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The Director HM200 A hand held tool for
log segregation, measures acoustic speed
in logs and stems to assess wood stiffness
and enhance product grade recoveries.

Stiffness and fibre properties have long been recognized as key product variables in solid wood and pulp and paper processing. End product values are dependent upon the quality of raw material and method of process. Log raw material is extremely variable in these properties and is dependent upon species, site, genetics and silviculture, as well as location within the tree from which logs are cut. The need was recognised for a rapid, non-destructive test to be used on logs to determine their internal properties.

Development focused on acoustic technology because it offered a direct measure of wood stiffness and related wood properties.

The Director HM200 is an efficient, proven tool using acoustics to test stems or logs, to segregate not only for stiffness of timber and veneer, but also for commercially important pulp and paper properties.

It can be applied at a variety of places in the production process, with the benefit coming from application on the stem or log in the forest, skid site or downstream in processing facility yards.

Extensive trials of the Director HM200 have resulted in

  • increases of up to 20% in machine stress graded (MSR/MSG) timber meeting stiffness specification over that resulting from sawing unsegregated logs
  • yields up to double the out-turn of high stiffness veneers for LVL compared to peeling unsegregated logs
  • the ability to produce premium low coarseness or fibre cement pulps

Suitable for use in the forest, sort yard or processing site, the features include:

  • Easy to operate, hand held tool
  • Precise measurement of acoustic speed in logs up to 40 metres
  • Proven across a range of species
  • Correlates to MSG, MSR and veneer MOE
  • Single ended operation
  • Memory for thousands of measurements
  • Downloads to PC
  • Custom functions for supervisor and operator
  • Robust construction, waterproof and shockproof
  • Battery operated

Using the Director HM200 for acoustic log segregation will enhance your processing efficiencies by:

  • Improving your product grade recoveries
  • Increasing the quantity of MSR/MSG timber making grade
  • Increasing the out-turn of high stiffness veneers for LVL

For any enquires or further information contact:
info@fibre-gen.com

View Brochure PDF

HITMAN Advanced Sonic Technology for Log Scalers and their Customers Timber Measurements Society Meeting Longview, Washington, USA, 17-18 October 2007 Business Results – Sonics enabled • Measure Wood Quality before processing: – In conjunction with scaling in mill yard for LVL and MSR • Forecast actual mill LVL or MSR lumber outturn from log supply • Reduce waste and lower processing costs • Reliably fulfill sales orders • Improve profitability through process optimisation More

HITMAN Sonic Technology for Improved Profitability North America, June 2007. The Hitman System Explained. Fibre-gen and sonic technology • Values and contribution to profit • The value chain – integrating the technology • Results and value models • Opportunity analysis and implementation • The tools and how they work More

Acoustic Assessment of Wood Quality of RAW FOREST MATERIALS– A Path to Increased Profitability, US Journal of Forestry Article, 20 May 2007. An Assessment of the quality of raw wood materials has become a crucial issue in the operational value chain as forestry and the wood processing industry are increasingly under economic pressure to maximize extracted value. A significant effort has been devoted toward developing robust nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies capable of predicting the intrinsic wood properties of individual trees, stems, and logs, and assessing the value of stands and forests. Such technologies can help foresters make wise management decisions, grow higher quality wood, and lead to greater profitability for the forest industry. More

Breeding for Wood Quality; Acoustic Tools and Technology 2007 AFG & IUFRO SPWG Joint Conference Hobart, Tasmania, April 2007 Why? Global developments • Resource wood quality is changing, target of value improvement – Global emphasis on structural and appearance qualities – Age of clearfall declining, log quality more variable – Tree breeding has improved volume more than quality • Increased attention to quality standards eg NZ Standard 3622 – Development of ‘verified visual’ grading (sample proof tested) – Price differential in lumber and engineered wood markets – Mills sensitive to stiffness of smaller diameter young wood • New tools – Structural and LVL mills can now measure stiffness Breeding for stiffness will enhance business returns More

Sitka Spruce Poster, Sept 2005. Assessing the potential of acoustic tools to predict sawn batten stiffness in Sitka spruce. Alexis Achim and Peter Carter More

View NZ Forestry Journal Article
Technical Bulletin PDF-Forest Industry Engineering Association
Power Point PDF- Director HM200 Presentation

HM200 - University/College Projects
For copies of supporting Excel spreadsheets for Lab Exercises 1. and 3. contact  peter.carter@fibre-gen.com

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