The dependency of energy consumption on cutting angles in the canter chipping process

Canter chippers are used in sawmills to reduce the circular cross section of logs to a rectangular shape before sawing. The canter chipper is a conical disc equipped with knives on its periphery. When rotated at high velocity it transforms the outer parts of a log into sawdust and chips. It is important to be able to predict the energy consumption during canting since it is useful to know whether a particular canting strategy can be employed in situations where there is a limit on the power supply. A theoretical model in which energy consumption can be calculated is necessary for such a prediction. Data concerning the specific cutting energy is needed to develop the model for the canting operation. In this paper the energy consumption during chipping of spruce is determined by using a pilot wood chipper at two different cutting rates and for several cutting angles. The results indicate that the specific energy to cut wood chips increases as the angle between the fibre direction and the cutting plane increases.