Timber Drying Constraint Apparatus for Dimensional Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the timber drying process, crook (deviation or change in direction from the lengthwise axis without deviating from the plane of the wide face of the cross-section) occurs, which is not properly constrained, leading to issues in manufacturing elongate engineered timber products.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus are used to constrain sticks during drying by advancing them laterally onto an underlying frame and squeezing them using an overlying frame with spaced penetrative members to prevent crook, allowing drying while constrained, and then releasing the squeeze to reduce the tendency of crook.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sticks are left unconstrained during drying, then the drying process is simple and quick, but crook occurs leading to poor dimensional stability
Solution Approach 1:
The drying apparatus is segmented into multiple frames with individual sticks placed between them, allowing independent constraint and drying of each stick while maintaining overall system simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
Penetrative members act as intermediaries between the frames and sticks, providing the necessary constraint force to prevent crook during drying without requiring complex clamping mechanisms
2Manufacturing precision
If penetrative members are used to constrain sticks during drying, then crook is minimized improving dimensional stability, but the apparatus becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The penetrative members are designed to automatically penetrate and constrain the sticks as the frames are brought together, eliminating the need for additional actuators or complex control mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using external clamps to constrain sticks, the apparatus uses penetrative members that push into the sticks from the drying frames themselves, inverting the conventional constraint approach
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively minimizes or eliminates crook in timber sticks during drying, enabling the production of high-quality elongate engineered structural lumber products with improved dimensional stability.
Implementation Method 1
squeezing the sticks when laterally received on the underlying frame to said underlying frame using an overlying frame carrying spaced penetrative members
Implementation Method 2
allowing drying to occur whilst the sticks are so constrained by such squeezing
Data Source
AI summary
A method of drying sticks, a related apparatus, resultant product and its uses where the method involves presenting a plurality of sticks in parallel as a single layer, pressing each stick with a bank of pressing members on and/or into at least one face of the sticks, each with plurality of protuberances, thereby to constrain the sticks against crook, and drying the sticks when so constrained. Preferably each bank of pressing members is an underside of a frame or lattice of a stack of such frames or lattices able to receive such a single layer of sticks between adjacent overlying/underlying frames or lattices, the protuberances preferably being only downwardly directed.