Wood processing head acoustics successfulFriday 22 Jul 2011
The world-leading Hitman PH330 system allows a processing head to take acoustic soundings of a stem to test its stiffness prior to making log length cutting decisions. The head then makes a log according to specifications entered into the software that manages the system, enabling a logging crew to precisely make logs to the specific log specifications of a mill. “Both of these large trials have been successful and we are now about to install our first production system for a major US player,” says Nigel Sharplin, Sales and Marketing Director of Fibre-gen. Effectively, the PH330 takes the technology of the ST300 and inserts it into a harvesting head to automate log making decisions. A the two probes are attached to the processing head – Waratah 626 and 624 configurations have been developed – and these are inserted into the stem ahead of the log making decision, starting with the butt and progressing towards the top of the felled tree. Prior to each cut, an acoustic signal is measured and if the variation (stiffness) is greater than the predicted log grade, it will drop back to a lower grade. Current computerised optimisation systems used on processing heads only measure the taper of the stem and integrate this with the sweep and knot information fed into the system by the operator, to determine what grade of log to make. Mr Sharplin says the ability of the Hitman PH330 to read the stiffness of a stem prior to making a cutting decision is the next step to complete optimisation, and its application on a processor head is a world first. For full details on the story and link to study, check out the latest R&D Works Newsletter.  | ||
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