also to examine in more detail the interactions
between chip load, tool geometry and spindle speed on the surface quality of machined MDF.
0.016
LSD = 0.000413
0.015
0.014
Speed 1
Speed 2
0.013
CL1 CL2 CL3
Chip Load (mm)
Figure 16: The interaction between chip load and spindle speed for mean surface roughness (Speed
1 = 9000 rpm, Speed 2 = 18000 rpm)
0.021

LSD = 0.000534
0.020
0.019
0.018
0.017 Speed 1
Speed 2
0.016
CL1 CL2 CL3
Chip Load
Figure 17: The interaction between chip load and spindle speed for quadratic surface roughness
(Speed 1 = 9000 rpm, Speed 2 = 18000 rpm)
REFERENCES
1. Akbulut, T. and E. Koc. 2004. Effects of panel density, panel temperature and cutter sharpness during
edge machining on the roughness of the surface and profiled areas of medium density fiberboard.
Forest Products Journal 54 (12): 67-70.
2. Altekoester, A. 2003. Personal Communication.
3. Ko, P.L., Z.S. Liu, R. Cvitkovic, M. Donovan, R. Loewen, and G. Krishnapper. 1999. Tool wear
monitoring for routing MDF. In The 14th International Wood Machining Seminar, 609-619. Paris,
Epinal, Cluny.
4. Lawes Agricultural Trust. 1994. Genstat, A General Statistical Program 5 Release (3.1). Lawes
Rothamstead Experimental Station, UK: Lawes Agricultural Trust.
5. Leffel, C. 1999. The future of MDF: A marketing perspective on emerging applications through
technological advances. In The 33rd International Particleboard/Composite Materials Symposium, 51-
56. Pullman, Washington.
6. Lemaster, R.L. and F.C. Beall. 1996. The use of an optical profilometer to measure surface roughness
in medium density fiberboard. Forest Products Journal 46 (11-12): 73-78.
7. McKenzie, W.M. 1960. Fundamental aspects of the wood cutting process. Forest Products Journal 10
(9): 447-456.
8. McKenzie, W.M. 1970. Feed per cut, a very important parameter in working wood-based materials.
Australian Timber Journal: 133-135.
9. Mitchell, P.H. and R.L. Lemaster. 2002. Investigation of machine parameters on the surface quality in
routing soft maple. Forest Products Journal 52 (6): 85-90.
10. Stewart, H.A. 1987. Rake angle guideline for machining medium-density fiberboard. Forest Products
Journal 37 (9): 24-26.
11. Stewart, H.A. and P.O. Drawer. 1988. Analysis of tool forces and edge recession after cutting
medium-density fiberboard. In The 9th International Wood Machining Seminar, 320-341. Richmond.
Optical Triangulation in Wood Surface Roughness Measurement
Jakub, Sandak
Italian Trees and Timber Institute IVALSA/CNR

Via Biasi 75, 38010 San Michele All’Adige (TN), Italy
sandak@ivalsa.cnr.it
ABSTRACT
Surface quality of wooden products is an essential property influencing customer impression on the
product appearance. Producers are forced therefore to link their production to the customer oriented
quality criteria. In a highly automataized manufacture lines the necessity of on-line estimation of surface
quality become more and more essential. However, up to date such technologies do not exist.
The paper presents some possibilities of using light triangulation measurement approach in to evaluation
of the surface roughness of wood and wood based materials. Different sources of light such as lasers,
LED or fiber optics, varied algorithms for the image processing, and calculation of parameters
characterizing the roughness are discussed. An optimal selection of hardware and software dedicated for
wood surface geometry on-line is proposed.
INTRODUCTION
SURFACE OF WOOD
Every material object has its surface composed of miniature peaks and valleys. The size and spatial
distribution of these peaks/valleys influence the specific surface properties. So far, the only way of
processing wood is through variations of cutting. Differing anatomical elements are cut by the tool during
machining, and a very complex surface is created. Some of the most important issues affecting the
wooden surface form are: wood anatomy, grain figure, wood density/wood porosity, moisture, kinematics
of the cutting process, machine conditions (such as design of the machine, machine vibrations, tool wear,
tool’s maintenance) and other factors. Many wood surface irregularities are an effect of anisotropic
material properties and complex microstructure.
The meaning of wood surface roughness may differ relating to diverse purposes [1]. For the customer
buying furniture in the shop, the roughness is an impression related to the senses of touch and vision. The
classification of products in to smooth and rough is subjective and fuzzy, without numerical
quantification. For the engineer in the factory managing the wood machining process a numerical
quantification of the surface roughness provides the most meaningful information. Roughness parameters
can be used to adjust process variables or to monitor tool and machine. The roughness parameter must be
within certain limits. Researcher might need to consider all the information taken from the surface.
Surface roughness is for him a significant material property to be evaluated. The surface roughness as a
material property is the most indeterminate and flexible, giving so far a field for the development of new
and flexible methods for its evaluation, interpretation and information extraction.
Up to now, the stylus technique is the most popular for roughness assessment. Unfortunately, the stylus
method posses some important limitations: contacting in principle, non-zero tip radius, cone angle of the
tip and slow feed. An alternative method for surface roughness evaluation in industrial environments has
been sought for some time. Taking into consideration in-process monitoring of the surface smoothness the
requirements for the superlative method are as follows [2]: resistance to harsh environments, sufficient
measurement range, satisfactory accuracy, capacity for performing measurements at very high scanning
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Jakub – 275
speeds, cost-effective installation and low maintenance costs, easy integration into existing production
lines, simple operation.
Some commercial devices capable of describing surface roughness are already available on the market.
However, these are usually designed for high precision applications. Such devices are both very
expensive and overly-accurate for application on porous biomaterials such as wood. Moreover,
measurement velocity and their fragility are sometimes appropriate only for laboratorial metrology. It
should be also mentioned that due to the specific properties of wood not all sophisticated techniques could
measure the roughness or provide results with a large error. Simply these are not suitable for the industrial
environment.
NECESSITY FOR 3D EVALUATION

Surface smoothness can be evaluated in one, two or three dimensions (1D, 2D or 3D), but most methods
are based on 2D measurements. Depending on application, the information regarding an area of surface
provided by using non-reproducing of the profile device (1D measurement with a sensors such as
pneumatic, capacitance, ultrasound, optical reflection or scatter), could fulfill requirements. However
these only provide an average quantity over the surface area and much quantitative information about the
relief cannot be extracted. Characterization of surfaces using 2D profiles is rewarding, but has important
limitations. Some surface properties such as anisotropy cannot be measured and quantified, and
assessment of the total surface area is also impossible in one pass of the sensor. The solution could be
whole surface area assessment (3D evaluation). Stylus could realize it by multiplication of the scanned
sections through multi-pass parallel scanning or increase number of sensors. The first solution is time
consuming and requires a special traction system – limiting the application area to the laboratories.
Increasing number of sensors leads to higher scanning density, but it is costly and rather complicated.
Therefore another, more suitable scanning technique is required. The system can base on the triangulation
(laser line sectioning, shadow scanner, Schmaltz microscope), stereovision, depth of focus, interference,
Moiré fringes or other. Utilization of 3D techniques creates new areas for mathematical evaluation of the
surface, more accurate prediction of its performance, and better understanding of the varied phenomenon
affected by the surface geometry.
The goal of this project is to develop an accurate scanner system capable of rapid three dimensional
evaluation of the wood surface smoothness, dedicated for on-line measurement. Other purpose of this
manuscript is to shear some knowledge and experiences acquired during development of prototype
triangulation scanners at IVALSA/CNR.
TRIANGULATION MEASUREMENT METHOD

The most promising techniques to be utilized for wood surface evaluation base on triangulation. The
general idea of the triangulation is presented in Figure 1. The light (usually structured) is illuminating the
measured surface with a certain angle θ1. Part of the light energy is reflected from the surface in to
direction of the light detector and after passing collimating lenses illuminates the detector with a
reflectance angle θ2. When the distance between the sensor (or light source) changes (s) then the position
of reflected light on the detector changes proportionally (s’). It is possible to calculate the distance (or
displacement) change by solving Equation 1 [3].
s sin(θ1 + θ 2 )
s' = m = ms(tan θ1 cosθ 2 + sin θ 2 ) (1)
cosθ1
where; m is the transversal magnification of the lens

Figure 1: Triangulation measurement approach
Examples of the direct implementation of the triangulation measurement approach are laser displacement
sensors. These are produced in a variety of measurement ranges, different detectors, illuminates, signal
processors, accuracy and price. In the field of roughness metrology laser displacement sensors are very
popular replacements of the stylus. However important limitation of such sensors is their inability to rapid
evaluation of the whole surface (in general limited only for 2D evaluation) and limited performance on
pours (wood-like) surfaces. Some more details related to the performance and limitation of the laser
displacement sensors could be found in literature [2,4,5,6,7].
The triangulation scanner could be constructed with different configurations; in term of light source,
detector type or scanning method [8]. The light source could illuminate the surface with spot, line (stripe),
multi spots or multi lines, scrutinizing one range point, one section, multi range points or multi sections at
the same time respectively. The light emitted could be coherent either incoherent. Lateral effect
photodiodes or charge coupled device (CCD) could serve as a light position detectors. The single scan
might be performed with movement of sample, movement of light source or movement of the detector.
The selection of the movement method depends on application and desired set-up.
Metrological applications of the triangulation vision systems are very challenging and demanding in
terms of hardware and software selection. Several factors could limit the measurement accuracy and its
repeatability especially issues related to camera, lenses, illumination, mechanics of the scanner,
algorithms for image processing, data presentation, and interpretation of results.
LASERS
Light emitted with lasers has some important advantages: Lasers can be tightly focused and the light can
be emitted along a extensive range with reasonably high power. Laser is single-wave, therefore it is
straightforward to filter-off ambient light by using band-pass optical filters, moreover optics for use with
lasers do not require refined accuracy in term of chromatic aberrations. An important limitation of the
laser is its potential danger for eyes and tendency to create a random coherent interference called laser
speckle. It is in fact the most unfavourable laser characteristic as the speckle intensity increase with a
roughness of surface (in an order of the light wavelength). According to Curless [8] the measurement
error affected by the laser speckle σr could be expressed in equation 2:
1 wλ d 0
σr ≈ (2)
2 sin θ 2a
where; θ – triangulation angle, w – width of the laser line on the object, λ – light wavelength, d0 – distance
between the light source to the object, a – aperture radius.

To reduce the error due to the laser speckle it is necessary to focus the laser line as tuff as possible, reduce
the laser wavelength, move the laser source closer to the illuminated surface or increase the aperture.
Other solution could be to reduce the illumination (triangulation) angle. However, the value of this angle
depends on the expected measurement range and is small when the required range is high. Conversely, the
resolution of the sensor increases when the angle increases. Some misrepresentation of the measured
profile occurs if the surface inclination is higher than the triangulation angle – sensor occlusion. The
width of the laser line changes as a function of the depth of field. It is another source of triangulation
error. Errors due to the reflectance changes and measured shape variations (edges, holes etc) are in the
order of the line width. It is clear therefore that to reduce such error it is necessary to reduce the laser line
thickness, but it is possible up to some limits. Some commercially available laser line projectors with an
ultra-thin laser lines are offered on the market [9]. It is also important to consider a uniform illumination
(power of light and line thickness) along the laser line. It is typical, but not appreciated, that the line
projected with a simple cylindrical lens has a Gaussian form in terms of the light intensity along the line.
An experiment proved that it is also possible to reduce the speckle in to some extent and to control the
form of the laser line on the measured surface by adjusting the power of light emitted from the projector
[7]. In the prototype roughness scanner developed at IVALSA, the light power is controlled in an
automatic way with a selection of the pulsing frequency and saturation of the pulse. The results of the
light control system are very promising; the laser speckle is significantly reduced. Moreover the thickness
of laser line is reduced compare to the non-controlled illumination.
WHITE LIGHT
In difference to the laser, the light emitted by bulbs is multi-wavelength. It produces much less speckle as
it is incoherent wave. Collimated light projectors, fibre optic illuminators or reflectors could be a source
of the white light. It can be structured by adding curtain or grid to create shadows in a form of stripe, half-
plane or multi stripes. The white light could be easily manipulated by changing intensity (power),
temperature, colour (by applying band-pass optical filters) etc. The light can illuminate the measured
surface directly or it can be transported by fibre optics. The new opportunities for manipulation of the
light structure are coming with LCD projectors. These can be easily programmed and produce complex
patterns of the coloured light on the surface.
CAMERAS
The detector of light distribution is one of the most crucial elements of the surface scanner. CCD video
camera serves usually as the light detector. An incredible progress in the microelectronics allows
increasing the scanning speed and also resolution. The CMOS technology provides wonderful
possibilities to integrate light detectors and signal processors in one chip, tremendously increasing the
speed of scanner [10]. In general, the resolution of the scanner increases with the resolution of the CCD
detector. Oppositely, the signal-to-noise ratio error increases as the pixel size on the detector decrease.
Therefore the selection of the camera must be very careful, balancing all above considerations. The
interface connecting camera to the signal processor is also an issue. It is recommended to use standard
interfaces (such as USB 2.0, IEEE1394 or camera link) as it simplifies the software development and
hardware modifications. The resolution of the CCD detector recommended for a wood surface roughness
scanner should be at least 3 Mega pixels or more.
OPTICS
Some important considerations related to lenses are: magnification change with object position change,
lens distortions (both geometrical and chromatic), perspective errors, image resolution along the field
depth, and edge position uncertainty due to the border illumination. All of the above factors could be
eliminated or at least reduced by a proper selection of suitable lenses for each application. It seems that
for the surface roughness evaluation favorable properties are presented by the telecentric lenses [11]. In

this type of optics all the rays incoming are parallel to the opto-mechanical main axis. As a result the
change of the distance between the lens and measured surface has no influence on the image and all the
perspective problems are cancelled. When using non-telecentric lenses a special calibration process is
necessary and further corrections of the image have to be performed.
MECHANICS
As it was mentioned before, the single scan might be performed by a movement of sample, movement of
light source or movement of the detector. The movement of sample could be easily implemented for on-
line measurement by installing the light source and camera over the production line. The scanner can
scrutinize surface geometry section by sections with a spatial resolution depending on the feed and
sampling frequency of the camera system. In the laboratory however the movement of sample/scanning
head could be precisely performed with moving stages equipped with stepper motors. It not the fastest
possible solution, but guarantee a high spatial precision and repeatability. For the laboratory sensor it is
recommended to allow changes of the triangulation angle, therefore the light source should be rotate-able.
To improve the scanner’s performance it is recommended to install the triangulation scanner into a dark
case to be sure to remove any ambient illumination affecting the vision system’s performance.
SOFTWARE
Software for the scanner is another challenge. It has to be able to control all device components, capture
and process images, present the range maps and calculate roughness parameters. Each software module
has to be adapted to the specific requirements. Various algorithms for image processing and range depth
estimation are available. Representation of results as well as calculation of the parameters characterizing
the surface is following step necessary to develop. To author’s knowledge no any commercial software
for processing range images exists. It is necessary hence to develop original programs for each
application. Some help for the software development (especially prototype) could give a high level
programming languages (such as LabView or Matlab), but some decrease in the performance must be
then expected.

TRIANGULATION SCANNER – EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM AT IVALSA/CNR
The hardware of the 3D roughness scanner under development at IVALSA/CNR is presented in figure 2.
Camera captures the image of the light profile thru camera lenses . The light source illuminated
the measured surface with a structured light. The measured sample is located on the motorized linear
moving stage . Vertical moving stage is used for adjusting the height of sample. Rotating arm
serves for regulation of the triangulation angle. To minimize an effect of the ambient light, the dark box
is constructed to cut-out external illumination.
A number of different light sources are under investigation: micro-focus lasers, red and green lasers with
different nominal power, fibre optic sources with collimated light illuminator and linear illuminator wit
rod lenses, LED illuminators and others. Moreover different types of lenses are under examination
(telecentric, semi-telecentric, macro, etc). Such large set of components is a starting point for selection of
the optimum set-up. Two main variations of triangulation sensors developed at IVALSA\CNR are: surface
scanner with laser line measurement and surface scanner with shadow measurement (Figure 3).

Figure 2: Experimental platform for development of 3D roughness scanner for wood; camera,
telecentric lenses, laser line projector, linear moving stage, vertical moving
stage, rotating arm, dark box
SURFACE SCANNER WITH LASER LINE MEASUREMENT

Set-up of the laser line triangulation scanner is presented in Figure 3a. The laser line creates a profile
section on the measured surface. The camera installed over captures an image of the line and the digital
signal processor uses image analysis techniques to scrutinize the profile section. Single measurement
provides information about one section of the surface. But by moving the workpiece under the sensor,
next section can be scrutinized. By continuing this process a number of times, the total sample area can be
examined and a 3D numerical model of the surface shape can be created. Cylindrical lenses might be also
applied to improve the optical resolution of the system in the perpendicular direction.
video camera
video camera
a) b) DSP
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Figure 3: General schematic of the laser line scanner (a) and shadow scanner (b)

Special software is an integral part of the developed system. This software must be capable of supervising
all elements of the scanner, acquiring the data, creating a 3D surface map from the profile sections,
processing/filtering the data, and expressing the surface geometry using standardized parameters.
Measurement starts with the trigger provided by rotary encoder, switch or controller. The trigger signal
initiates an image acquisition process. One section of the measured surface is scrutinized in each cycle.
The CCD camera captures one image of the measured surface including the laser line zone. The image
from the camera is then transferred into the digital signal processor (specialized vision system unit or
personal computer) for future processing. The components of the signal processing procedure could
include various operations such as: extraction of the ROI (region of interest) to minimize the amount of
data to be processed by the microprocessor, extraction of the most meaningful colour plane (R/G/B or
H/S/I), filtration of the image for elimination of any unacceptable signals from the source image, contrast
corrections, or any other operations to be executed on the image with the objective of improving the
quality of information provided. As a result, a monochromatic image of the laser line on the surface is
created, and is ready for further segmentation. Various algorithms are typically used to define the laser
line section form the image: one threshold, multi-threshold average, median, mean, centre of gravity or
other. In fact all these desire to calculate the “middle” of the line. Calibration of the system is performed
using samples having known reference surface shape. Relatively high accuracy of the shadow scanner can
be confirmed by comparison to corresponding profiles acquired by stylus.
MEASUREMENT ERRORS
The result of triangulation measurement is affected with various sources of errors: perturbations of the
shape of light section, CCD noise, finite sensor resolution, optical blurring and electronic filtering,
quantization errors, calibration errors, surface-surface inter-reflections and others [8]. Figure 4 presents
examples how the laser spot is deformed on the specific situations. Every deformation of the spot
distributions on the detector creates measurement error. It has to be mentioned that such laser spot
deformations on porous materials is particularly complex. The light illuminating wooden surface is
partially reflected in specular manner, partially reflected diffusively, absorbed, reflected internally or
transmitted. These influence the laser spot deformation and in consequence increase the measurement
uncertainty. This problem has been researched and some outcome of the investigations are presented in
literature [4,5,6,13].
Figure 4: Range errors using triangulation methods; reflectance discontinuity (a), corner (b),
shape discontinuity with respect to the illumination (c) sensor occlusion (d)
(Note: reprinted from [12])
To reduce an effect of the spot deformation on the measurement a novel algorithm for triangulation
measurement with laser line, called spacetime analysis, has been proposed by Curless [8].
SPACETIME MEASUREMENT APPROACH

Figure 5 presents a principle of the spacetime measurement. Instead of calculation middle of the laser line
(spot) for each section, the novel algorithm interpolated the “virtual” time tc (or horizontal reference of
the light source) when the intensity if light was the highest. Assuming Gaussian distribution of the
illuminant and non-disturbances (such as speckle), the value of tc can be calculated for each point of the
measured surface (xc, zc) as a mean of the Gaussian interpolation function (tc, sc) of pixel intensities in
corresponding times t1, t2…tn.
Figure 5: Spacetime mapping of Gaussian illuminant. As the light sweeps across the corner point
the sensor images the shape of the illuminant over time, (Note: reprinted from [12])
The algorithm is much more complicated compare to the “traditional”, but it has a number of advantages:
less sensitivity for reflectance changes, more accurately shape replication, especially of complex surfaces.
All of these improvements are very essential for scanning of the wood surfaces. Unfortunately the
spacetime technique does not reject all errors related the laser speckle.
3D SURFACE SCANNER WITH SHADOW MEASUREMENT

The surface profile scanner with laser line calculates the height of the surface profile in each section as
the “middle” of the laser line thickness [8]. Unfortunately, significant misrepresentations may result due
to the complex interaction between laser light and wood surface, as noted above. Moreover, this method
cannot distinguish fine surface roughness components, particularly when the profile wavelength is smaller
than the thickness of the laser line and the surface roughness amplified a laser speckle. The attempt to
improve this triangulation method is through eliminating the factor of line thickness through creation of
an alternative sectioning technique. In this method, a collimated white light projector (incoherent light
source creating less speckle) is installed with a fixed angle to the measured surface (Figure 3b). A sharp-
edged curtain made from metal eclipses half the measured surface. The curtain creates a shadow on the
measured surface, and the shape of the border between bright (highly lighted area) and dark (shadow
area) is a profile section of the surface. Analogically to the laser line scanner, the camera installed over
the measured surface captures an image of the border and the digital signal processor uses image analysis
techniques to scrutinize the profile section.
Signal pre-processing of the shadow image is identical to the laser line. However in the next steps, the
shadow image is segmented (binarized) into two sections corresponding to shadow (pixels with low
intensity) and illuminated areas of the measured surface (pixels with high intensity). It was proven
experimentally that use of the red plane for binarizing the shadow image give the superlative results.
Threshold function offers the simplest and the most effective separation of those areas. The boundary
value of the threshold can be obtained dynamically through histogram analysis. Next, the border between
the shadow and illuminated surface must be mapped. The edge detection algorithm could be applied for
this purpose. A single calculation of the edge position provides the location of the pixel for only one
column, therefore for the total surface section the edge is detected for each column of the image, one-by-
one in a loop formula. Numerical coordinates of the 2D section of the surface are thus obtained. If a 3D
model of the surface is required, the workpiece must be moved under the sensor a certain distance and the
next section can then be scrutinized. This process must be continued to the end of the measurement
length, and all operations are therefore performed in the loop. Finally, the matrix of data obtained can be
visualized on a graph, be used for future calculation/analysis of surface smoothness indicators, or it can be
analyzed in other ways depending on the application (e.g. surface defect detection). Some more details
regarding the shadow scanner, specification of set-up and image processing algorithms are presented in
the paper [14].
RESULTS
Exemplar 3D maps of the wooden surfaces scanned using the triangulation scanners are shown below.
Figure 6a and 6b presents images of two surfaces of glued lumber created by a circular saw when cutting
speed was kept constant, but feed speed varied between 1 and 10m/min. Intuitively, when feed speed is
low, the surface is smooth. This was also confirmed in the experiment. The intensity of each pixel in the
figure indicates the height of irregularities in its particular coordinates. Dark pixels indicate valleys and
bright pixels represent surface peaks. When the intensity variations (differences between bright and dark
pixels) are small, the surface is smooth (Figure 6a). Conversely, high contrast between pixels indicates
elevated roughness (Figure 6b). As seen in the figure, the resolution of the sensor was good enough to
distinguish tiny saw marks created during cutting. Zigzag pattern on both surfaces correspond to the
finger joints. The shadow scanner was able to accurately scrutinize very rough surfaces (washboard
pattern) produced during unstable processing on a band saw (workpiece: Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica),
~12% M.C.). Both smooth and wavy parts of the surface were clearly differentiated (Figure 6c).
a)
c)
b)
washboard pattern
Figure 6: Examples of the profiles scanned from the surface of wood after sawing with circular
saw at varied feed speeds: 1m/min (a) and 10m/min (b) and surface containing
washboard pattern generated during band-sawing (c)
CONCLUSIONS
The triangulation profilometer developed at IVALSA/CNR presented here could be used for rapid and
accurate scans of the surface of various porous materials, particularly wood, veneer, paper, fiberboards,
leaves, and the like. This type of sensor allows rapid three dimensional evaluations of surface geometrical
properties both in laboratories and industry. The resolution of the sensor is appropriate for both isotropic
and porous bio-materials. The simplicity of the sensor is also a great advantage because it makes the
system easy to maintain, resistant to breakage, and inexpensive. Surfaces are scanned without contact;
thus surface damage during measurement is avoided. Its straightforwardness and high accuracy enables
the method to be utilized for on-line measurement, and therefore it is suitable for industrial application.
A number of important considerations should be taken into account during design of the triangulation
scanner: selection of the appropriate hardware (camera, lenses, light sources, mechanical components and

signal processors), the best algorithm for image processing, software implementation and results
interpretation. A special care must be given for the minimization of the measurement error. It is
recommended to employ a camera with a resolution at least 3 mega pixels, connected to the computer
with standard interface. The best performing lenses for roughness scanner are telecentric. If the light
section has to be created with laser, it is suggested to use ultra-thin (focusable) laser line projectors, of as
low wavelength as possible (reasonably green or blue), equipped with non-Gaussian optics for the line
generation and with a possibility to control the power of light emission. Alternatively to the laser, the
white light illuminator with controllable light power, light temperature and spectral composition can be
successfully used. In that case it is important to remember to install the curtain close to the measured
surface in order to reduce light refraction.
A spacetime algorithm is a suggested tool for development of the errorless wood surface roughness
scanner.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research has been performed during a post-doc financed by the Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Italy.
REFERENCES
1. Sandak J, Negri M, 2005, Wood Surface Roughness – What Is It?, Proceedings of the 17th
International Wood Machining Seminar, Rosenheim, Vol.1 pp.242-250
2. Sandak J, Tanaka C, 2003, Sensor Selection for Evaluation of Wood Surface Smoothness,
Proceedings of the 16th International Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, Vol.2 pp.679-688
3. Gasvik K, 2002, Optical Metrology, John Wiley & Sons, LTD, West Sussex, pp.360
4. Lemaster RL, Dornfeld DA, 1983 Measurement of surface quality of sawn and planed surface
roughness of wood product. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Wood Machining Seminar.
University of California Forest Product Laboratory pp 52-70
5. Sandak J, Tanaka C, 2003, Evaluation of surface smoothness by Laser Displacement Sensor. Part 1;
Effect of wood species, Journal of Wood Science 49(4):305-311
6. Sandak J, Tanaka C, Ohtani T, 2004, Evaluation of Surface Smoothness by a Laser Displacement
Sensor II: Comparison of Lateral Effect Photodiode and Miltielement Array, Journal of Wood Science
50(1):22-27
7. Keyence catalog 1999-2000, 1999, Keyence Corporation, Osaka, Japan. 559p
8. Curless B, 1997, New Methods for Surface Reconstruction from Range Images, PhD dissertation,
Stanford University, Ca, USA
9. http://www.stockeryale.com/i/lasers/products/mfl.htm, cited on 14 February 2007
10. http://www.mysick.com, cited on 14 February 2007
11. http://www.opto-engineering.com/brochure/Telecentric_Lenses.pdf, cited February 8, 2007
12. Curless B, Levoy M, 1995, Better optical triangulation through spacetime analysis, iccv, , Fifth
International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV'95), pp. 987-994
13. Sandak J, 2004, Sensors for Evaluation of Wood Surface Smoothness, PhD dissertation, Tottori
University, Japan
14. Sandak J, Tanaka C, 2005, Evaluation of Surface Smoothness Using a Light-Sectioning Shadow
Scanner, Journal of Wood Science, 51(3):270-273

Design and Development of a Process Monitoring and Control System for
Abrasive Machining Processes
Saloni, Daniel E.1; Lemaster, Richard L.

Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program
Department of Wood and Paper Science
Campus Box 8005
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8005. USA
ABSTRACT
Sanding represents an important investment in the machining process because sanding belt price per unit
is high and the belt life is short. Two of the most important factors that affect the belt life are the loading
of the belt and the belt temperature. The heat from the sanding operation at the belt/wood interface can be
so high that the resins in the wood melt, which cools, and become hard again, which result in loading. A
loaded condition will cause the belt to be unable to cut additional material, as the grit cannot fully come
into contact with the wood piece, causing rubbing and friction that generate surface problems.
There have been advances in research to increase the life of abrasives by cleaning the belts. Many systems
of cleaning are used in the woodworking industry today such as “gum eraser”, chemical baths, glass beads
and dry ice blasting, as well as others. In order to increase abrasive life, improve material removal rate,
reduce down time and labor costs associated with the changing of the abrasive, and to reduce the overall
number of abrasives that need to be purchased by a manufacturer, a multi-level research effort is needed.
The objective of this study was to design and develop a process monitoring and control system for use in
the abrasive machining of wood products.
Results indicated that the implementation of process monitoring and control systems can considerably
improve the abrasive machining process.
Keywords: abrasive machining, abrasive belt cleaning, process monitoring and control
INTRODUCTION
The current research required a comprehensive understanding of the abrasive machining process for
wood. Years of work were devoted to becoming familiar with the abrasive machining process, process
material removal characteristics, surface quality evaluation, and the influence of factors that affect the
machining process. A full factorial experimental design was developed by Saloni (2003) in order to (1)
gain a better understanding of the variables that most significantly affect the material removal rate,
surface quality, and power consumption and (2) determine the combined effect of parameters such as
interface pressure, wood species, abrasive type and size, and belt speed. The relationships and interactions
of these parameters on material removal rate, final surface roughness, and power consumption for three
different grain sizes were determined via these experiments. The data analysis (Saloni 2003) established
the statistical significance of the variables and their interactions. The research results were based
primarily on monitoring of the abrasive condition via the monitoring of the belt life. Results indicate that
material removal rate can be changed by modifying the belt workpiece interface pressure level, the
abrasives material, and the machining feeds and speeds. Power consumption increased linearly when
1
Corresponding author, Phone: (919) 515-1548. FAX: (919) 513-3496. Email: daniel_saloni@ncsu.edu
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Saloni and Lemaster – 285
pressure was increased, however, power consumption remained fairly steady for the same pressure and
belt speed levels regardless of the type of abrasive or wood species (for the levels tested). The
experiments led to the identification of the major problems associated with the abrasive machining
process and the main variables, which must be further researched in order to improve the machining
process. As a result of this process improvement phase, the need for monitoring of the machining process
became evident and is an integral part of this research. In this work, belt life is defined as the status of the
abrasive belt when is not able to adequate remove material due to worn out of the abrasive mineral.
Acoustic Emission (AE) and vibration sensors have been used extensively to monitor tool wear and tool
life for cutting tools. Abrasive belt life was monitored by Lemaster et. al. (1993) and Matsumoto and
Murase (1995, 1997 and 1998) using acoustic emission sensors. In the current research, three AE sensors
were utilized, including a contact wide band AE sensor, a contact narrowband resonant AE sensor, and an
air coupled narrowband resonant AE sensor. These AE sensors were evaluated for effectiveness based on
monitoring of the machining parameters. Broadband AE sensor and vibration sensors with a wide
frequency range were used to determine the typical frequency range of the process as well as provide
insight into the most effective combination of band pass filters.
This research addresses the various steps in the design of the abrasive belt monitoring and cleaning
system. The discussion was divided into five sections; sensor analysis and selection to monitor abrasive
belt loading, sensor analysis and selection to monitor abrasive belt life, sensors analysis and selection to
activate the belt cleaning process, sensor analysis and selection to detect belt temperature, and process
control system design.
The feasibility of using different sensors to monitor the loading during abrasive machining was
established. Four different types of sensors were studied and analyzed in order to identify the best
combination of sensors for monitoring loading; including temperature, vibration, acoustic emission
(contact and air coupled), and optical (color and gray scale) sensors.
Temperature sensors have been used in a wide variety of industries to monitor different processes.
Temperature sensors are not viewed as effective indicators of abrasive life and loading formation,
however, they were found to be effective in helping establish high temperature limits in order to avoid
burned wood surface and / or belt damage.
The use of the accelerometer sensor results from preliminary experimentation, which clearly showed that
the sensor signal was able to detect changes in belt wear by showing a reduction in the signal strength
during the abrasive machining process. Results from the accelerometer did not show changes or variation
in the signals due to increases in loading despite clear evidence of abrasive loading being present. These
results indicated that the accelerometers tested were not effective in detecting loading formation and
accumulation during the abrasive machining process and therefore were not considered for use in the
monitoring system design.
Two types of acoustic emission sensors were considered for the system design based on the experimental
work. The two sensors evaluated for use in monitoring belt loading were a contact resonant AE sensor
and an air coupled resonant AE sensor. As was the case for the accelerometer and temperature sensors,
neither of the acoustic emission sensors were shown to be effective in the detection of loading. The
experimental work clearly showed that, similar to the accelerometer, the acoustic emission sensors
(contact resonant and air coupled resonant) were able to detect workpiece changes and belt wear during
the abrasive machining process but were not able to detect loading or changes in loading even though
loading formation was observed throughout the abrasive machining process.
Optical sensors were also evaluated to detect loading formation when abrasive machining. Preliminary
research showed that a Wenglor® intensity detector appeared to be the best option among the sensors
investigated for detecting belt loading. This type of sensor offered the lowest experimental variation, had
an adequate sensitivity in signal output for a change in abrasive loading, and did not require post
processing of the output.
Figure 1 shows the intensity sensor’s signal when cleaning with CO2 flakes for five seconds every six
minutes after machining white pine with an aluminum oxide P150 belt.
4.00
3.50
Relative Light Intensity (volts)
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
0 5 10 15 20
Time (min)
Figure 1: Wenglor® optical sensor signal after cleaning during machining
Figure 1 shows that the light intensity signal continuously increased after the cleaning process was
applied. In addition, it can be seen that the level of the light intensity signal was lower when the belt was
new. Additionally, the cleaned light intensity level (level after cleaning was applied) tended to be similar
regardless of the status of the belt or the level of the loading prior to cleaning. Thus, even though the
loading level for minute 11 was higher than minute 17, the loading level after cleaning tended to be
similar. The condition of the belt after each cleaning never did reach the initial level (new belt).
Finally, the “saw tooth” shape of the curve observed in figure 1 clearly indicates the ability of the sensor
not only to detect loading during the machining process after cleaning but also, the sensors capacity to
monitor the cleaning process. It is important to note that the slope of the loading curve tended to decrease
after cleaning, thus, the slope of the loading tendency from minutes six to eleven was larger than from
minutes twelve to seventeen. It is speculated that this behavior is due to the abrasive grains becoming
worn, which reduces the capacity of the grains to remove material causing a reduction in the amount of
loading that can be accumulated. This would produce a larger difference in signal strength between
cleaned and non-cleaned belts. This effect would facilitate not only the detection of loading but also the
implementation of a system to control loading.
In summary, the Wenglor® intensity sensor was shown to be effective in monitoring loading during the
abrasive machining process. Thus, this sensor was used as a tool to continuously monitor loading and
initiate associated process control actions (belt cleaning)
MATERIAL AND METHODS

Wood: Hard maple specimens cut into 3”x 4” and conditioned to 6 % EMC. Particleboard: specimens
cut into 3’’x 2.5’’x2.5’’Interface Pressure: 1.25 psi. Sanding belt: Aluminum Oxide 3M®, closed coat,
cloth backing. Sanding machine: A custom-made research abrasive machine with a motor of 3 HP. The
machine uses standard sanding belts (6”x48”) and has automatic timing. Acoustic emission sensors:
wideband contact acoustic emission sensor range 20 kHz – 1000 kHz, resonant contact acoustic emission
sensor 30 kHz – 50 kHz, resonant air coupled acoustic emission sensor 40 kHz and a commercial type
accelerometer. Camera: A FLIR™ ThermoVision® A20V infrared camera (Figure 2). The camera
provides a visual output of the temperature gradients and works with temperature ranges of -20°C to
+250°C (-4°F to +482°F), and +120°C to +900°C (+248°F to +1652°F). The Accuracy (% of reading) is
± 2°C or ± 2%. 2

Results from the implementation of a process monitoring and control system are discussed next. Figure 2
shows a comparison in the RMS signal between a contact wideband contact AE sensor, an air coupled
resonant AE sensor, and an accelerometer.
1.20
1.00
0.80
RMS (volts)
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0 10 20 30 40
Time (min)
RMS AE RMS Vibration RMS AE Air Coupled
Figure 2: Comparison RMS sensor signal output for abrasive machining
Figure 2 shows that the signals from both the contact wide band AE sensor and the accelerometer showed
decreasing trends during the abrasive machining process (abrasive belt wear), however, the change in the
signal with time was very small. As stated previously, the air coupled resonant AE sensor showed the
greatest change with time. The contact wide band AE sensor and the vibration sensor signal decreased as
well as the signal from the AE air coupled sensor.
As a result of this research, it can be concluded that both acoustic emission and vibration sensors could be
used to monitor the status of the abrasive belt life with the proper selection and location of the sensor.
Based on this research, the air coupled resonant AE sensor proved to be the most sensitive for monitoring
the life of the abrasive belt.
Figure 3 shows the acoustic emission RMS signal comparison between both the contact resonant and the
air coupled resonant AE sensors when machining particleboard with a silicon carbide P150 belt. Figure 3
shows that both sensors exhibited a similar trend of the AE signal in which, there was an initial drop
during the beginning of the abrasive machining process, a stabilization period, and then a continuous
2
www.flirthermography.com, 2005.
increase of the signal after the stabilization period. Figure 3 also shows that the air coupled resonant AE
sensor had a more variable but stronger signal than the contact resonant AE sensor at the beginning of the
abrasive machining process, however, the AE signal for the contact resonant AE sensor continuously
increased and became higher than the air coupled resonant AE sensor as the abrasive belt wear
progressed.
0.70
0.60
0.50
RMS (volts)
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0 20 40 60 80
Time (min)
AE (High sensitivity) AE (Air Coupled)
Figure 3: Comparison of RMS signal using contact resonant and air coupled resonant AE sensors
for abrasive machining with silicon carbide P150 belt (sensor was located on the
workpiece holder)
1.80
1.60
1.40
RMS (volts)
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0 20 40 60 80
Time (min)
AE (High Sensitivity) AE (Air Coupled)
Figure 4: Comparison of the RMS signal for the contact resonant AE sensor and the air coupled
resonant AE sensor when machining particleboard with silicon carbide P150 belt
(contact sensor placed beneath the platen)
Figure 4 shows that the AE signal for the contact resonant AE sensor was stronger and more consistent
than for the air coupled resonant AE sensor. Thus, it can be concluded that locating the sensor beneath
the platen provided better monitoring of the status of the abrasive belt during machining due to a stronger
and more consistent signal. The necessity of performing the detailed investigation of the location and
coupling of the AE sensor is supported by many authors from the literature review who indicate that the
location of the acoustic emission sensor is extremely critical.
The results from the experimentation aided in the establishment of the thresholds used to activate the
cleaning control system and the indication that the abrasive belt needs to be replaced. Once the sensors
were selected to meet the monitoring requirements of the abrasive machining process, the details of the
belt cleaning system design were addressed. Based on the nature of the outputs from the sensors, a single
signal can be used as a trigger for the belt cleaning control system. The belt cleaning control system was
based on the integration of the various sensor signals, which enable the system to initiate actions (such as
no action, activate the cleaning system to remove the loading, or generate an alert signal when the process
must be stopped to replace the belt). As discussed previously, a Wenglor® optical sensor was selected to
measure the loading level and was used as a trigger to activate the cleaning system. The contact resonant
acoustic emission sensor was used to continuously monitor the life of the belt and activate a signal to
indicate when the abrasive belt needs to be replaced. The AE sensor was also used to detect when an
abnormal event occurs that produces a significantly large signal due primarily to machining problems.
Temperature analysis was selected for safety reasons in order to avoid permanent damage of the belt,
workpiece, or machine. Thus, an infrared thermometer was selected to continuously monitor the
temperature of the belt and indicate when an excessive temperature level has been reached that would
required an immediate action. It is important to note that, due to the nature of the abrasive machining
process (rotating abrasive belt), a non-contact thermometer was required. On the other hand, high
sensitivity was not required to monitor the temperature of the belt since changes in belt temperature do
not occur suddenly. Therefore, a non-expensive, commercial type infrared thermometer was selected.
Belt life was defined by using the output from the contact resonant AE sensor. Analysis of the acoustic
emission output showed that the signal tended to increase until the signal stabilized at a certain level.
Thus, a cumulative representation of the data was used for better understanding and analysis of the
acoustic emission signal. The threshold acoustic emission level was defined primarily by defining the life
of the belt by using the material removal rate (MRR) which continuously decreases during the life of the
belt until it tends to zero. For purposes of this research, the cumulative MRR was used and compared to
the acoustic emission cumulative output in order to verify and validate the threshold to indicate belt life.
Figure 5 shows that the slope of the cumulative material removal rate tended to decrease with time while
the slope of the cumulative acoustic emission signal tended to increase with time. Thus, it was possible to
define the threshold of the belt life based on the slope of two consecutive points when the cumulative
acoustic emission data was used. This threshold was established based on using an aluminum oxide type
of abrasive belt with a grain size of P100 when machining particleboard.
7 12
6
10
Cumulative MRR (lb/min)

8
Cumulative AE (volts)
4
6
3
4
2
2
1
0 0
102
118
124
120
136
132
148
154
150
166
162
178
184
180
196
192
208
214
210
226
222
238
4
24
30
36
42
48
54
60
66
72
78
84
90
106
9
Time (min)
Cumulative M RR (CO2 Flakes) Cumulative AE (CO2 Flakes)
Figure 5: Cumulative MRR and contact resonant AE signal after cleaning with CO2 flakes
CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN

The total control system was designed as a combination of several different control systems; belt life
control, cleaning control, and temperature control. As established before, three main actions were
designed, cleaning system activation, light bar signal to indicate the status of the abrasive belt, and
warning signal on the program to indicate when the belt temperature reaches the maximum safety
temperature limit.
A program in Labview® 8.2 was designed that integrates the inputs coming from the sensors, compiles
the information and compares it with the defined thresholds, and then takes the respective action such as
cleaning, belt status, and temperature level.
Figure 6: Process monitoring and control system program developed in LabView® 8.2
Figure 6 presents the program screen designed in LabView® 8.2 of the process monitoring and control
system for the abrasive machining process. Figure 6 shows three graphs, the graph monitoring the
loading, the cumulative RMS of the acoustic emission, and the temperature level. The cleaning action is
taken automatically by the system activating the cleaning system. In contrast, the acoustic emission
cumulative RMS activates the light bars system (green, yellow and red) showing the condition of the
abrasive belt. In addition, a red light activates when an elevated temperature has been reached. Figure 6
also shows indicators (boxes) of the current values of the signal inputs (light intensity, AE-RMS, and
temperature). In addition, a thermometer style bar graph was employed that changes its color when a
certain level is reached indicating the status of the abrasive belt based on exceeding a threshold from the
acoustic emission sensor.
In figure 7 two lines are shown, the data coming from the sensors and the upper limit that indicates when
an action needs to be taken.
A series of programs were constructed in Labview™8.2. These routines collected data from the sensors
for belt loading, belt life, and belt temperature. A series of thresholds were established from preliminary
tests for each sensor. If the threshold for the belt loading was exceeded then a signal was sent to a digital
to analog converter that provided the voltage to turn on the solenoid to activate the belt cleaning system as
shown in figure 7. A delay was also programmed into the system so that data was not collected until the
debris from the belt cleaning operation had time to dissipate.
Figure 7: Cleaning activation due to loading for the process monitoring and control system
program developed in LabView® 8.2
A series of thresholds were established for the AE sensor to indicate the degree of belt wear. Three levels
of belt wear were defined. Each of these three levels corresponded to a differently color of light both on
the program display as well as a light bar. Signals were sent to digital outputs of the same National
Instruments™ data acquisition board used to collect data from the sensors. A green light indicated that
the condition of the belt was good (figure 7).
Additionally, a yellow light indicated that the end of the life of the belt was approaching (figure 8) and no
additional belt cleaning would be performed.
Figure 8: Yellow light indicator due to moderate belt wear for the process monitoring and control
system program developed in LabView® 8.2
A red light indicated that the belt was worn out and should be changed immediately (figure 9). It is
important to note that the control system is not programmed to stop the abrasive machining process due to
excessive belt wear (red light indicator in figure 9), it is just to warn the operator that the belt needs
immediate replacement otherwise damages to the belt, quality problems, workpiece surface burning, low
production due to limited material removal rate, as well as other situations could arise.
Figure 9: Red light indicator due to excessive belt wear for the process monitoring and control
system program developed in LabView® 8.2
Figure 10: Temperature indicator due to excessive temperature for the process monitoring and
control system program developed in LabView® 8.2
A single threshold was established for the temperature sensor to warn when the sanding temperatures
were too high as can be seen in figure 10.
CONCLUSIONS
This research addressed the use of process monitoring and control techniques for improving productivity
and reducing costs for abrasive machining applications in the wood products industry. An extensive
experimental program which provided a solid background in all aspects of abrasive machining, including;
the abrasive machining process as related to wood products, abrasive belt wear mechanisms for
woodworking applications, the design of abrasive belts for these applications, and the characteristics of
various sensors which could be useful in monitoring abrasive machining processes including different
types of acoustic emission sensors and an accelerometer sensor.
Based on the background research and experimental investigation, a process monitoring and control
system that provided online detection of belt loading, belt wear, and belt/workpiece interface temperature
was designed and developed into a working prototype system. This system used a combination of sensors
to provide a reliable method of assessing belt loading and belt life. The process control research led to the
use of signals from process monitoring sensors to activate a dry ice blasting system, which effectively
cleans the belt without the need to remove the belt or clean up after the belt cleaning process.
The process monitoring and control system design was verified and refined in the laboratory for both the
process monitoring and the process control (cleaning system) components. The laboratory prototype
version of the process monitoring and control system resulted in a substantial improvement in belt life
and a reduction in the use of the blasting media (which would result in a major cost reduction for
industrial users of abrasive belts).
REFERENCES
1. Lemaster R. L. and D. A. Dornfeld. 1993. The use of acoustic emission to monitor an abrasive
machining process. 11th International Wood Machining Seminar. Honne, Norway. May 1993.
2. Matsumoto H and Y. Murase. 1995. Acoustic emission characteristics in wood sanding 1. Effects of
sanding pressure and sanding direction on acoustic emission in belt sanding. Mokuzai Gakkaishi. 41
(7): 647-651.
3. Matsumoto H and Y. Murase. 1997. Acoustic emission characteristics in wood sanding 2. Effects of
sanding pressure and sanding direction on acoustic emission in belt sanding. Mokuzai Gakkaishi. 43
(3): 280-284.
4. Matsumoto H and Y. Murase. 1998. Acoustic emission characteristics in wood sanding amplitude
distribution of acoustic emission in disc sanding process. Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture,
Kyushu University. 43 (1-2): 257-268.
5. Saloni, D. 2003. Abrasive machining process characterization on material removal rate, final surface
quality and power consumption when wood is used. Master Thesis under the direction of Dr. Steven
Jackson and Mr. Richard Lemaster. Integrated Manufacturing System Engineering. North Carolina
State University.
Quality and Assessment of Sanded Surfaces
Scholz, F.; Riegel, A.; Ratnasingam, J.

with support f GFM, Berlin
ABSTRACT
Sanding is in general applied for surface improvement of wood and engineered wood products. Despite of
this fact however, there is only poor documentation of the knowledge about the effect of the different
parameters and the methods of quality assessment. The latter are often subjected to random conditions
and subjective methods. This paper presents a short breakdown about the main influences on the surface
quality and a survey of the most common methods of surface assessment. Beside strictly technological
methods like the evaluation of 2-D and 3-D surface profiles, systematic sensorial tests (tactile and visual),
which reflect the human reception better than measurements will be applied and compared with the output
of classical measurements.
INTRODUCTION
The quality of sanded surfaces is important with regard to two main issues:
a) Technical requirements for follow up production steps, which may be assigned to measured
quality parameters like the roughness values derived from surface profiles. Beyond these
parameters other properties like fuzziness or crushing of the upper cell layers are also important
but difficult to establish.
b) As part of the overall quality of the finished product. This kind of surface quality is in general
graded by subjective assessment. So far most of the attempts to link the personal perception to the
roughness parameters failed. This fact and the considerable cost for the necessary equipment are
the main reasons why the state of the art of surface assessment in most production lines is still the
visual grading in more or less well defined environment conditions.
The scope of this paper is a comparison of the most commonly applied grading procedures among each
other in terms of the effort required and the precision of the derived data.
DEFINITION OF SURFACE QUALITY

Surface quality is a collective term for a lot of different single effects and parameters. The specific
influence of every characteristic could be different in each case. Table 1 displays a survey of the various
components.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPARED METHODS

The methods compared in this paper cover only a certain part of the above listed influences. They are
mostly assigned to the detection of roughness and waviness, hence the items of the left two columns of
the table 1. These are important but not the only aspects. The assessment of the surface quality by
persons, so called sensory tests, may of course take some of the other aspects like colour fuzziness or
gloss into account. Moreover for most of the other aspects also special tests are available (gloss test,
hardness test etc.), which are beyond the scope of this paper.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Scholz, Riegel and Ratnasingam – 297
Table 1: Characteristics of sanded surfaces
Characteristic of sanded wood surfaces
Geometric Optical Structural Chemically, hysically
regular abormal regular abormal
Roughness Chattermarks Colour Burning Collapsed cells Readiness to moisten
Waviness Scratches Gloss Fuzziness Surface tension
Natural
Flatness Stripes Penetrability
pattern
Dimensions Grooves Hardness
Shape Shadows Strength
Rounding off
Textures Adhesion of coatings
edges
Alignment of
edges
ROUGHNESS PROFILES
LINEAR SURFACE PROFILES
Linear roughness profiles may be taken by two groups of sensors:
a) Tactile devices using a stylus that is moved across the surface, being either absolutely positioned in
some support or alternatively being integrated in a skid that is sliding on the surface, eliminating
waviness components with longer wavelength.
b) Non tactile measurement with laser sensors using triangulation or autofocus technologies. The
devices are mostly attached to a fixed support, above the specimen, which is moved on a x-y sliding
table.
Contact free roughness measurement allows much higher speeds than tactile ones though the
precision of the data decreases upon high speed.
For both methods a larger number of measurements up to 25 lines per specimen is required, in order to
gain reliable data. The same applies for the monitoring of 3-D surface profiles which consist of 10 – 100
parallel profile lines. A very time demanding procedure, with little acceptance in practice.
DLP-METHOD FOR 3-D PROFILES

During the last years contact free 3-D surface scanning methods on the basis of interference and
triangulation technologies have been developed. One of them is the so called DLP-stripe projection
method, which combines triangulation and interference technologies using stripes with cos²-shaped
distribution of light intensity moved across the surface of the specimen. The vertical position is calculated
from the various recorded grey values assigned to a spot.
The output is a 3-D profile of the scanned surface. The technology is widely applied for 3-D scans of
structures in rapid prototyping. Through lenses with high magnification the vertical resolution may reach
0.5 µm and the lateral 1-4 µm, which is easily sufficient for wood surface assessment.
The main advantage of this method is the speed of the data acquisition. The scan of an entire surface of 25
x 35 mm with a lateral resolution of 3 µm takes 10-20 seconds with a normal setup.
Figure 1: Camera and principle of mesurment of DLP method
DATA EVALUATION AND PARAMETERS

In order to compare the results, grading numbers need to be derived from the profiles. The most common
ones are the roughness Rz, the mean roughness Ra and the core roughness Rk. For 3-D data the equivalent
parameters are Sz, Sa and Sk.
For the scope of this paper the scanning length was set to 20 – 25 mm or an area of 20 x 25 mm
respectively. The filtering length λ was set to 3 mm, deviating from the recommendations of the norm
(which suggests 20% of the scanning length in general) in order to remove the effect of swelling or
shrinking of the growth rings without cutting off too much off the waviness. All linear scans were taken
perpendicular to the sanding direction.
The parameters must not be changed throughout the entire measurement of all specimens, in order to
guarantee comparability of the results.
TOLUENE ABSORPTION TEST EN 382-1 (1993)

The toluene absorption test EN 382-1 (1993) was originally designed to monitor the absorption properties
of particle board. The setup is very simple and cheap: A drop of 1ml of toluene is applied to the specimen,
which is inclined by 60 degrees. The reading is the length stained by the drop. This procedure needs to be
repeated 5 – 10 times per specimen, in order to gain reliable results. Hirizouglou et. al. [1] found the test
to be suitable to compare roughness properties of solid wood and engineered wood products, due to the
fact that the roughness changes the absorption properties of these surfaces. The stained length is therefore
an indirect indicator of the roughness. The value has moreover integrating properties, a procedure which
is otherwise performed by the mathematical operations, which calculate theroughness parameters in a
similar manner. Compared to the other methods under consideration, this one is very cheap and simple,
and still delivers quantified readings for the roughness. The stained distance is of course heavily
influenced by the material. Hence this test is only suitable to compare different batches of the same
product – which is the standard task of quality surveillance.
Figure 2: Toluene test EN 382-1
SENSORY GRADING ON UNDEFINED ENVIRONMENT

State of the art in production is still the visual or haptic surface assessment, the so called sensory test, by
the operator, quality controller or customer. The results depend of course on personal capabilities and
mood as well as on the conditions of the environment and do not deliver quantitative readings. This gives
frequently rise to intense discussions.
On the other hand, the human haptic or visual reception has a vertical resolution down to 0.01 mm, man
may assess larger surfaces and, even more important, is capable of identifying the hot spots on line.
Moreover further factors like colour or fuzziness (which is very difficult to monitor) may be taken into
account. After all this method is probably by far the most widely applied one in practice. This is reason
enough to include these methods in these consideration.
During the test six test persons were asked to put the four specimens of different roughness from every
species into the right order. These results may be compared to the measurements.
SENSORY GRADING ON STANDARDIZED CONDITIONS
Figure 3: Principle of Scheimpflug to increase the focus range, left without, right with shown
adapter
Figure 4: Experimental setup for visual and tactile evaluation
As described before the quality of wooden surfaces was and is still tested multi-sensory by the visual and
tactile senses of the testing persons. By the senses the surfaces properties recognized, The impression is
then compared with certain models stored on mind and so evaluated as a quality level. To improve the
recognition for the tester certain devices are used, first of all lightening conditions.
Dark field lightening mostly against a window or light is preferred. But also touching with graphite or
clay can improve the recognition of topographic characteristics.
Also by touching the surfaces with clean and dry finger tips with, against or cross the fibers sensory
impressions could be gained. This method of traditional sensorial surface evaluation is working but to a
high degree subjective.
To come to more repeatable and objective results, the elements of the cognitive recognition have to be
improved one by another. First the characteristics or attributes of wooden surfaces have to the named
definitively. The attributes given in Tab. 2 should be adapted or added according to the aim of the test.
Secondly for each used characteristic or attribute a template should be given. For our investigations
digital stereoscopic sets of pictures, taken in the original testing surrounding, are used. To increase the
depth of sharpness which is normally poor an adapted using the principle of Scheimpflug was designed
(Figure 3).
For the presentation anaglyphes in cyan and magenta and stereoscopic glasses are used. Thirdly the
recognition of the characteristics has to be improved. Our investigation focuses on the visual recognition.
A modular experimental setup (Figure 4) was designed. The sample can be oriented in different directions
different lights can be used according to the characteristic which should be detected. For the experiments
the variety was needed but even in our case the same testing persons were stressed and less concentrated.
For practical use we tried to establish certain setups for typical evaluations. For the touching with graphite
and staining fixtures were developed to assure repetitive results. As main step the methods of sensory
evaluation are introduced. The favourites are the methods which are used for decades in the life science
technologies (DIN 10950 ff). Actually the describing evaluation with scale [10964], the scoring test
[10963] and the triangular test [ISO DIN 4210] are used. In contrary to the testing panels up to 30 persons
who are needed for statistical reasons in the life science technologies, the amount of testers must be
decreased dramatically in practical woodworking. Besides a precise questioning, teaching and testing of
the individual sensitive abilities of the persons in a panel must be considered. We have experimented with
factors indicating the individual abilities of each tester. For the later used in industry this could be more or
less problematically.
Table 2: Attributes of surfaces for sensory assessment
Attribute Properties Value Attribute Irregularities Value
Groovy - Crater --
Woolly -- Plucked out parts --
Fuzzy -- Pimple --
Dusty -- Bump, dip -
Shining 0 Chipping --
Dull 0 Nadelstreifen --
Inquiet - Large checks by cleavage --
Flat + Small checks by cleavage -
Uneven + Crushed parts (springwood-/latewood zone) -
Smooth - Cat hair effect (direction property in tactile --
tests)
Rough +
Wavy + Special Attributes for Sanding Pattern
Very dull -- Fine +
Well sanded - Regular +
Sanded through 0 Short grooves +
churned + Exactly parallel +
(tension close to knots) + Regular traces of oscillation 0
Special Effects Large traces of oscillation -
Washboard -
PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS, MEASUREMENTS

For the assessment of the methods described in chapter 3, sanded specimens of six different materials
were produced. These were the wood species beech, oak, spruce and poplar which was replaced by tulip
tree, due to difficulties in procuring poplar. The program was rounded off by two examples for panels
OSB and the particle board FPY.
The wood samples were first cut, planed and then sanded in four steps (grit 80, 120, 180 and 220) on a
heesemann cross belt sander. The panels were sanded right away without any further preparation in the
same steps. At every sanding step (grit) a defined number of specimens was withdrawn from the kept for
assessment. Due to time limitations several measurements had to be done parallel. Such not all data could
be taken on the same sample, but on similar ones from the same batch. For every measurement 3-5
samples of every species and grit were taken into consideration. The measurements were repeated 5
times, only the 3-D scan, which represents a large number of single lines anyway was restricted to sigle
measurements on three specimens per grit and species.
LINEAR SCANS
The diagrams below display the results of the linear roughness scans for the three most common
parameters Rk , Ra and Rz.
As the diagrams clearly show, there are two unexpected effects:
a) The roughness for the grit 80 is too small compared to the others. The same tendency, but less intense
may be seen in the relation between grit 180 and 220. This is apparently due to a less aggressive
sanding belt, since all other parameters were kept constant (feed speed, belt speed, pressure etc). This
effect hides also the normal with a decrease of 30% to 50% within this grit-range. Figure 11 displays
results from earlier experiments and from other authors, which clearly show the expected behaviour.
b) The roughness of the grit 120 is a bit too high (less extreme than the effect with grit 80 but still
obvious)
Further some other observations seem remarkable:
c) Among the different Roughness values Rk seem to show the (hidden) tendency and also the
extraordinary effects most clearly.
d) The relations between the values are comparable For Rk even oak displays a similar behaviour
compared to the other wood species. The Rz and Ra curves have an unreasonable tendency to rise with
finer grit. This is apparently due to the natural deep pores, which dominate Rz apparently also Ra
much more than Rk. Rz and Ra values taken on oak (and similar kinds) need special procedures of
evaluation. Several are already mentioned in literature [4,5]. If this effect is reliably avoided by Rk as
these results suggest, needs further proof.
e) The OSB results are also less reliable than the rest. The first three values display inverse tendency,
which may be explained with interior cavities similar like oak. The 3-D plots of OSB display these
effects clearly, the results of linear scans will heavily depend on random postions.
The Laser data display similar behaviour. The absolute roughness values are slightly smaller than those
ones of the stylus (which is surprising since the force applied on the stylus is assumed to smoothen the
readings) and have a larger standard deviation (which is reasonable). The procedure is quicker due to
higher feed speed, but the larger scatter requires more measurements.
Rk Stylus Rz Stylus
20,00
70,00
Tulip Tulip
Roughness [µm]
Roughness [µm]
60,00
15,00 Oak
Oak 50,00
Spruce 40,00 Spruce
10,00
Beech 30,00 Beech
OSB 20,00 OSB
5,00
FPY 10,00
FPY
0,00 0,00
0 50 100 150 200 250
0 50 100 150 200 250
Grit
Grit
Ra Stylus
7,00
Tulip
Roughness [µm]
6,00
5,00 Oak
4,00 Spruce
3,00 Beech
2,00 OSB
1,00
FPY
0,00
0 50 100 150 200 250
Grit
Figures 5, 6 and 7: Achieved Rk, Ra and Rz values taken by stylus, Figure 8: Results of earlier projects.
Ra Laser Rz Laser
6,00 50,00
Roughness [µ m ]
Ro ughness [µ m ]
5,00 Tulip 40,00 Tulip
4,00
Oak 30,00 Oak
3,00
Spruce 20,00 Spruce
2,00
1,00 Beech 10,00 Beech
0,00 OSB 0,00 OSB
0 50 100 150 200 250 FPY 0 50 100 150 200 250 FPY
Grit Grit
Rk Laser
20.00
Roughness [µm]
15.00 Tulip
Oak
10.00
Spruce
5.00 Beech
0.00 OSB
0 50 100 150 200 250 FPY
Grit
Figures 9, 10 and 11: Achieved Rk, Ra and Rz values taken by laser
3-D DLP SCANS
Figure 15: Scan of OSB surface sanded with grit 80 seen from
“below”
The 3-D DLP technique seem to solve a lot of problems with roughness scans:
• reasonable speed off data acquisition
• better statistical representation of the surface due to an area as database.
Moreover the pictures give a very good impression of the surface. Amazingly the diagrams do not display
a significant tendency, they remain more or less unchanged throughout the whole range within a certain
deviation. This is unreasonable. The absolute values of the roughness are in general higher than those
ones of the linear scans, which is reasonable. The difference for Ra and Rk is 30% – 100%, for Rz 300% –
500%. The reason may be due to the method, which is picking up small areas and deep bumps more
readily and does not apply any force to the surface. Secondly the large number of data-points throughout
the surface increases the likelihood to include large defects in the reading. This applies clearly at least for
Sz, which influence dominates the difference for Ra and Rk cannot be decided at this stage.
TOLUENE ABSORPTION TEST EN 382-1 (1993)

The results of the toluene test look reasonable. With exeption of tulip tree for grit 220 the curves for the
solid wood species display the expected behaviour. The readings of the paels do not depend on the grit,
the absorption seem to be dominated by different effects. Together with the simple and cheap setup this
seems to be an ideal method for comparing quality assessment for solid wood samples. The values depend
of course on the species, thus comparisons between different species or conclusions on the absolute
roughness are not possible. Moreover the considerable mean deviations require many readings for reliable
mean values. The amazing fact is, that the deviations observed for grit 80 and 180 in all roughness graphs
are not reflected by the toluene test. Still closer examination of this effects is required.
Figure 17: Results of the toluene absorpotion test
Figure 18 and 19: Standard deviation of the toluene absorption test
SENSORY TESTS ON UNCONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
Figures 20 and 21: Results of sensory grading on “normal” environment conditions
The figures 20 and 21 show the results of the sensory grading b y test persons on “normal”
conditions. Apparently this method reaches its limit on small differences in roughness. The
smoother surfaces were graded a lot better than the coarse ones, which was probably due to the
irregularity of the roughness. The score of the visual assessment produced in general much better
result than the haptic assessment (which is more suitable to detect edges and projecting parts).
For comparison the results are plotted on 3-D graphs with the real grit plotted on one axis and the
assessed ones on the other. The Ideal graph would only display values on the diagonal line.
Figure 23: Assessment of surface quality by haptic grading
SENSORY ASSESSMENT ON CONTROLLED CONDITIONS

The tests were carried out with four testers, who all were skilled cabinet makers. Before the test the aim
of the test and the used method were taught. The list of attributes was reduced to four (rough, wavy,
scratched, with fibres), which were detectable by stylus instruments in the topography of the sample
surfaces. The testers were free to use there visual and tactile senses. Best practice advises were found out
and given for the setup of the illumination and direction of viewing. The testers were forced to give a
straight answer. The scale was set to 9 steps for each attribute, divided into three groups and three
subgroups.
Figure 23 and 24: Results fort the assessment of waviness and fibre content
For each wood species and set of samples the maximum and minimum quality level was determined in
the samples and set as templates. For these limits specific attributes were named in the control sheet The
results are shown in Figure 23 to Figure 26. For every process condition (probe; BU-80 up to Tulpe 220)
the mean and the standard deviation are plotted (n=12). According to the difficulty of the question of
evaluating the characteristic for a certain attribute and sample. the findings were not repeatable and the
standard deviation increased. Roughness was easy to detect. The trends are significant and the standard
deviations are small. Irregularities, grooves or in the experiments the so called scratches correlated with
the roughness. The higher standard deviation maybe, shows that the attribute was not clearly understood.
Fibres could even be better detected, but the reached levels are not well correlated to the grid number or
type of wood species.
Figure 25 and 26: Results fort the assessment of scratches and smoothness
To compare the results of the sensory assessment with the stylus measuring method only Rk could be a
reasonable value. Rz, Ra are mainly influenced by the fibres and pores. But these aberrations especially in
the case of oak samples are not taken into account by the testers. During the process of regonition and
evaluation the testers can differentiate between the different parts of roughness e.g. structural roughness,
roughness caused by the process and roughness caused by the tool. In Fig. Rk is standardized in the
range between 3 and 7 according to the results of the sensory assessment (drawn line). Besides some
aberrations the correlation is fitting. Some of the aberrations can be explained by the experimental setup.
The samples were produced at the FH Rosenheim and there measured with the different methods. Parts of
the samples were cut of and sent to the FH Lippe and Höxter, where the methodical sensory assessment
took place. So the investigation were carried out not at the accurate same samples and small aberrations
are reasonable.
CONCLUSION
Measuring and sensory assessment can be used to evaluate the quality of a sanded wooden surface.
Measuring with stylus instruments or other methods is objective and repetitive. Due to the inhomogeneity
of the workpiece material more measurements - e.g. by using 3D-measuring techniques - have to be taken
to come to a statistically proved result for the whole surface. Not all characteristic values can be used to
describe the surface roughness or other topographic characteristics. The result can be influenced to a high
extend by the structural roughness caused by wooden anatomy.
Sensory assessment by the means of the human tactile and visual senses can also be used for quality
evaluation. If the assessment is carried out in a traditional way without methodical background the results
are more or less subjective depending on the abilities of the tester. By using a sophisticated testing
surrounding, more than a single tester who are trained for the job and selected according to the sensitive
abilities, statistical proper answers to exact defined questions of evaluation can be found. The
methodology of sensory assessment has be introduced and standardized in the life science technologies
but can be adapted to the wood machining technologies and fits then even to scientific questions.
Measuring and sensory assessment can be equal partners in quality evaluation of wooden surfaces.
LITERATURE
1. Ratnasingam J., Scholz F., Friedl E., Riegl A., The Sanding Process, UPM edition Aug. 2003
2. Ratnasingam J., Scholz F., Sanding of Woodbased Panels, UPM edition, May. 2005
3. DIN ISO 4120, Sensory assessment – methodology – triangle test
4. DIN 10963, Sensory testing methods – ranking methods, 1997
5. DIN 10964, Sensory testing methods – simple descriptive test, 1996
The Abrasive Sanding Characteristics of Particleboard Made from Oil-palm
Empty-fruit Bunch (EFB)
Ratnasingam, J.1; Farookhpayam, S.R.2
1
Faculty of Forestry
2
Graduate Student
University of Putra Malaysia
43400 UPB, Serdang
Selangor, Malaysia
vidiya@pd.jaring.my
ABSTRACT
The empty-fruit bunch (EFB) of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has been explored as the raw material
for the manufacture of particleboard since the last decade, but commercial production is impeded by the
poor surface characteristics of the boards produced. Therefore a series of experiments were carried out to
assess the abrasive sanding characteristics of the oil palm EFB particleboard. The experiment was carried
out using a wide-belt sander and the processing parameters were maintained at the levels used in the pilot-
plant. The notable processing variables used were the sanding grit size and sequence. The results found
that the optimum combination of feed speed and sanding grit sequence for oil-palm EFB particleboard
was 4.5 m/min and 80 – 120 – 150, respectively. Under these conditions, the resultant surface roughness
after the sanding operation was comparable to that of conventional particleboard. This study clearly
suggests that the characteristics of abrasive sanding of oil palm EFB particleboard are markedly different,
and using the recommended limits is essential to ensure an economical process.
Keywords: Abrasive Sanding, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch, Surface Smoothness, Abrasive Wear, Process
Economics
INTRODUCTION
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is one of the most important plantation tree crops in Malaysia and it covers a
land area of almost 3.5 million hectares (Khalil et. al., 2006). Cultivated primarily for the production of
palm oil, the tree crop is an important source of alternative fibers for the manufacture of value-added
products. Approximately, 30 million tons of usable fibers from the trunk, frond and empty fruit-bunch of
the oil palm is produced annually in the country. The empty fruit-bunches produces approximately 4
million tons of fibers per annum (Khalil et. al., 2006). The oil palm empty-fruit-bunches (OPEFB) is
obtained after the removal of oil seeds from the fruit bunches for oil extraction during harvesting. This
fiber source is highly cellulosic and exhibits good mechanical properties (Sreekala et. al., 1997). In the
context of increasing oil palm cultivation in the country, efficient and economic utilization of this fiber
source is highly desirable.
One of the most promising products manufactured from the OPEFB fiber is particleboard, and the
installed production capacity for OPEFB particleboard in Malaysia is estimated to be 25,000 m3 per
annum (Khairiah and Khairul, 2006). Although extensive research into the manufacture of OPEFB
particleboard has been undertaken (Chew and Ong, 1985; Yuziah et. al., 1997), the full potential of the
utilization of the OPEFB particleboard has not been fully realized. Despite its acceptable mechanical
properties, the surface smoothness and abrasive sanding characteristics of the OPEFB particleboard
appear to be a major concern. However, reports on the abrasive sanding properties of OPEFB
particleboard are sparse. Therefore, a study was undertaken to evaluate the surface smoothness and
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ratnasingam and Farookhpayam – 311
abrasive sanding characteristics of the OPEFB particleboard to provide some benchmark values for its
surface smoothness.

OPEFB particleboards were obtained from a local manufacturer in Malaysia. The board characteristics are
as shown in Table 1. The boards of the dimension 18 mm X 1500 mm X 1500 mm were conditioned in a
controlled environment at a temperature of 20°C and 70% relative humidity for a week prior to
experimentation. The initial surface roughness of the experimental boards was measured using a
MITUTOYO stylus-type profilometer as described by Hiziroglu (1996). The measurements were
expressed as average surface roughness (Ra), over ten sampling points per experimental board.
The abrasive sanding experiments were carried out on a three-head SANDING-MASTER wide belt
sander, with a steel roll as the first head, while two serrated rubber rolls of 80° shore in hardness, as the
second and third heads, respectively. The cloth-backed silicone-carbide abrasive sanding belts, with resin-
resin adhesive structure were used in this study, as the OPEFB particleboard have been reported to be
difficult to machine (Ratnasingam and Scholz, 2006). Three different abrasive sanding grits sequences
(60 – 80 – 100, 80 – 120 – 150, 100 – 150 – 180) were used in this study, each with 25 replications. These
sanding grits combination were reflective of the existing industrial practices. The sanding pressure, feed
rate and sanding belt speed were fixed at 6 kg/cm2, 4.5 m/min and 30 m/s, respectively. The resultant
average surface roughness (Ra) of the abrasive sanded surfaces was ascertained using a stylus-type
profilometer, as described previously. The wear rate of the abrasive sanding belts were determined on the
basis of the change in weight, as described in Ratnasingam et. al. (1999).
A parallel study was conducted on 15 wood-based particleboards of similar dimension, to ascertain the
difference in surface smoothness and abrasive sanding characteristics, for comparison against the OPEFB
particleboard.
Table 1: Characteristics of OPEFB Particleboard
Average Density 7.20 kg/m3
Internal Bond 0.67 N/mm2
Modulus of Rupture 26 N/mm2
Urea-Based Resin Content 6%

The results from the study are presented in two parts.
COMPARITIVE SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF RAW OPEFB PARTICLEBOARD

The average surface roughness (Ra) of the raw OPEFB particleboard was 315 μm, compared to 175 μm
for the wood-based particleboard. This difference in surface roughness of the two types of particleboards
can be attributed to the markedly different particle geometry. However, the higher toughness of the EFB
fibers, which makes it less susceptible to the compressive forces during the pressing stage of particleboard
manufacturing (Ratnasingam and Scholz, 2006), also contributes to the coarseness of the resultant
surfaces. As reported by Sreekala et. al. (1997), the morphology of the EFB fibers can have a far reaching
effect on the surface characteristics of the OPEFB particleboard, and the results from this study provides
further evidence in support of this finding.
SANDING CHARACTERISTICS OF OPEFB PARTICLEBOARD
The sanding grit sequence of 80 – 120 – 150 produced the best surface smoothness on OPEFB
particleboard (Figure 1). It appears that the morphology of the EFB fibers has a profound effect on the
resultant surface smoothness of the particleboard. Studies by Sreekala et. al. (1997), Sreekala et. al.
(2001) and Ratnasingam and Scholz (2006) provided evidence that the coarse fiber morphology and the
highly cellulosic constituents of the OPEFB fibers imparts a high degree of hygroscopic properties to the
fibers, which results in coarser surface finish. It has been reported that the OPEFB fibers, which is largely
made up of coarse fiber bundles with an average diameter of 450 µm, compared to the finer fibers of
wood, which averages 125 µm in diameter (Sreekala et. al., 1997). The markedly different compressibility
of the OPEFB fibers compared to the wood particles also explains the inherently rougher surface of the
OPEFB particleboard. Microscopic examination of the EFB fibers in the pressed particleboard reveal that
the EFB fibers show a greater amount of recovery, hence suggesting better visco-elastic properties.
Further, the significantly different densities between the fiber bundles and parenchyma cells in the
OPEFB, creates an inherent density gradient within the material, which leads to variable surface
topography during abrasive sanding (Khalil et. al., 2006). To cope with such density variations in the
boards, a higher stock removal and finer finishing grit is required to produce the best possible surface
smoothness (Ratnasingam et. al., 1999). This explains the success of the sanding grit sequence of 80 –
120 – 150 to produce the best surface smoothness, which is comparable to that of the wood-based
particleboard.
The OPEFB particleboard is an abrasive material, as reflected by the accelerated rate of wear of the
abrasive sanding belts compared to the wood-based particleboard (Figure 2). The wear rate of 1.8X higher
of the OPEFB particleboard is most likely due to the high silica content in the EFB fiber as reported by
Sreekala et. al. (1997). The accelerated wear of the abrasive sanding belts and the use of a three sanding
grit sequence will inevitably increase the abrasive sanding cost of OPEFB particleboard compared to
wood-based particleboard as reported by (Hong and Sim, 1994; Ratnasingam and Scholz, 2006).
Figure 1: Comparative Surface Smootheness of OPEFB Particleboard
350
315
300
264
238
250
190
200 Grit 60 - 80 - 100
175 Grit 80 - 120 - 150
Average Surface
Grit 100 - 150 - 180
Roughness (micron)
Unsanded OPEFB Particleboard
150 Unsanded Wood Particleboard
100
50
Figure 2: Comparative Wear Rates of Abrasive Sanding Belts
140
120
100
80
Weight Loss (gms)
60
40
20 50
Sanding Distance
(m)
0
25
OPEFB Particleboard
Wood Particleboard
INDUSTRIAL IMPLICATIONS
Although, commercial production of OPEFB particleboard is feasible and promising, the poor surface
characteristics of the material will have to be improved, if the material is to have wider acceptance in the
marketplace. The coarser surface finish and the higher abrasive sanding cost of the OPEFB particleboard
will have far reaching economic implications on the acceptance of this material as a replacement for
wood-based particleboard. Although the cost of production of OPEFB particleboard is almost 40% lower
compared to that of wood-based particleboard, the inferior surface finish quality of the material will
restrict its use in applications where high surface smoothness is desirable. Although, OPEFB
particleboard is acceptable for concealed applications, the laminating and overlaying characteristics of the
material remains to be explored, and may indeed improve the market acceptance of the material.
CONCLUSIONS
The abrasive sanding characteristics of OPEFB particleboard were evaluated in this study, and it was
found that the material is much more abrasive compared to the wood-based particleboard. Nevertheless,
the sanding grit sequence of 800 – 120 – 150 produced the surface smoothness, comparable to that of the
wood-based particleboard. The inherently coarser surface finish and higher sanding costs incurred when
the processing OPEFB particleboard may restrict its wide spread use in the marketplace as a potential
replacement for wood-based particleboard.
REFERENCES
1. Chew, L.T. and Ong, C.L. 1985. Particleboard from Oil Palm Trunk. Malayan Forester: 48(2): 130 –
136.
2. Hiziroglu, S. 1996. Surface roughness analysis of wood composites: A stylus method. Forest Products
Journal: 46(7/8): 67 – 72.
3. Hong, L.T. and Sim, H.C. 1994. Rubberwood: Processing and Utilization. Forest Research Institute,
Malaysia.
4. Khairiah, B. and Khairul, M.A. 2006. Biocomposites from Oil Palm Resources. Journal of Oil Palm
Research – Special Issue: 103 – 113.
5. Khalil, A.S., Alwani, M.S. and Omar, A.M. 2006. Cell Wall of Tropical Fibers. Bioresources: 1: 220 –
232.
6. Ratnasingam, J., Reid, H.F. and Perkins, M.C. 1999. The Productivity Imperatives in Coated
Abrasives Application in Furniture Manufacturing. Holz als Roh-und Werkstoff: 57: 117 –120.
7. ______________ and Scholz, F. 2006. An Assessment of the Machining Characteristics of Oil Palm
Empty Fruit Bunch Partcielboard. Unpublished Report. Joint Research by UPM – FH Rosenheim,
Germany.
8. Sreekala, M.S., Kumaran, M.G. and Thomas, S. 1997. Oil Palm Fibers: Morphology, Chemical
Composition, Surface Modification and Mechanical Properties. J. Applied Polymer Science: 66: 821
– 835.
9. ____________, George, J., Kumaran, M.G. and Thomas, S. 2001. Water-Sorption Kinetics in Oil
Palm Fibers. J. of Polymer Science – Part B – Polymer Physics: 39 : 1215 – 1223.
10. Yuziah, M.Y., Ramli, M. and Jalaludin, H. 1997. The Effectiveness of Selected Adhesives in the
Fabrication of Oil Palm Particleboard. Proceeding of the Conference on Utilisation of Oil Palm Tree:
106 – 110. Kuala Lumpur.
Reducing Fuzziness In Abrasive Sanding Of Rubberwood (Hevea Brasiliensis)
Ratnasingam, J.1; Scholz, F2
1 2
Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Wood Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Fachhochschule Rosenheim
43400 UPM, Serdang, Hochschulstraße 1
Selangor, Malaysia 83024 Rosenheim,
Germany
ABSTRACT
Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) is the predominant wood raw material for the booming furniture
manufacturing industry in South East Asia. However, one of the problems associated with its use is the
prevalence of surface fuzziness after the abrasive sanding process, which affects the proceeding surface
finishing operation. In an effort to reduce the manifestation of surface fuzziness, a series of experiments
were carried out in the laboratory using a wide-belt sander, with a crosshead. The processing parameters
were maintained at standard industrial limits, but the sanding-grit sequences were varied to establish the
optimum range. It was found that the sanding grit-sequence of 120 – 150 – 180 provided the best result,
and no significant improvements were recorded when higher sanding grits were used. Notably, the use of
the sanding grit 120 on the crosshead not only reduced the incidence of surface fuzziness, but it also
improved the overall surface smoothness of the boards. The results of this study suggest that cross-
sanding Rubberwood with the grit 120, followed by conventional sanding with the grit sizes 150 and 180
improves the economics of the abrasive sanding process for Rubberwood.
INTRODUCTION
Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) is the most important raw material for the furniture manufacturing
industry throughout South East Asia, and yet, published information on it’s machining characteristics is
relatively sparse (Ratnasingam et. al., 1997). Although the material is easy to machine, it is highly
susceptible to machining defects, particularly those related to surface characteristics. In this context, the
abrasive sanding process of Rubberwood is plagued with high re-work, often as high as 65%, due to the
high incidence of fuzziness (Hong and Sim, 1994; Ratnasingam, 2004). The presence of a high proportion
of juvenile wood in the fast growing plantation tree specie contributes to the formation of fuzziness and
other related surface defects (Ratnasingam et. al., 1999). Fuzziness refers to the fibers on the wood
surface that are not abraded cleanly from the surface during the abrasive sanding process. Many
techniques have been put to use in the furniture-manufacturing industry to minimize the occurrence of
fuzziness on Rubberwood, but up to date, no affirmative solution has been established for the problem
(Ratnasingam, 2004). Although, the application of a coat of sanding-sealer to stiffen the fibers prior to the
sanding process has gained widespread acceptance throughout the industry, its results have not been
satisfactory due to unfavorable process economics. According to Ratnasingam and Tanaka (2002), the
surface roughness due to fuzziness and other defects on the Rubberwood surface has far-reaching
economic implications in the South East Asian furniture-manufacturing sector as it impairs the finishing
process, and thus the final finished quality of furniture. In recent years, the application of cross-belt
sanding technology has gained momentum in the South East Asian furniture- manufacturing industry.
Although cross-belt sanding is a fairly well established technology for high stock removal rates, its
potential for the reduction of surface fuzziness has not been explored (Ratnasingam, 2004). Therefore, the
objective of this study was therefore to establish an industrially practical solution using cross-belt sanding
technology to minimize the occurrence of fuzziness on the surface of Rubberwood.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ratnashingam and Scholz – 317
Solid Rubberwood machined planks of 30 mm x150 mm x 1500 mm in size of 12 ± 2% moisture content
were used in this study. The planks had the grain orientation along the main axis of the specimen
(parallel) and the machined surfaces had consistent quality of 25 cutter marks per inch (1 mark per mm),
and were obtained from a local supplier in Malaysia. The planks had notable fuzziness, but free of other
types of defects. The sanding experiments were carried out using three-head TIMESAVER MH-4 wide-
belt sanding. The first head was cross-belted, while the second and third heads were using rubber rollers
of 60 and 80, ° shore in hardness, respectively. The cross-belted sanding head had a graphite padding and
the pressure was maintained at 6kg/cm2 using a poizoelectric load-cell. All other process variables were
maintained at industrial operating levels, i.e. feed speed 6 m/min and belt speed 30 m/s. Three
combination of sanding grit size sequences were used in this experiment (Table 1). For each experiment, a
total of 50 experimental planks were used.
Table 1: Experimental Sanding Grit Sequence
Sanding Sequence Cross Head 1st Head 2nd Head
st
1 100 150 180
nd
2 120 150 180
rd
3 150 180 220
The surface quality of the experimental planks was measured before and after the abrasive sanding
experiments using the ASTM D1666-87 (1999) guidelines. The resultant surface roughness, expressed as
maximum roughness index (Rmax) in microns (μ), of the sample boards were measured using the stylus
method as described in Hiziroglu (1996). Measurements in ten different randomly selected spots of the
surface from each plank were averaged.

The results from the study are presented in two parts.
EFFECT OF FUZZINESS ON SURFACE ROUGHNESS

The average surface roughness of machine-planed Rubberwood free of fuzziness was 187 μm, while
surfaces with fuzziness recorded an average surface roughness of 245 μm. The fact that fuzziness is fibers
that were not abraded cleanly explains the increased surface roughness, but it must also be recognized that
the degree of fuzziness is also increased under the influence of moisture (Hernández et. al., 2001;
Ratnasingam, 2004). Although the effect of fuzziness on the surface roughness of wood has traditionally
been ignored ((Peter and Cumming, 1970; Lavery et. al., 1995), this study shows that fuzziness of wood
surfaces increases the surface roughness by almost 25%, and hence, it has a far-reaching economic
implication on the further processing of the wood.
REDUCING THE FUZZINESS ON WOOD SURFACE

Based on the results of the abrasive sanding experiments using the three sanding grit size sequences, it
was found that the grit sequence of 120 – 150 – 180 produced the best surface quality (Figure 1). The use
of the sanding grit size 120 on the cross-belt head clearly reduced the incidence of fuzziness on the
surface, while grits 100 and 150 did not perform equally well. The fact that the average size of the fibers
in Rubberwood is in the range of 120 μm, may possibly explain the success of the sanding grit size 120 in
reducing fuzziness through a more effective abrasive sanding process (Ratnasingam, 2004). Figure 1
provides the average surface roughness of the experimental planks after the abrasive sanding process
using the three different sanding grit size sequences. The resultant average surface roughnesses were 194,
158 and 178 μm, respectively. This result suggest that the resultant surface roughness produced in the
abrasive sanding process is not only a function of the sanding grit size but also the stock removal rate, as
reported previously by Koch (1964).
Figure 1: Average Surface Roughness of Experimental Planks
200
180
160
140
120
Average Surface Roughness
100
(micron)
80
60
40
20
Grit 100-150-180 Grit 120-150-180 Grit 150-
INDUSTRIAL IMPLICATIONS
The results of this study clearly indicate that adopting the cross-belt sanding technology can significantly
reduce fuzziness in Rubberwood. Further, the use of such technology not only improves the resultant
surface roughness, but also significantly reduces the process economics of the coating application (Table
2). In high-volume furniture production, the application of cross-belt sanding technology offers an
economically viable solution to improve productivity.
Table 2: Comparative Cost of Quality
Average Amount of Finish
Sanding Grit Average Surface Calculated Cost of
Material per m2 to achieve
Sequence Roughness (Ra) in μm Quality (US $) per m2
a film build of 150 μm
100 – 150 – 180 194 163 grams 5.17
120 – 150 – 180 158 110 grams 3.60
150 – 180 – 220 178 153 grams 4.48
CONCLUSIONS
The use of cross-belt sanding technology which has been traditionally used for high stock removal
applications, offers an alternative solution for the reduction of fuzziness in the abrasive sanding process of
Rubberwood. This study shows that the sanding grit size sequence of 120 – 150 – 180 results in the best
surface quality, which in turn provides a positive implication on the process economics of Rubberwood
furniture manufacturing processes.
REFERENCES
1. Anon. 1999. D-1666 (87) Standard methods for conducting machining tests of wood and wood base
materials. American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia.
2. Hernandez, R.E., Bustos, C., Fortin, Y. and Beaulieu, J. 2001. Wood machining properties of White
Spruce from plantation forests. Forest products Journal: 51(6): 82 – 88.
3. Hiziroglu, S. 1996. Surface roughness analysis of wood composites: A stylus method. Forest Products
Journal: 46(7/8): 67 – 72.
4. Hong, L.T. and Sim, H.C. 1994. Rubberwood: Processing and Utilization. Forest Research Institute,
Malaysia.
5. Koch, P. 1964. Wood Machining Processes. Ronald Press, New York.
6. Lavery, D.J., Larnon, D.M., Taylor, J.M., Maloney, S. and Atanackovic, A. 1995. Parameters affecting
the surface finish of planed Sitka Spruce. Forest Products Journal: 45(4): 45 – 50.
7. Peter, C.C. and Cumming, J.D. 1970. Measuring wood surface smoothness: A Review. Forest
Products Journal: 20(12): 40 – 43.
8. Ratnasingam, 2004. Economics of the Rubberwood Processing Industry: A South East
9. Asian Perspective. Asian Timber: 23(2): 16 – 18.
10. Ratnasingam, J. and Tanaka, C. 2002. Wood Machining Processes – A Managerial Perspective.
Tanabe Foundation, Japan.
11. ______________ Reid, H.F. and Perkins, M.C. 1999. The Productivity Imperatives in Coated
Abrasives Application in Furniture Manufacturing. Holz als Roh-und Werkstoff: 57: 117 –120.
12. ___________ ,_________ and __________. 1997. Furniture Industry: Regaining the Competitive
Edge. J. of the Institute of Wood Science: 14(3): 115 – 120.
Machining Seminar
Session V
Tool Materials

No Sanding Before Painting by Using CrN Coated Tool?
Tsuchiya, Atsushi1; Okumura, Shogo2; Fujii, Yoshihisa2; Fujiwara, Yuko2
1Kanefusa Corporation 2Divsiion of Forest and Biomaterials Science

Ohguchi-Cho, Niwa-Gunn Graduate School of Agriculture
Aichi-Ken, 480-0192, JAPAN Kyoto University
a-tsuchiya@kanefusa.co.jp Kyoto, 606-8502, JAPAN
ABSTRACT
The newly developed CrN coated tools have been confirmed to produce excellent surface of wood over a
longer period than conventional ones. And it was suggested that the sanding process before painting
might be omitted by using the coated tools. In this study boards of white oak were cut with conventional
and CrN coated carbide cutter and the roughness and the painting quality of machined surface were
evaluated by three-dimensional roughness measurement, SEM observation, and peeling test. A CrN
coated tool showed a better performance than conventional one in terms of not only the surface roughness
but also the painting quality. The possibility of omitting of sanding process before painting was also
discussed.
INTRODUCTION
They say that “Wood painting quality depends on the surface quality”. This means that the surface quality
of machined wood affects the coating quality. In the conventional process, sanding is necessary to remove
surface defects such as knife mark, wooly and raised grain. The sanding process requires much time and
skilled workers and produces a bad working environment with a lot of fine dust.
The newly developed CrN coated tool ensures the longest performance and excellent surface finish. In
the previous report1), it was demonstrated the CrN coated tool dispenses with sanding. However, no
research has yet been carried out on the relationship between edge wear and smoothness surface. The
purpose of this study is to examine the relation between cutting length and finished surface of North
American white oak with the use of the CrN coated tool. In addition, the effect of sanding on painting
quality is evaluated with paint peeling tests and appraisal opinions by an actual paint craftsman.
EXPERIMENT
(1) Test Workplace
A board for table top (600mm x 600mm x 35mm, air dried) was prepared by jointing 6 planks (600mm x
100mm x 35mm, air dried, specific gravity 0.75) of North American white oak with polyvinyl acetate
glue. The ends and the sides of the board were cut for this test. The influence of the polyvinyl acetate glue
on the cutting edge was found to be insignificant in a preliminary test.
(2) Cutting Tool
Two types of moulding cutters for tabletop material were used. One was carbide cutter (an equivalent of
V30 in JIS Standard) with CrN coating but coating was removed from rake face by finish sharpening.
Another tool was the same dimension but without coating (an equivalent of K30 in JIS Standard).
Dimension of the tools and grinding conditions are given in Table 1.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Tsuchiya, Okumura, Fujii and Fujiwara - 323
Table 1: Cutting tool shape and grinding conditions
Moulding Cutter 4Z 134×47×30 (D×K×Bore)
(Dimensions) Hook Angel8°, Clearance Angle 15°, Face Bevel Angle0°,
Tangential Clearance Angle 8°
Grinding Wheel Dish Type:SD#800
Grinder Universal Tool Grinder of Matsuzawa Make
φ45
φ30
work
Measur ingAreas
47
35
Measur ing Areas
φ80
Rake face
Figure 1: Cutting tool and measuring areas
(3) Test Machine and Cutting Condition

The moulding cutter was attached to the main spindle of a 4 spindle NC router machine (Kikukawa Iron
Works, Inc. Model No: NCF-37-4) and rotated at 8000 rpm. The test works fixed on the XY-table was fed
at 3m/min, and was cut along the feeding with a depth of cut of 4mm measured at minimum cutting
diameter.
(4) Evaluation of Surface Quality
The performance of the tools was evaluated by the quality of the finished surface. To evaluate the surface
quality, we carried out two types of tests at 0m and 50m in cutting length. One is three-dimensional
roughness measurement by a stylus instrument (Surfcom1400A-3DF-12, TOKYO SEIMITSU Co., Ltd),
and the other is surface observation with a CCD micro color camera and a SEM. In the former test, 5mm
square area was scanned. The 3D surface geometry was indicated by colors depending on the surface
height. The output signals of the stylus instrument were recorded at a horizontal interval of 0.01mm and a
profile curve interval of 0.01mm.
The machined surfaces were also observed with a video microscope at a 50x magnification vertically, and
were coated by gold before examining by a SEM.
The measuring areas indicated in Fig. 1 is the most susceptible to cutting defects, such as burn out and
torn grain at the earliest. Thus the measuring areas shown in Fig. 1 need to be cut with a very sharp
cutting edge for the excellent cut surface.
(5) Quality of Painted Surface
The painted quality is evaluated at 0mm and 50mm cutting length for the surfaces with and without
sanding. The halves of side and end of the board were sanded before painting.
Conventional painting process consists of 7 steps:
1) Sanding to remove surface irregularities (#180) ,
2) Stained filler,
3) Undercoat painting,
4) Undercoat sanding (#240),
5) Intermediate coat,
6) Intermediate sanding (#320),
7) Top coat
In this study, “without sanding” refers to all the processes except for process No. 1. Painting is done by a
spray gun (1.5mm cal. air pressure of 4~5kgf/cm2). To evaluate the painting quality, the same
measurement areas indicated in Fig. 1 were tested by a peeling test (JIS K5600), widely used in furniture-
manufacturing industries. Because of the thin sprayed film (below 60μm), square lattices on the sprayed
surface were made by an appropriate tool and cutter (JIS standard) at 1 mm intervals before the peeling
test was conducted by cellophane tape (JIS K5600).
(6) Influence of Tool Wear on Surface Quality
Edge wear on clearance side of the cutting edge shown in Fig. 1 is measured at 0, 15, 25, and 50m cutting
lengths on the photographs taken by a SEM at right angle to the surface. The edge wear condition is also
observed by a SEM.

(1) Quality: of machined surface
Figure 2 shows the 3D roughness of the cut surfaces of oak board at 50m cutting length and photos by a
CCD camera and a SEM. On the surface created by the coated tool (U-P), it is noted that wood vessels are
cut across sharply, and their aperture can be clearly observed on the cut surface. On the contrary, the rims
of the vessel apertures are distorted and unclear for the surface cut by the non-coated tool (U-H), and the
apertures are stuffed with small particles. The area around the vessels is more fuzzy for U-H tool in
comparison with U-P tool. This is clear on a SEM photographs in Figure 2.
The difference of the finished surface between CrN coated (U-P) and non-coated (U-H) tools can be
distinguished even at the earliest stage, and the advantage of the coated tools increases as the cutting
length becomes longer.
From Microscope observation, it was found that the vessel aperture stuffed with particles and the
distortion of the wood tissues on the surface was observed more frequently on the side of the vessel
aperture where cutting edges touch first (Fig. 2). On that area the wood tissues distorted and pushed into
the vessel aperture by the cutting tool was also observed.
Bright areas in a SEM photographs shown in Fig. 2 indicate the existence of the fuzzy grain, which
frequently occurred around parenchyma tissue when using the conventional cutting tool.
Butt End U-P: Cutting Length = 50 m Butt End U-H: Cutting Length = 50 m
Side of Board U-P: Cutting Length = 50 m Side of Board U-P: Cutting Length = 50 m
Figure2: 3D roughness and photographs by a CCD camera and a SEM of machined surfaces at
50m cutting length. Arrows denote a cutting direction.
(2) Quality of painted surface

Figure 3 shows classified evaluation of paint separation. Figure 4 is the surface of cellophane tape
showing the condition of paint film. In general, the acceptable range is from classified Groups 1 to 3.
Coated tools (U-P) omitted sanding process. Coated tools (U-P) creates paint quality as well as
“conventional process” within Group 3. However, for conventional tools(U-H) , we find Group 4 at 50m
cutting length, which is not acceptable. This is also recognized from peeled paint on the cellophane tape
surface of Figure 4. The painted surface is evaluated by microscope check and a paint craftsman.
According to the craftsman and microscope check, the painted surface was phenomenally smooth for the
coated tools even without sanding. The craftsman is of the opinion that the paint quality is even better
than “conventional process”. Figure 4 also shows obviously the better result from the cellophane tape.
However for conventional tools without sanding, the painted surface was scuffed as the tools can not take
off faults in the sanding process after painting from the surface, and not acceptable, judged by the paint
craftsman especially at 50m cutting length. For conventional tools in “conventional process”, the painted
surface was observed with similar faults after 50m cutting. and the tools are required to be resharpened.
Omit sanding process Conventional process
U-P U-H
0m
50m
Figure 3: Adhension to Cellophane Tape(Butt End)
Table 2: The Result of Paint Peeling Test (JIS K5600-COMPLIANT)

U-P U-H
a)
Cutting Length=0m Side of Board Group 2 Group3 Group3 Group2 Group2 Group2
omit sanding process Butt End Group3 Group2 Group2 Group2 Group2 Group2
Cutting Length=50m Side of Board Group3 Group3 Group3 Group4 Group3 Group4
omit sanding process Butt End Group3 Group2 Group2 Group3 Group4 Group4
Cutting Length=0m Side of Board Group2 Group2 Group1
conventional process Butt End Group2 Group2 Group1
Cutting Length=50m Side of Board Group3 Group3 Group3
conventional process Butt End Group3 Group2 Group2
a) An evaluation classification of a group follows JIS K5600
(3) Wear of The Cutting Edges
Table 3: Relationship between the Cutting Length and Edge Wear
0m 15m 25m 50m
U-H 3μm 5μm 10μm
U-P Almost 0μm 1μm 2μm
Table 2 shows the relation between the cutting length and the amount of edge wear. As shown in Table 2,
the wear of non-Coated tool reaches 10μm after cutting 50m. Defects start appearing when cutting length
reaches 50m for non-coated tool with “conventional process”. The edge wear of approximately 10μm is
considered to be a criterion of the conventional tool life. Table 2 also shows there is only small amount of
wear for the coated tools even after cutting 50m, promising the possibility of skipping sanding process. In
addition, as no sanding is required until the edge wear is 3μm even for conventional tools, we believe that
coated tools can be used with a high performance until edge wear reaches 3μm.
CONCLUSIONS
We confirmed the possibility of omitting of sanding process by using CrN coated tool until the cutting
length of 50m, which is a usual cutting length of tool changes.
It was also proved that the advantage of the coated tool increased as the cutting length increased. Further
study about the effect of omitting of sanding process on the painting process, and paint method will be
our future study subjects.
REFERENCES
1. Seizo Itaya, Atsushi Tsuchiya, “Development of CrN coated tool to create smooth surface of solid
wood aiming to omit sanding process in furniture production”. Proceedings of the16th International
Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, JAPAN, August, 24-30, 2003, pp. 74-81.
2. Yuko Fujiwara, Yoshihisa Fujii, Shogo Okumura:Effect of removal of deep valleys on the evaluation
of machined surfaces of wood, Forest Products Journal 53(2)58-62(2003)
Stellite® Alloys for Woodcutting
Wu, James B.C.1; DeJong, Louw2
1 2
Deloro Stellite Holdings Corp. Deloro Stellite Inc.
900 S. Highway Drive, STE 104 471 Dundas Street E
St. Louis, MO 63127, U.S.A. Belleville, Ontario K8N 1G2 Canada
jwu@stellite.com ldejong@stellite.co
ABSTRACT
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the grant of the first patent on Stellite alloys. These alloys have
found applications in a variety of industries including aerospace, power generation, oil drilling and
refining, food processing, glass making, automotive, metal working, pulp and paper and many others. In
woodcutting, they have been used for saw tipping over 50 years. The success of these alloys does not
depend only on their hardness but also their toughness and corrosion resistance. It is the unique
combination of the properties that make them suitable for cutting wood, especially corrosive green wood.
Depending on the alloy and the tipping method, Stellite alloy tips can vary significantly in characteristics
and hence, performance. This paper examines different Stellite alloys in terms of alloy composition,
metallurgy, microstructure, wear mechanism, product form and effect of tipping method. Both traditional
and new Stellite alloys are included. In addition, the results of two woodcutting test programs are
presented
Key words: Stellite, saw tipping, saw tooth, cutting, green wood, southern yellow pine, maple, Tantung®
INTRODUCTION
Stellite alloys were invented 100 years ago. Within this family of alloys, many versions have been
developed to meet the required properties of the applications in a variety of industries. In woodcutting,
the most widely used alloy for saw tipping is Stellite 12. Other alloys also used include Stellite 1, 19 and
more recently, 712. There may be other available alloys that could be used in woodcutting. All of these
alloys have their own characteristics and are used under different conditions. The performance of these
alloys depends not only on their chemical compositions but also how they are applied on the sawblade.
This is because different tipping methods require different product forms, which lead to different
microstructures and possibly different performance levels.
This paper is to examine various Stellite alloys along with various product forms and the influence of the
tipping method. Also, the results from two test programs will be presented. The first program evaluated
Stellite 12, Stellite 694 and also two tungsten carbide products in cutting Southern Yellow Pine. The
effect of adding of 20% and 30% tungsten carbide to Stellite 694 was studied as well. The second
program evaluated Stellite 706K, Tantung, M3 high speed steel and tungsten carbide tools in secondary
cutting of Bigleaf Maple.
STELLITE ALLOYS
The traditional Stellite alloys are cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloys with different levels of carbon and
tungsten contents to achieve desired hardness levels, as shown in the table below:
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Wu and DeJong - 329
Table 1: Chemical Compositions of Saw Tipping Stellite Alloys
Cr W C Hardness in HRC
Stellite 12 29 8.5 1.6 44
Stellite 19 32 11 1.8 46
Stellite 1 29 13 2.4 48
Both Stellite 12 and 19 are hypo-eutectic alloys, which have dispersed fine particles of carbides in the
microstructure. Stellite 1 is a hyper-eutectic alloy at this carbon level, which favors the formation of
larger carbide particles. [1]
The more recently developed Stellite 712 is basically Stellite 12 with tungsten replaced by molybdenum.
As a result, the microstructure contains both chromium-rich carbides and molybdenum-rich carbides.
Stellite 694, although developed many years ago for use in jet engines for resisting wear at high
temperatures, has not been used in woodcutting. However, the properties look promising enough for
woodcutting. Therefore, it was included in the test program described later in the paper. The alloy has a
28% Cr, 20% W and 0.85% C plus 5% Ni and 1% V. The hardness is around HRC 45.
Wrought Stellite alloys have been successfully used in industries, such as, power generation, food, textile,
and oil, but not widely used in woodcutting industry. These alloys in general are superior in wear and
corrosion properties to their cast counterparts because of the more uniform distribution of elements in the
microstructures. There are three wrought Stellite alloys, which are listed below along with their
properties:
Table 2: Mechanical Properties of Wrought Stellite Alloys
Ultimate Tensile
Yield Stress (Ksi) Elongation (%) Hardness (HRC)
Stress (Ksi)
Stellite 706K 147 176 2 46
Stellite 6K 111 161 2 46
Stellite 6B 89 144 11 38
These mechanical properties are not matched by their cast counterparts. Nominally, they all have 28%
chromium, 5% tungsten or molybdenum in the case of 706K, and about 1% carbon. Among these alloys,
Stellite 706K has exceptional abrasion resistance as shown in the test results from ASTM G65 dry sand
abrasion test:
Abrasion Test - ASTM G65, 2000 rev
14
Volume Loss in mm3
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Stellite 6K Stellite 706K Tantung D2 Tool Steel
Figure 1: Abrasion Test Results of Wrought Alloys
The results suggest that Stellite 706K can possibly be an alternative to Tantung for use in secondary
woodcutting. A cutting test program including these two materials is described later.
SAW TIPPING USING STELLITE ALLOYS

Basically, the saw tipping methods for Stellite alloys can be put in two categories. The first category
involves weld deposition, which means complete melting and solidification to form the saw tips. The
second category involves joining preformed teeth onto a sawblade by resistance welding or brazing.
There is melting and solidification near the bondline in the case of resistance welding. Brazing involves
no melting of the Stellite alloys at all. These two categories are quite different in the resulting
microstructure of the saw tooth.
Category 1 tipping methods, which involve welding, are listed below along with the corresponding
welding consumables:
Table 3: Category 1 Saw Tipping Methods
Tipping Method Product Form
Oxyacetylene Welding Cast Rod
TIG, Plasma TIG Cast Rod, Spooled Solid Wire, Tubular Wire
Oxyacetylene welding of Stellite alloys is typically performed with a reducing or carburizing flame.
Consequently, the carbon level is usually raised, resulting in increased hardness of the weld deposits.
Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, also known as, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), results in weld
deposits with a similar chemical composition as the filler material.
Cast rods are produced usually by continuous casting, which involves a go-stop pulling action through a
cooling die, resulting in “witness marks”, which contain pores formed during solidification. Rods can be
cast into diameters as small as 2 mm for TIG welding. However, spooling the rods would be difficult
since as-cast rods are brittle due to the porosity at the witness marks and the brittle nature of the as-cast
microstructure.
For making spooled wires, there are two ways. One is by hot extrusion of large diameter cast rods. High
temperature extrusion eliminates the witness marks and refines the microstructure so that the resulting
wire is ductile enough for spooling. The other way is by powder metallurgy processing, which involves
extrusion of powder with binder and subsequent removal of the binder and liquid phase sintering. A
sintered wire has a fine microstructure and enough ductility for spooling.
Another way of making spooled wire is filling a cobalt alloy strip with alloying powders to form tubular
wire. This type of wire was popular about 20 years ago. However, the early tipping equipment with TIG
welding was inadequate to completely melt the wire in a consistent way. Its usage has decreased over the
years. With the new tipping equipment and improved formulation of the tubular wire to facilitate melting
[2], tubular wires should remain as an inexpensive alternative for saw tipping.
Category 2 tipping methods, which do not involve welding, are listed below along with the corresponding
product forms:
Table 4: Category 2 Saw Tipping Methods
Tipping Method Product Form
Resistance Welding of Individual Tips Preformed Tips, Balls
Resistance Welding and Cutting Densified Cast Rod, Sintered Rod
Brazing Preformed Tips
The individual preformed tips are typically made by powder metallurgy processing involving liquid phase
sintering. Such sintering is done at a temperature where a small amount of liquid metal is formed to
consolidate the powder and achieve negligible porosity in the sintered tips. Resistance welding of
individual tips is usually done with automated machines. The following photographs show the commonly
used preformed teeth.
Figure 6: Triangular and Rectangular Tips for Resistance Welding
Preformed saw tips can be coated with a brazing material for tipping by brazing. Using preformed tips
requires much less grinding in comparison with using Category 1 methods.
As mentioned before, continuous cast rods have porous witness marks. In order to use them by resistance
welding and cutting, it is necessary to treat them by hot isostatic pressing (HIP), which can minimize or
eliminate porosity in the witness marks as well as other casting defects. Such rods can also be cast with a
triangular cross section. More commonly, shaped rods are made by powder metallurgy processing with
liquid phase sintering. The following photograph shows these sintered rods of different cross sections.
Figure 7: Powder Metallurgy Processed Shaped Rods
MICROSTRUCTURES OF STELLITE ALLOYS
As mentioned previously, Category 1 tipping methods result in significantly different microstructures
from Category 2 tipping methods because the tips obtained from the former methods have a solidified cast
microstructure whereas those from the latter retain the original microstructure.
Stellite 12 and Stellite 19 are hypo-eutectic alloys. Upon solidification, the cobalt solid solution dendrites
form first. Most of the carbide particles are M23C6, where M consists of mostly chromium, tungsten and
cobalt. [3] This carbide is also called eutectic carbide because it forms in the eutectic region, which is last
to solidify. In addition, there is also a possibility of the presence of tungsten-containing M6C. The cast
microstructure of Stellite 12 is shown below:
Figure 2: Optical Micrograph of Cast Stellite 12
The white areas are dendrites of cobalt solid solution. The dark areas are eutectic regions dispersed with
fine carbide particles.
A hyper-eutectic alloy, such as, Stellite 1, has a different microstructure. Due to the higher carbon level,
the M7C3 carbide forms. This carbide is often seen as hexagonal needles in the micrograph. Although the
presence of such large carbide particles is beneficial to abrasive wear resistance, it reduces toughness as
well as corrosion resistance because it ties up chromium, rendering it ineffective in resisting corrosion.
For molybdenum-containing Stellite alloys, like Stellite 712, it has been observed that the Mo-rich
regions and Cr-rich regions are separate as shown in the following scanning electron micrograph:
Figure 3: Scanning Electron Micrograph of Stellite 712

The light areas are Mo-rich and the dark areas Cr-rich. The former contains M6C and the latter M23C6.
The wear resistance of Stellite 712 is much better than Stellite 12 in the dry sand abrasive wear test as
reported by Wu et al. [4] In a test program on cutting Douglas Fir, Ziomek-Moroz et al [5] found Stellite
712 performed better than Stellite 12 and the much harder Stellite 720, which is a hyper-eutectic alloy
with large carbide particles. The large carbide particles were observed chipping off at the edge.
Due to its combined properties of wear and corrosion properties, Stellite 712 has been selected as the saw
tipping material in cutting Red Ironwood (Azobe) after testing a variety of tipping materials. Azobe is a
hard tropical wood from Africa.
For saw tips applied by Category 2 methods, the original microstructure is retained. For example, tipping
with a densified cast rod results in tips with the original cast and HIP’ed microstructure. Tipping with a
powder metallurgy processed rods or preformed tips provide tips with the original sintered microstructure.
The following micrograph shows the dense uniform structure of sintered Stellite 12.
Figure 4: Optical Micrograph of Sintered Stellite 12
By comparing Figure 3 and Figure 5, which have the same magnification, it is noted that the powder
sintered Stellite 12 has a much finer structure than that of the cast version.
Microstructures of the wrought alloys are completely different from those of their cast counterparts
because after hot rolling and heat treatment, the elements become more evenly distributed. In addition,
large primary carbide (M7C3) forms together with small secondary carbide (M23C6). A micrograph of
Stellite 6B is shown below:
Figure 5: Microstructure of Wrought Stellite 6B
PRIMARY WOODCUTTING TEST PROGRAM
In this program [6], the tipping materials tested were Stellite 694, with 20 and 30% tungsten carbide,
Stellite 12PM and two commercial grades of cemented tungsten carbide. They were all powder sintered
materials. The wood selected was green Southern Yellow Pine with more than 40% moisture. All the
tipping materials were brazed onto the same blade in a careful arrangement. The kerf was 0.130 inch and
the hook angle was 30 degrees with back clearance of 8 degrees. The operating speed of 2700 rpm was
chosen with a feed speed of 96 fpm. The bite was 0.028 inch.
The saw tooth tip measurements were taken at approximately 0, 5, 10 and 20 km cutting lengths. The
results in the following table:
Table 5: Tip Recession Change in millimeter
5 km 10 km 20 km Chipping
694+20%WC 0.058 0.085 0.139 severe
694+30%WC 0.071 0.094 0.236 severe
694 0.039 0.086 0.124 none
12PM 0.033 0.077 0.116 none
WC+9%Co 0.027 0.092 0.139 severe
WC-Ni 0.059 0.078 0.134 slight
Table 6: Tip Width Change in millimeter

694+20%WC 0.059 0.076 0.094 severe
694+30%WC 0.066 0.066 0.256 severe
694 0.014 0.011 0.041 none
12PM 0.014 0.045 0.059 none
WC+9%Co 0.009 0.033 0.021 severe
WC-Ni 0.012 0.023 0.027 slight
Table 7: Tip Diameter in millimeter
694+20%WC 0.062 0.054 0.088 severe
694+30%WC 0.096 0.068 0.231 severe
694 0.020 0.018 0.050 none
12PM 0.032 0.069 0.086 none
WC+9%Co 0.012 0.002 0.041 severe
WC-Ni 0.037 0.024 0.053 slight
The tip recession change is defined as the change from the initial recession, which is the distance along a
line bisecting the tooth sharpness angle from the theoretical tip point to the actual tooth cutting edge. The
tip width change is defined as the change from the starting tip width, which is the distance between the
tangents of the worn and unworn tooth faces. The tip diameter is the size of the circle that best fits the
tooth tip.
Judging from the overall data and observations on the worn tips, the ranking was determined to be Stellite
694 being the best, followed by Stellite 12PM and WC-Ni. The other materials were deemed unsuitable
for cutting Southern Yellow Pine. The results indicate that adding tungsten carbide at 20-30% to Stellite
694 increases the hardness but causes severe chipping. Also indicated, toughness makes important
contribution to the performance of sawtooth tipping materials.
SECONDARY WOODCUTTING TEST PROGRAM

For this program [7], the cutting materials selected were Tangtung®, tungsten carbide, Stellite 706K, and
high speed steel M3. Stellite 706K is a cobalt base alloy with 28% Cr, 5% Mo and 1% C. It is cast and
hot rolled. The specimens were mounted in the following arrangement:
Figure 8: Arrangement of Different Cutting Tools in a Moulder Head
Kiln-dried big leaf maple was selected as the wood for the cutting test. It had a moisture content of 9.4%
with a specific gravity of 0.55. Tool wear was measured after a lineal cut of 1,057 feet, equivalent to a
cutting distance of 21,034 feet. The results are shown below:
Table 8: Tool Tip Radius before and after Cutting
Tool Tip Radius (μm) After Sharpening After Cutting Change
M3 HSS 3.4 21.0 17.6
Tantung 2.5 16.3 13.8
Tungsten Carbide 7.7 9.1 1.4
Stellite 706K 2.2 15.5 13.3
The cutting distance is short in comparison to typical industry runs before sharpening. Therefore, the
results only represent the initial wear behavior. The wear mechanism may change at different stages of
cutting. Composite materials like tungsten carbide may experience accelerated wear when the cobalt
binder breaks down causing tungsten carbide particles to fall off. The other materials are hypo-eutectic
alloys, which are expected to wear in a more consistent way. The results show that Stellite 706K and
Tantung have similar initial wear characteristics. They probably will behave similarly at later stages of
cutting.
CONCLUSIONS
There are a variety of Stellite alloys and different ways of making the products for saw tipping. The
microstructure of the saw tips is a function of not only the alloy used but also the way tips are applied to
the sawblades. The wear performance may be affected by the microstructure. The application methods
can be divided into two categories, one involves complete melting and solidification and the other does
not. Each category uses different product forms. Category 1 methods invariably result in tips with a cast
microstructure and Category 2 methods retain the original microstructure. The microstructure of a
sintered alloy is much finer than that of its cast version.
The primary woodcutting test results show Stellite 694 is better than Stellite 12 in cutting southern yellow
pine. Adding tungsten carbide to Stellite 694 is detrimental to its performance.
The secondary woodcutting test results indicate Stellite 706K is an alternative to Tangtung.
Stellite® is a registered trademark of Deloro Stellite Holdings Corporation.
Tantung® is a registered trademark of Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation.
REFERENCES
3. Wu, J.B.C. and Redman, J., “Hardfacing with Cobalt and Nickel Alloys”. Welding Journal,
September 1994, pp. 63-68.
4. Wu, J.B.C. and Devilliers-Lovelock, H., “Co-Based Wire and Method for Saw Tip Manufacture and
Repair”. International Publication Number WO 2006/102034, 28 September 2006, International
Application Published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
5. Klarstrom, D., Crook, P. and Wu, J., “Metallurgy and Microstructure of Cobalt and Cobalt Alloys”.
ASM Handbook Vol. 9, 2004.
6. Wu, J.B.C., Weber, T., and DeJong L., “Stellite alloys for saw tipping: Current status and recent
developments”. Proceedings of SawTech’99: The Sixth International conference on Sawing
Technology, Seattle, WA, November 4-5, 1999, pp. 131-136.
7. Ziomek-Moroz, M., Szymani R., Tylezak J., Hawk, J.A., Wu, J.B.C. and DeJong, L., “Advances in
Saw Tooth Tipping Materials”. Saw Tech 2001, Seventh Inter. Conf. on Sawing Tech., Wood
Machining Inst., Berkeley, CA. pp. 143-152.
8. Wong, D., White, J., and Jung, B., “Stellite and Tungsten Carbide Saw Tooth Wear Test on Southern
Yellow Pine, September 2002, Forintek Canada Corp.
9. Wong, D., Jung, B., “Comparison of Stellite, Tungsten Carbide, M3-HSS and Tantung Tool Wear
when Machining Soft Maple: Addendum Report”, Forintek Canada Corp., April 2002.
Bionic Cutting of Wood (Part III) Study on the Self-sharpening
Characteristics of Wood Cutting Tools
Zhou, Zhijiang; Li, Beigang; Wang, Zheng; Wang, Yonghua; Zhu, Dianxiang
1
College of Wood Science and Technology
Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
2
Leitz Tooling Systems (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.
8 Phoenix Rd., Jiangning Development Zone, Nanjing, 211100, China
ABSTRACT
The structure of beaver’s lower incisor dentin and enamel is observed with Scanning Electron
Microscope. And the hardness of the dentin and enamel is also measured. According to cutting motion
characteristics that the beaver incise wood, lower incisor’s structure and geometry, the condition that the
beaver’s lower incisors automatically sharpening is analyzed and determined. Considering these factors,
double-teeth cutter is designed to be similar with beaver’s lower incisor and made of carbon chisel tool
steel. Double glow plasma surface metallurgy technology is put in use to enhance the hardness of teeth’s
back surface. The cutting tool is tested in spindle moulder which had been installed an automatic feeder
with different tool parameters, wood species and hardness of teeth’s back surface. Changes in the cutting
edge profiles during milling were measured by using a contour measurement device. Experimental result
shows that cutting tool’s geometry, hardness of teeth’s back surface influence tool’s self-sharpening
characteristics obviously.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Zhou, Li, Wang, Wang, Zhu - 339
IWMS
Dr. John Taylor - Committee Co-Chair
Mr. Darrell Wong - Committee Co-Chair
Ms. Stephanie Troughton - IWMS-18 Coordinator
18
Prof. Gary Schajer
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IWMS-18 Advisory Committee

18th International
Wood Machining Seminar Prof. R. Birkeland
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would like to thank our Prof. A. Grönlund
Sponsors Prof. U. Heisel
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18th International
Wood Machining Seminar
PO S TE R P R E S E N TATIONS
IWMS
18
Vol ume 2
Vancouver, Canada
May 7-9 2007
Volume II – Poster Presentations of the
Machining Seminar
Vancouver, Canada
May 7 - 10, 2007
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may be orderd from the above
ii
Table of Contents
Session I
Conversion of Sugi Logs into Sawn Lumber: Sawing Yield of Medium Quality Large Logs
Murata, Kohji; Ikami, Yujii; Matsumura, Yukari...........................................................................................................5
Sawing of Frozen Wood with Narrow-Kerf Saws

Orlowski, Kazimierz A.; Sandak, Jakub; Dzurenda, Ladislav; Negri, Martino ..........................................................13
Tracing of The Real Cross Profile of The Band Saw Wheel

Orlowski, Kazimierz A.; Wasielewski, Roman; Szyszkowski, Stanislaw; Wnukowski, Edward ...............................25
Monitoring of the Circular Saw Vibrations with Machine Vision System

Sandak, Jakub; Orlowski, Kazimierz A.; Negri, Martino...........................................................................................33
Session II
The Precise Design of Formed Milling Cutters Profile Based on Feature Modeling
Cheng, Wei; Zhu, Dian-Xiang; Liang, Ping; Gao, Feng ...........................................................................................45
Tool Holder with Sensor-Integrated Clamping Force and Balance Monitoring System
Hoffmeister, H.-W.; Schuller, Bernd-Christian; Wittmer, Ronald...............................................................................47
Punching Instead of Drilling – Development of an Alternative Production Process for Industrial Wood
Machining
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Loohß, Torsten..............................................................................................................53
Session III
Cutting Mechanics
Theoretical Derivation of Formulae of Wood Fiber Cutting Power

Ma, Yan; Ren, Honge; Zhan, Li................................................................................................................................65
Crushing Energy of Wood Waste: Influence of Motor Output of Crusher Using Wood Materials
Fujimoto, Kiyohiko; Ikami, Yuji; Takano,Tsutomu; Moroga, Takayuki; Takahashi, Yoriaki .........................................71
Acoustic Emission Characteristics in Wood Cutting Effects of Cutting and Clearance Angles on
Acoustic Emission and Cutting Resistance
Murase, Yasuhide; Matsumoto, Kenzo; Ohuchi, Takeshi .........................................................................................81

Session IV
Surface Quality
Effect of Visual Information on Tactile Evaluation of Wood Surface Roughness

Fujiwara, Yuko; Fujii, Yoshihisa; Okumura, Shogo...................................................................................................91
Measurement and Evaluation of Coated Abrasives for Wood Machining

Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Armbrecht, Christian .....................................................................................................97
Application EMA Method to Wide Belt Sander In Wood Based Panel Industry
Wang, Zheng .........................................................................................................................................................103
Session V
Tool Materials
Burr Formation Characteristics in Grooving with a Computerized Numerically Controlled Router............. 113
Ohuchi, Takeshi; Yamashita, Yui; Murase, Yasuhide ............................................................................................. 113

Machining Seminar
Session I

Conversion of Sugi Logs into Sawn Lumber:
Sawing Yield of Medium Quality Large Logs
Murata, Kohji1; Ikami, Yuji2; Matsumura, Yukari3

Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
Matsunosato 1, Tsukuba, 305-8687, Japan
saw@ffpri.affrc.go.jp1; ikami@ffpri.affrc.go.jp2; myukari@ffpri.affrc.go.jp3
ABSTRACT
According to the mature of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) planted forest, the main supply of sugi
log is shifting from small (8-13 cm in diameter) and middle (14-28 cm in diameter) logs to middle and
large (more than 30 cm in diameter) logs in these days. Sugi high quality large logs have been converted
into high quality sawn lumber, which is used for decorative column, finishing, ceiling and etc in Japanese
traditional house, with Japanese traditional sawing methods, however, sugi medium quality large logs
have not been converted into sawn lumber so much since the amount of its supply has been little. In order
to utilize the sugi medium quality large logs, it is demanded to convert them into sawn lumber in multi-
item bulk production. In this study, we examined the sawing yield of the sugi medium quality large
diameter logs sawn with sawing patterns for in multi-item bulk production.
Sixty-eight sugi medium quality large logs (30-40 cm in diameter) were converted into sawn lumber for
structural and non-structural members of buildings, temporary constructions, and laminae for glue
laminating with two different sawing patterns, “Flat square” and “Square”. In the case of “Flat square”,
the average volume yield and the average value yield were 59.3 % and 65.7 %, respectively. In the case
of “Square”, they were 56.1 % and 58.0 %, respectively. Since the number of sawing pass is less in “Flat
square” than in “Square”, the volume yield was greater in “Flat square” than in “Square”.
Keywords: sugi, log conversion, medium quality large logs, sawing yields
INTRODUCTION
In Japan, the stock of the domestic planted soft wood, such as sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don),
hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtuse Endlicher), and karamatsu (Larix leptolepis Gordon), has been increasing.
Especially the stock of sugi is 1.3 billion m3 and occupies 57% of the stock of the planted forest.
Therefore, the utilization of sugi wood has been expected in Japan. According to the mature of sugi
planted forest, the main supply of sugi log is shifting from small (8-13 cm in diameter) and middle (14-28
cm in diameter) logs to middle and large (more than 30 cm in diameter) logs in these days. Sugi high
quality large logs have been converted into high quality sawn lumber, which is used for decorative
column, finishing, ceiling and etc in Japanese traditional house, with Japanese traditional sawing
methods, however, sugi medium quality large logs have not been converted into sawn lumber so much
since the amount of its supply has been little. In order to utilize the sugi medium quality large logs, it is
demanded to convert them into sawn lumber in multi-item bulk production.
The authors have been reported on the sawing yields of middle diameter sugi logs using various sawing
patterns1-5). However, there are few reports on the sawing yields and sawing patterns of large sugi logs.
The objective of this study is to examine the sawing yield of the sugi medium quality large logs sawn
with sawing patterns for in multi-item bulk production.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar `Kohji, Ikami and Matsumura - 5
EXPERIMENTAL
Sixty-eight sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) medium quality large logs purchased from a log market
were used in this study and their diameter ranged from 30 to 40 cm. Twenty-six, 13, 28, and 1 logs were
rated to the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Grades according to Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS),
respectively.
The moisture content (MC) and the dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of the logs were estimated by the
same manner in the previous report5), as follows;
The weight and dimension of the logs were measured and their bulk densities were calculated. Moisture
content of the logs was estimated from the bulk density using Equation (1),
ρ − 0.374
ue = × 100 (1)
0.374
where, ue (%) is the estimated MC of the log, ρ (g/cm3) is the bulk density of the log, and 0.374 (g/cm3)
is the oven-dry density of sugi, which was the value derived in our previous experiment 6)7). The
natural frequency of log vibration was measured by longitudinal vibration method and dynamic
modulus of elasticity Efr was calculated by Equation (2),
2
E fr = 4 × L 2 × fr × ρ (2)
where, Efr (GPa) is dynamic modulus of elasticity of the log, L (m) is the length of the log, fr (Hz) is the
natural frequency of vibration of the log, and ρ (kg/m3)is bulk density of the log.
Two different band saw machines, a 1,200 mm band mill with an auto feed carriage and a 1,100 mm roller
band resaw were used in this study. The logs of which dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr were less than
7.0 GPa were converted into sawn lumber using the sawing pattern “Square” and the logs more than 7.0
GPa, using the sawing pattern “Flat square” as shown in Fig. 1.
3.8, 3.5×11.2 3.8, 3.5×11.2
3.8, 3.5×11.2
3.8, 3.5×11.2
4.4, 5 .3 th ick flitch
4.4, 5 .3 thick flitch
4.4, 5 .3 th ick flitch
4 .4, 5.3 th ick flitch
3 .6×21 .0, 24.0
3 .6×21 .0, 24 .0
3 .8 , 3.5×11.2
3 .8 , 3.5×11.2
2 .1×21 .0
2 .1×21 .0
11.5×11.5 13.0×19.0-25.0
3.8, 3.5×11.2
3.8, 3.5×11.2
3.8, 3.5×11.2 3.8, 3.5×11.2
Square (Efr < 7.0 GPa) Flat square (Efr ≧ 7.0 GPa)
Figure 1: Sawing patterns used
All the sawn lumber was graded according to JAS immediately after sawing. All the lumbers except
boards were weighed and measured for width, thickness, and length. The chord height of the crook and
bow were measured using a thread and a rule. The moisture content was measured with a moisture meter
(Kett HM-520). The dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of the sawn lumber was also measured by
longitudinal vibration method.
The volume and value yields were estimated by Equations (3) and (4), respectively,
∑V i
Y vol = × 100 (3)
V0
V i Pi
Y val = ∑ ( × × 100) (4)
V 0 P0
where, Yvol (%) is the volume yield, Yval (%) is the value yield, Vi (m3) is volume of each lumber, V0 (m3)
is volume of log, Pi (yen/m3) is the price of each lumber, and P0 (yen/m3) is the price of standard lumber.

MOISTURE CONTENT OF LOG
The frequency distribution of the estimated moisture contents of log is shown in Fig. 2. The estimated
moisture contents of log ranged from 38.0 % to 130.0 % and their average and standard deviation were
82.9 % and 21.2 %, respectively. The average estimated moisture content of log used in the previous
studies were 89.7 %5)8) and 103.1 %8). The average estimated moisture content of log was lower in this
study than in the previous studies. It was thought that some logs used in this study were stocked at the
log yard of the log market for longer time before we purchased, so that their moisture contents decreased.
30
Average : 82.9 %
S.D. : 21.2 %
20
Number
10
0
-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 100-120 120-
Esimated moisture content of logs (%)
Fig.2 Frequency distribution of estimated moisture contents of logs
DYNAMIC MODULUS OF ELASTICITY OF LOG

Fig. 3 shows the frequency distribution of the dynamic moduli of elasticity Efr of log. The dynamic
moduli of elasticity Efr of log ranged from 4.7 GPa to 9.8 GPa and their average and standard deviation
were 7.4 GPa and 1.2 GPa, respectively. The average dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of log was almost
same level as that in the previous study5).
20
Average : 7.4 GPa
S.D. : 1.2 GPa
15
Number
10
0
-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10
Dynamic modulus of elasticity of log (GPa)
Fig.3 Frequency distribution of dynamic modulus of elasticity of logs
SAWING YIELD
The results of the sawing yield are summarized in Table 1. The average volume yield was 56.2 % for the
sawing pattern “Square” and was 59.5 % for the sawing pattern “Flat square”. The average volume yield
for the sawing pattern “Square” was lower than that for the sawing pattern “Flat square”, however, the
influence of the log grade on the volume yield was not apparent. In the case of the sawing pattern
“Square”, the sizes of the main sawn lumber were 11.5X11.5cm, 3.8X11.5cm, and 3.5X11.5cm and the
kerf loss was more compared to the sawing pattern “Flat square” of which the size of main sawn lumber
was 11.5X19.0-25.0cm. This resulted in the difference in the sawing yield between the sawing patterns
“Square” and “Flat square”. The average value yields were 58.0 % and 65.7 % for the sawing patterns
“Square” and “Flat square”, respectively. The average value yield for the sawing pattern “Square” was
also lower than that for the sawing pattern “Flat square”. The price of the main sawn lumber influenced
on the value yield. The price of 11.5X19.0-25.0cm lumber is higher than those of 1.5X11.5cm,
3.8X11.5cm, and 3.5X11.5cm lumber, so that the average value yield for the sawing pattern “Flat square”
was higher.
Table 1 Average sawing yield

Square* Flat square*
Log grade
Number Volume Value Number Volume Value
First 8 59.7 55.1 18 58.2 64.7
Second 4 54.7 55.7 8 61.1 68.9
Third 18 57.9 59.7 11 60.6 65.7
Fourth －－－ 1 58.0 58.2
Over all 30 56.2 58.0 38 59.5 65.7

*：Sawing pattern, refer to Fig.1
Fig. 4 indicates the volume rate of the sawn lumber grade. In the case of Squared, the volume rate of the
lumber graded as First was 76.0 % and Second 23.2 %. In the case of Scantlings, the volume rates of the
lumber graded as First, Second, and Third were 68.3 % and 29.7 %, and 2.0 %, respectively. In the case
of Boards, the volume rates of the lumber graded as First and Second were 95.9 % and 4.1 %,
respectively. In this study, the lumber grade was mostly decided by knot diameter rate because the other
defects were little. Scantlings trends to be graded as lower grade compared to Squared and Boards,
because their width is less than those of Squared and Boards. In the case of Boards, the volume rate of
First was higher, since they were sawn from the rim of log and the knot diameter rate was lower.
First Second Third
a
Squared 76.0% 23.2% 0.8%
b
Scantlings 68.3% 29.7% 2.0%
c
Boards 95.9% 4.1%
0% 50% 100%
Fig.4 Volume rate of sawn lumber grade.

a : Squared lumber is not less than 7.5cm in thickness and width.
b : Scantlings are less than 7.5cm in thickness and less than four
times as wide as their thickness.
c : Boards are less than 7.5cm in thickness and not less than four
times as wide as their thickness.
WARPS OF SAWN LUMBER

The results of the warp rates of sawn lumber are summarized in Table 2. The warp rate of sawn lumber is
a ratio of chord height of warp to lumber length. In the case of bow, the average warp rates of sawn
lumber ranged from 0.08 % to 0.25 % (the average chord heights were from 2.9 mm to 8.0 mm) and
indicated the tendency that it decreased with a decrease in lumber thickness. In the case of crook, the
average warp rates of sawn lumber ranged from 0.08 % to 0.14 % (the average chord heights were from
2.9 mm to 5.1 mm) and the influence of the lumber sizes on the average warp rate of lumber was not
apparent.
Table 2 Warp rates of sawn lumber

Bow (%) Crook (%)
Size
Average S.D. Average S.D.
3.5×11.5 cm 0.22 0.12 0.10 0.06
3.8×11.5 cm 0.25 0.17 0.11 0.06
5.3×11.5 cm 0.23 0.13 0.10 0.05
11.5×11.5 cm 0.17 0.13 0.14 0.11
13.0×19.0-25.0 cm 0.08 0.04 0.08 0.44
Chord height
Warp rate = ×100 (%)
Length
ESTIMATED MC OF LOG VS MC OF SAWNLUMBER
Fig. 5 shows the relationship between estimated moisture content of log and moisture content of sawn
lumber. The correlation coefficient of the relationship between estimated moisture content of log and
moisture content of sawn lumber was not higher. The moisture content varies within a log, so that the
moisture content of sawn lumber varies according to the location in a log from which the sawn lumber is
sawn. In the case of Square, which was sawn from center portion of the log, the correlation coefficient
was higher (Fig. 6).
140
y = 0.6965x + 25.026
120 R2 = 0.5424
MC of Square lumber (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Estimated MC of log (%)
Fig.6 Relationship between estimated MC of log and MC of Square lumber
140
y = 0.4961x + 36.255
120 R2 = 0.3081
MC of sawn lumber (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Estimated MC of log (%)
Fig.5 Relationship between estimated MC of log and MC of sawn lumber
DYNAMIC MODULUS OF ELASTICITY OF SAWN LUMBER

Table 3 indicates the dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of sawn lumber. The average dynamic modulus of
elasticity Efr of 11.5X11.5cm lumber was lower than those of the other size lumber. The 11.5X11.5cm
lumber was sawn from the log of which dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr was low. This resulted in the
lower dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of 11.5X11.5cm lumber. On the other hand, the average dynamic
modulus of elasticity Efr of 13.0X19.0-25.0cm lumber which was sawn from the log of which dynamic
modulus of elasticity Efr was high. In the case of 13.0X19.0-25.0cm lumber, the minimum dynamic
modulus of elasticity Efr was significantly higher than those of the other size lumber. When lumber is
used for a structural member, especially for beam, in a wooden house, not only average but also minimum
dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr is important. It is thought that the sorting logs by the dynamic modulus
of elasticity Efr is useful for the conversion into structural lumber.
Table 3 Dynamic modulus of elasticity E fr of sawn lumber

Size Number Range(GPa) Average(GPa) S.D.(GPa)
3.5×11.5 cm 96 4.3-12.5 7.9 1.9
3.8×11.5 cm 87 4.1-12.8 6.9 1.6
5.3×11.5 cm 108 4.3-12.3 7.0 1.7
11.5×11.5 cm 29 3.9- 9.0 5.9 1.3
13.0×19.0-25.0 cm 39 6.1-12.9 7.9 1.1
Fig. 7 shows the relationship between dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of log and that of sawn lumber.
The correlation coefficient of the relationship between dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of log and that of
sawn lumber was high. The dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of the sawn lumber might be estimated
from that of the log.
14
y = 1.1328x - 0.8318
12 R2 = 0.6961
E fr of sawn lumber (GPa)
10
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
E fr of log (GPa)
Fig.7 Relationship between dynamic modulus of elasticity E fr of log and that of sawn lumber
CONCLUSIONS
We conducted the sawing test of sugi medium quality large logs (30-40 cm in diameter), the conclusions
are summarized as follows;
1. The average volume yield was 56.2 % for the sawing pattern “Square” and was 59.5 % for the sawing
pattern “Flat square”. The average value yields were 58.0 % and 65.7 % for the sawing patterns
“Square” and “Flat square”, respectively. The average volume and value yields for the sawing pattern
“Square” were lower than those for the sawing pattern “Flat square”.
2. The average bow and crook were from 0.08 % to 0.25 % and from 0.08 % to 0.14 %, respectively,
according to the lumber size.
3. In the case of Square lumber, which was sawn from center portion of the log, the correlation
coefficient of relationship between estimated moisture content of log and moisture content of sawn
lumber was higher.
4. The average dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of 11.5X11.5cm lumber, which was sawn from the log
of which dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr was low, was lower than those of the other size lumber.
On the other hand, the minimum dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr of 13.0X19.0-25.0cm lumber,
which was sawn from the log of which dynamic modulus of elasticity Efr, was higher than those of the
other size lumber.
REFERENCES
1. Murata, K., Nishimura, K., Fujiwara, K.: Conversion of Middle Diameter Sugi Logs into Sawn
lumber, Sawing yield by using sawing patterns in consideration of log quality, Wood Industry, 44 (1),
13-18 (1989)
2. Murata, K., Nishimura, K., Fujiwara, K., Sukawa, H: Sawing Yield from Sugi Stump, Wood Industry,
46 (2), 72-77 (1991)
3. Murata, K: Conversion of middle diameter sugi logs into sawn lumber, Wood Working Machinery,
No. 166, 7-10 (1995)
4. Murata, K., Ikami, Y., Fujiwara, K., Nishimura, K.: Lumber Yields from Sugi Logs, Proceedings of
the 14th International Wood Machining Seminar, Paris, Epinal, and Cluny, Vol.2, 671-679 (1999)
5. Matsumura, Y., Murata, K., Ikami, Y.: Influence of Sorting Logs by Young’s Modulus and Moisture
Content on Sawn Lumber Yields and Qualities, Proceedings of the 17th International Wood
Machining Seminar, Rosenheim, Part 2, 481-488 (2005)
6. MatsumuraY, Murata K, Ikami Y, Fujimoto K: Bulking Factor of Sugi, Hinoki, and Akamatsu in Band
Sawing, Proceedings of 16th International Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, 577-583 (2003)
7. Matsumura Y., Murata K., Ikami Y., Fujimoto K: Bulking Factor of Sawdust in Band Sawing, Wood
Indusry, 59 (12), 591-594 (2004)
8. Murata K., Ikami Y., Matsumura Y.: Sorting of Logs under Consideration of Sawing Yield and End
Use, Repot of FFPRI Research Project, No. 8, 30-35 (2006)
Sawing of Frozen Wood with Narrow-Kerf Saws
Orlowski, Kazimierz A.1; Sandak, Jakub2; Dzurenda, Ladislav3; Negri, Martino2
1 2 3
Gdansk University of Italian Trees and Timber Technical University in Zvolen
Technology Institute IVALSA/CNR Faculty of Wood Sciences and
Mechanical Engineering Faculty Via Biasi 75, 38010 San Michele Technology
Department of Manufacturing All’Adige (TN) Italy Department of Woodworking
Engineering and Automation sandak@ivalsa.cnr.it 24 T.G. Masaryka Street
ul. Narutowicza 11/12 960 53 Zvolen
80-952 Gdansk Slovak Republic
80-952 Gdansk, Poland dzurenda@vsld.tuzvo.sk
korlowsk@pg.gda.pl
ABSTRACT
Specific cutting resistance during sawing wood with narrow-kerf saws depends on the wood moisture
content, wood temperature and feed speed among others. Dedicated experiments were carried out on the
sash gang saw PRW15M in order to investigate the details of the frozen wood cutting process. Some
experimental samples (Pinus sylvestris) were frozen in the climatic chamber before cutting. Series of
cuttings were performed on the frozen and room-temperature wood pieces. Values of cutting power
during sawing were measured continuously as well as the obtained surface roughness, thickness variations
and remain chips. It has been found that obtained values of the specific cutting resistance in the case of
narrow-kerf sawing are larger than reference data given in the literature. A decrease in dimensional
accuracy of sawn lamella was observed for frozen wood. On the contrary sawn surfaces were smoother
(less roughness). Additional analyses were performed to investigate geometrical features of obtained
chips A standard mechanical separation of chips into size fractions were curried out with sieve analyses.
Alternatively, a camera vision system has been created in order to perform chips analyses with an image
processing techniques. The amount of information produced by such system is superior to the mechanical
separation method. It provides valuable inputs for the diagnosing of the sawing process.
INTRODUCTION
Even that processing of frozen wood during winter is an old challenge for tool users and the sawmillers,
there is generally a shortage of the professional literature and research related to this problem. Some of
the publications dedicated to the frozen wood cutting phenomenon are presented shortly below.
For example, Lunstrum [1] reports that frozen wood is more brittle than unfrozen and therefore cuts
cleaner. It is an effect of the considerable increase in mechanical properties of the frozen wood. [2] As the
friction coefficient between frozen wood and steel is significantly lower while sawing frozen wood, it is
possible to apply saws with smaller clearances per side. [2] Moreover, there is simultaneously less risk of
fuzzy grain generation and in consequence reduce of the saw blade friction and dropping an effect of the
saw blade heating. Minimization of the kerf in winter is the way to compensate of cutting power
requirements [1]. It is also suggested by Lunstrum [1] to use bits with built-in chip breakers, which should
tend to pulverize the dust into smaller particles that can escape the gullet easier than normal sawdust
particles. The latter author recommends reduction the circular saw’s rim speed (cutting speed) for about
30%. However, in case of cutting on frame sawing machines this recommendation seems to be baseless
because even for modern sash gang saws cutting speed is much lower than for circular saws.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Orlowski, Sandak, Dzurenda and Negri - 13
Other existing problems in cutting frozen wood are related to energetic effects of the cutting itself. During
sawing frozen wood of maple with a singular tooth Vazquez and Meyer [3] found that cutting forces for
frozen wood are attributed to energy consumption when cutting frozen cell walls, cutting ice requires little
force. In general, specific cutting energy1 of wood increases if temperature drops, i.e. for the temperature
of –5ºC the increase is slight. While the further temperature drop to the range –25ºC/–35ºC (depending on
wood moisture content) produces the rapid increase of specific cutting energy (specific cutting resistance)
but the farther reduction of the temperature practically does not affect specific cutting energy [2]. On the
one hand, to determine specific cutting resistance of frozen wood (Scots pine) processed on frame sawing
machines the value of specific cutting resistance of unfrozen wood should be multiplied by 1.20 [4].
Eventually, Orlicz [5] recommends correction factor of 1.18 (up to –20ºC), Agapov [6] suggests 1.23 (for
–25ºC ) and 1.25 (for –35ºC ), whereas Kuliš and Prokofiev [7] recommend to increase specific cutting
resistance about 25% (–19ºC) and 50% (–35ºC) in relation to unfrozen wood.
Experimental values of the cutting resistance for narrow-kerf saws when sawing unfrozen pine, were
larger than values given in the literature for the traditional frame sawing machines [8,9]. These
contradictory recommendations for correction factors in addition to totally different kinematics of narrow-
kerf frame sawing machines used in re-sawing persuaded authors to carry out dedicated investigations of
specific cutting resistance of frozen wood.
The second group of experiments was focused on sawing quality matters. Although, there were not
observed changes in the standard deviation of sawn sizes caused by the state of freezing in wood during
sawing on band saws and circular saws [10], however, in the case of narrow-kerf cutting operations,
sawing variation is very sensitive to back forces (lateral forces to the saw blade) [8,11]. These forces are
strictly connected with the specific cutting resistance and may rise if the temperature of wood drops [1,5].
Thus, it is suspected that there is also an effect of the wood temperature on sawing accuracy and sawn
surface roughness while sawing frozen wood especially when narrow-kerf saws are applied.
During cutting of timber various types of chips are produced. These could be a target of manufacturing or
just redundant waste of the raw material. In all cases however the structure and geometry of chips
depends on the raw material properties, kinematics of the cutting, machine and tool conditions. Therefore
analyses of chips could provide a lot of information regarded the manufacturing process, its inaccuracies
[12] and troubles [13, 14]. Exploiting of such analyzes will be then a way to monitor and diagnose the
cutting process.
Information acquired from those three groups of experimental results will provide insight regarding the
power required to process frozen wood during the winter season, obtained sawing accuracy and produced
chip structure.

Investigation of frozen wood cutting was carried out on the frame sawing machine PRW15M with the
hybrid dynamically balanced driving system and elliptical teeth trajectory movement [15,16] (at the Dep.
of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, GUT, PL). The latter feature guarantees a lack of teeth
contact with the kerf bottom during the idling stroke of the saw frame.
Blocks of Scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) with dimensions 88×88×800 mm were the workpieces in
the experiment. Samples were conditioned to reach two temperatures: a room temperature (+20ºC) and
frozen (–20ºC). The moisture content of the unfrozen wood samples was 12.5% and 30% when the
moisture content of frozen wood was set to only 30%. Freezing of samples has been carried out in the
climatic chamber (f. ILKA, D, power of the refrigerating unit 8 kW and an attainable minimum
1
if ISO units are used its value is equal to cutting force per unit area of the cut which is also commonly called
specific cutting resistance
temperature -35°C). The time in which the sample reaches a proper advisable temperature in the climatic
chamber was determined analytically based on works [17,18]. Results of these computations are
presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Freezing time of pine samples in the climatic chamber ILKA
Adjusted
Initial sample Temperature in the middle of Required
temperature in the
No. temperature the sample cross section and freezing time
climatic chamber
(ºC) at the half of its length (ºC) (h)
(ºC)
1 +20 −5 −6 8
2 +20 −20 −21 18
3 −5 −20 −21 11
Tool used were mini gang saw blades with stellite tipped teeth, having overall set St = 1.25mm, saw blade
thickness s = 0.8mm and pitch P = 13mm. Cutting conditions were set to three levels of the feed speed:
0.55m/min, 0.9m/min and 1.35m/min, what corresponds to feed per tooth of 0.067mm, 0.109mm and
0.162mm respectively.
The methodology of determination of the specific cutting resistance kc (cutting force per unit area of cut)
based upon experimental results of cutting power Pc and was performed in details in [8,9]. The following
equation was applied for calculations:
6 ⋅ 10 4 ⋅ Pc
kc =
n ⋅ H p ⋅ St ⋅ v f
(1)
where: n – number of saws in the gang (n = 5 pcs.), Hp − workpiece height, St −overall set, vf – feed speed.
Obtained results of the specific cutting resistance kc were additionally compared to the results of sawing
pine of 12.5% moisture content processed at the temperature of +20ºC [8].
After sawing, lamella’s thickness profile has been scanned by the contact-continuous method with the
inductive sensor [19]. That profile has been considered as a reference lamella’s thickness. The basic size
of the lamella thickness gEBS was calculated as follows:
g EBS = g P − (St − s ) (2)
where: gP – distance piece thickness (5 mm).
Roughness measurements were conducted at the Trees and Timber Institute IVALSA (Italy) under the
conditions as follows: surface roughness measured by stylus profile measurement gauge the type of
Mitutoyo Surface Roughness Tester SJ-301, scanning speed: 0.5mm/s, cut-off: 2.5 mm, filter type:
Gaussian, measurement length: 12.5mm, number of sections for averaging: 5, number of measurements
on each lamella: 10 (9 measurements in a fixed positions, and one measured a in the roughest area
(visual assessment) (Figure 1)), roughness parameters (calculated according to ISO 4287 (1997)), Ra, Rz,.
However, in some cases the measurement by the stylus sensor was impossible due to the limited range of
the sensor itself (±300μm) – “out of range” error appeared from time to time.
2fp5 X [ ^
a? _
Y \
Z ] `
Figure 1: Area’s locations of the roughness measurements
Chips produced during cutting wood on the sash gang saw have been collected for the further analyzes
isolated from the air to keep the moisture content. A half of each portion has been separated into fractions
by using traditional mechanical separation method [13]. The machine used was Retsch with a set of
calibrated meshes of the size 4.7, 8.4, 65.7, 117, 548, 1050 mesh/cm2, what corresponds to the sieve’s
lumen size of 3.79, 2.73, 0.885, 0.628, 0.270, 0.189 mm respectively. The time of vibration has been
limited to 5 minutes to assure a proper separation in to fractions and minimize an effect of the further
milling of particles in to smaller dusts. The weight of each fraction has been measured with an accuracy
of 0.001 g. The second half of the collected chip portion was measured with an alternative method of the
chip measurement in which camera based vision system was applied [21]. Chips were randomly spread on
the milk-glass plate by hand. A special care has been taken to assure that chips lay on the glass separately
not making groups. It was very important as it could affect the results of measurements. The glass was
backlight-illuminated by a lamp installed under the plate. A high resolution CMOS video camera
(Pixelink PL-A682) equipped with a low distortion macro lenses captured an image of the chips and
stored the image in a computer memory for further processing. An example of the image to be processed
is presented in Figure 2a. A preset size of the image was 1584x1200 pixels, what corresponded to ~41x31
mm field of view. Therefore, the system had a resolution of 38.6 pixels/mm.
a) b)
p =n/o
n
o
Figure 2: Image of the chips taken by the camera (a) and indicators of the chip geometry
calculated from the image (b)
After the acquisition, all images have been processed to extract information regarding the geometry of
chips: length n, width o, elongation of the chip p (counted as a ratio between long and short axis of the
ellipse representing the chip) and also an area of the chip q, as is presented in Figure 2b. Dedicated
software has been created in the LabView. In the first step the algorithm corrected uneven illumination,
extracted green plane and eliminated background by applying a threshold to the image. As an effect all
particles corresponding to chips where identified. The program removed all particles which were close to
the border. A special algorithm has been used to analyze geometry of all particles providing numerical
indictors for each chip. At least 5000 chips were measured for each set of investigated cuttings. The last
step was to perform statistical analyzes and histograms of the values measured. The limitation of the
system presented was a measurement only in two dimensions; however a simple modification
(stereovision) could improve the hardware to measure also a thickness/depth (a missing dimension in this
experiment).

SPECIFIC CUTTING RESISTANCE
Figure 3 shows an effect of the wood temperature, moisture content and feed per tooth on the specific
cutting resistance during re-sawing process with narrow-kerf saws on the sash gang saw PRW15M.
100-110
130
90-100
80-90
120
specific cutting resitance [MPa]
70-80
110 60-70
100
90
80
-20
70
-5
60 20g
0.065 temperature [oC]
0.11 20
0.16
feed per tooth fz [mm]
Figure 3: Specific cutting resistance versus wood temperature and feed per tooth,
note: moisture content: 12.5% for +20ºC and 30% for +20ºC (20g), -5ºC, -20ºC)
Obtained results revealed that at every temperature conditions an increase in feed per tooth (feed speed)
causes decreasing of the specific cutting resistance. Furthermore, an increase of wood moisture content
from 12.5% up to ~30% produces higher values of cutting resistance (8 ÷ 30% dependently on the feed
per tooth). It is due to larger elasticity of green wood [6]. If the temperature of samples dropped to − 5ºC
the specific cutting resistance increased 21 ÷ 36% in relation to the dry wood, and 6 ÷ 15% compared to
the green wood. Further fall of the temperature to minus 20ºC takes effect in the further increase of
cutting resistance; 31 ÷ 39% in relation to the dry wood and 10 ÷ 25% according to the green wood.
As the ice alone requires relatively little force to machine [3], the observed increase of the specific cutting
resistance in the case of frozen wood is an effect of higher resistance of the frozen cell walls.
Furthermore, the cutting resistance has larger values in comparison with data given in the literature for the
traditional issue of frame sawing machine kinematics if narrower kerfs saws are used.
Some defects easily observed after cutting frozen wood is chip welding to the lower beam of the saw
frame caused by changed physical chip features and presence of the “chip breaker” (very common) in the
feeding system. The large amount of welded chips makes further feeding of the workpiece impossible.
However, when the “chip breaker” was disassembled the problem disappeared.
SAWING ACCURACY
Figure 5 presents the effect of feed speed and wood temperature on the lower and upper deviations from
the basic size of the lamella thickness (gEBS = 4.55 mm). If the wood temperature dropped below zero
there is simultaneously observed a decrease in dimensional accuracy of sawn lamella – total deviations
from the basic size lamella’s thickness are larger in comparison with narrow-kerf sawing accuracy of kiln
dried wood [8]. A raise of the feed speed (in case of sawing frozen wood) slightly brings up total
thickness deviations. The violent increase of sawing deviations at feed speed of 1.36m/min in case of
unfrozen green wood (Figure 5a) is caused by larger friction of wet wood and too small values of side
sets.
Exemplary surface roughness parameters in a function of feed speed and wood temperature are presented
in graphs (Figure 6a and 6b). Each value is an average of ten measurements (9 in fixed points + 1 in the
roughest areas). For frozen wood there was not detected an effect of the feed speed on roughness of the
sawn surface. The drop in the wood temperature makes sawn surfaces smoother in comparison to the
green wood.
a) b) c)
0.5 0.5 0.5
+18g deg C -20 deg C
Deviations from the basic size [mm]

-5 degC

0.4 0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2 0.2
0.1 LD 0.1 0.1

LD LD
UD 0 0
0 UD UD
-0.1 -0.1 -0.1
-0.2 -0.2 -0.2

-0.3 -0.3
-0.3
-0.4 -0.4
-0.4
0.56 0.92 1.36
0.56 0.92 1.36 0.56 0.92 1.36
feed speed [m/min]
feed speed [m/min] feed speed [m/min]
Figure 5: Maximum deviations from the basic size lamella’s thickness in function of feed speed
and wood temperature after sawing of pine on the frame sawing machine PRW15M,
where: a – +18g °C , b – -5°C, c - -20°C, g – green wood, LD – minimum dimension, UD
- maximum dimension
a) b)
Ra
Rz
18
70
16
60
14
roughness (um)
16-18 50 60-70
roughness (um)
12 50-60
14-16
10 12-14 40 40-50
8 10-12
30
6
20
4
10 1,36
2 1,36
0 feed speed 0 feed speed
18 (m/min) 18 0,56 (m/min)
-5 0,56 -5
-20 -20
wood temp (degC)
wood temp (degC)
Figure 6: Lamella surface roughness in function of feed speed and wood temperature after sawing
on the frame sawing machine PRW15M, where: Ra – arithmetic average roughness
[μm], Rz - ten point height roughness [μm]
ANALYZES OF CHIPS
In the first stage of the experiment all chips were measured by using mechanical separator. An example of
the histogram obtained with this method is presented in Figure 7. It is clear that variations of the
histograms are almost unvarying, suggesting constant cutting processes. However all the histograms were
created from chips obtained with varying feed speed of the sash gang saw. Almost a half of chips are in
the fraction of 548 mesh/cm2 (what corresponds to the particle’s size in the range of 0.189mm and
0.270mm). Relatively low amount of small chips and more large chips in the bigger fractions could be
also discovered from the graph. Obviously the amount of information is very limited. It makes usefulness
of the mechanical separation method for process evaluation rather problematic. Other limitations are
proofs that the method does not provide much information (low number of fractions, only weight ratios,
no differentiation of the chip geometry (shape, length, etc.). Moreover it is very probable that during the
vibration some chips are re-shaped (damaged by secondary fragmentation).
Results obtained after image analysis of sawing chips are presented in Figures 8 and 9. It can be clearly
seen that amount of information available is superior to the mechanical separation method. It seems that,
at the first impression, all histograms appear to be very similar (main peaks located in the similar
locations), though after careful examination some interesting details can be revealed.
60
1.36m/min
(+18) 0.56
50
0.92m/min
(+18) 0.92
0.56m/min
(+18) 1.36
40
(%)
frequency (%)
Frequency
30
20
10
0
4.7 8.4 65.7 117 548 1050 less
3.79 2.73 0.885 0.628 0.270 0.189
mesh size (mm^2)
2
Sieve size (mesh/cm )
Mesh lumen (mm)
Figure 7: Fractions of chips separated mechanically as a function of feed speed (un-frozen wood)
Analysis of the chip length (Figure 8a and 9a) shows that most of the chips are short. Nevertheless, in
case of the slow feed speed a relatively high amount of long chips are produced. A very few chips are
longer than 2 mm.
The clear frequency peak’s accumulation is observed in the range of ~1.3 mm length of chips (gray arrow
on the Figure 9a). It corresponds to the width of kerf (St = 1.25 mm). Peaks are also correlated to the feed
per tooth, what was discovered by analysing of the chips width (Figure 9b). It has been observed that the
scatter of the chip width was much lower than the scatter of the chip length distribution; sawing chips
possessed uniform chip’s width. Basically no chips were wider than 1 mm.
For all cutting conditions, chip area (chip size) histograms present comparable distribution (Figure 8c and
9c); nevertheless, when the wood temperature decreases the major frequency reduces (decrement of the
peak’s value); in particular for slow feed speeds. It can be explained by the changes of the wood’s
toughness. In general, larger chips are produced during processing of the tough materials.
Histograms of the chip elongations show two main peaks (Figure 8d and 9d). First related to the almost
rounded chips (ellipse axis ratio ≈1), the second one for slightly elongated chips (ellipse axis ratio ≈2).
Similarly to the previous findings, the cutting of the frozen wood effect in a producing non-uniform chips,
as the histogram presents much more scattered distribution for frozen wood chips.
It was observed that in a case of unfrozen wood, increment of the feed follows to the reduction of the chip
separation and slight rise of the large particles quantity. Conversely, for the frozen wood this trend
changes. Relatively fewer large chips are created - in addition to more intensive chips refining - when the
feed per tooth increases. It is due to the degeneration of the cutting conditions as the workpiece become
more brittle. It has been confirmed during energetic experiments that the increment of the cutting
resistance during the cutting process of the frozen wood has been noticed. Moreover, an uncontrolled
material pulls out occurred simultaneously to the cutting process when sawing frozen wood.
a) 7
b) 16
frozen
frozen
14 frozen
frozen
6
unfrozen
unfrozen unfrozen
unfrozen
12
5
10
frequency (%)
frequency (%)
4
8
3
6
2
4
1 2
0 0
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
length of the chip (mm) width of the chip (mm)
c) 14
d)
8
frozen
frozen frozen
frozen
unfrozen 7
12 unfrozen unfrozen
unfrozen
6
10
5
frequency (%)
frequency (%)
8
Ratio of large chips (area <0.67mm2) 4
6
3
4
2
2 1
0 0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
area of the chip (mm^2) elongation of the chip (mm/mm)
Figure 8: Effect of wood temperature on the chip geometry (feed speed 0.56m/min); a) chip length,
b) chip width, c) area of the chip, d) chip elongation
a) 7
b) 14
1.36m/min
1.36 m/min 1.36m/min
1.36 m/min
Ratio of large chips (area <0.67mm2)
6 0.92 m/min
0.92m/min 12 0.92m/min
0.92 m/min
0.56 m/min
0.56m/min
0.56 m/min
0.56m/min
14
5 10 1.36 m/min
12 0.92 m/min
frequency (%)
frequency (%)
0.56 m/min
0.067mm
4 8 10
width of kerf (St=1.25mm)
frequency (%)
8
3 6
6
0.109mm
0.162mm
4
2 4
1 2
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
width of the chip (mm)
0 0
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
length of the chip (mm) width of the chip (mm)
c) 12 d) 8
1.36m/min
1.36 m/min
7
10 0.92m/min
0.92 m/min
1.36m/min
1.36 m/min
6
0.92m/min
0.92 m/min 0.56m/min
0.56 m/min
8
0.56m/min
0.56 m/min
5
frequency (%)
frequency (%)
6 4
3
4
2
Ratio of large chips (area <0.67mm2)
2
1
0 0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
area of the chip (mm^2) elongation of the chip (mm/mm)
Figure 9: Effect of the feed speed on the chip geometry (frozen wood); a) chip length, b) chip
width, c) area of the chip, d) chip elongation
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of this study following conclusive remarks can be drawn:
1. At every temperature conditions an increase in feed per tooth (feed speed) causes decreasing of the
specific cutting resistance. An increase of wood moisture content from 12% up to ~30% produces
higher values of cutting resistance about 8 ÷ 30% (dependently on the feed per tooth). Obtained
values of the specific cutting resistance in the case of narrow-kerf sawing are larger than data given in
the literature.
2. If the wood temperature dropped below zero there was simultaneously observed a decrease in
dimensional accuracy of sawn lamella – total deviations from the basic size lamella’s thickness were
larger in comparison with narrow-kerf sawing accuracy of kiln dried wood. A raise of the feed speed
brings total thickness deviations slightly up. For frozen wood there was not detected an effect of the
feed speed on roughness of the sawn surface. The drop in the wood temperature makes sawn surfaces
smoother in comparison to the green wood.
3. Experimental results shows the usage advantages of the vision system compared to the combustion
method. Simple statistical analyses of the data obtained by image processing provide a lot of
guidelines to be used for understanding of the cutting process. Numerous differences between room
temperature and frozen wood cutting physics have been exploited. The statistical data provided by
image analysis classify the frozen wood as more brittle compare to “normal” wood, and the sawing
process much more harsh.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some works in this research project have been done under the Department of Manufacturing Engineering
and Automation (GUT, PL) – the Department of Woodworking (TUZ, SK) co-operation agreement. A part
of this work has been made during post-doc research project founded by Provincia Autonoma di Trento,
Italy. The authors also would like to thank the firm PPH GASSTECH Ltd. (Suwalki, PL) for the donation
of the raw material used in tests. They would also like to thank Mr. Ryszard Chabros (Civil and
Environmental Engineering Faculty, GUT, PL) for making the climatic chamber available. The authors
also would like to acknowledge firms PPH GASS Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Suwalki, PL), Wydawnictwo Inwestor
Sp. z o.o. (publisher, PLC, Tczew, PL), the firm ZPH Rafplast Ryszard Kropiwiec (Warsaw, PL) and
HANZA Grupa Inwestycyjna Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Sopot, PL) for their financial support for the author1
participation at the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar.
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with chip geometry analyzes”. Zbornik prednašok V. Medzinarodna Vedecka Konferencia Trieskove a
Beztrieskove Obrabanie Dreva '06. Stary Smokovec - Tatry, 12 - 14.10.2006. Ed.: L. Dzurenda, A.
Banski. Zvolen: Tech. Univ. vo Zvolene Drevarska Fak. Kat. Obrabania Dreva, pp. 253 – 258, 2006.
Tracing of The Real Cross Profile of The Band Saw Wheel
Orlowski, Kazimierz A.1; Wasielewski, Roman1; Szyszkowski, Stanislaw2;

Wnukowski, Edward2
1 2
Gdansk University of Technology PP GASSTECH Sp. z o. o. (PLC)
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering ul. Diamentowa 4
Department of Manufacturing Engineering 16-400 Suwalki, Poland
and Automation stanislaw.szyszkowski@gass.com.pl
ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-952 Gdansk, Poland edward.wnukowski@gass.com.pl
korlowsk@pg.gda.pl
rwasiele@pg.gda.pl
ABSTRACT
In the literature, it has been shown on the basis of theoretical analyses and laboratory tests that the
stability of the band saw blade depends on both the wheel profile and the way the tension in the band is
applied. In this paper the system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK, which allows the
band saw producer to determine an actual cross profile of the examined wheel, is presented. Thus, on the
basis of it there is feasible to conduct the correct process of the band saw blade tensioning on special
automatic tensioning – levelling operation centres (CNC controlled). Both, the structure of the system and
its principle of operation are described. Additionally, the device may be applied for judging a degree of
the band wheel wear, and eventually making a decision about wheel regeneration. Technical data of the
performed system: band saw wheel width <300 mm, measurement profile accuracy ±2 µm,
sampling 0.1 mm.
Key words: band saw wheel, cross profile, measurements, band saw
INTRODUCTION
Tracking which is defined as the front-to-back motion of a band saw during machine operation affects
cutting accuracy. A primary objective of band saw and band wheel maintenance is to ensure that the saw
runs in a stable position on the wheel, with a minimum of front-to-back movement [1,2,3,4]. Furthermore,
Wong and Schajer [1] have also shown with theoretical analyses and laboratory tests how the stability of
the band depends on the wheel profile. The crown of the wheel together with the overhang of the band
create the stable position for the band in the log-feed direction.
Taylor [5] has shown how the influence on the stability depends on the way the tension in the band is
applied on the band and how it, together with the band strain [6], can reduce the sawblade deviation by 30
- 40%. The effect of the band strain upon sawing quality was also investigated in industrial conditions by
Eklund [7].
In the work [2] there is discussed a large majority of factors controlling bandsaw tracking. Amongst the
discussed factors the wheel profile and saw tensioning are deciding once on the band saw stability.
BAND SAW BLADE TENSIONING AND WHEEL PROFILE

Tensioning of bandsaw blades is realized to eliminate unbalanced force distribution on the blade. It is a
method of stretching the sawblade body in the inner area of the blade to compensate for expansion of the
bandsaw edges due to heat built up during sawing. This tensioning process eliminates the unbalanced
force distribution on the blade. A bandsaw blade is tensioned mainly between the rollers of a stretching
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Orlowski, Wasielewski, Szyszkowski and Wnukowski - 25
machine and sometimes in the hammering process. The saw tensioning process changes the profile of the
saw when is wrapped around the bandsaw wheels. The amount of tension depends on thickness and width
of the blade, diameter of the wheel, and feed rate [8] and the band wheel cross profile [2,9,10,11].
Tensioning is checked at intervals throughout the stretching process using a straight edge or a convex
template. However, in the CNC centers sensors are used for this purpose. In the case of insufficient
tensioning of a blade, the cutting edge will snake so that accurate cutting cannot be done. Insufficient
tensioning of the blade can also cause fluttering (self-excited vibrations) and pushing the sawblade off the
wheel. On the other hand, over tensioning of the cutting edge will result in cracks at the blade root [9,10].
If the properly tensioned band saw blade is bent over the band wheel radius, the transverse deflection of
the saw blade causes that the band saw cross curvature and the band wheel cross profile fit theoretically to
each other (Figure 1a) [4,8,9,10,11].
a) b) c)
d
Figure 1: Band saw curvature due to tensioning : a) – intimate contact, b) – more curved than the
wheel profile (crown), c) – less curved than wheel crown
Furthermore, in practice, bandsaws are tensioned further so they become a little bit more curved than the
wheel crown (Figure 1b). The contact between the saw and wheel concentrates along the edges. The
presence of a slight hollow with a dimension of a is a measure of the amount of saw tensioning [2,4]. The
value of that hollow is a = (0.1 ÷ 0.2 ) ⋅ s1 , where: s1 – teeth side height of the crown (Figure 2) [4].
s2
s1
A B
Figure 2: Crowned band saw wheel: A, B – dimensions defining a position of the crown top, s1 –
teeth side height of the crown , s2 – back side height of the crown
In practice, because of desired self-centering properties, crowned band saw wheels are mainly used
(Figure 2). The symmetrical crowned (if the top of the crown is in the middle, dimensions A and B are
equal to each other, Figure 2) are applied in double-cut bandmills, and in single-cut bandmills
unsymmetrical ones are used (as it shown in Figure 2) [2]. For the latter bandmills it is recommended in
the work [3] to take a dimension A equal to ⅓(A+B) (⅓ of the band wheel width). Moreover, in the
literature there are contradictory recommendations concerning with a value of the teeth side height of the
crown. For example, Wong and Schajer [2] recommend a value of s1 = 0.005" (0.127 mm) as a typical
one whereas Fronius [3] states that it should be placed in the range of s1 = 0.1 – 0.4 mm. Finally, Lisičan
et al. [4] suggest applying values of crown height in a function of a bandsaw type: for breakdown
bandsaws s1 = 0.25 – 0.5 mm or s1 = 0.5 – 1.0 mm for log bandsaws. In those two cases lower values are
recommended for the lower values of the guiding wheel inclination angles [4].
Today‘s sawmills, saw shops and band saw manufacturers are making greater demands on the quality of
maintenance of band saw blades [9]. The special fully automatic CNC controlled centers for tensioning,
leveling and straightening of band saw blades are more and more widespread [9,10,11].
In this paper the system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK [12] is presented. The
system was designed at the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation of the Gdansk
University of Technology on the order of the firm GASSTECH (PL), which is a producer of band saws.
The firm in its stock of machine tools has got the CNC controlled center ISELI RZ1 for tensioning,
leveling and straightening of band saws. The center utilizes the input data of the actual cross profile of the
band wheel for tensioning of the band saw which is going to be mounted on.
THE SYSTEM PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

The Figure 3 shows the structure of the system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK. On
the examined band wheel 1 there is mounted a ball slide 2, on which a guide 3 and a inductive
displacement sensor 4 (GTL22DC f. Tessa) is set. Additionally, on the guide 3 the way measurement
system of the guide displacement in relation to the ball slide 2 is fixed. For that purpose an encoder 6
(1000 pulses per revolution) with an integrating roller 7 are applied. The diameter of the roller seated on
the encoder shaft was properly selected in the way that one pulse form the encoder corresponds to the way
segment of 0.1 mm. Signals from the encoder 6 and the displacement sensor 4 are transmitted to an
analog-digital converter 8, and after that they are stored in the PC memory and from then on they can be
utilized to create an actual cross profile of the examined band wheel.
Technical data of the presented system is as follows: band saw wheel width <300 mm, measurement
profile accuracy ±2 µm, quantization step (sampling) 0.1 mm [13].
INDUSTRIAL EXAMPLES OF THE BAND WHEEL CROSS PROFILE

EXAMINATION
In this section some industrial examples of band saw wheel cross profile examinations are going to be
presented.
The horizontal band re-saw Stenner 36″ was the first case study (the band wheel diameter of 900 mm).
The user of the band saw has got both an instruction manual and an engineering specification.
Nevertheless, in the both descriptions there was not any drawing of the band saw wheel cross profile. It
was also supposed that they do not tried to obtain profile drawings from the producer. It should be
emphasized a special design of the crown face, with peripheral grooves (Figure 4a). This design is rather
uncommon. Thus, there was a real need for a detail examination of the profile with the described system
to obtain data for the proper band saw blade tensioning process realization. In Figure 4 the system of the
band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK fixed on the band saw wheel of the horizontal band re-
saw Stenner 36″, and results of this examination are performed.
Technical data of the examinations (the same dimensions as designated in Figure 2) as follows:
• the right wheel (RW, Figure 4b): A = 44.3 mm >> ⅓(A+B), s1 = 0.05 mm, s2 = 0.18 mm ;
• the left wheel (LW, Figure 4b): A = 44.3 mm >> ⅓(A+B), s1 = 0.08 mm, s2 = 0.23 mm.
Differences between the examined profiles are not so high, hence, the new band saw blades should be
tensioned on the basis either of the average profile or the left wheel profile. The latter seems to be a better
solution, in which it is expected that the right wheel will mate in the same manner as the band saw blade
shown in Figure 1 b.
A-A
a) 4 6 3 2
10
1
12
A 8
b) B-B
4 6
11
2
9
5 1 10
Figure 3: The system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK: 1 – examined band
wheel, 2 – ball slide, 3 – guide, 4 – inductive displacement sensor, 5 – balls, 6 – encoder,
7 – integrating roller, 8 – analog-to-digital converter, 9, 10, 11, 12 – clamping –
positioning elements [12,13]
a) b)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
0
-0.1
Profile height [mm]

-0.2
-0.3
RW
-0.4 LW
-0.5
-0.6
-0.7
Distance from the wheel front [mm]
Figure 4: The system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK on the horizontal band
re-saw Stenner 36″ (a) and comparison of the true band wheel profiles in a function of a
distance from the wheel front in direction from the band saw blade back side (b)
The log band re-saw Bongioanni CML/CELINE (with the band wheel diameter of 1300 mm) was the
second object of the examinations. It is the used tool machine built in 1995, and the new user of the band
saw does not have any instruction manual and an engineering specification. Hence, again there was a real
need for a detail examination of the wheel profile with the performed system to obtain data for the proper
band saw blade tensioning process realization on the CNC controlled automatic tensioning – levelling
operation centre. In Figure 5 the results of this inspection are presented.
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
-0.1
-0.2
Profile height [mm]
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.7
Distance from the wheel front [mm]
Figure 5: The actual band wheel profile of the log band re-saw Bongioanni CML/CELINE in
a function of a distance from the wheel front
Technical data of the examined wheel profile (the same dimensions as designated in Figure 2) is as
follows:
• A = 68.9 mm > ⅓(A+B)=56.6 mm, s1 = 0.30 mm, s2 = 0.36 mm.
The band saw wheel profile (Figure 5) measured with the system seems to be rough, which is a symptom
of the profile wear. The user of the log band re-saw should make decision on the profile regeneration by
its re-grinding.
SUMMARY
The presented system of the band saw wheel cross profile identification ZaK allows the band saw blades
producer to determine a real cross profile of the examined wheel. Thus, on the basis of it there is feasible
to conduct the correct process of the band saw blade tensioning on the special CNC controlled automatic
tensioning – levelling operation centres. A well prepared (tensioned) band saw blade will adhere properly
to the wheel crown. It may improve sawing conditions and simultaneously an increase of cutting
accuracy. Additionally, making comparison of two wheel profiles allows the user to judge a degree of
their wear, and eventually make a decision about regeneration of wheels.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge that the invention titled “The system of the band saw wheel cross
profile identification ZaK” was awarded with the Gold Medal at the 55th World Exibition of Innovation,
Research and New Technologies, Eureka! - Brussels 2006 [14]. The research project has been financially
supported by the firm PPH GASSTECH Sp. z o. o. (Suwalki, PL). The authors also would like to
acknowledge firms: PPH GASS Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Suwalki, PL), Wydawnictwo Inwestor Sp. z o.o. (PLC,
publisher, Tczew, PL), the firm ZPH Rafplast Ryszard Kropiwiec (Warsaw, PL) and HANZA Grupa
Inwestycyjna Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Sopot, PL) for their financial support for the author1 participation at the
18th International Wood Machining Seminar.
REFERENCES
1. Wong, D.C. & Schajer, G.S., “Effect of Wheel Profile on Bandsaw Tracking Stability”. Proceedings
of the 13th International Wood Machining Seminar, June 17-20, Canada, Vancouver, pages: 135-151,
1997.
2. Wong, D.C. & Schajer, G.S., “Factors Controlling Bandsaw Tracking”. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff
60:141-145, 2002.
3. Fronius, K., “Arbeiten und Analgen im Sägewerk, Band 2: Spaner – Kreissägen – Bandsägen”
(Works and production facilities in a sawmill, Volume 2: Choppers – Circular sawing machines –
band saws). DRW-Verlag, Stuttgart, 290 p., 1989.
4. Lisičan et al., “Teória a technika spracovania dreva”. (Theory and technology of wood cutting).
Matcentrum, Zvolen, 625 p., 1996.
5. Taylor, J., “The Effect of Bandsaw Stresses on Blade Stiffness and Cutting Accuracy”. Doctor Thesis
at Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, September 1993.
6. Taylor, J. & Hutton, S.G., “A Numerical Examination of Bandsaw Blade Tooth Stiffness”. Forintek
Canada Corp. Report, Vancouver, 1991.
7. Eklund, U., “Influencing Factors on Sawing Accuracy in a Bandsawmill”. Holz als Roh- und
Werkstoff 58: 102-106, 2000.
8. Hiziroglu, S. & Adams, W., “Efficient Use of Bandsaws in Lumber Manufacturing”. Oklahoma
Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets, F-5046, 4p.
9. Anonymous, 1, “Fully Automatic CNC Controlled Levelling- and Tensioning Center”. (Catalogue),
ISELI RZ1, 2p.
10. Anonymous, 2, “RC100 The Benching Center for the Complete Finishing of Band Saw Blades.
Precise Results for Optimum Cutting Results”. (Catalogue) Vollmer, 4p.
11. Fujiwara, K., “Database Construction Procedure for Bandsaw Roll-Tensioning Manual”. Bulletin of
FFPRI, Vol.2, No.3 (No.388), 219-225, September, 2003.
12. Wasielewski, R. & Orłowski K., “Urządzenie do identyfikacji zarysu koła taśmowego w łożyskach
własnych pilarki”. (The system for identification of the cross band saw wheel profile in the band saw
machine bearings). Zgłoszenie patentowe (Patent pending), P 379183, 2006.
13. Orłowski, K. & Wasielewski, R., “The System for Identification of the Band Saw Wheel Cross
Profile”. Ann. Warsaw Agricult. Univ. - SGGW, For and Wood Technol. 58, pages 147-150, 2006.
14. Wasielewski R. & Orłowski K., “System of the Band Saw Wheel Cross Profile Identification ZaK”.
In: Eureka! - Brussels 2006: 55th World Exibition of Innovation, Research and New Technologies :
official catalogue Eureka!, Brussels, 25-27.11.2006. Section Mechanical Engineering.
Monitoring of the Circular Saw Vibrations with Machine Vision System
Sandak, Jakub1; Orlowski, Kazimierz A.2; Negri, Martino1
1 2
Italian Trees and Timber Institute IVALSA/CNR Gdansk University of Technology
Via Biasi 75, 38010 San Michele All’Adige (TN) Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Italy Department of Manufacturing Engineering and
sandak@ivalsa.cnr.it Automation
ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-952 Gdansk, 80-952
Gdansk, Poland
korlowsk@pg.gda.pl
ABSTRACT
Dynamical properties of the rotating circular saw are crucial for the production quality and personnel’
safety. This work presents a novel method for monitoring circular saw vibration and deviation. The
machine vision system uses camera and laser line projected on the saw’s surface to estimate a vibration
range. Changes of the dynamical behavior of the saw were measured as a function of the rotational speed.
A critical speed has been easily detected. An optimal rotational speed of the saw was also evident. The
system is also suitable to measure the flatness of the circular saws.
INTRODUCTION
Circular saws are one of the most widely used tools in wood machining. A proper preparation of saws,
machine maintenance and selection of cutting conditions among others are the critical factors to assure a
faultless and safe operation. The physics of the rotating circular saw blade has been studied world wide
and a lot work can be found in literature.
The effect of solid saw’s geometry (such as its diameter, clamping ratio and blade thickness) on the saw
dynamic behavior was described by Schajer [1], Stakhiev [2], Siklienka and Svoreň [3], and Javorek and
Sokolowski [4]. Some works were dedicated to optimization of the saw blade tensioning by rolling [5,6],
potentialities of the use of internal pressure in the saw blade as an alternative tensioning method [7] and
application of the laser beam for straightening and tensioning of circular saws [8]. Furthermore, Münz [9]
revealed that there is a correlation between critical speeds and residual stresses in the saw blade caused by
the technological process (grinding). Limitations of the circular saw rotational speed such as material
strength, welding seam, vibration properties and the blade structure construction were analyzed in [10].
The effect of slots on the lateral vibration of the circular saw blade was also studied [11-14]. Chabrier and
Martin [15] and earlier Ingielewicz [16] published a review of methods for monitoring circular saw blade
preparation.
Understanding of the circular saw vibrations is a very important task because the saw blade vibrations
affect product quality; both in term of surface smoothness and dimensional accuracy. The amplitude of
saw blade vibrations has an effect on productions economics; kerf width and consequently production
yields. Safety of the personnel is another very important issue.
The dynamical behavior of the rotating saw is a very complex subject to be expressed theoretically or
modeled numerically. Moreover novel types of the circular saws geometries with compensation slots and
compound construction makes the theoretical estimation even more difficult. It has been stated by
Orlowski et al. [17] that instead of the numerical evaluation of the dynamical behavior of the circular saw
it is more convenient to develop an experimental tools for determination of the saw/sawing machine
properties e.g. optimal rotational speed or critical rotational speed.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Sandak, Orlowski and Negri - 33
It ought to be also mentioned that most of the published scientific works, usually oriented more to the
formal aspects than to a friendly approach, are not accepted by the industry as they are not always
practically oriented and rather difficult to be understood. A simple tool for visualizing the saw vibration
could provide vital information and improve knowledge about the process.
Our goal therefore was focused on the development of a simple, camera-based system to monitor saw
vibrations and estimate the dynamical properties of the saw and sawing machine. The system proposed
should be very simple to build and the results provided should be very easily interpreted-able. The system
should be also suitable for the educational purposes allowing operators to be able to “see vibrations” and
to react appropriately setting up the machine.
CIRCULAR SAW’S VIBRATIONS/DEVIATIONS

The rotating circular saw can vibrate in many different ways and with different amplitudes according to
the rotational velocity. Stakhiev [1] distinguished a number of characteristic rotational speeds: the general
classification is presented in Figure 1. By increasing the rotational speed/velocity the vibrations of the
saw blade are reduced from large to small amplitude (according to the out-of-flatness level of the saw
blade as well as to the run-out of the spindle) until reaching at first an universal rotational speed nu
(usually applied for running saws), then the optimal rotational speed no (the speed when sawing is safe
and the saw vibrations are low) and finally the permissible rotational speed np (the highest rotational
speed assuring the safe processing). The amplitude of saw vibrations is reduced up to the moment when
the backward wave is approaching zero [1,2]. At this rotational speed, called critical rotational speed ncrmin
[1,2,5] the saw has a tendency to significantly increase its amplitude of vibrations. The processing with a
such speed is very dangerous and may finish with terrible quality production, not to mention the increased
kerf width. An additional increment of the rotational speed leads to the self excited vibrations of the saw
blade at the lowest self-excited rotational speed nautmin and finally to the destruction of the saw’s body at
the destructive rotational speed ndesmin. For the most positive operation efficiency it is important to know
the characteristic rotational speeds and to monitor the circular saw’s vibration continuously. The
information about the saw vibration can be an input value for the adaptive control system of the circular
sawing machine as well.
nu no np ncrmin nautmin ndesmin

amplitude
rpm
Figure 1: Characteristic rotational speeds of the circular saw blade: nu – universal; no – optimal;
np – permissible; ncrmin – the lowest critical; nautmin – the lowest self-excited rotational
speed; ndesmin – destructive
MEASURING CIRCULAR SAW VIBRATION/DEVIATION WITH A

LASER LINE
A number of techniques could be employed to measure the circular saw vibrations. The most popular and
widely used is eddy-current displacement sensor installed close to the saw blade. Alternatively, other
sensors (e.g. laser displacement sensors) could provide similar data. The results are in general satisfactory
however some limitations still exist (installing the sensor close to the cutting zone, limited area of the
measurement, etc.). Moreover, from the operator’s point of view these sensors are a kind of a “black box”
providing meaningless information. Therefore, we would like to propose a novel method for visualization
of the saw vibration. The idea is based on the well known triangulation principle, where the structured
light (laser line for example) illuminates the measured plane with a small incidence angle. The shape of
the line section depends on the location of the measured plane (in detail distance between the light source
and measured plane). The laser line moves when the distance to the plane changes. The laser line rotates
however in a case when the measured plane twists.
For the detection of the laser line shape a standard video camera could be used. The area of the laser
illumination on the measured surface could be photographed and further processed. However, making
adjustments of the camera’s shutter time it is possible to acquire different forms of the laser line image.
When the shutter time will be relatively short the laser line image will be simply a thin line, positioned,
rotated or bended depending on the situation of the measured plane. The shape and thickness of the line
image changes when extend the shutter time. It is especially useful for monitoring position of the
vibrating elements (saws for example). Figure 2 presents an example of the laser line projected on the
vibrating plane. If the vibrations are minimal (or the object is still) the camera captures simply a thin line
(Figure 2a). With increasing the amplitude of vibration the thickness of the laser line increases
proportionally (Figure 2b). It comes in to “butterfly” shape during capturing of twisting planes (Figure
2c).
a) b) c)
STOP
Figure 2: Shapes of the laser line illuminated on the vibrating surface: static mode (a); oscillating
linearly (b); oscillating rotationally (c)

The system basing on the above idea has been developed to measure and visualize the vibration of the
circular saw. The concept for the set-up is presented on Figure 3a. It was possible to build a real system
installed on a standard circular saw. The general view of the practical implementation is presented in
Figure 3b. All the components of the system are relatively low-cost and the processing of the results was
unproblematic. A few performance limits of the system have to be mentioned. Depending on the optics,
camera and the computer speed, the captured image can vary in size; in this experiment the captured
image had 936/3000 pixels horizontally/vertically respectively. A top scanning speed with the hardware
used (and above resolution) was 10 frames per second, but as the shutter time has been extended to
1 second, therefore, the sampling frequency was only 1Hz. Another limitation was the stiffness of the
measurement system; in fact the mechanical support was not perfectly rigid, and therefore it represents a
source of possible measurement errors.
a) b)
laser line projector
StockerYale, 5mW, 532nm
video camera
firewire
telecentric lenses
Computar, TEC-M55
laser line
projector
CMOS video camera

PixelLink PL-A782
fireware (IEEE1394)
Figure 3: Experimental set-up: conception (a) and practical implementation (b)
The raw data provided by the vision system is simply the image of the laser line focused on the surface of
the rotating saw blade. An example of the output image is shown in Figure 4. A number of important
information can be extracted from a such image: center of the laser corresponding to the deviation of the
saw blade and thickness of the laser line corresponding to the vibration amplitude of the saw blade. In
order to obtain that data a simple algorithm has been developed in LabView. In the first step the computer
saves on the hard disk a stream data as a BMP file and stores for the further processing. After the
experimental runs, a second program preprocesses images (firstly extracts frame, secondly extracts the
Green plane from the color image) and thresholds each image. The post processing included filtration of
the noise, detection of edges along the laser line and finally calculated center of line and line width. The
results have been saved as a text files for further analyzes.
In the experiment a commercially available circular saw has been used. The saw has outside diameter D =
350 mm, hole diameter d = 30 mm, saw blade thickness s = 2.5 mm, teeth number z = 18, collar diameter
A = 125 mm and clamping ratio A/D = 0.35. The saw blade has been carefully measured in other
experiment determining the value of the critical speeds [17]. It was found experimentally that the 1st
critical speed was equal ncrmin(fn=2(0)) = 5133rpm and 2nd critical speed equals ncrmin(fn=3(0)) = 6015rpm.
The picture of the circular saw (a) and its natural frequencies (b) are presented in Figure 5.
center of laser line
laser line
thickness
Figure 4: Processing of the laser line image
a) b)
1
n=2
0.75
FFT (amplitude)
n=0 n=3
0.5
n=1
0.25
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
frequency, Hz
Figure 5: Natural frequencies of the circular saw
Vibrations of the rotating saw have been measured during idling. The rotational speed has been controlled
with a conventional frequency converter, supplying the current frequency of 0Hz to 20Hz with a step of
5Hz, and between 22Hz and 110Hz with an increment of 2Hz. It corresponded to 0rpm to 1200rpm with a
step of 300rpm and 1320rpm to 6600rpm with a step of 120rpm respectively. It gives 50 levels of
rotational speeds measured during the experiment.
MEASUREMENT OF THE SAW BLADE FLATNESS
For a superior performance of the cutting with a circular saw a number of parameters have to be firmly
respected. One of such parameters is saw blade flatness. It was possible with a new vision system to
measure the flatness of the circular saw and present number of radial sections in 3-dimensional graph. It
could be a starting point for a supplementary treatment of the saw before cutting (for example
straightening) or it could serve as a quality control indicator for the saw blade producers. An example of
the saw blade flatness measured on the experimental saw is presented in Figure 6. The density of
measurement could be increased without doubt by multiplying the number of light sections.
a) b)
Figure 6: Measurement of the saw blade flatness: location of the illuminated parts of the saw (a);
effect of the flatness measurement after image processing (b)
DETERMINATION OF THE CHARACTERISTIC ROTATIONAL SPEEDS

As it has been enlightened before, changes of the laser line thickness illuminating the rotating saw blade
corresponds to changes of the saw blade vibration level. A special experiment has been carried out to
investigate a possibility to monitor saw blade deviation and vibration with use of the vision system
investigated. The saw blade rotational speed changed according to previously mentioned levels and
simultaneously images of the laser line where captured with the camera. Contours of the laser line where
extracted for each level of the rotational speed after image processing. Some results of trials are shown in
Figure 7. The thickness of the laser line was relatively thin for the non-rotated saw (0rpm) and varied
quite significantly for other rotational speeds. In general, the increase of the laser line thickness near by
the collar was negligible (this variations where mostly related to the vibration of the spindle/collar).
However, the thickness of the laser line in the outer area of the saw differs significantly in a function of
the rotational speed. Variations of the center of the laser line are less visible, but further analyses provide
a clear evidence of changing the saw blade deviation. A summary of the obtained results has been
collected and preformed in the Figure 8.
horizontal pixel position horizontal pixel position horizontal pixel position horizontal pixel position
400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700
0 0 0 0
500 500 500 500
1000 1000 1000 1000
vertical pixel position

1500 1500 1500 1500
2000 2000 2000 2000
0rpm 2rpm 600rpm 1800rpm

2500 2500 2500 2500
400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700
0 0 0 0
500 500 500 500
1000 1000 1000 1000


1500 1500 1500 1500
nu no ncrmin(fn=2(0))
2000 2000 2000 2000
(the lowest critical)

3600rpm 3960rpm 5160rpm 5280rpm
2500 2500 2500 2500
400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 700
0 0 0 0
500 500 500 500
1000 1000 1000 1000

1500 1500 1500 1500
ncrmin(fn=3(0))
2000 2000 2000 2000
(2nd critical)
5400rpm 5520rpm 6240rpm 6600rpm
2500 2500 2500 2500
Figure 7: Contours of the laser line obtained during an idling rotation of the circular saw as a
function of the rotational speed. (raw data; with spindle vibrations and radial run-out)
Figure 8a presents changes of the laser line center in a function of the rotational speed and as a function of
the distance between the center of the saw and measured radius simultaneously. It has to be clarified that
coordinates of the pixel position with high values corresponds to the center of the disk and low values to
the radiuses close to the toots. The variations of the laser line center (and in consequence deviation of the
circular saw) are very low for most of rotational speeds, however an important change is noticed for
rotational speeds over 5500 rpm. It is related to the bend of the disk rotating with such high rpm.
a) b)
Figure 8: Variations of the laser line centre (a) and laser line thickness (b) in a function of
rotational speed, note: spindle vibrations and radial run-out are excluded
The thickness of the laser line is rather not correlated to the changes of the laser line center (Figure 8b).
The vibration level gradually reduces with increase of the rpm up to the level of 5000rpm. A very
significant rise of the laser line thickness is noticed at 5280rpm. It is a very close value to the lowest
critical speed ncrmin(fn=2(0)) = 5133rpm calculated for this circular saw in the another experiment [17].
After slight increase of the rotational speed (5400rpm) a huge reduction of the saw blade deviation is
noticed. It nearly corresponds to the vibration level of the static saw. The only evidence of differences is a
significant deviation of the saw blade observed as a change of the laser line’s center (Figure 7 and Figure
8a). Following, increase of the saw vibration was observed for rotational speed of 6000rpm. It is again
corresponding to the second critical speed ncrmin(fn=3(0)) = 6015rpm. After over-passing the second critical
speed the saw blade becomes again nearly no vibrating but is even more bended. Due to the limitation of
the frequency converter it was not possible to continue the test with higher rotational speeds (over
6600rpm). However the usefulness of this method for detection of the critical speeds was proven.
Moreover, deeper analyses of the experimental results has shown a possible improvement of the cutting,
with this particular circular saw, as it was observed that after slight increase of the rotational speed (to the
level of 3960rpm) the saw vibration were the smallest (Figure 9). In consequence, the sawing kerf reduces
what indirectly could affect the production yield. It is a very appreciated by the wood industry in a time of
global competition and searching possibilities to increase the production efficiency.
The saw vibration level could be an input for an optimization system (or adaptive control system). Other
possible utilization of the system presented could be upgrade of the filling room of sawmill, allowing the
quality control of the saw tensioning, selecting sets of saws with similar properties (to be installed in one
set of the multi-blade sawing machines) and prevent unsafe saws to be installed on the machine.
0.35
0.3
Axial run-out of the saw blade [mm]

0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Rotational speed of the saw blade [1/min]
Figure 9: Axial run-out of the saw blade in a function of the rotational speed determined on the
circular sawing machine
CONCLUSIONS
1. The presented experimental set-up may be efficiently utilized for determination of the circular saw
blade’s critical rotational speeds (also in the field conditions) as well as for optimal rotational speed
searching.
2. Flatness of the saw can be easily measured.
3. Producers and users could benefit with reducing kerf by optimization of the rotational speed (timber
rather than sawdust).
4. Watching at the monitor displaying vibration amplitude, the operator can actively set the machine, if
the machine is a simple and manual machine. The same signal can be employed as feed back of an
adaptive control able to set up automatically the machine according to the working situation
5. Last but not least: We are able to “see” vibrations!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Part of this research has been done during a post-doc project financed by Provincia Autonoma di Trento.
Experiments were carried out at the laboratory of the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and
Automation, Gdansk University of Technology (Poland). Special thanks for GASS Company, Suwalki
(Poland) for providing saws used in the experiment. The authors also would like to acknowledge firms
PPH GASS Sp. z o.o. (PLC, Suwalki, PL), Wydawnictwo Inwestor Sp. z o.o. (publisher, PLC, Tczew, PL)
the firm ZPH Rafplast Ryszard Kropiwiec (Warsaw, PL) and HANZA Grupa Inwestycyjna Sp. z o.o.
(PLC, Sopot, PL) for their financial support for the author2 participation at the 18th International Wood
Machining Seminar.
REFERENCES
1. Schajer, G.S., “Simple Formulas for Natural Frequencies and Critical Speeds of Circular Saws”.
Forest Product J 36(2):37-43, 1986.
2. Stakhiev, Y.M., “Flat Circular Saws Serviceability” (In Russian). Forest Industry Publications,
Moscow, P. 384, 1989.
3. Siklienka, M. & Svoreň, J., “Frekvencie Vlastných Tvarov Kmitov Pílovych Kotoúčov Pri Statickom
Kmitaní”. (Saw Blade Natural Frequencies In Conditions Of Static Vibrations, In Slovak). Vedecké
Štúdie, 10/1997/A. Technická Univerzita Vo Zvolene, Zvolen, Pp 51, 1997.
4. Javorek, L. & Sokołowski, W., “Drgania pił tarczowych płaskich”. (Vibrations of flat circular saw
blades – in Polish). Technologia Drewna , drewno – Materiał wszechczasów. XIV. Konferencja
Naukowa Wydz. Technol. Drewna SGGW, Warszawa 13-15 listopada 2000. Wydział Technologii
Drewna Szkoły Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego, Warszawa, pp. 118 – 121, 2000.
5. Schajer, G.S., “Understanding saw tensioning”. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 42(11):425-430, 1984.
6. Stakhiev, Y.M., “Coordination of saw blade tensioning with rotation speed: myth or reality?”. Holz als
Roh- und Werkstoff 62:313-315, 2004.
7. Iwata, H., Hashimoto, K., Masuda, M. & Yoshida, Y., “Study on new tensioning method using
internal pressure”. Proc. of the 16th Inter. Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, Japan, Part 2: Poster
presentations, pp. 627-635, 2003.
8. Münz, U.V. & Thiessen, B., “Straightening and tensioning of hardness circular saw blades by laser
beam”. Proc. of 16th International Wood Machining Seminar, Matsue, Japan, Part 1: Oral
presentations, pp. 234-247, 2003.
9. Münz, U.V., “Vibration behavior and residual manufacturing stresses of circular sawblades”. Proc of
17th International Wood Machining Seminar, 26-28 Sept 2005, Rosenheim, Germany, (1):407-417,
2005
10. Li, L., Chao, S. & Baotian, X., “The restricting factors on the limiting rotary speed of the circular
saw”. Forestry Studies in China 2(2):85-90, 2000.
11. Nishio, S. & Marui, E., “Effects of slots on the lateral vibration of a circular saw blade”. Int J Mach
Tools Manufact 36(7):771-787, 1996.
12. Nishio, S., “Stable sawbladeTM”. Proc of 17th International Wood Machining Seminar, 26-28 Sept
2005, Rosenheim, Germany, (1):418 – 420, 2005.
13. Stakhiev, Y.M., “Today and tomorrow circular sawblades. Russian version”. Holz als Roh- und
Werkstoff 58:229-240, 2000.
14. Svoreň, J., “Vplyv kompenzačných dražok, medených nitov a nerovnomerného rozstupu zubov
pílového kotoúča na hladinu hluku v procese rezania”. Trieskové a beztrieskové obrábanie dreva
2006. Zborník prednášok. 12-14.10. Starý Smokovec. Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Drev.
Fakulta, Katedra Obrábania dreva, Zvolen. pp. 271-276, 2006.
15. Chabrier, P. & Martin, P., “An overview of methods for monitoring circular saw blade preparation”.
Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 57:157-163, 1999
16. Ingielewicz, R., “Metody badania sztywności statycznej pił tarczowych wstępnie naprężanych”.
(Methods for static stiffness determination of preliminarily tensioned circular saw blades – in Polish).
Przemysł drzewny, sierpień, 1979.
17. Orlowski, K., Sandak, J. & Tanaka, Ch., “The critical rotational speed of circular saw: simple method
and its practical implementations”. Journal of Wood Science (official acceptance for publication on
Nov. 13, 2006).
Machining Seminar
Session II
The Precise Design of Formed Milling Cutters Profile Based on Feature
Modeling
Cheng, Wei1, 2; Zhu, Dian-Xiang1; Liang, Ping2; Gao, Feng1

1
Nanjing Forestry University
Nanjing 210037
China
2
Huaiyin Institute Technology
Huai’an 223001,China
ABSTRACT
When using the formed milling cutter to machine woodwork, the formed wooden parts is cut by the
milling with formed shape, so forms corresponding woodwork profile. In the 3D design software--
Solidworks, the relation of position of the woodwork profile and the milling each other is simulated. Use
the function of 3D-shape of software to complete the 3D-entity-design of formed milling cutter profile
and the projection view of rake face, thus design the rake face profile directly, with the result of a great
improvement on the design quality and effectiveness.
Keywords: Formed milling cutter; Solidworks; Feature modeling; Profile design;
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Cheng, Zhu, Liang and Gao – 45
Tool Holder with Sensor-Integrated Clamping Force
and Balance Monitoring System
Hoffmeister, H.-W.; Schuller, Bernd-Christian; Wittmer, Ronald

Technical University Braunschweig
h.hoffmeister@tu-bs.de, b.schuller@tu-bs.de, r.wittmer@iwf.ing.tu-bs.de
ABSTRACT
This article deals with the development of an intelligent tool holder with a thin-film sensor-integrated
monitoring system. Several thin-film sensors were applied on the flat contact surface of a hollow taper
shank (HSK). On this surface the thin-film sensors are able to measure clamping forces and bending
moments, too. The measured values are transmitted via an inductive-energy coupling system (telemetric
system) from a rotor, which is attached to the shaft of the rotating tool holder, to a stationary stator. As a
result, this new monitoring system will be able to detect critical unbalancing and clamping states during
machining before any damage occurs.
Keywords: high speed cutting, tool holder, clamping force, balance, monitoring System
INTRODUCTION
Currently high speed cutting (HSC) processes are reaching new dimensions in the field of wood-working
machining. Nevertheless, due to the high rotation speed, the dynamic loads acting on the machine
components (tool, tool holder and spindle) often exceed their admissible limits. At these speeds, cutting
edges or even entire tools have a high kinetic energy level after a tool breakage. Thus, it is not
recommendable to raise the rotation speed of the tools without taking safety measures. Furthermore,
during high speed cutting, concentricity errors from the tool or spindle generate unbalances, which reduce
the tool life and the life time of the spindle bearings considerably. Therefore a new monitoring system for
tools and machining processes has to be developed.
Most of the monitoring systems are based on acoustic emission or drive power measurements. Their
problem is that this measured data does not give reliable information about the actual state of the tool.
Other sensor systems like strain gage arrangements are also used for monitoring. However, these systems
are sensitive to temperature variations and tend to change their properties as they become older. Therefore
they are unsuitable for continuous industrial measurements. An effective and cost-saving alternative for
monitoring wood-working tools can be achieved by using surface integrated thin-film sensors for
measuring temperatures, forces and moments directly at the tool or tool holder.
AIMS AND APPROACH

The objective of this research is to develop an intelligent tool holder with a thin-film sensor-integrated
monitoring system, which can be used for high-speed-cutting. This monitoring system is a new method to
make the tool control in wood machining possible. Thereby, a network consisting of novel, surface-
integrable thin-film sensors will be integrated into the flat contact surface of a hollow taper shank (HSK).
Using these sensors, failure and loosening of tools as well as critical unbalance states and clamping states
should be detected before the damage occurs. Two different states have to be captured by the sensor
integrated tool holder. The clamping state ought to be detected by measuring the axial force and the
balance state by measuring the bending moments (Fig. 1).
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hoffmeister, Schuller and Wittmer – 47
F F M
© 451-57-01
axial force bending moment

(clamping state) (balance state)
Figure 1 Measurement parameters
These conditions are realized by a direct application of the micro-structured thin-film sensors on the flat
contact surface of a hollow taper shank (HSK). These consist of piezo-resistive films with a thickness of
max. 100 µm produced by using modern coating technology.
The indemnification of the sensor layer’s power supply and the signal transmission at high rotational
speeds are also a substantial part of the project aim. A possible solution is the use of a telemetric signal
transmission, which is already state of the art (Fig. 2).
hollow taper shank
radio
sensor stack module
stator condition monitoring

rotor
(telemetric system) A
PC D
clamping nut
tool © 451-58-01
Figure 2: Function principle of the measurement system
SENSOR CONFIGURATION
As an interface, a hollow taper shank (HSK) of the type “HSK-63F” is used for the research. In the last
few years, this interface was often used in wood machining.
A sensor for static experiments is built up for the proof of its function. With the combined sensor axial
forces and bending moments can be measured. The sensor stack consists of five sensoric coated sheet
metal steel. The flat contact surface of the hollow taper shank, which due to the construction compensates
80% of the clamping force, is cut into four symmetrical sensoric areas. Two of the sheet metals are built
as electrically separated half-ring segments to make several circuit ways possible.
sensor stack hollow taper

shank (HSK)
supporting sensor stack
segment
1st half-ring
segment
isolation flat contact

surface
2nd half-ring
segment
temperature
supporting
sensor
segment
0°
© 451-59-01
90°
Figure 3: Sensor configuration and hollow taper shank (first prototype)
The sensor signal is determined by connecting two layer contacts as variable resistances to a voltage
divider for the sensor voltage supply. The parallel connexion gives a measurement signal with information
about the initial axial load. A half-bridge connexion between the sensor segments provides information
about the bending moments. The sensor segments were mounted as a sensor stack between the tool
interface and the spindle. This sensor configuration assures that the sensors are arranged in the main force
closure at the highest stiffness of the system. Additionally, a temperature sensor for the offset
compensation of the characteristic curve of the sensor was installed.
EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS

Both, the axial clamping force and bending moment sensitivity of the sensor were tested. The temperature
was measured separately, due to the fact that a self-compensation of the sensor segments does not exist at
this stage of the research.
SENSOR SENSITIVITY FOR AXIAL CLAMPING FORCES

For these measurements the sensor segments were connected as a single ring over a parallel connection.
Over a serial connexion with an additional resistance they build a thermal compensated voltage divider.
By means of a hydraulic force generator and a manual lever-press known axial forces were applied on the
sensor surface. By using a special high-load spherical-joint, only pure axial loads without superimposed
bending moments acted on the sensor.
linear curve
(transfer function)
sensor voltage sensor signal curve
calculated force
© 451-60-01 axial clamping force
Figure 4: Characteristic curve of the sensor at axial forces
As expected, the sensor signal shows a hyperbolic characteristic with a falling load-depending sensitivity
and a hysteresis. After a linearization and scaling by using a transfer function the signal shows a good
reproducibility. For the application the hysteresis of the sensor can be compensated by using two separate
characteristic curves. The two curves can be used either for the clamping process or for the release of the
tool holder, due to the strongly monotone signal characteristics during these operations.
SENSOR SENSITIVITY FOR BENDING MOMENTS

For the experiments the sensor was clamped into a high-frequency spindle with a pneumatic tool-release
unit and tested at several angles. In this way, the sensor sensitivity for bending moments was measured
alternatively for the first and second half-ring sensor segments. In main direction (0°) the sensitivity of
the half-ring sensor segments is 2 mV/Nm (Fig. 5) in the tested range of -35 Nm and +35 Nm. The sensor
voltage has linear properties in the tested range with regard to the bending moments. According to the
construction of the sensor segments the sensor sensitivity at an angle of 90° for the first half-ring segment
is zero. This characteristic is also given for the second half-ring segment at 0° (Fig. 6). The sensor
sensitivities for bending moments were tested at different axial forces. The experiments showed that due
to the functional principle of the sensor segments, increasing axial forces are causing lower sensor
sensitivities for bending moments.
330
320
310
sensor voltage [mV]

300
290
280
270
260
250
240
230
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
bending moment [Nm]
© 451-61-01
Figure 5 Characteristic curve of the first half-ring segment (sensitivity at 0° for bending
moments)
100
90
80
sensor voltage [mV]
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
© 451-62-01 bending moment [Nm]
Figure 6: Characteristic curve of the first half-ring segment (sensitivity at 90° for bending
moments)
CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK

The measurements recorded so far concerning the axial force and bending moment characteristic curves
have shown a usable sensitivity of the sensor. The proven sensor sensitivity allows to build up prototypes
for dynamic experiments. Therefore, the design of the interface has to be changed, so that the telemetry of
the signal transmission can be integrated. In addition, the sensor configuration has to be optimized.
Instead of a stack sensor, the film layer should be applied directly on the flat contact surface. For this
reason, the surface has to be polished for a maximum value of roughness depth of Rz = 0.1 µm to
guarantee an optimal coating. For the experiments a HSC-spindle (max. 30,000 rpm) with the interface
HSK-63F is used. This spindle is part of an already existing experimental setup, where the sensor-
integrated tool holder will be tested against rotational speeds and unbalances. Subsequently, the tool
holder with the telemetric system is integrated into a stationary wood-working machining-center as a
monitoring system.
The intelligent tool holder with a thin-film sensor-integrated monitoring system which is still under
development is a supplement device to the existing safety systems. With this new monitoring system
inaccurately clamped tools and unbalances can be detected. Therefore maintenance and repair costs can
be reduced. Bearing damage at high-speed-cutting spindles results from insufficient balanced tools. These
cause unnecessary costs and dead time. With this newly developed monitoring system the operator will be
discharged from the dangerous tasks, like visual control of unbalanced tools and activating the emergency
stop button.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work was conducted with Fraunhofer-Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST) in
Braunschweig, Germany.
Support was provided by German Society for Wood Research (DGfH) through the grant from the German
Federation of Industrial Cooperative Research Associations “Otto von Guericke” (AiF) under Contract
No. 14273.
REFERENCES
1. Müller, J. M.: „Total Tooling – Spannsysteme des Hochleistungsbereiches im Überblick“.
dima – Die Maschine 10-11/2001, pp. 12-15.
2. Nolting, M.: „Auswahlkriterien von Spannsystemen und -techniken für Werkzeuge zur
Hochgeschwindigkeitsbearbeitung“, MM - Maschinenmarkt 14/2002, pp.71-73.
3. Lüthje, H.: „Intelligente Werkzeuge mit integrierten sensorischen Netzwerken“, VDI-Z, Integrierte
Produktion, 140 (1998), Nr. 374, p. 50.
Punching Instead of Drilling – Development of an Alternative Production
Process for Industrial Wood Machining
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Loohß, Torsten

h.hoffmeister@tu-bs.de, t.loohss@iwf.ing.tu-bs.de
ABSTRACT
Drilling of wood is besides milling, sawing and grinding one of the most important production processes
in industrial furniture manufacturing. For the body assembly and the fixing of fittings, boreholes are
essential. They have immediate effect on quality and production costs. The process step drilling limits the
throughput of stationary and flow processing machines, because the workpieces have to be stopped to
create the drillings at a relatively low feed speed. An essentially increased performance can not be
reached by the improvement of conventional drilling devices. The accelerations of the axes on customary
machines are too low, so that a reduction of the main processing times could not be reached only by a rise
of the rotation-speed of the spindles.
The aim of the presented project is the development of an alternative production process in which blind
holes can be punched. Thereby thin-walled, cylinder-shaped tools shall be pressed into the workpieces by
a simple translative movement.
In a special experimental setup the procedure was verified for different solid and derived timber products.
Beside an optimization of the punching tools, varied process parameters were examined. In particular the
punching under very high cutting speeds up to 150 m/s was analyzed. The experiments aimed at an
optimization of the quality of the punching holes with a concurrent minimization of the appearing process
forces. Concerning an industrial application of the production process, a prototype of an automated
punching device using spring tension and pneumatic pressure was developed.
The new production process opens possibilities for an optimization and acceleration of process cycles in
industrial wood machining and with it economic potentials for several companies.
Keywords: Drilling, Furniture Production, Production Technology, Punching, Wood Machining
INTRODUCTION
Cost pressure and quality standards grow immensely in all branches of industry because of increasingly
globalized markets. A trend against it is to work more economically by raising the productivity and
simultaneously reducing the production costs. But also highest product quality and maximum flexibility
of production facility have to be reached in future. To meet this aim, new technologies and materials are
essential.
Machines both for throughfeed and for stationary processing are the basic equipment of every
manufacturer of furniture, windows or doors. These machines nowadays accomplish feed rates up to
150 m/min and thus a very high throughput in machining of solid and derived timber products. A speed
range of corresponding main spindles from 26,000 min-1 to 30,000 min-1 – i.e. in the lower limits of
modern high speed cutting – increasingly becomes standard. [1]
Drilling of wood is besides milling, sawing and grinding one of the most important production processes
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Loohß, Torsten – 53
in industrial furniture manufacturing. Different boreholes are needed for the body assembly and the fixing
of fittings, for example. A clean and fast production significantly influences quality and costs of the end-
product. Although a lot of research work has been done in the field of increased efficiency of drilling,
there is still a high necessity for development. [2, 3] The process step drilling limits the throughput of
stationary and flow processing machines because the workpieces have to be stopped to produce the bores
with a relatively low feed speed. An essentially increased performance can not be reached by the
improvement of conventional drilling devices. On the one hand, the accelerations of the axes on
customary machines are too low, so that a reduction of the main processing times could not be reached
only by a rise of the rotation-speed of the spindles. On the other hand, high rotation-speeds cause a high
tool wear – especially in production of dowel holes. [2]
The disadvantages of conventional drilling technology shall be avoided by the development of an
alternative production process, so that blind holes in different timber workpieces can be created by
punching. Therefore, the basic feasibility under different influencing factors was examined at the Institute
of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF) of the Technical University of Braunschweig. [4]
EXPERIMENTAL SETUPS
For a basic analysis of different punching tools und workpieces, influenced by varying process
parameters, the experimental setup shown in Figure 1 was developed. The vertically arranged linear
guides carry the linear table, which is the actual aggregate for machining and on which the punching tool
is mounted. The stationary worktable allows a flexible mechanical clamping of different workpieces. With
the help of the measurement platform the process-forces can be identified. Different possibilities for
punching drives were developed and examined. The starting point of all experiments – especially with
regard to the feed or cutting speeds – were the parameters known from the conventional machining of
metals. [5]
At first, punching under exploitation of the acceleration due to gravity was carried out. Thereby the linear
table was loaded with a defined mass and was accelerated from a given height. About the height of fall it
was possible to preset the impact speed of the tool on the workpiece. Taking into account the frictional
losses of the pre-stressed linear guides, impact speeds of 1 m/s up to 3 m/s were accessible. The
disadvantage of this experimental method is to be found in the big moved masses for a supply of a high
punching energy.
With the help of a standard pneumatic cylinder, the disadvantage of the high moved masses was
eliminated. However, the reachable speeds of the cylinder were limited to 0.5 m/s. This became apparent
in a worsening of the punching hole quality. The behaviour of the air under changing loads – resulting
from its compressibility – was eminently disadvantageous. Thereby the different loading cases result from
the inhomogeneous material structures of the analyzed timber products.
Further, the experimental setup was used for quasi-static measurements. The punching tools were pressed
into the workpieces under very slow feed speeds of about 0.001 m/s by the help of a manually operated
screw drive. The static measurements were used to verify the punching forces determined in the dynamic
experiments.
Figure 1: Experimental setup for basic analysis of the punching process
To reach much higher cutting speeds the experimental setup was further enhanced for an operation of the
punching aggregate with spring tension (Figure 2). Appropriately pre-stressed pull-springs afford a
punching with different speeds and energies. The lower mass of the tool holder and the increase of
reachable speeds up to 7 m/s in comparison to the previous experimental setups were positive. Thus,
especially a benefit in hole quality was achieved.
Figure 2: Experimental setup for punching by spring tension
In a next step, the experimental setup with springs was enhanced to an automated punching aggregate.
Besides the basic working stroke using spring tension this device is able to realize the return stroke of the
tool with the help of pneumatic pressure. During the return movement a fixed ram presses the punching
core against its insertion direction out of the tool.
With the primary aim of a further increase of hole quality through higher cutting speeds, the experimental
setup shown in Figure 3 was developed. With it, the punching process at feed speeds up to 150 m/s could
be analyzed.
In the lower level of the experimental setup components for air supply are arranged. The booster is
supplied by standard pneumatic pressure up to 7 bar through the air line lubricator. Using the booster it is
possible to pre-set the experimental pressure exactly. A doubling of incoming pressure leads to a
maximum pressure of 14 bar for the experiments. The accumulator with a capacity of 20 l is loaded by the
booster, so that a big reservoir of compressed air is available. This is needed and advantageous for a
minimum loss of pressure and so speed because of the filling of the barrel. The accumulator is connected
with the upper level of the experimental setup by a valve. Besides a very low response time the magnetic
pulse valve assures also a high air flow rate. It is released electrically by a two-hand control.
The upper level of the experimental setup is divided into two areas. In the front a worktable with
integrated force measurement platform is arranged. This assembly can be moved lengthwise – due to the
requirements of the experiments. The workpiece area, where the punching process takes place, is
protected by several safety devices. In the back of the upper level a tabletop including the experimental
configuration, i.e. the changeable barrel, is located.
Figure 3: Experimental setup for high speed punching
Basically two experimental configurations are realizable – a pneumatic and a pneumatic-explosive one.
Applying only pneumatic pressure, the punching tools are accelerated inside the barrel by compressed air
of maximum 14 bar. Furthermore, punching with the use of propellant is possible. Thereby, blank
cartridges generate the acceleration pressure. The ignition of the cartridges is realized by a pneumatically
operated steel pin.
PUNCHING TOOLS
Conventional paper drills with diameters between 3 mm and 20 mm made of high speed steel (HSS) were
applied for the tool examinations so far. The thin-walled, cylinder-shaped tools have been used for
variations of cutting edge geometries (Figure 4). Thereby the wedge angle (from 20° up to 55°) as well as
the clearance angle (up to 1°) was modified.
Figure 4: Variations of cutting edge geometries
In the high speed experiments, die carriers of different dimensions and materials were used in addition, so
that a variation of the process parameters was possible. The different weights of these die carriers resulted
in a modification of cutting speeds and energies.
RESULTS AND COGNITIONS

The primary idea was to press the punching tool into the workpiece till the wanted depth is reached. The
oddment which is formed inside the thin-walled tool – in the following called punching core – should be
sheared from the bottom of the hole by a short rotational movement. Finally, the direct return stroke of the
tool including the punching core should take place. Within the first experiments it could be shown in
contrast, that the rotational movement of the tool is not necessary. This results from the force fitting of the
core inside the tool. Because of material compaction the core is bulged and flaked automatically. On the
left side in Figure 5 this occurrence can be seen schematically. On the right side a snapshot of the real
punching process is shown. There the tool with a diameter of 8 mm and a wedge angle of 30° was opened
in its lower contact area, so that the view onto the punching core was possible. The bulging and shearing
of the core directly at the cutting edge could be noticed. The abolition of the rotational movement
simplifies the punching kinematic essentially.
Figure 5: Bulging and shearing of the punching core (principle and high speed camera picture)
Realizing the punching process in that way, an examination of different derived timber products has been
done. With regard to the quality of the holes, satisfying results could be reached within first experiments.
Figure 6 shows punching holes of different diameters which were produced with the help of the spring-
loaded experimental setup at cutting speeds of 5 m/s.
Figure 6: Punching holes of different diameters in coated chipboard (FPY, above) and in medium
density fiberboard (MDF, below)
A main focus of research dealt with the examination of punching forces. Three essential rates constitute
the affecting force, which can be measured as process force.
The first rate is necessary for dividing (cutting) the material. This mainly depends on the mechanical
strength of the workpiece, the length of the intersection line (tool diameter) and the depth of the hole.
After measuring the total process force this rate can be calculated as difference resulting from the
following both rates of the punching force.
The second rate is caused by friction of the tool’s shell inside the punching hole. This results from the
(minor) material displacement around the hole and depends basically on the surface properties of the tool.
Furthermore, the tool’s clearance angle influences the friction force. The measurement of this force rate
was realized indirectly as force for the return stroke. Thereby the approximate assumption has been met
that the force for return stroke with sheared core is equal to the friction force in working stroke.
Finally, the third rate of the punching force results from the force fitting of the core inside the tool. Here
also an approximately indirect measuring is realized during the ejection of the core. The ejection is done
after the punching process contrarily to the pressing-in-direction by a manually operated device.
Figure 7 shows the example of punching forces and their rates dependent on the tool diameter for coated
chipboard. The maximum forces measured for identical basic conditions at speeds of 5 m/s can be seen.
Punching force
kN
Force for return stroke (without core ejection)
Force for core ejection
4
Cutting force
Maximum Force
0
3 5 8 15 20
© 448-02-01 Diameter [mm]
Figure 7: Punching forces and their rates for different tool diameters (coated chipboard (FPY))
A clear rising of the punching and – according to this – of the cutting forces occurred with increasing tool
diameter and thus with growing intersection line. Thereby, the cutting force represents the difference of
measured punching force and, likewise measured, both forces for return stroke and for core ejection. The
forces for the return stroke decrease with rising tool diameters. It was reasoned that for small diameters an
increasing material displacement around the punching hole occurs. This effect could be analyzed and
verified by the help of a high speed camera. Nevertheless, the highest force for core ejection was
determined for a tool diameter of 8 mm. This force rate decreased with rising as well as falling diameters.
For the smallest diameter of 3 mm no compact punching core but only snatchings were created.
The experiments with high cutting speeds up to 150 m/s had a positive effect especially on punching of
solid wood as beech (Figure 8) or fir (Figure 9). While at lower speeds the wood fibers were only
compressed and disrupted, at high speeds a correct cutting occurred. It could be reasoned that due to their
inertia no avoiding of the fibers against the cutting edge happened at high speeds. A reduction of process
forces could not be noticed at high cutting speeds in contrast.
Figure 8: Punching holes in beech
Figure 9: Punching holes in fir
The examination of the tools aimed at the search for optimal parameters for low punching energy and
coevally high hole quality. It could be shown that for smaller wedge angles a better cutting of the
workpiece material occurs. This became apparent in a rising quality of the holes as well as in a higher
depth of penetration. In Figure 10 typical hole qualities for medium density fiberboard (MDF) are
compared – for the smallest (left) as well as for the biggest wedge angle (right). Using identical
experimental conditions, the wedge angle of 20° showed a constantly high cutting quality and a
completely cut blind hole. In contrast the wedge angle of 55° led to a changing of compressed and slacked
areas with more or less disruptions of fibers along the wall of the hole. Furthermore, on the bottom of the
blind hole a strong compressed and incorrectly divided zone could be detected.
For small wedge angles an obviously higher disruption of the cutting edge could be noticed. Thus, the
quality of the punching hole became much worse. A wedge angle of 30° could be identified as
advantageous in regard to high hole quality and high tool endurance at the same time. Thereby, no
significant loss of quality could be detected in comparison to the wedge angle of 20°.
Figure 10: Quality of punching holes in medium density fiberboard (MDF) for minimal and
maximal wedge angles (tool diameter 8 mm)
Furthermore, the effects of clearance angles were analyzed. One has to distinguish between the outer and
the inner clearance angle. The inner one, with a value of about 0.5° for the conventional paper drills, is
especially important for the force fitting of the punching core. Figure 4 shows on its right side the
additionally produced and examined outer clearance angle. This one became efficient particularly in a
reduction of the forces for return stroke up to 50%. Using both clearance angles – outside and inside – led
otherwise to a minimal and critical wall thickness in the area of the biggest free tool length and thus to an
increased risk for tool defects.
Moreover, punching tools with different surface coatings were tested. On the one hand a better tendency
to slide and thus a decreased adhesion in contrast to the conventional paper drills should be reached. On
the other hand a higher surface hardness and thus an increased wear resistance were aimed. The positive
effects of the wear coatings are primarily expected in outstanding endurance tests. An improvement of the
punching process using the slide coatings could not be noticed – neither under quality nor under energy
aspects.
CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK

With punching of solid and derived timber products a completely new production process for industrial
wood machining was developed. Punching could be an alternative technique to drilling, for instance in
furniture manufacturing. The present experiments showed that depending on the cutting speed a very
good quality of blind holes was reachable. Primarily medium density fiberboard (MDF) and coated
chipboard (FPY) were analyzed. Furthermore solid wood was punched. For soft fir as well as for hard
beech very good results were achieved. In every case the punching core is pressed into the tool and due to
material compaction bulged and sheared from the bottom of the hole. Different experimental setups have
been developed, so that punching with speeds from 0.001 m/s up to 150 m/s was realizable.
The present results were achieved with standard paper drills whose cutting edges were modified. The
further optimization of the punching tools has to take place in two different ways. On the one hand, the
tool geometries have to be examined especially in consideration of optimal wall thicknesses for the single
diameters. On the other hand, further surface coatings have to be analyzed. These have to reduce adhesion
as well as to increase abrasion resistance. Besides the aim to get an energy-optimized punching process,
the tool endurance is of main importance. Furthermore, it seems to be possible to produce other hole
geometries because of the simple translational punching kinematic. Squared holes are needed for special
fittings in furniture production, for example.
To make punching available for a wide field of applications, further investigations also have to deal with
other derived and solid timber products as well as with modern lightweight materials.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support for this work was provided by the German Foundation for Industrial Research (Stiftung
Industrieforschung) in collaboration with Reich Spezialmaschinen GmbH from Nürtingen / Germany and
Weeke Bohrsysteme GmbH from Herzebrock-Clarholz / Germany under Contract No. S 670.
REFERENCES
1. Martynenko, S., Schneider, M., “CNC-Bearbeitungszentren 2005”. HOB – Die Holzbearbeitung,
No. 10, pp. 17-31, 2005.
2. Westkämper, E., Kisselbach, A., “Leistungssteigerung beim Bohren (Teil 1)”. HOB – Die
3. Westkämper, E., Kisselbach, A., “Leistungssteigerung beim Bohren (Teil 2)”. HOB – Die
4. Hoffmeister, H.-W., Loohß, T., “Stanzen statt Bohren. – Entwicklung eines alternativen
Fertigungsverfahrens für die industrielle Holzbearbeitung”. HOB – Die Holzbearbeitung, No. 5,
pp. 80-84, 2006.
5. Hellwig, W., Semlinger, E., “Spanlose Fertigung: Stanzen”. Braunschweig / Wiesbaden, Verlag
Vieweg, 1996.
Machining Seminar
Session III
Cutting Mechanics

Theoretical Derivation of Formulae of Wood Fiber Cutting Power
Ma, Yan; Ren, Honge; Zhan, Li

Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China
myan@vip.163.com
ABSTRACT
This paper was aimed at the problem of high energy waste in the course of the wood fiber processing in
the wood-based panel industry. In the light of the energy economy principle, the cutting theory on the
micron and long-slice wood fiber was put forward. In this paper, by means of analyzing the power waste
of the tradition processing, a series of analysis measures such as cytology , super precision work theory
and fiber and so on were utilized in the micron wood fiber formation process , and the cutting conception
of the micron and long-slice wood fiber wood was put forward. Accordingly, the study of the micron and
long-slice wood fiber was put into the microstructure study .This paper scientifically explained the
reasons that the traditional wood fiber processing consumes lots of energy and the fiber quality is low. In
an example, the cutting power on the micron and long-slice wood fiber was calculated, which was
compared with the traditional cutting power. The result that the energy waste by machining at micron is
much lower than that by heat grind was obtained and the high quality and long–slice wood fiber was
gained. Thus, a revolutionary step was walked in the paper making industry and wood-based panel
industry of China.
Keywords cutting; micrometer; wood fiber; power; theory
INTRODUCTION
What mankind live on and what drives society along is energy source. A unit energy waste of the primary
products of our country is higher by 25%～90% than that of the developed countries . The energy source
utilization only reaches by 32% or so. Therefore, the economical potential is very huge and the task is
very difficulty. Energy source has a good relation with the wood-based panel industry. The production of
the wood-based panel consumes large quantities of powers. The wood-based panel industry is also one of
industries of high energy waste. The energy waste also consumedly increases the production costs of the
industry. Such as the fiber process, it concludes separation of the fiber, molding, drying and hot-press, and
so on. The separation of the fiber is the core link of the whole paper making and the production of the
wood-based panel, and is also one of the working procedures which insure the product quality, and at the
same time again, it is one working procedure which consumes much energy. The energy waste approaches
to 50% of the total waste energy of the product line or so. Now, the method of the heat grind by machine
is extensively adopted to separate wood fiber. The wood slice which was warmed up is sent into the
millstones of the heat grind machine and is compressed, stretched, sheared, turned, impacted, rubbed and
hydrolyzed by multi-repeated outside forces to realize the fiber decomposition[1]. These work procedures
consume much energy. In this paper, the studying point is to adopt the timber micron process craft to
resolve the energy waste of the fiber formation.
THE POWER WASTE OF TRADITIONAL WOOD FIBER PROCESSING IS

STUPENDOUS
Tab.1 shows the power waste situations of several familiar types of heat grind machines. Under the
condition of the production correspondence, among these power wastes, the least power waste reaches to
0.014kw·m-3. Therefore, this work procedure is a bottleneck of energy waste in this industry.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ma, Ren and Zhan - 65
Table 1: the power waste situations of several familiar types of heat grind machines
The size The main

The unit vol.
Sequence of the The motor rev machine
model power
number millstone (r·min-1) power
kw/m3
mm (kw)
1 QM9D 914 900 280 0.014
2 M101 914 1500 1000 0.033
3 M103 965 1500 1250 0.042
4 M200 1066 1500 1400 0.028
5 M200A 1066 1500 1800 0.036
6 M200A 1219 1500 4000 0.050
THE GEOMETRIC SHAPE OF THE MICRON AND LONG-SLICE WOOD

FIBER
The wood fiber is the main material in the timber. The separation of the wood fiber is a main work
procedure in the processing of the paper making and the wood-based panel. Traditionally ,the length of
the fiber by heat grind is 1～3 mm or so. The equivalent diameter is 0.16～0.75mm[1]. But for the
general timber cell, the equivalent circle diameter is 10～105μm [2] . The equivalent diameter of the
wood-based panel wood fiber is far larger than the equivalent circle diameter of the timber cell, so that the
most cell tubes in the process of heat grind broken. The impurities such as the sugar-based compounds
and the colloid and so on in the cell tube are not discharged, which heads that the impurities are excessive
and the fiberboard will change color. In the paper making industry, the impurities have no choice but to be
discharged by the method that the plasm is made by chemistry. Because the chemistry preparation is
imported, pollution comes [3]. The absurd heat grind cutting method is one of the problems which cause
the wood fiber too short, too wide and too many power wastes. In the processing of the macron and long-
slice fiber, all cell tubes are opened, so that the impurities in the cell tubes can be discharged. Therefore,
in this paper, the cutting thickness of the macron and long-slice fiber is defined as 10～80 μm , the fiber
length as 3～8 cm or so, the fiber width as 3～10mm .The defined fiber unit is called the macron and
long-slice fiber (as for the fiber in the separation of fiber work procedure of the wood-based panel)
[4].After the micron fiber is realized, the method that the plasm is made by machine can realize the paper
making miniaturization without pollutions and can resolve the pollution problem of the small-type paper
making, so that the paper making industry popularization in our country can be promoted. At the same
time, this method is a high technique solution which can resolve the problems such as large quantities of
energy wastes, excessive wastes and pollutions[5].
THE MECHANICS MODELING METHOD OF THE MICRON FIBER

The substance of the cutting process of timber is the course during which the wood occurs to shear,
squeeze and fold with the function of cutting tools. Timber is anisotropic material. therefore ,when the
cutting directions are different, the timber transformation and the forces suffered by chippings will vary.
The micron and long-slice fiber put forward in this paper is realized by lognitudinal wood cutting . when
wood is cut , the cutting layer is compressed .The cutting tool functions create the shearing strength
among the fiber cell tube flat . The shearing strength functions to lead the timber cell unit to split ,
transform and break along the cells lognitudinally. When the corresponding shearing strengths change
into the critical value in order, the fictile wood fiber splits upwards along frontal surface of the cutting
tool .The shearing strength is continuously delivered to the wood fiber which has not yet transformed in
front of cutting tool. The characteristics that the chippings can be formed in this course is that timber will
be split continuously along the timber texture. Therefore, the smooth strip fiber will be formed and the
smallest cutting forces are obtained.
The traditional wood cutting theory has already existed for almost a hundred years. It is a practical
science based on the experiment . On the base of large quantities of experiments, the traditional wood
cutting theory thinks that the wood cutting is resulted with the function of the pressure which is created
on the frontal surface of cutting tool by chippings, with the associated help of the force of friction on the
back surface of cutting tool and the resistance created by wood splitting. After becoming the processing of
micron fiber, these forces will vary greatly. The thickness of micron fiber is very thin and the flexibility is
very good. Therefore the pressures on the frontal surface of cutting tool can almost be neglected. The
splitting forces along cell fiber texture and along other directions of wood are very small comparatively.
Therefore, the forces of friction on the back surface of cutting tool can just not be neglected[6]. For the
sake of improving calculation theories, the basic theory and methods of the precise cutting which are
latest internationally are adopted in this paper.
According to the basic cutting theory put forward by Rubenstein[7], on the assumption that the extrusion
areas and the elasticity recoverable areas of the cutting tool-work piece below the cutting flowing spot
have uniform static stress p m , the cutting extrusion and the recoverable mechanism of Flexible modules is
carried on simplification and analysis. The mathematical models of all forces have been established on
this foundation as follows:
The forces, Fx and Fy , acting on the cutting tool along two directions , as follows respectively:
Fx = pm LW0 （1）
Fy = μPm LW0 （2）
In the formula: L is the cutting width; W0 is the contacting

length of the cutting tool and the work piece.
p m is the average positive stress acting on the cutting tool

figure.1 the cutting sketch map of
on the cutting tool and work piece contacting area . micron and long-slice wood
fiber
namely
τs
Pm = （3）
μ
In the formula: µ is friction modulus; τ s is the shearing yield strength for wood
After lumber is cut，the back surface of the cutting tool will be contacted because of the restorable
distortion. So, the tremendous pressure will be produced. The positive pressure in the unit area of the
bottom end of the cutting tool’s cutting edge is maximal. As the processed surface of the work piece is
approached, the positive pressure in the unit area will become smaller. The positive pressure on the
processed surface separated from the cutting tool will be basically reduced to zero. Therefore, the
hypothesis put forward by Rubenstein [7]has some holes. The cutting angle ф is confirmed according to
the Merchant’s cutting theory put forward by Drescher and supposing that it is always a constant[8，9]. On
the assumption that the contacting area of the cutting tool and the work piece has common friction
modulus µ and positive stress Fp, The ultra precise mathematical model of the cutting forces is established
as follows:
σs
Fp = （4）
sin φ cos φ − μ sin 2 φ
1
Fy = μFp Ld + Fp wL + Fp w'' L + Fp w ' L ( 5）
2
1
Fx = Fp Ld + μFp wL + μFp w '' L （6）
2
In the formula:
Fp is the average positive stress created for the function of the micron and long-slice wood fiber and the
frontal surface of the cutting tool.
Ф is the cutting angle of the micron and long-slice wood fiber.
d is the cutting thickness of the micron and long-slice wood fiber.

L is the cutting width.
w is the wearing width of the back surface of the cutting tool.
w' ' is the contacting length of the back surface of the cutting tool and wood.
w' is the acting length of the blunt circle’s radius of the cutting edge.
σ s is the resisting shearing strength along the fiber texture.
The theory put forward by Drescher aims at the calculation of the ultra precise cutting forces, which is the
newest cutting theory recently. The ultra thin micron cutting can definitely use his theory in this paper.
The corresponding wood mechanics contents are added in this paper on the base of his theory.
THE REASON OF THE POWER REDUCTION OF THE MICRON FIBER

CUTTING POWER COMPARING WITH THE HEAT GRIND
The vegetable fiber is united by the chemical bond, the hydrogen bond, the Van Der Waals Force and the
interlaced force on the surface and so on. The fiber separation by the traditional heat grind method is one
kind of multi-dimensional complex space motion. All forces received by the fiber are multi-dimensional
moving load or impact load. The overwhelming majority of the forces perform some useless work .Some
instead perform minus work. The heat grind method shortens the fiber length. And the majority of the
cutting forces are loaded in the direction in which the destruction of the fiber needs to consume enormous
powers. Therefore, the massive energies are wasted. The function frequency of the forces also affects the
separation output and quality of the fiber. The cutting theory of the micron long-slice fiber proposed by
this paper is a pure mechanical cutting method through the pure physical, best cutting direction. The
cutting force used in the direction along the fiber texture is theoretically less than the cutting force on the
end surface several times. Theoretically, the reasonable distribution only in the cutting direction can
reduce the powers greatly. In the situation of the power reduction, to split the fiber tissue by the pure
shear can use least force. The micron and long-slice fiber’s cutting effect can be achieved by the
longitudinal and overspeed cutting along the fiber texture. Not only the power waste is reduced, but also
the probability to cut off the fiber is reduced. So that the fiber length and quality is enhanced largescalely.
The cutting theory of the micron level wood fiber is advanced in this paper. According to the computation
of the cutting forces, the cutting power will be worked out quantitatively, namely the cutting power equals
to the multiplication of the cutting forces and the cutting speed. Compared with the fiber separation by the
traditional heat grind, the cutting power of the micron and long-slice wood fiber should be much smaller
than the cutting power consumed by the mechanical grind.
THE FORMULAE OF THE MICRON FIBER CUTTING POWER

Figure.1 shows that the cutting power equals to the multiplication of the cutting force Fx at this point and
the cutting speed Vx , namely
pc = Fx ⋅ Vx ⋅10 −3 (kw) （7）
In this formula : Fx is the main cutting force （N）；Vx is the cutting speed （m·s-1）。
Put the formula of the cutting force into the formula（7）as follows:
1
pc = [ Ld + μwL + μw '' L] ⋅ FpVx （8）
2
THE ANALYSIS OF AN APPLICATION EXAMPLE

Taking for example Populus tomentosa Carr, the experiment of the micron cutting is performed on the
experiment desk. The diameter D of the cutting tool plate is 400mm; The rotate speed n of the principal
shaft is 6，000r·min-1；The cutting angle ф is 23°; The friction angle β is 25°;The cutting linear speed Vx
is 125.6 m·s-1。The cutting thickness of the fiber d is 0.055 mm；The cutting length L is 80 mm；
According to the cutting formula Eq.（4）, the average positive stress Fp is worked out for 18.29
Mp.When the cutting thickness of fiber is 55μm ,the cutting width is 80 mm,the width of the wearing
zone on the back surface of the cutting tool is 50μm, and the contacting length of the back surface of the
cutting tool and the work piece is 50 μm , according to the formula Eq.（6）,the cutting force in the main
direction is 131.61 N.When the rotate speed arrives at 6，000 r·min-1,the cutting linear speed is 125.6
m·s-1.The cutting power of the fiber for the product line whose MDF output is 50，000m3 is worked out
for 281 kw according to the formula Eq.（8）.The power will save on 80% compared with the traditional
heat grind machine.
Theoretically, this paper brings forward a solution to the problems aiming at the maximal energy waste of
the cutting equipments of the wood fiber of the product line whose MDF output is 50，000m3 per year.
Compared the power worked out according to the above course with the power which the heat grind
machine consumes for the same fiber, not only the working procedures of cooking and adding chemical
reagents are left out, but also the power waste can be reduced to the below half of the power waste by the
mechanical heat grind method after actual implement.
CONCLUSIONS
Aiming at the problem of the maximal power waste for the traditional heat grind of the wood fiber, some
datum are compared and analyzed. The qualitative analysis of the forming course of the fiber thinks that
the heat grind method of the fiber is a method of wasting energy. An innovative idea that the micron fiber
cutting can save energy and reduce energy waste is put forward.
Through deducing the force and power formulae of the micron and long-slice wood fiber, the action of
forces on the wood fiber and corresponding parameter relations during the course of the micron and long-
slice wood fiber forming are expounded.
Through assuming the concrete parameters during the processing of the micron long-slice wood fiber , the
power wastes of the micron long-slice wood fiber cutting for the output of the 50，000m3 MDF per year
are worked out. Compared with the power waste of the traditional fiber forming, above the half of the
energy wastes can be saved. And the fiber filament maintains original performance of wood. So the high
quality fiber can be obtained. It is a revolution for the wood-based panel industry .The MDF enterprise
benefits can be enhanced largescalely.
By use of the international precise cutting theory to calculate the wood cutting forces in recent years, the
computation level of the wood cutting forces is enhanced. The difficult problem that has not be resolved
for nearly a hundred year can be resolved fundamentally, by use of another kind of pattern to research the
energy consumption of the heat grind machine.
REFERENCES
[1] Xu Xiuwen. The produce handicraft and technology of fiberboard. Harbin:The northeast forest
university press,1988.
[2] Cheng Junqing. Wood acdamic.Beijing: Chinese forestry press, 1985.
[3] Ma Yan. Prospect nanometer and micrometer science and technology for applying to the wood
industry . Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 2001(6):109-1133
[4] Ma Yan . The study of mathematic model of wood transection cell structure . Academic journal of
biomathematics,2002，17(1)：64-68
[5] Ma Yan . The theory studies of the fibreboard cell decomposition by useing the technology of
Orientation re-organizedt of long flake wood fiber micron . Scientia Silvae Sinicae.
2003，39（3）：111-115
[6] Xiao Zhengfu,Liu Shuqin,Hu Yixuan.The academic of wood cutting tool. Harbin: The northeast
forest university press，1992.
[7] C.Rubenstein, W.S.Lau, P.K.Venuvinod. Flow of workpiece material in the vicinity of the cutting
edge. Int.J.Mach.Tool Des.Res.1985,25(1):91-97
[8] J.D.Drescher, T.A.Dow. Tool foece modle development for diamond turning,Precision Engineering
.1990,12(1)29-35
[9] J.D.Drescher, T.A.Dow. Tool foece, Tool edge,and surface finish relationships in diamond
turning.Ph.D.dissertation.1992:26-35
Crushing Energy of Wood Waste:
Influence of Motor Output of Crusher Using Wood Materials
Fujimoto, Kiyohiko1; Ikami, Yuji1; Takano,Tsutomu1;

Moroga, Takayuki2; Takahashi, Yoriaki 2
1 2
Department of Wood Processing UENOTEX Corporation
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Niigata, 949-3298, Japan
Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan
kiyopi@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
ABSTRACT
In order to evaluate the energy consumed during the crushing of wood waste, we measured the power
consumed in crushing three kinds of wood materials: sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) lumber,
plywood and particleboard. Three types of single-axis shearing crushers with the same crushing
mechanism were used. Each crusher was equipped with a main motor whose outputs were 22, 45 and 130
kW, respectively. The electric energy consumed during crushing, as a function of power consumption
with respect to crushing time, decreased as the motor output was increased for all wood materials. When
motor output was increased, the crushing time was decreased greatly but the average of specific power
consumption became high. In order to save crushing energy, it is effective to shorten the crushing time
using a crusher equipped with a higher output motor. Specific electric energies in crushing sugi lumber,
plywood and particleboard were 18.1, 34.5 and 15.6 kWh/t, respectively, for 130 kW in motor output.
The highest specific electric energy was observed during the crushing of plywood which was
approximately twice as high as the specific electric energies used in crushing sugi lumber and
particleboard.
Keywords: Shearing Crusher, Energy consumption, Electric energy, Motor power, Wood material
INTRODUCTION
Wood wastes such as that generated by residential building demolition and wood processing at sawmills,
plywood factories, etc., must be used effectively. In Japan, much of this waste is utilized as wood biomass
fuel or raw materials for wood-based board or paper. Most wood waste is crushed to reduce its size, and it
is hoped this crushing process will be an environmentally-friendly energy-saving process. Therefore, it is
important to accurately understand the energy consumption of the crushing process in order to develop
the new energy-saving crushing techniques.
Endoh [1] investigated the electric energy consumed during the crushing of some kinds of wood chips at
nine hammer mills, and showed that the specific energy consumption had a positive correlation with
residence time in the chamber of the hammer mill. Ikeda et al. [2] investigated the power consumption
during the chipping of seven kinds of Japanese hardwoods using a disk chipper and reported that the
specific power consumptions ranged from 7.0 to 9.2 kWh/t. However, to our knowledge no study on
crushing full-sized wood waste using commercial shearing crushers with regard to energy consumption
has been reported.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fujimoto, Ikami, Takano, Moroga and Takahashi - 71
Particle size distribution is an important factor that affects the energy consumed during crushing.
Takahashi et al. [3] measured the power consumed during refining several wood chips using a disk type
refiner, and reported that the particle size of fiber obtained from chips were negatively correlated with
power consumption. It is necessary to measure not only the energy consumed during crushing but also the
particle size distribution of the wood chips obtained from crushing wood materials.
In this study, the energy consumed during the crushing of full-sized wood material was determined
through an experiment using three commercial crushers, and the influence of the motor output of the
crushers and the differences in wood materials on the energy consumption were examined. The particle
size distribution of wood chips were also measured.
EXPERIMENT
CRUSHING MACHINES
（a） Crusher (UC-130) (b) Cutter tips and stator
Figure 1: The crushers and the cutter tips used in this experiment
Three single-axis shearing crushers (UENOTEX, UC-series) installed with motors of different output
levels were used. The motor outputs of UC-22, UC-45 and UC-130 were 22, 45 and 130 kW, respectively.
These machines crush raw materials by shear action between square cutter tips that are spirally attached to
rotational cylinder in a single or double row and stators fixed to the crushing chamber. Figure 1 shows the
crushing machine and the cutter tips attached to the rotational cylinder. Table 1 lists the specifications of
the cutter tip and a rotational cylinder. The screens covering the discharge opening of the crushers were
types commonly used in factories for respective outputs of the crusher motors. Screen holes were round
holes of 40 mm in diameter for UC-130, round holes of 30 mm in diameter for UC-45 and Z-shaped slits
of 45 mm for UC-22 (Figure 2).
Table 1: Specifications of the cutter tips and rotational cylinders
Motor Supply Cutter tip Rotational cylinder

Crusher output voltage Size Row Width Rotational speed
Number
(kW) (V) (mm) number (mm) (rpm)
UC-22 22 200 40 × 40 15 1 870 100
UC-45 45 200 40 × 40 19 1 1080 100
UC-130 130 400 60 × 60 44 2 1800 85
TESTING MATERIALS
Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) lumber (SUGI), 13U type particleboard (PB) and tropical hardwood
plywood (PW), which are commonly used as home building materials in Japan, were used for this study.
The dimensions, air-dried density, moisture content and weight of specimens and number of specimens in
each test are shown in Table 2.
45mm
Figure 2: Z-shaped screen of 45 mm for UC-22
MEASUREMENTS
Crushing tests were performed using three different crushers with three kinds of wood materials. The
power consumption P(t) drawn by the main motor of the crushers was measured using a wattmeter in
order to estimate energy consumption during crushing. The time-power data was recorded every 0.2 sec
and stored in a computer connected to the wattmeter. Before a specimen was introduced, the power
consumption required to operate the crusher in an empty state was measured for 30 sec. This permitted
the power consumed during idling (Pi) to be determined. Each test was repeated three times.
Particle size distribution was measured using an approximately 150 cm3 sample of wood chips from the
crushing test by sieving technique according to JIS Z 8815 [4]. The sizes of the sieves were: 0.25, 0.5,
1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 16.0 mm. The sieves were then weighed to determine the mass of wood chips on
each sieve. The duration of sieving was 20 min, which was previously determined through trial and error
to be optimal based on JIS Z 8815.
Table 2: Specifications of specimens
Number of Weight of Moisture

Crusher Wood Height Width Length Density
specimens specimens content
material†
(Motor output) (mm) (mm) (mm) per each test (kg) (kg/m3) (%)
UC-22 SUGI 105 105 750 4 15.4 460 10.7
(22 kW) PB 12 450 450 8 12.5 738 7.0
PW 12 450 450 8 6.6 485 8.5
UC-45 SUGI 105 105 750 4 15.3 419 10.5

(45 kW) PB 12 900 900 2 14.7 729 6.9
PW 12 900 900 2 7.4 472 8.6
UC-130 SUGI 105 105 1500 2 14.4 425 9.7

(130 kW) PB 12 900 900 2 14.6 708 7.2
PW 12 900 900 2 8.2 484 8.5
†
SUGI: Sugi lumber; PB: Particleboard; PW: Tropical hardwood plywood

CALCULATION OF CHARACTERISTIC VALUE
Pmax
Power consumption, P(t) (kW)
P(t)
Pave
Pi
Crushing time
Ts Te
Time, t (sec)
Figure 3: An example of P(t)
Pi: power consumption during idling; Pave: average power consumption during crushing;
Pmax: maximum power consumption during crushing
An example of power consumption P(t) during the crushing of wood material is shown in Figure 3. After
the crushing test, the average power consumption during crushing and the maximum power consumption
were determined from the relationship between power consumption and time (Figure 3). Then the gross
average specific power consumption (Pga) (kW/t), the net average specific power consumption (Pna)
(kW/t), the gross maximum specific power consumption (Pgmax) (kW/t), the net maximum specific power
consumption (Pnmax) (kW/t), the gross electric energy (Wg) (kWh/t) and the net electric energy (Wn)
(kWh/t) were calculated, using following equations (1) - (6):
Pave
Pga = (1)
M
Pave − Pi
Pna = (2)
M
Pmax
Pgmax = (3)
M
Pmax − Pi
Pnmax = (4)
M
Te
Wg =
∫ P(t ) dt ⋅
Ts 1
(5)
M 3600
Te
Wn =
∫ {P(t ) − P }dt ⋅
Ts
i
1
(6)
M 3600
where Pave is the average power consumption during crushing (kW), Pmax is the maximum power
consumption during crushing (kW), Pi is the power consumption during idling (kW), M is the weight of
the specimens (tons), Ts is the crushing start time (sec) and Te is the crushing end time (sec). The time to
crush the material was determined from the variations in the power consumption curve and a video that
was recorded simultaneously with the power consumption.
Table 3 lists Pga, Pna, Pgmax, Pnmax, Wg, Wn, crushing time and Pi. Crushing time shows a negative
relationship with the motor output of the crusher. That is to say, the wood materials could be crushed
effectively in a shorter time using a crusher with a higher motor output. While idling, UC-45 consumed
the most power, whereas UC-22 consumed the least. There was no difference in crushing time among the
three wood materials.
INFLUENCE OF MOTOR OUTPUT

Figure 4 shows the relationship between the average specific power consumption (Pga and Pna) for
crushing wood materials and the motor output of the crusher. As the higher the motor output increased,
Pga also increased. In other words, larger crushers needed more power to crush the materials. Pna was
lowest for motor output of 45 kW, and highest for 130 kW. The reason why Pna for UC-45 was lower than
others was that Pi for UC-45 (19.1 kW) was higher than these of others (3.6 kW for UC-22 and 16.9 kW
for UC-130）. Since the power consumption during idling Pi of three-phase three-wire system is
calculated as follows
Pi = 3 × U × I × PF (7)
where, U is the supply voltage (V), I is the electrical current during idling (A) and PF is the power factor.
We determined experimentally the electrical current and the power factor using three crushers. The
electrical current for UC-22, UC-45 and UC-130 were 50, 90 and 68 A, and the power factor for UC-22,
UC-45 and UC-130 were 0.23, 0.98 and 0.35, respectively. However, The calculated Pi for UC-45 did not
agree with the measured Pi for UC-45, further investigation is necessary.
Table 3: Characteristic values, crushing time and power consumption at idle
Motor Crushing
Wood P ga P na P gmax P nmax Wg Wn Pi
output time
material
(kW) (kW/t) (kW/t) (kW/t) (kW/t) (kWh/t) (kWh/t) (sec) (kW)
SUGI 22 405.4 175.7 2635.3 2400.1 22.43 9.49 204.3 3.56
45 1299.4 63.9 1842.7 592.6 18.86 0.93 52.3 19.14
130 2441.0 1271.6 9865.2 8666.3 18.07 9.24 27.3 17.23
PB 22 490.0 183.3 2011.3 1692.8 24.81 9.27 181.9 3.56

45 1320.8 24.8 1535.1 230.7 22.94 0.42 62.5 19.12
130 1611.5 484.6 6095.5 4943.7 15.60 4.65 35.0 16.79
PW 22 1121.2 573.4 4823.2 4254.5 52.49 26.88 168.3 3.56

45 2648.6 52.7 3153.7 540.4 48.63 0.96 65.9 19.12
130 3444.1 1422.7 12925.8 10871.9 34.52 14.22 36.1 16.72
P ga: Gross average specific power consumption
P na: Net average specific power consumption
P gmax: Gross maximum specific power consumption
P nmax: Net maximum specific power consumption
W g: Gross electric energy
W n: Net electric energy
P i: Power consumption at idle
Figure 5 represents the maximum specific power consumption (Pgmax and Pnmax) during the crushing of
wood materials as a function of the motor output. Pgmax and Pnmax were lowest for motor output of 45 kW,
and highest for 130 kW. This tendency was the same as Pna in Figure 4. The explanation of lowest Pnmax
was the same as that of Pna mentioned above. The reason of the lowest Pgmax value for UC-45 was that the
curve of P(t) for UC-45 did not have a clear peak observed in figure 3.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between the electric energy (Wg and Wn) and the motor output. Wg is the
most important value because it indicates the amount of energy required for crushing. Wg decreased as the
motor output increased. This tendency for SUGI was not clear, but was for PB and PW. As motor output
increased, Pga increased (Figure 4), while Wg decreased. The reason is due to the shorter crushing time of
the higher motor output (Table 3). These results show that Wg was more strongly influenced by crushing
time than power consumption. If an energy-saving crushing process is required, the crushing process
should be accomplished in the shortest possible time using a crusher with a larger output motor. The Wn
was the highest using UC-22 and the lowest using UC-45 among all crushers.
4000 SUGI PB PW 4000 SUGI PB PW

3500 3500
3000 3000
P ga (kW/t)
P na (kW/t)
2500 2500
2000 2000
1500 1500
1000 1000
500 500
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Motor output of crusher (kW) Motor output of crusher (kW)
(a) Gross maximum specific power consumption (b) Net maximum specific power consumption
Figure 4: Relationship between motor output and average specific power consumption

18000 18000
16000 16000
P gmax (kW/t)
P nmax (kW/t)
14000 14000
12000 12000
10000 10000
8000 8000
6000 6000
4000 4000
2000 2000
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Motor output of crusher (kW)
Motor output of crusher (kW)
(a) Gross maximum specific power consumption (b) Net maximum specific power consumption
Figure 5: Relationship between motor output and maximum specific power consumption
INFLUENCE OF WOOD MATERIALS

The differences in the characteristic values of power consumption among the three wood materials were
examined. All characteristic values were the highest when PW was crushed. The values for Pga, Pna, Pgmax,
Pnmax and Wn were the lowest for PB and Wg was the lowest for SUGI.
The difference in the wood materials was analyzed with two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (three
wood materials × three motor outputs). The results of two-way ANOVA are listed in Table 4. The
characteristic values for PW tended to be significantly higher than those for SUGI and PB. At all
characteristic values except Pga and Pna, SUGI was not significantly different from PB.
60 60
50 50
W g (kWh/t)
W n (kWh/t)
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Motor output of crusher (kW) Motor output of crusher (kW)
(a) Gross electric energy (b) Net electric energy

Figure 6: Relationship between motor output and electric energy
Table 4: Results of the two-way analysis of variance

‡
Wood Characteristic values
material P ga P na P gmax P nmax Wg Wn
SUGI a a a ab a a
PB b b a a a a
PW c a b b b b
‡
: See in Table 2
Note: the same letters are not significantly different at 5 % level.
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

The particle size distribution of the wood chips from the three wood materials obtained from the three
crushers is shown in Figure 7. Endoh [5] and Suzuki [6] reported that the particle size distributions of
some wood chips fitted the Rosin-Rammler function, which was originally developed for use with broken
coal material with a wide range of particle sizes by Rosin and Rammler [7]. In this study, the particle size
distribution of wood chips produced by crushing wood wastes was expressed by the Rosin-Rammler
function as follows:
⎛ ⎛D ⎞
n ⎞
⎜ −⎜ p ⎟⎟ ⎟
R (D p ) = 100 × e
⎜ ⎜D ⎟
⎝ ⎝ e ⎠ ⎠
(8)
where, Dp is the particle size (mm), R(Dp) is the percentage by mass of particles greater than Dp, De is
characteristic number of particle size (mm), and n is distribution constant.
The particle size distribution was described with two parameters, one representing the diameter and the
other indicating the range of particle sizes. A comparison of particle diameter was carried out with De. De
represents the particle size corresponding to the 36.8th percentile of cumulative probability distribution; De
is particle size when R(Dp) = 36.8 ％. Figure 8 (a) shows the characteristic number De of particle size
among the three wood materials using the three crushers. Higher the motor output resulted in larger De.
This trend was especially prominent in PB. The main factors which affect the particle size of wood chips
are the screen size and the distance between cutter tips etc. The distances between cutter tips for UC-22,
UC-45 and UC-130 were 58.0, 56.8 and 81.8 mm, and the screen sizes of UC-22, UC-45 and UC-130
were 45 mm (Z-shaped slits), 30 mm (round holes) and 40 mm (round holes), respectively. It is
considered that the particle size is greatly affected by the distance between cutter tips. Among three wood
materials, De was the highest for PB and the lowest for PW with all crushers.
0.1
1
10
30
50
70
Cumulative oversize mass (%)
80
90
95
99
99.5
99.9 Sugi PB PW
UC- 130 ■ ● ▲
UC- 45 □ ○ △
99.99 UC- 22 * + -
0.1 1 10 100
mm ）
Particle size （
Figure 7: Particle size distributions of wood chips
35 3 Sugi PB PW
Sugi PB PW
30
25
2
De （mm）
20
n
15
1
10
5
0 0
UC-22 UC-45 UC-130 UC-22 UC-45 UC-130
Crushing machine
Crushing Machine
(a) Characteristic number of particle size, De (b) Distribution constant, n

Figure 8: Characteristic number of particle size (De) and distribution constant (n)
The range of particle size distribution was evaluated by n which indicates the width in particle size
distribution. Figure 8 (b) shows the distribution constant n of particle size among the three wood materials
using the three crushers. The n value for UC-45 was significantly higher than for the other two crushers
(at the 5 % level). The n value was highest for SUGI, and lowest for PB. This difference is statistically
significant (at the 5 % level). In other words, the sugi chips had a narrow distribution and the
particleboard chips had a wide distribution. It indicates that wood chips of PB and of PW included a
higher quantity of fine chips.
CONCLUSION
We determined the power consumed during the crushing of three wood materials using three crushers
with different motor outputs, and measured the particle size distribution of the three types of wood chips
obtained therefrom. The following conclusions were drawn from this study.
1. The average specific power consumption (Pga and Pna) and the maximum specific power consumption
(Pgmax and Pnmax) for crushing wood materials had a positive correlation with the motor output of the
crusher. In other words, larger crushers needed more power to crush the materials.
2. The gross electric energy (Wg) decreased as the motor output increased although Pga increased with an
increase of the motor output. This result was caused by the shorter crushing time of the higher motor
output.
3. Pga, Pna, Pgmax, Pnmax, Wg and Wn were all highest when wood material PW was crushed. The
characteristic values for SUGI tended to be higher than those for PB, but no significant difference was
observed.
4. The De representing the particle size increased as the motor output increased. With all crushers, De
was the highest for PB and the lowest for PW. The n value indicating the range of particle size
distribution using UC-45 was significantly higher than for the other two crushers (at the 5 % level).
The distribution of the sugi chips was narrow and the distribution of particleboard chip was wide.
REFERENCES
1. Endoh, H. “Estimation of motor power output for crushing by screen hammer mills”. Advanced
Powder Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, 71-77, 1993
2. Ikeda, S. “Manufacturing of hardwood chips”. Journal of the Hokkaido Forest Products Research
Institute, No. 122, 7-12, 1962 (in Japanese)
3. Takahasi, H., Endoh, K. and Suzuki, H. “Studies on handling process of wood fiber for dry processing
of fiberboard. III. Effect of grinding power required on size of fiber”. Mokuzai Gakkaishi, Vol. 4, No.
1, 71-77, 1993 (in Japanese)
4. Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) Z 8815. “Test sieving –General requirements”. Japanese Standards
Association, 1994
5. Endoh, H. “Studies on Wood Crushing”. Report of Hokkaido Forest Products Research Institute,
No.85, 1-58, 1996 (in Japanese)
6. Suzuki, I. “Crush of wood waste”. Wood Industry, Vol. 37, No. 10, 490-493, 1982 (in Japanese)
7. Rosin, P. and Rammler, E. “Laws governing the fineness of powdered coal”. Journal of Instrument
Fuel, Vol.7, p.29-36, 1933
Acoustic Emission Characteristics in Wood Cutting
Effects of Cutting and Clearance Angles
on Acoustic Emission and Cutting Resistance
Murase, Yasuhide; Matsumoto, Kenzo; Ohuchi, Takeshi

Laboratory of Wood Material Technology, Division of Biomaterial Science,
Department of Forest and Forest Products Science, Faculty of Agriculture,
Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, JAPAN
ymurase@agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
In this study, to obtain basic knowledge on AE characteristics in the wood cutting process, the effects of
cutting and clearance angles on acoustic emission and cutting resistance in wood cutting were examined.
The following main results were obtained :
1. With increasing cutting angle, horizontal cutting resistance increase. On the other hand, The AE level
increases and reaches a maximum at cutting angle of 40 or 50 degree, and then decreases. It is
suggested that the variation of AE level is linked intimately to the process of chip formation.
2. With decreasing clearance angle, horizontal cutting resistance does not change very much and the AE
level decreases. However, at clearance angle of 0 degree, horizontal cutting resistance increases
remarkably and the AE level decrease continuously. It is suggested that the AE level caused by
friction between clearance face of knife and workpiece is low.
INTRODUCTION
Acoustic emissions (AEs) refers to the elastic stress waves generated by the sudden release of energy in
deforming or fracturing materials. Therefore, wood machining processes such as cutting and sanding all
generate acoustic emission. The acoustic emissions generated in the wood machining process hold
promise as a means to monitor tool wear, chip formation, surface roughness, and so on. In this study, to
obtain basic knowledge on AE characteristics in the wood cutting process, the effects of cutting and
clearance angles on acoustic emission and cutting resistance in 90-0 cutting, 0-90 cutting and MDF
cutting were examined.

The experimental apparatus shown in Figure 1 was used in this study. In this apparatus, the wood
specimen was set on the stage driven by a pulse motor controlled with personal computer (PC). The
cutting tool was mounted on a dynamometer. Cutting was carried out by moving a wood specimen
forward to the cutting tool.
Two AE transducers (150kHz resonant frequency) were used : one was mounted on the side face of the
tool holder with a thermoplastic adhesive while the other was mounted on the side face of the wood
specimen with a rubber band, using silicon grease as the couplant between the wood specimen and AE
transducer. In the experiment, the latter transducer was kept at a constant distance (10 mm) from the
cutting line.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Murase, Matsumoto and Ohuchi - 81
In measurement of AEs and cutting resistances during cutting , the output signals of the AE transducers or
dynamometer were each amplified and then input simultaneously to a PC with a high speed A/D
converter. For AEs, after the output signals were amplified by 50 dB and then 100 kHz high-pass filtered,
the average signals by half-wave rectification were input to the PC.
Figure 1: Experimental arrangement
Cutting conditions are shown in Table 1. The tool was composed of a high speed steel (SKH51) . The
cutting angles were varied from 30 to 70 degree at constant clearance angle of 10 degree and the
clearance angles were varied from 0 to 20 degree at constant cutting angle of 40 degree. The cutting speed
was 0.5 mm/sec and the depth of cut was 0.1 mm.
The detail of workpiece are shown in Table 2. The specimens used were air-dried Douglas-fir (moisture
content : 8.6 %, specific gravity : 0.49) and MDF ( 9.1 %, 0.59). The LT face was cut parallel(90-0
cutting) and perpendicular (0-90 cutting) to the grain for Douglas-fir and the edge face was cut for
MDF.
The typical variations of the resistances ( RH ; horizontal , RV ; vertical ) acting on the tool and the AE
signals(AE(Tool), AE(Workpiece)) at tool side and workpiece side during cutting(from start to finish of
cutting ) are shown in Figure 2. In this figure, the upper is 90-0 cutting, the middle is 0-90 cutting and the
lower is MDF cutting. Also, the resistance ( RV ) acting on a tool was represented as positive (+) when a
tool was pushed up from the specimen.
For 90-0 cutting, the resistances ( RH , RV ) showed periodic large variation with time. This occurrence
of periodic variation was thought to be caused by chip formation of split type. Also, it was found that a
large-amplitude AE was generated immediately after the peak in a periodic variation of resistance.
For 0-90 cutting, the resistances ( RH , RV ) showed periodic small variation with time, compared with
90-0 cutting. On the other hand, a remarkably large-amplitude AE generation was clearly observed.
For MDF cutting, the resistances ( RH , RV ) showed relatively large value although a periodic variation
was not clearly observed. On the other hand, a remarkably large-amplitude AE generation was observed
continuously.
Figure 2: Variations of cutting resistances and AEs during cutting
The effects of cutting angle on the cutting resistances ( RH , RV ) and the AE signals at both tool and
workpiece side in 90-0 cutting were shown in Figure 3. Here, the average value is the average value
obtained from start to finish of cutting shown in Figure 2 and the maximum value is the average of from
maximum amplitude to 10th large one in measured interval range of AE signal. With increasing cutting
angle the RH showed an increasing tendency and the RV had a positive value at 30 degree and a negative
value at 40 to 70 degree. The AE signals at both tool and workpiece side showed a maximum value at
cutting angle of 40 or 50 degree. It was found that the AE generation in 90-0 cutting was remarkable in
the range of chip formation of split type.
Figure 3: Effects of cutting angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in 90-0 cutting
The effects of cutting angle on the cutting resistances and the AE signals in 0-90 cutting were shown in
Figure 4. Compared with the results in 90-0 cutting, the resistances in 0-90 cutting had a small value and
did not change with cutting angle very much. On the other hand, The AE signals at both tool and
workpiece side showed large values and maximum at cutting angle of about 40 degree. It was found that
the AE generation in 0-90 cutting was remarkable because of chip formation caused easily by tension,
shear and compression.
Figure 4: Effects of cutting angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in 0-90 cutting
The effects of cutting angle on the cutting resistances and the AE signals in MDF cutting were shown in
Figure 5. The resistances in MDF cutting showed a similar variation tendency to those in 90-0 cutting. On
the other hand, The AE signals at both tool and workpiece side showed remarkably large values and
maximum at cutting angle of 50 degree. It was found that the AE generation in MDF cutting was
remarkable because of the formation of fine chip and the presence of adhesive.
Figure 5: Effects of cutting angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in MDF cutting
Next, the effects of clearance angle on the cutting resistances and the AE signals in 90-0 cutting were
shown in Figure 6. With decreasing clearance angle the RH showed slightly decreasing tendency.
However, at clearance angle of 0 degree, the RH increased remarkably. Although the RV had a small
negative value in the range of clearance angle of 2 to 20 degree, it changed a large positive value at
clearance angle of 0 degree. The AE signals at both tool and workpiece side showed a continuously
decreasing tendency to the clearance angle of 0 degree.
Figure 6: Effects of clearance angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in 90-0 cutting
The effects of clearance angle on the cutting resistances and the AE signals in 0-90 cutting and MDF
cutting were shown in Figure 7 and 8. With decreasing clearance angle the cutting resistances and the AE
signals in 0-90 cutting and MDF cutting showed a similar variation tendency to those in 90-0 cutting. It
was suggested that the AE level caused by friction between clearance face of tool and workpiece is low.
Figure 7: Effects of clearance angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in 0-90 cutting
Figure 8: Effects of clearance angle on cutting resistances and AE signals in MDF cutting
CONCLUSIONS
The following main results were obtained :
1. With increasing cutting angle, horizontal cutting resistance increase. On the other hand, The AE level
increases and reaches a maximum at cutting angle of 40 or 50 degree, and then decreases. It is
suggested that the variation of AE level is linked intimately to the process of chip formation.
2. With decreasing clearance angle, horizontal cutting resistance does not change very much and the AE
level decreases. However, at clearance angle of 0 degree, horizontal cutting resistance increases
remarkably and the AE level decrease continuously. It is suggested that the AE level caused by
friction between clearance face of knife and workpiece is low.
Machining Seminar
Session IV
Surface Quality
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Simon - 89

Effect of Visual Information on Tactile Evaluation of
Wood Surface Roughness
Fujiwara, Yuko; Fujii, Yoshihisa; Okumura, Shogo

1
Divsion of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture,
Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
ABSTRACT
Wood surfaces of some species show the characteristic patterns that might have influence on the visual
impression of roughness. Such the patterns also have a possibility to affect the tactile roughness that is
evaluated by tactile inspection with vision. In this study, we compared the roughness evaluated by tactile
inspection with and without vision and the roughness parameters that have a good correlation to tactile
roughness. Specimens were makanba (Betula maximowicziana), buna (Fagus crenata), and mizunara
(Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata) sanded by hand with coated abrasives of 120 or180 grit number.
Roughness parameters of reduced peak height (Rpk), core roughness depth (Rk), and arithmetical mean
deviation obtained after removal of the effect of deep valleys showed a good correlation to tactile
roughness irrespective of vision, but no correlation with the roughness of visual inspection. Tactile
inspection with vision was not affected by the surface patterns of these specimens.
Keywords: surface roughness, visual and tactile inspection, roughness parameter
INTRODUCTION
Surface roughness of materials is an important criterion in assessing tool conditions, machining
performance, and products quality. In wood industry the visual and/or tactile sense are the crucial
measures of the surface roughness. However, the roughness parameters related to such the subjective and
qualitative estimation should be established. We have already found that some roughness parameters had
a good correlation to the roughness evaluated by the tactile inspection without vision1), although, tactile
inspection is usually carried out with vision. Wood surfaces of some species show the characteristic
patterns that affect the visual impression of roughness, and such the patterns have a possibility to
influence on the tactile roughness that is evaluated by tactile inspection with vision. Yasuda et al.2) and
Larricq et al.3) performed sensory test for both visual and tactile inspection of the surface roughness of
wood and wood based materials, however, they did not discuss the effect of visual impression on the
tactile roughness. In this study, the roughness evaluated by the tactile inspection without vision was
compared with that of the visual inspection or the tactile inspection with vision. Furthermore, the relation
of roughness parameters of sanded wood to the roughness evaluated by tactile inspection with and
without vision and that by visual inspection was also discussed.
MATERIALS AND METHOD

SPECIMEN
Specimens were air-dried edge grain boards of makanba (Betula maximowicziana), buna (Fagus crenata),
and mizunara (Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata). Each sample was cut into 80mm square and 12mm
thickness, and was sanded by hand with coated abrasives of 120 or180 grit number. A total of 6 specimens
were used in this study. Figure 1 shows photographs of the surface of specimens, showing that rays and
vessels produce the characteristic patterns on the surface.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar S Fujiwara, Fujii and Okumura - 91
SENSORY EVALUATION
Three kinds of sensory evaluation, visual inspection and tactile inspections without vision and with
vision, were performed by each assessor in this order using a ranking method. Figure 2 shows a schematic
diagram of the sensory evaluation. An assessor stood in front of specimens that were randomly set out on
a table. For the visual inspection and the tactile inspection with vision, the surfaces of the specimens were
illuminated by a fluorescent lamp at an angle of 40 degree to the table top. The direction of the light was
perpendicular to the grain direction of the specimens. For the tactile inspection without vision, a paper
sheet was set between the assessor and the specimens, so the surface of the specimens could not be seen.
The assessor arranged samples in order of the visual or tactile roughness and the examiner recorded the
rankings for every sensory test. The ranking, which was an ordinal scale, was transformed into a distance
scale by the use of the normalized-rank method. In the normalized-rank method, the expected value of kth
largest observation in a sample size n from a standard normal population (mean zero and variance one) is
given to kth place as a score by the following equation4);
k −1 n−k
n! ∞ ⎛1 ⎞ ⎛1 ⎞
E ( x k |n ) =
(n − k )!(k − 1)! ∫−∞
x⎜ − Φ ( x ) ⎟
⎝2 ⎠
⎜ + Φ ( x) ⎟
⎝2 ⎠
φ ( x)dx, (1)
1 1
− x2 x
where φ ( x) = (2π ) 2 e
−
2 and Φ ( x ) = ∫0 φ ( x ) dx . In this study, the score for the first place was 1.27, the
second 0.64, the third 0.20, the forth -0.20, the fifth -0.64, and the sixth -1.27. The average value of the
scores for ordinal data of each sample was the score of roughness for sensory evaluation. The significant
difference of the roughness of each specimen was checked by t-test.
Visual inspection Tactile inspection
Tactile inspection with vision without vision
surface evaluated
assessor grain direction assessor
opaque
fluorescent
sheet
lamp
specimen
specimen
40°
black
fabric
table table
Figure 2 Schematic diagram of sensory evaluation.
ROUGHNESS PARAMETERS
Five primary profiles were obtained from the surface for each specimen using a stylus instrument
(Surfcom1400A-3DF-12, TOKYO SEIMITSU Co. Ltd) with a 2 µm tip radius and 60º tip angle. The
stylus was moved perpendicularly to the fiber direction at a speed of 0.3 mm/s over a distance of 10 mm.
The output signal of the instrument was recorded at a sampling interval of 0.92 µm. Roughness profiles
were obtained from the primary profiles using a robust Gaussian regression filter at cutoff wavelength of
2.5 mm. The arithmetical mean deviation was obtained from each roughness profile by the use of the
deep-valley-removed method.5) The values of the parameter for each profile were averaged for every
sample. Abbott curves were determined from each roughness profile for the evaluation length of 10 mm.
The parameters of the reduced peak height (Rpk) and the core roughness depth (Rk) were obtained from
each Abbott curve. The values of parameters for each profile were averaged for every sample.

Figure 3 shows the distribution of the roughness evaluated by the visual and two kinds of tactile
inspections. The order of the roughness of specimens is different among the three inspections. For the
visual inspection, the roughness might be influenced by surface patterns: mizunara, which have both rays
and vessels on the surface, was evaluated rougher than buna and makanba, while makanba, which is
unpatterned, was evaluated the smoothest. For both of the tactile inspection, the order of roughness of
specimen is almost the same and makanba sanded with P180 coated abrasives is evaluated the roughest of
all.
M2 M1
＊＊ B2 B1
＊＊ N1 N2
＊
visual inspection
B2 B1 M1 N2N1 M2 Figure 3 Distributions of roughness evaluated

tactile inspection ＊＊
without vision by visual and two kinds of tactile inspections.
M1: makanba P180, M2: makanba P120, B1:
tactile inspection B1 B2 M1 ＊ N2N1 M2
＊ buna P180, B2: bunaP120, N1, mizunara P180,
with vision N2: mzunara P120.
- 1.5 -1 - 0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 ＊: significant (t-test) at 5% level.
smooth rough
1.5
rough
visual inspection : reduced peak height Rpk
Roughness for visual inspection or
tactile inspection : core roughness depth Rk

1
tactile inspection with vision
with vision : arithmetical mean deviation

of deep valleys removed profile Ra*
15
0.5 visual inspection
r = 0.95
0 10
Roughness determined by stylus instrument (µm)

r = -0.2
- 0.5 5
-1 0
smooth
15
- 1.5
tactile inspection without vision r = 0.63
- 1.5 - 1 - 0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 10
smooth rough
r = 0.92
Roughness for tactile inspection 5
without vision r = 0.60
0
Figure 4 Relationship between roughness 15
evaluated by the tactile inspection without tactile inspection with vision
r = 0.77
vision and visual inspection or tactile 10
inspection with vision.
r = 0.95
R denotes the correlation coefficient. 5
r = 0.69
0
- 1.5 -1 - 0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
smooth rough
Roughness determined by sensory evaluation
Figure 5 Relationship between roughness

evaluated by sensory evaluation and stylus method.
R denotes the coefficient of correlation.
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the roughness evaluated by the tactile inspection without vision
and the visual inspection or the tactile inspection with vision. There is a strong correlation between the
roughnesses of two tactile inspections (r = 0.95) and no correlation between the visual and the tactile
roughnesses (r = -0.2). It implies that the tactile inspection with vision is little limited influenced by the
patterns on the surface.
Figure 5 shows the relationship between the roughness determined by the sensory evaluation and the
roughness parameters, reduced peak height, core roughness depth, and arithmetical mean deviation from
the deep-valley-removed profile. For both of tactile inspections, there is a good correlation between
reduced peak height (Rpk) and tactile roughness, while the visual roughness does not show any relation to
roughness parameters determined by the stylus method. This implies that the visual roughness is little
affected by the microscopic irregularities that affect the tactile roughness.
CONCLUSION
There was a clear correlation between roughnesses evaluated by the tactile inspection with and without
vision. The roughness for those tactile inspections also showed a clear relation to the roughness parameter
of reduced peak height. On the other hand, the visual roughness showed no relation to tactile roughness
with and without vision and the roughness parameters. Further study is necessary to confirm whether
these findings are applicable to other surfaces.
REFERENCES
1. Fujiwara, Y., Fujii, Y., Okumura, S., “Relationship between roughness parameters based on material
ratio curve and tactile roughness for sanded surfaces of two hardwoods”, Journal of Wood Science,
Vol. 51, pp. 274-277 (2005)
2. Yasuda, A., Sadoh, T., Nakato. K., “Visual and tactile roughness of hardwood surfaces relating to
physical roughness”, Mokuzai gakkaishi, Vol. 29. No. 11, pp.731-737 (1983)
3. Larricq, P., Ramananantoandro, T., Bacou, M., Eterradossi, O., “Two compared analysis of roughness
on sanded surfaces: How to replace sensorial measure by mechanical measure?”, Proceedings of the
2nd International Symposium on Wood Machining, Vienna, July 5-7, 2004, pp.367-375
4. Harter, H. L., “Expected values of normal order statistics”, Biometrika, Vol. 48, No. 1 and 2, pp.151-
165 (1961)
5. Fujiwara, Y., Fujii, Y., Okumura, S., “Effect of removal of deep valleys on the evaluation of machined
surfaces of wood”, Forest Products Journal, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp.58-62 (2003)
Measurement and Evaluation of Coated Abrasives
for Wood Machining
Hoffmeister, Hans-Werner; Armbrecht, Christian

h.hoffmeister@tu-bs.de, c.armbrecht@tu-bs.de
ABSTRACT
The cutting performance of coated abrasives for wood processing (abrasive papers) is substantially
determined by their surface topography. The number of grain tips as well as their shape and size are
characteristic parameters which can be derived from the measured image of the topography. The objective
of the work presented in this paper was the development of an automated procedure for the measurement
and characterization of coated abrasives.
For data acquisition the surface of coated abrasives was scanned line by line by a laser sensor. Thereupon,
the measuring data was combined to a data matrix. An algorithm was developed to determine the
distribution of material (Abbot-curve) and to identify grain tips on the surface. Furthermore, statistical
parameters were derived, which allow to quantify the characteristics of the abrasive paper. Finally, the
measured topography was compared with tactile roughness measurements and SEM micrographs.
In order to examine the effect of the abrasive topography on the cutting performance, grinding
experiments with different types of coated abrasives were carried out. At regular intervals process
characteristics were measured and compared with the current topography. Modifications of the abrasive
paper due to the grinding process could be quantified. The developed measurement device and the
evaluation procedure are able to produce comprehensible results. One advantage lies in the contact-less
and thereby wear-free acquisition of the surface topography. Other advantages are that the measurement
device is fast and the measurement is three-dimensional. By that, grain size, grain distribution and chip
space can be determined.
Keywords: sanding, coated abrasives, surface topography, laser sensor, surface inspection
INTRODUCTION
High-quality pieces of furniture are most frequently made of solid wood, whereas wood composites are
used in mass production in furniture industry. Workpieces of solid wood are manufactured in different
production steps. In order to match the demands for a high-quality surface of the workpiece, sanding is
usually the last step in the production chain. This becomes necessary, since surface marks of the
preceding steps like milling have to be removed.
Sanding of wood and wood composites is in most cases conducted by coated abrasives. These tools
consist of abrasive grains, which are fixed by bonding material on a flexible layer made of paper or fabric.
Besides the grain material and the type of the layer the applicability of coated abrasives is determined by
their surface topography. Depending on the grit size, number and dimension of the grains and their height
and distribution above the bonding material, different machining results are attained.
The amount of abrasive grains in relation to the surface area is called grain distribution or grain density
(fig. 1). The denser the grain distribution, the more grains contribute to the machining process, resulting
in lower normal forces and thus lower penetration into the workpiece surface. This creates a smooth,
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar S Hoffmeister and Armbrecht - 97
homogeneous workpiece surface. Coated abrasives with a dense grain distribution are generally used for
machining of hardwood, wood composites and lacquered surfaces. A loose distribution is advantageous
for sanding of softwood containing larger amounts of resin. Due to larger distances between single grains,
the chip space is filled at a slower rate with dust and resin deposits, augmenting tool lifetime.
1 mm P80 P80 P80

Type A Type B Type C
© 414-26-01
loose dense
distribution
decreasing grain density distribution
Figure 1: Varying grain density for different coated abrasives of grit size P80
For different machining tasks a multitude of coated abrasives is offered. Normally, the user is only
provided by the manufacturer with information about grit size, grain material and layer type. For further
specifications like grain height and distribution, no quantitative parameters are available. Therefore, the
aim was the development of a measurement system for an objective, quantitative evaluation of the surface
topography of coated abrasives [1].
DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

For acquisition of the surface topography, a surface measurement device has been developed. It consists
of a laser probe and two stepping motors (fig. 2). The laser sensor uses an interferometric measuring
principle for the determination of the surface height at the current measuring position. In comparison to
the classical laser triangulation principle, the utilized sensor provides more robust and reliable data. Laser
triangulation determines the distance between sensor and surface by the help of one reflected laser beam,
while the interferometric principle uses 1.400 beams which are reflected at different angles from the
surface. This enables the system to acquire the partially highly reflective abrasive grains, whereas
conventional measuring devices fail. The possibility to apply different lens systems to the sensors allows
for an adaptation of the resolution of the probe to the grit size of the coated abrasive [2].
The stepping motors are used for the positioning of the sample beneath the probe in two axes. The surface
is scanned line by line, creating a three-dimensional representation of the topography. With the help of a
computer system, the measuring data is combined to a data matrix. This data matrix is processed by an
algorithm for the correction of the inclination and a Gaussian data filtering. The data filtering is necessary
to separate the long-wave grain structure from the short-waved grain roughness. The subsequent
evaluation is realized with the help of the parameters of the three-dimensional material-curve (Abbott-
curve) and the density of grain tips.
Laser sensor
CCD-camera
Sample
© 398-88-01
Stepping motor
Figure 2: Measurement system for the evaluation of coated abrasives
In order to determine the three-dimensional material-curve the data matrix is segmented into equidistant
levels. The ratio of material-filled surface area and the measuring field size shows the respective amount
of material for each level. Based on this height distribution the chip space V”SP can be calculated (fig. 3).
The chip space characterizes the space between grain tips related to the measuring area which can be used
for chipping.
Chip space V“Sp
Material
distribution Smr(z)
ZS
© 348-53-01
0 Smr1 Smr2 100%
Figure 3: Determination of the material distribution (Abbott-curve)
Grain tips appear in the data matrix as local maxima. An algorithm was developed to identify grain tips by
certain criteria from the multitude of local maxima. Therefore, in a first step location and height of
possible grain tips are determined. Secondly, the distance between each of these tips is compared. Should
the distance fall below the average grain diameter as defined in DIN ISO 6344 [3], the tips are considered
as a single grain, possessing several tips. The result is a statistical height distribution of abrasive grains in
relation to the measurement area called grain density N”G.
VERIFICATION OF THE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

In order to verify the newly developed measurement system, various tests were conducted. Experiments
regarding the repeat accuracy proved high reliability of the system. Furthermore, the three-dimensional
surface data obtained by the measurement system was compared to SEM micrographs of the same
section, as shown in fig. 4. There is a good correspondence between the two representations of the surface
area. Both images show clearly one large grain (4, 5) and two smaller ones at the edge of the
measurement field (2). In addition, two pores on the surface can be recognized (2, 3).
2 150 µm
Height [µm]
1
290
1 2
130 5
-30
4
3 3
1,
2
1,
25
0
1,
1,
0
8
Y
0,
0,
[m 5 4
75
]
6
0,
m m
0,
© 414-55-03
]
4
[m
5
0,
dk50 =200 µm
0,
X
2
25
0,
0
0
Figure 4: Comparison of a measured surface (left) and a SEM micrograph (right)

of a coated abrasive, grit size P80, corundum, synthetic resin bond
Moreover, two coated abrasives of the same grit size but of different grain density were evaluated and
compared with the help of the surface measurement system (fig. 5). Both samples were of the grit size
P180. Sample A had a very dense grain distribution, whereas sample B showed a loose distribution of
grains embedded deeply into the bonding material.
These impressions based on the SEM micrographs are confirmed by the results of the measurement
system. Therefore, each sample was measured five times, thus considering possible measuring errors and
statistical spread. The height of the grains of sample A is about 225 µm above the bonding material, in
contrast to sample B, whose grains protrude approximately half as much. The maximum grain density
N”G of sample A constitutes nearly 45 mm-2, resulting from the dense distribution of grains. Sample B
however shows only half the density of 20 grains per mm2, corresponding to loose distribution which
could be observed on the SEM micrograph.
Typ A: 1mm Typ B:
P180 P180
Awuko Ekamant
KU62RP RKJ180
ZS = 229,5 µm ZS = 133,6 µm
N“pk = 17,3 mm-2 N“pk = 9,3 mm-2
N“G = 44,5 mm-2 N“G = 20,1 mm-2
V“Sp = 87,4 • 10-3 mm3 V“Sp = 51,4 • 10-3 mm3
0
Smr (z)
50
N"(z)
100
ZS
Smr (z) N"(z)

150
µm
250
0 20 40 60 % 100 0 20 40 60 % 100
Materialanteil Smr Materialanteil Smr
0 10 20 30 mm-2 50 0 10 20 30 mm-2 50
Streudichte N" Streudichte N"
Figure 5 Evaluation of two different specifications of coated abrasives.

Dense distribution (left), loose distribution (right)
SANDING EXPERIMENTS
Finally, sanding experiments were conducted. The objective was to research the correlation between the
parameters obtained with the help of the measurement system and those of the sanding process like
material removal rate, tool wear and surface roughness of the workpiece. In the course of the
investigations, different abrasive belts of varying grit sizes and grain densities were analysed. To
guarantee controlled machining conditions, an experimental sanding device was constructed. Workpieces
of spruce were machined with defined cutting velocities and contact pressures. At specified cutting
lengths the process was interrupted to measure and evaluate the abrasive belt with the help of the surface
measurement system. Material removal rate was measured by weighing of the workpieces; their surface
roughness was determined by tactile roughness measurements.
Fig. 6 shows exemplarily the results for an abrasive belt of grit size P180. Wear at the beginning of the
experiments is characterized by the break out of grain tips. This behaviour corresponds with a decreasing
density of grain tips analyzed by the measurement system. Filling of the chip space is the dominating
wear mechanism in the further process, up to a complete blunting of the sanding belts, resulting in a
decreasing chip space V”Sp.
Tool: Workpiece:
Hermes, P180 Spruce,
Fn tangential sanding
corundum,
100 100 0,06
synthetic
Parameters:
resin bond vc
vc= 300 m/min
-2
mm
mm
mm
Material removal rate Q " W
s Fn= 56,9 N
Chip space V " Sp
Grain density N " G
60 60 0,032
Grain density N“G

40 40 0,024 Chip space V“Sp
Mater
ial rem
20 20 0,012 ov al rate
Q“W
© 449-92-00
0 0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 m 4000
Cutting length l c
Figure 6: Decreasing chip space during sanding, measured by the new evaluation system
CONCLUSIONS
In order to obtain objective, quantitative parameters for the characterization of coated abrasives, a new
surface measurement system was developed. The work included the hardware design as well as the
development of software algorithms for the evaluation of the surface topography.
The system determines parameters like the height of the topography, material distribution and grain
density. Various tests proved the reliability and the capability of the new measurement system and the
appropriate algorithms. By means of sanding experiments the new parameters describing the surface
topography of the abrasive were compared to the process parameters.
REFERENCES
1. Hoffmeister, H.-W., Schnettker, T.A., “Schleifmittel auf Unterlagen objektiv bewerten?”. HOB – Die
2. Schnettker, T.A., “Bewertung von Schleifmitteln auf Unterlage für die Holzbearbeitung”.
Dissertation, Technical University Braunschweig, 2006.
3. DIN ISO 6344, “Schleifmittel auf Unterlagen: Korngrößen“. Beuth Verlag, Berlin, 2000
Application EMA Mthod to Wide Belt Sander
in Wood Based Panel Industry
Wang, Zheng
Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing 210037
ABSTRACT
This paper studied the vibration characteristic of the wide belt sander in wood based panel industry by
EMA (experimental modal analysis) method to the sand shelf parts and whole machine. Frequency
response function was measured by the fixed spot and changed excitation vibration spots. The frequency
spectrums of sand shelf parts and whole machine were calculated by SISO.
Keywords: Experimental modal analysis(EMA); Wide belt sander, Dynamic design; Frequency response
function;
INTRODUCTION
Vibration Engineering is widely used in various fields, such as aeronautical engineering, space technology
and navigation engineering. As a typical method in dynamics, modal analysis is developed from
identification technique, and is applied to dynamic design of structures and failure prediction. Test results
of EMA can be used for evaluate the performance of structures.
In these years, the manufactory of EAFM (Electric Abrasive Finishing Machine) has realized that
vibration conditions of the machine significantly influence in the quality of the product such as
manufacturing accuracy, service life and working efficiency. This paper focuses on the EMA method for
analyzing dynamic characteristics of the wide band sander with 4fts and 4 grind framework as shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 1: The wide belt sander with four feet in width and four grind frame in structure
1.Below the shelf of machine；2.Below the coarse grit roller；3. The oil vat；4.The limited board device；5.Up the coarse grit roller；6. The thickness
regulating；7. Up the shelf of machine；8. The tighten roller；9.The swing gas vat；10. The handle locked tight；11. The reversed the stress
roller；12.Grind pillow；13.Up the feeding roller；14.The guiding roller；15. Below the feeding roller；16.The roller of the clearing and come out
stuff；23.Main mouth for absorbing dirt；24.The guiding board.
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar S Wang - 103

MODAL TESTS ON AN EAFM
WIDE BELT SANDER
Table 1 is the technique parameters of the wide belt sander.
Tabel 1: The technological parameter of the wide belt sander
Range of the Sand

Numbers of Machining belt Feed speed Motor power
finished Weight
the grindshelf precision/m speed on the grind
product /(m·min-1) /t
/entries m shelf /kW
thick/mm /(m·s-1)
4 2.5～40 ±0.1 26 4～24 27 75×2、55×2
TESTING EQUIPMENT
Agilent 35670 Dynamic Signal Analyzer, HP 320 Workstation, PCB 308B02 ICP accelerometer, PCB
SP205 exciting hammer (weight 2kg), PCB LIXIE (weight 2kg, with ICP force sensor) and “MODAL 3.0
SE System” were used to setup the Structural Measurement Systems.
TESTING SYSTEM
Figure 2 shows experimental setup for signal acquisition, digitization, and processing. The signals from
the accelerometer sensor due to impact of the hammer were transmitted to Agilent 35670 Dynamic Signal
Analyze and HP 320 Workstation for analysis by the MODAL 3.0 SE program, and Frequency response
function was recorded.
Figure 2: Experimental setup for signal acquisition, digitization, and processing

MEASUREMENT POINTS
The measurement points were located firstly, and then the exciting points were fixed.
SAND SHELF PART

The exciting and measurement positions were located on the touch roller, guiding roller, and bearing
base. The positions of accelerometer located in the touch and the guiding roller with 1.4m length as
shown in Fig 3.
Fig.3 Positions of the exciting vibration on the touch roller
MACHINE FRAME
The sensors located the front and rear of the bearing base. The signal of vibration response from the
whole machine was acquired by exciting the upper-frame.
TESTING METHODS
The machine was excited by the hammer. The acceleration signals were measured at the same response
position (such as the 9th point in figure 3) while exciting position varies each time, and frequency
response function of the machine was obtained by SISO method.

TYPICAL FREQUENCY RESPONSE FUNCTION
Frequency response curve by 5 times of the upper-frame (F) in rear bearing base (R) was shown in Fig. 4.
Exciting force applied to the upper-frame and response of the front and rear of the bearing base were list
in table 2.

Figure 4: Frequency response curve by 5 times of the upper-frame
Table 2: Basic circs list forced to the up sander frame and response to forward and back axletree
seats
Name of the measuring dot The heft of main frequency/Hz

Forced to the up sander frame and response to forward and front
26.5；38.0；69.5
axletree seats
Forced to the up sander frame and response to forward and back
26.5；38.0；69.5
axletree seats
Forced to the up sander frame and response to forward and back
26.5；38.0；69.5
axletree seats(zoom out spectrum)
FREQUENCY RESPONSE FUNCTION OF THE SAND SHELF

The measured response and exciting force applied to the bearing base and touch roller were list in table 3.
Frequency responses curves of the bearing base and touch roller were shown in Fig.5 and Fig. 6,
respectively.
Table 3: Basic circs list with excitation and Response to the axletree seats and the touch roller
Name of the measuring dot File name The heft of main frequency/Hz
Forced to the front axletree seat and response
b1 108；141.5
to the front axletree seat
Forced to the back axletree seat and response
b2 108；142；163
to the front axletree seat
Forced to the front axletree seat and response
b3 178；221；300
to the back axletree seat
Forced to the 4th dot and response to the 1st
ab1 45.0；48.25；83.25
dot in the touching roller
Forced to the 4th dot and response to the 2nd
ab2 45.0；48.25；83.25
dot in the touching roller

Figure 5: Frequency response curve to the front axletree seat and response to the front axletree
seat
Figure 6: Frequency response curve to the 4th dot and response to the 2nd dot in the touching roller
FREQUENCY IDENTIFIED MODES

Frequency identified modes were shown in table 5.
Table 5: The list of the nature frequency with mode form
The name of Rank number with The nature frequency with Damp ratio with
testing object mode form mode form/Hz mode form/%
Guiding roller The first rank 143.3 1.89
Guiding roller The second rank 283.1 2.10
Touching roller The first rank 45.0 1.40
Touching roller The second rank 83.25 1.90
Whole machine The first rank 26.50 5.10
Whole machine The second rank 38.10 2.40
MODAL SHAPES
The first and second bending modes were shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively.

Figure 7: The first steps mode of the touching roller(Freq45.0Hz,Damp1.4%)
Figure 8: The second steps mode of the touching roller (Freq83.25Hz,Damp1.9%)
4 CONCLUSIONS
ANALYSIS ON THE SANDING FACE OF MDF BY THE WIDE BELT MACHINE WITH
SIGNIFICANT TRANSVERSE LINES
Diameter of the touch roller was 0.345m, and linear velocity of the sand belt was 27m/s. Thus the rotating speed of
the rotor was about 25rpm. We can get conclusion that there was an exciter exist with 25Hz, and the exciter was the
rotor. The average distance between each transverse line (217mm) was calculated out after the modal testing.
Frequency (26.11Hz) of the transverse lines also can be determined.
Figure 9: The phenomenon produced transverse lines on the face of MDF

Resonance of the sanding MDF occurred due to the coupling of the exciting frequency of the rotor (25Hz)
and the first natural frequency of the MDF (26.5Hz). This phenomenon produced transverse lines on the
face of MDF, such as figure 9, which was the major defect of the MDF. The first natural frequency of the
driving rotor and the sand roller was 25Hz and 29.5 Hz, respectively. Resonance will not occur while the
first natural frequency of the guiding roller and the touch roller was 143.3Hz and 45.0Hz respectively.
Other exciter, such as cutting edge machine, had very low exciting energy, will not lead to the resonance
of the sanding MDF.
ADVISE TO THE EAFM DESIGN

In addition to the static structure design, such as the machine installation, adjustment, dynamic balance to
tighten roller, touch and guiding roller, the designer also need pay attention to dynamics design. Many
kinds of methods will be useful to the dynamics design, such as modal test. Focus on the EAFM design,
there are 4 points we should pay attention to.
1. Adjust power of the driving rotor, if possible, avoid resonance phenomenon by altering the rotating
speed of the rotor.
2. Apply sensitive methods to structural dynamics design. Since those parameters have significant
influences to the mode shapes, and they are sensitive to the eigenvalues and eigenvectors, we suggest
to modify the mass, stiffness and viscous damping attached to the part that have large deformation in
some mode shapes. According to this EAFM, we can alter its natural frequency by modifying its
stiffness and mass. Through this method, we can separate the lower natural frequency of the EAFM
from exciting frequency, thus avoid resonance phenomenon.
3. Using frame structure made of drawing temper steel or cast mixed oral, which can bear large loads
for reducing vibration effectively.
4. Pay attention to the environmental exciter, install vibration reduction equipment.
REFERENCES
1. CaoShuqian,ZhangWende,XiaoLongxiang.2001.Vibration structure model analysis -theoretical,
experimental and applied. Tianjin University Press
2. FuZhifang,2002.Vibration model analysis and identify parameters. Beijing: China Machine Press,7:
2－56
3. HuHaiyan,Sun Jiuhou,Chen Huaihai.2002. Mechanical shock and vibration (revised edition).
Beijing: Aviation Industry Press, 6：263－278
4. JiangJianguo.2003.Hydroelectric Overflow.dam horizontal gate vibration laboratory model analysis.
Hangzhou: Dam and security, 3：54－58
5. Kelakete.R.A.SunWeidong Translate.1983. Mechanical failure of detection and diagnosis. Beijing:
China Machine Press, 3-35
6. Liubingshan. 2003. Composite materials-wing boxes of the design, model analysis and testing.
Beijing:Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal. （2911):1026-1028
7. Tiaojunqiang.2001.Solid rocket motor test model analysis and technology research. Beijing: Solid
rocket technology, 24(2):73-77

8. Tom Som.W.T.1980. Vibration theory and applications, Beijing: Coal Industry Press, 5-52
9. XiaoLongxiang.1991. Model analysis for vibration structure.Tianjin: Mechanics of Tianjin
University, 131
10. Yinghuaiqiao.2002. Vibration and noise of modern technology. Beijing: Aerospace Industry
Press,9:179-180.
11. Yuqihao.2001. Model analysis of the application in the construction machinery. Beijing: Beijing
Construction College Journal, 10:90-93
12. Zhanglinmi.1992. Vibration testing and analysis engine. Beijing: Aviation Industry Press, 11:238-246

Machining Seminar
Session V
Tool Materials

Burr Formation Characteristics in Grooving
with a Computerized Numerically Controlled Router
Ohuchi, Takeshi1; Yamashita, Yui2; Murase, Yasuhide2
1 2
Division of Technology Education, Faculty of Laboratory of Wood Material Technology,
Education, Division of Biomaterial Science,
Fukuoka University of Education, Akama Department of Forest and Forest Products Science,
Munakata city, Fukuoka Pref. 811-4192, JAPAN Faculty of Agriculture,
E-mail: xc13_2000@ybb.ne.jp Kyushu University, Hakozaki Higashi-ku Fukuoka
812-8581, JAPAN
ABSTRACT
Computerized numerically controlled (CNC) routers have been used under hard processing conditions
with the aim of raising productivity. Therefore, tool wear progresses rapidly, and the burr formation
occurs on surface of wood and wood based-material frequently. Because this burr formation greatly
influences product quality and productivity, the investigation on the characteristics of burr formed by tool
wear in processing is requested.
In this study, to obtain basic knowledge on burr formation, the grooving of wood with a CNC router by
using wear bits and non-cutting bit were conducted under various grooving conditions, and the shape,
area of burr were measured, respectively. In addition, the vibration during grooving was measured, and
the correspondence between burr formation and vibration was examined.
The main results are summarized as follows: the differences of burr shapes were recognized with each
grooving condition, and these shapes were classified into three types (string type, vertical type, and curl
type). The burr area became larger with increasing bit wear regardless depth of groove. The high
correlation was recognized between the vibration amplitudes and the burr area. From this result, it was
suggested that the vibration of the work material in grooving is closely related to the burr formed by the
progress of bit wear.
INTRODUCTION
Recently, CNC routers have become especially popular in furniture manufacturing, and have been used
for the grooving, side milling, and patterning of furniture materials. In these manufacturing processes,
CNC routers have been used under hard processing conditions with the aim of raising productivity.
Therefore, tool wear progresses rapidly, and burr formation on the surface of wood and wood-based
materials, as well as chipping of the bit, occur frequently, influencing productivity and product quality.
Then, the authors previously pay attention to burr formation on the surface of work material because of
the progressing of tool wear, a charge-coupled device (CCD) vision sensor with high reliability to monitor
the burr formed because of tool wear was installed in a CNC router, and a side milling system for
monitoring the burr formation in processing and removing it automatically was developed. In addition,
the verification experiments of this system were carried out. From these results, the authors reported that
this system could measure the area of burr formed in processing and remove it automatically. As a method
of removing burr of this system, the following method was adopted. That is, the center of the bit is located
on the edge of processing surface, the bit point is set on the surface of the work material, and the re-
milling is performed. However, it was reported that the removal of burr by this method was difficult in a
part of milling conditions because the shape of burr formed in side milling was not constant. To deal with
Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Ohuchi, Yamashita and Murase – 113
this problem, it is hoped to adopt the removal method corresponding to the burr shape. Therefore, the
investigation on the characteristics of burr formed by tool wear under various milling conditions is
requested.
In this study, to obtain basic knowledge on burr formation, the grooving of wood with a CNC router by
using wear bit and non-cutting bit were conducted under various grooving conditions, and the shapes,
area of burr were measured, respectively. In addition, the vibration during grooving was measured, and
the correspondence between burr formation and vibration was examined.
CUTTING TOOLS AND WORK MATERIAL

A throw-away type straight bit with a single-edged blade having a cutting diameter of 10 mm was used.
The tip materials were K05-grade cemented carbide and the edge angle was 55 degrees. The rake and
clearance angles in the setting were 22 and 13 degrees, respectively. Router bits in which the edge
recessions reached to 20, 40, and 60 μm by continuous cutting of particleboard and a non-cutting router
bit were prepared, respectively.
Work material used in this experiment was an air-dried spruce (moisture content: 9.6%, specific gravity:
0.46). All pieces were 89 mm long, 89 mm wide, and 26 mm thick.
EXPERIMENTAL
A series of grooving tests were performed on a CNC router (Karatsu Iron Works Co., NC-MATE 40). The
CNC router provides simultaneous three-axis XYZ control, and position accuracy within 0.001mm.
Router bits, depth of groove, and inclination angle of grain were varied in four steps while keeping at the
spindle speed of 250 rps and the feed per knife of 0.2 mm. Here, the inclination angle of grain means the
angle between the tool feed direction and the fiber direction of work material. The grooving conditions in
this test were listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Grooving conditions in this study
Dept h of I ncl i nat i on
Bi t wear Spi ndl e speed Feed per kni f e gr oove angl e of gr ai n
( μ m) ( r ps) ( mm) ( mm) (° )
0 1 0
20 250 0.2 2 45
40 3 90
60 4 135
Grooving tests with the CNC router by using these wear bits and a non-cutting bit were conducted under
various grooving conditions as shown in Table 1. After grooving tests, the shape, area, and inclination
angle of burr were measured by using the image analysis software, respectively. Here, the inclination
angle of burr (θ) means the angle between the direction of burr formed and the surface of work material as
shown in Figure 1. In addition, the vibration during grooving was measured by the acceleration pickup,
and the correspondence between burr formation and vibration was examined.
90°
Gr oove si de Mat er i al si de
Bur r
θ
180° 0°
Figure 1: Inclination angle burr (θ)

BURR SHAPES
In the shapes of burr, paying attention to three points of the burr type, the inclination to the surface of
work material, and the tool feed direction, the burr shapes were evaluated. Table 1 shows the main results
obtained in this test. From the results, the differences of burr shapes were recognized with each grooving
condition, and these shapes were classified into three types. That is, the string type formed in long and
slender shape, the vertical type formed straight from the corner in groove, and the curl type rolled in the
material side were confirmed as shown in Figure 2. In the inclination to surface of work material, two
types which inclined at the material side and the groove side were confirmed. In the inclination to the tool
feed direction, two types which formed in the same direction and the opposite direction were also
confirmed.
String type
Vertical type
Curl type
Figure 2: Burr shapes
Table 2: Shapes of burr formed in grooving (Bit wear: 60μm, Depth of groove: 4mm)
Inclination Inclination to surface Inclination to tool
Cutting
angle of Shape of burr of work material feed direction (Side
direction
grain (Top view) view)
Groove side
Up-
Tool feed direction
milling Material side
none none none
0°
Down-
milling
String type Material side Opposite direction
Up-
milling
Curl type Material side Same direction
45°
Down-
milling
Vertical type Material side Opposite direction
Up-
milling
Vertical type Material side Same direction
90°
Down-
milling
Curl type Material side Opposite direction
Up-
milling
Vertical type Groove side Same direction
135°
Down-
milling
Curl type Material side Opposite direction
EFFECTS OF BIT WEAR
Figure 3 shows the relationships between burr area and bit wear in Up-milling and 2mm in depth of
groove. Thus, in the inclination angle of grain of 90 and 135 degrees, the burr area became larger with
increasing bit wear. In the inclination angle of gain of 45 degrees, the tendency that the burr area increases
with increasing bit wear until 40 μm was showed, and the tendency to decrease slightly with increasing
bit wear from 40 to 60 μm was showed. For the other hand, in the inclination angle of grain of 0 degree,
the burr formation was not recognized. Figure 4 shows the relationships between the inclination angle of
burr and bit wear in Up-milling and 2 mm in depth of groove. From this result, the inclination angle of
burr was almost unaffected by bit wear and showed constant values.
180 Groove side

Burr area(mm2)
40 0°
Inclination angle
45° 150
30 90°
° ）
135° 120
of burr（
20 90
10 60 45°
30 90°
0 0 Material side 135°
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
Bit wear （μ m） Bit wear（μ m）
Figure 3: Relationships between burr area Figure 4: Relationships between inclination

and bit wear angle of burr and bit wear
Notes: Depth of groove: 2mm, Up- Notes: Depth of groove: 2mm, Up-
millin millin
EFFECTS OF DEPTH OF GROOVE

Figure 5 shows the relationships between burr area and depth of groove in Down-milling and bit wear of
40 μm. In the inclination angle of grain of 135 degrees, the burr area became larger with increasing depth
of groove. Except for this condition (135 degrees), the burr area was almost unaffected by depth of
groove.
Figure 6 shows the relationships between the inclination angle of burr and depth of groove in Down-
milling and bit wear of 40 μm. From this result, the inclination angle of burr was almost unaffected by
depth of groove and showed constant values.
Burr area（mm2）
40 180 Groove side

150
Inclination angle
30 120
° ）
20 90
of burr（
0° 60 0°
10 45° 45°
90° 30 90°
0 135° 0 Material side 135°
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Depth of groove（
mm） Depth of groove（
mm）
Figure 5: Relationships between burr area and Figure 6: Relationships between inclination angle
depth of groove of burr and bit wear
Notes: Bit wear:40μm, Down-milling Notes: Bit wear:40μm, Down-milling
Vibration of work material
Figure 7 shows the relationships between the average amplitude of vibration and bit wear in the case of
2mm in depth of groove. In any case of the inclination angle of grain, the average amplitude of vibration
became larger with increasing bit wear.
400
Average amplitude
mV）
300 Figure 7: Relationships between average

of vibration（
amplitudeof vibration and bit wear

200
0° Note: Depth of groove:2mm
100 45°
0 90°
135°
0 20 40 60
Tool wear（
μ m）
Figure 8 shows the relationships between average amplitude of vibration and depth of groove in the case
of bit wear of 40μm. The average amplitude of vibration became larger with increasing depth of groove
regardless the inclination angle of grain.
Average amplitude
400
mV）
Figure 8: Relationships between

300 average amplitude of
of vibration（
vibration and depth of

200 groove
0°
100 45° Note: Bit wear:40μm
0 90°
135°
1 2 3 4
Depth of groove（
mm）
Figure 9 shows the relationships between burr area and the inclination angle of burr in the case of 2mm in
depth of groove. The high correlation was recognized between the vibration amplitudes and the burr area.
From this result, it was suggested that the vibration of the work material in grooving is closely related to
the burr formed by the progress of bit wear.
Up milling Down milling

40
Burr area(mm2)
30
20
10 45°
90°
0 135°
100 200 300 100 200 300
Average amplitude of vibration (mV)
45° R2=0.899 45° R2=0.743
2
90° R =0.836 90° R2=0.962
2
135°R =0.887 135° R2=0.985
Figure 9: Relationships between burr and average amplitude of vibration

Notes: Depths of groove: 2mm, Up-milling
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, burr formation characteristics in grooving with a CNC router were investigated under
various grooving conditions. The main results are summarized as follows:
1. The differences of burr shapes were recognized with each grooving condition, and these shapes were
classified into three types (string type, vertical type, and curl type).
2. The burr area became larger with increasing bit wear regardless depth of groove.
3. The high correlation was recognized between the vibration amplitudes and the burr area. From this
result, it was suggested that the vibration of the work material in grooving is closely related to the
burr formed by the progress of bit wear.
REFERENCES
1. Ohuchi T, Murase Y (2001) Milling of wood and wood-based materials with a computerized
numerically controlled router I: On the machining accuracy for grooving (in Japanese). Mokuzai
Gakkaishi 47(3):212-217
numerically controlled router II: On the machining accuracy for side milling of grooves (in Japanese).
Mokuzai Gakkaishi 47(6):465-472
numerically controlled Router III: Effects of tool wear on the machining accuracy and burr for
grooving (in Japanese). Mokuzai Kogyou 57(7):297-302
4. Ohuchi T, Murase Y (2002) A construction of tool wear monitoring system in milling of wood and
wood-based materials with a computerized numerically controlled router (in Japanese). Science
bulletin of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University 56(2):131-254
numerically controlled router IV: development of automatic measurement system for cutting edge
profile of throw-away type straight bit. Journal of Wood Science 51(3):278-281
6. Ohuchi T, Murase Y (2006) Milling of wood and wood-based material with a computerized
numerically controlled router V: development of adaptive control grooving system corresponding to
progression of tool wear. Journal of Wood Science 52(5):395-400
IWMS
Dr. John Taylor - Committee Co-Chair
Mr. Darrell Wong - Committee Co-Chair
Ms. Stephanie Troughton - IWMS-18 Coordinator
Prof. Gary Schajer
18
Dr. Bruce Lehmann
Mr. Benoît Laganière
Mr. Brian Jung
Ms. Jennifer Rice
Ms. Karm Gill
Ms. Sue Rollinson
IWMS-18 Advisory Committee

Prof. R. Birkeland
Prof. R. Fischer
Prof. A. Grönlund
Prof. U. Heisel
Prof. F. Scholz
Prof. S. Okumura
Prof. G. Schajer
Prof. C. Tanaka
Dr. R. Szymani
Dr. J. Taylor
www.fpinnovations.ca
www.IWMS18.ca

18th International Wood Machining Seminar - May 2007

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18th International

Wood Machining Seminar

O RAL P RE S E N TAT I ONS

Additional copies of these proceedings

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar ii

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

John Taylor and Darrell Wong

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar iii

A New Direction for Wood Engineer’s Responsibility

Process Control Based on Meaurement of Spiral Grain and Heartwood Content

Penetration of Liquid into Laser Incised Lumber by the Passive Impregnation

The Behaviour of Circular Saws at High Speeds

Heating and Cooling of Circular Saws

Sawblade Vibration Mode Shape Measurement Using ESPI

Separate-sided Surface Height Measurement Using a Handheld Profiling Device

Evaluation of Different Circular Saw Designs

Examining Circular Saw Vibrations in the Sawmill

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar v

Planing Timber with an Active Machining System

Some Special Problems of Thermosmoothing and Coating

Simulation of the Effectivity of Suction Hoods

The Router Moulder Story

Process-integrated Cleaning of Tools and Machine Parts via CO2-Particles

A New Safety System for Dimension Saws “Cut-Stop”

Basics and Realisation of Edge Band Bonding Using Laser Technology

Flexible and Adaptive Production Systems for Manufacturing of Wooden Components

The Profile Independent Wood Moulding Machine-II

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar vi

Power Demand in Routing Wood and Wood Composites

Mechanical Analysis of Cellular Deformation and Fracture in Wood Cutting Process

Cutting Force Prediction in MDF Boards Machining

Particleboard Cutting Model

Roller Bar and Knife Settings on Veneer Peeling Quality

Influence of Sawing Conditions on the Quality of Particleboard Edges

Optical Triangulation in Wood Surface Roughness Measurement

Quality and Assessment of Sanded Surfaces

Reducing Fuzziness In Abrasive Sanding Of Rubberwood (Hevea Brasiliensis)

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar vii

Stellite® Alloys for Woodcutting

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar viii

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar 1

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 3

DEVELOPMENT OF MACHINING WOOD

Developement of sawing wood

feeding speed in m/min Power in kW/headenginee

Figure 2: Development of sawing wood

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 4

E = Power[kW ] / v f [m / min] in kW min/ m

THE NEW CHALLENGES

THE SMALL-SCALED ENTERPRISE

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 5

Figure 4: Scheme of flexible chained machines in a meshwork as an interconnected system

INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 6

Machine Process Interact Mating Micro Process

SOME EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIONS

Figure 6: Model to calculate progress of dulling

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 7

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 8

Figure 8: Modern 5-axis controlled milling machine [7]

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 9

Proceedings of the 18th International Wood Machining Seminar Fisher – 10