Tackling Fire Risks and Quality Issues in Industrial Wood Planer Machines
Challenge
Binderholz faces fire hazards and product quality issues due to machine overheating during wood planing. Friction-induced heat on components like pressure shoes can ignite wood chips or damage surfaces. Conventional sensors are impractical for widespread, real-time monitoring in this harsh, fast-moving environment.
Solution
Continuous infrared temperature monitoring ensures early detection of overheating in critical machine areas. Real-time thermal imaging enables automated alarms and integration with control systems, allowing proactive intervention without interrupting production or requiring complex wiring in the dusty, chip-filled environment.
Benefits
- Prevents fires by detecting hotspots before ignition can occur
- Maintains wood quality by avoiding heat-induced surface defects
- Reduces downtime through real-time alerts and automatic machine intervention
- Enables early detection of wear-related heat buildup in machine parts
- Supports efficient production with continuous, hands-free thermal monitoring
Fire Risk Prevention in Wood Planer Machines: Overcoming the Challenges
The problem for Binderholz is the potential risk of fire and reduced quality due to overheating of the machine parts in their modern wood planer machines.
When processing wood products, parts of the machine, particularly the infeed rulers and pressure shoes, can become very hot due to the high contact pressure and associated friction. In the worst case, this overheating can cause the chips to ignite and start a fire. Such a fire would not only damage the machinery and equipment involved but would also put the safety of personnel at risk and significantly affect production.
In addition to the risk of fire, overheating also poses a problem for the quality of the wood products produced. The high friction and the resulting heat can cause burns and discoloration on the surface of the wood. These defects impair the visual and functional quality of the end products, leading to increased rejects and additional costs. Subsequent quality control can often only recognize this damage at a late stage, which means that many more boards with the same defects have already been produced.
Another problem is that conventional temperature measurement methods are not practical in this production environment. The wiring of temperature sensors would be too complex and the cables would be susceptible to damage from the wood chips. In addition, the temperature would have to be measured at many different points simultaneously, which is difficult to realize using conventional means.
Overall, the combination of fire risk and reduced quality leads to increased uncertainty and inefficiency in production. Those responsible at Binderholz must therefore constantly ensure that the machines are working properly and do not generate excessive heat. This problem requires a solution that ensures both the safety and quality of production without slowing down or complicating the production process.
The challenge is therefore to find a reliable and efficient method of continuously monitoring and controlling machine temperatures to both prevent fires and ensure the quality of the wood products. This method must be able to take precise temperature measurements without disrupting the production process and should be easy to integrate into the existing infrastructure.
Enhancing Fire Prevention and Quality Control in Woodworking with Optris Infrared Technology
Optris leverages infrared technology to accurately measure temperature, addressing the critical issue of fire prevention in high-speed woodworking operations. The Optris infrared cameras, particularly the PI 400 and PI 640i models, offer precise, non-contact temperature measurements essential for monitoring and maintaining safe operating conditions where overheating can lead to significant hazards.
The PI 400 and PI 640i infrared cameras are equipped with high-resolution sensors (382 x 288 pixels for the PI 400 and 640 x 480 pixels for the PI 640i), enabling them to capture detailed thermal images of the equipment. This capability is crucial for detecting hotspots on various machine components, including guide rails, pressure shoes, and drive system parts, which are prone to overheating due to high friction and operational stress.
Operating at a measurement frequency of up to 125 Hz, these cameras provide real-time temperature data that can trigger immediate responses if critical temperature thresholds are exceeded. The Optris PIX Connect software enhances the functionality of these cameras by enabling users to set customized alarm thresholds and visualize thermal data effectively. This user-friendly software allows operators to quickly interpret data and make informed decisions to prevent potential fires.
Beyond fire prevention, Optris infrared cameras contribute to quality control. By monitoring the temperature of the wood surface, the system can detect issues such as burn marks or discoloration caused by excessive heat. This dual functionality ensures the final products meet high-quality standards while maintaining a safe production environment.
The integration of Optris infrared cameras into Binderholz’s existing control systems has proven highly effective. The cameras provide continuous data to the programmable logic controller (PLC), enabling real-time monitoring and control of the production process. This seamless integration has allowed Binderholz to implement a proactive approach to fire prevention and quality assurance, resulting in fewer production disruptions and enhanced overall safety.
By leveraging Optris infrared technology, Binderholz has set a new standard for safety and quality in the woodworking industry. The ability to detect and address overheating issues before they escalate into fires has significantly impacted their operations, demonstrating the value of advanced infrared solutions in industrial applications.
Innovative Fire Prevention and Quality Assurance in Wood Processing with Infrared Solutions
Using Optris infrared cameras, Binderholz has significantly improved safety, quality, and efficiency in production.
Optris infrared cameras provide effective fire protection by monitoring the temperature of machine parts in real time, quickly identifying overheated areas. This proactive approach helps to identify and prevent potential fire hazards at an early stage. When defined temperature thresholds are exceeded, alarms are triggered to warn the machine operator and automatically stop the machine in an emergency.
In addition to fire protection, the cameras contribute to quality assurance by monitoring the wood’s surface temperature. This prevents discoloration or burn marks caused by excessive contact pressure, reduces the number of rejects, and ensures high-quality end products.
The PI 400 and PI 640 models offer high precision and speed with a resolution of up to 640 x 480 pixels and a frame rate of 125 Hz. This advanced technical capability allows for precise and fast temperature measurements, which is crucial for the efficient operation of planers.
Integration and handling are made remarkably simple with compact infrared cameras, which can be easily incorporated into the wood planer machine’s existing control and operating architecture. The measured values are directly read into the PLC, and the temperature curve is continuously monitored. Additionally, the PIX Connect software facilitates intuitive operation and detailed analysis of the measurement data, providing reassurance about the ease of use of the product.
The robustness and reliability of these systems have proven to be extremely stable and fail-safe at Binderholz, contributing to the high availability of the entire system. This minimizes production downtimes and increases efficiency.
Furthermore, the adaptability of Optris infrared cameras is a key feature. It allows for the adjustment of temperature thresholds based on the product and type of wood, ensuring optimal customization to meet the specific requirements of production.
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Talk to us about your IR Temperature Measurement Requirements
There are over 300 different pyrometer variants to choose from in the Optris infrared pyrometer portfolio each optimized for material, spot size, distance from the target, and environmental conditions. Fortunately, there is a trained engineer to phone or chat with to guide you through the process of choosing the perfect infrared sensor for your application.
The same support is available for the extensive IR camera product line.
