While necessary to preserve fiber, the process of debarking logs creates a bottleneck in production. Many sawmills and veneer mills can only form product as fast as they can receive logs from debarking. Speeding up the debarking process will therefore be necessary to increase the rate of production.
While not the only solution to speed up debarking, eliminating root flare on log butts is one way to accomplish this. Consider:
- With a ring debarker, large flares must be removed from the trough and processed separately. Otherwise, they get stuck in the debarker because the flare is too large to pass through. This results in unscheduled downtime at a cost of tens- to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in lost production.
- With a rosserhead debarker, the operator must spend additional time removing the flare. During the process, he will likely remove usable fiber. The flare also puts additional stress on the debarker frame and bull wheels while the log turns and bounces.
On the positive side, removing the butt before passing logs through a ring debarker allows operators to pass larger logs through the ring. It also reduces the stress and wear on the tool arms, feed chains, and infeed drum. Removing the butt flare furthermore allows the debarker to perform better, as the flares hold dirt in the flutes, which the debarker tips cannot reach.
Positives to removing flares accompany debarking with rosserheads, as well. The cutters on a rosserhead are not configured to remove fiber, so they do not remove the fiber of the butt flare efficiently. Removing the butt also reduces stress on the debarker frame. Removing the butt furthermore increases production, as the reduced portion is already cleaned and does not require debarking.
Dedicated butt flare reducers can be installed as standalone units, in line with an infeed deck, and alongside the trough. They’re adjustable for the wood species and a variety of other conditions.
Contact us today to learn more about our solutions for butt flares.
