Particleboard plants: density and moisture vary across the board
Why wood-based panel plants see density and moisture vary across the board, what it costs in rejects and glue, and how to check a computed value first.
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Density and moisture vary across the board
What happens. The board comes out of the press with a density profile and a moisture level that are not the same everywhere. Fibre and chip quality, the dryer and the glue mix all move, and the lab results reach the line well after the board is pressed.
What it costs. Rejects at the end of the line, boards pressed thicker or with more glue than necessary to stay safe, and complaints when a property is out of specification at the customer.
Why the usual fix fails. Raising the glue or the press time keeps the board in specification and adds cost to every board. Spot checks by the lab find the problem after the material has gone through, and it is hard to trace back to the dryer or the forming.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From line logs (dryer temperatures and humidity, chip moisture, glue dosing, press curves, thickness and density measurements, lab values) I look at which settings drive the variation across the board. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether a computed density and moisture can lead the press and the dryer, and what it would take.
Background: Predictive control of process plants
More problems that concern this industry
These problems are described on the page of the industry where they matter most:
- Dryers run for the worst case and over-dry (Dryer builders)
Check it on your plant first: a fixed-price remote diagnosis
EUR 4,500 net · 5 working days · remote · availability on request · freelance or through temporary agency work
Within a fixed scope and at a fixed price, I review your data, control structure and measurements remotely and tell you whether the problem on this page is behind your symptoms and what fixing it would take. You get a short summary for decision-makers and a technical report for your engineers.