Mechanical machining of hardwood

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In the wood industry, much of the processing is based on mechanical machining; processing logs into finished surface products. In addition to the primary products, the resulting chips must also have certain properties to be used as raw material for the wood-based products industry (chipboard, OSB, MDF, ...). The goal of the increased cascading use makes it absolutely necessary to insert a material utilisation for the largely thermally utilised deciduous trees before their thermal utilisation. Due to climatic changes, and the conversion of the forest that has already begun, additional hardwood offers can be expected. However, all processes are based on the so far predominant raw material supply, namely on the processing of softwood. Due to the complexity of the material (hardwood processing), the previous development process is mainly based on trial and error. It is therefore only conditionally possible to rely on existing knowledge. Thus, the wood industry and the wood processing industry are faced with the great challenge of countering the changing material properties (higher density, lack of straightness, shorter trunk sections, difficult gluing properties, more pronounced swelling and contraction behaviour ...) in time in order to maintain the market leadership in this field as well as expand. This applies in particular to the programme regions which, with a comparable forest composition, are expected to have an increased hardwood share due to climatic changes in the near future. In order to solve these challenges, this research must provide a basis for the later questions in the field of hardwood machining. The interdisciplinary approach of KPLUS (material and process sciences) and MENDELU (simulation science, mechanics) provides a holistic understanding of the cutting process and makes it possible to describe it by means of physically determined models. This enables the, thus far, iterative process of technology development to be raised to a knowledge-based level and is the basis for the development of a practical model. Trial and error are therefore hardly necessary, new tool geometries can be tested and optimised using finite element modeling. In addition, the joint project will lead to an expansion and strengthening of the two regional research centres in the processing and machining of renewable raw materials. Since wood can be regarded as a natural, fibre-reinforced composite material, the knowledge gained subsequently also serves as a valuable basis for the description of the machining behaviour of synthetically produced, so-called "high-end" materials, such as carbon or glass fibre composite materials.

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