ANÁLISIS DEL PROCESO DE CALENTAMIENTO DE TROCERÍA PARA LA PRODUCCIÓN DE CHAPA

Abstract

The softening of wood prior to peeling or slicing, is considered essential for the optimization ofveneer quality, due to the cutting facility that is achieved when the wood is plastized through the application of heat.
The optimization of the wood conditioning process is assocciated with the characteristics of the species, with the temperature and with the heating periods.
The present study was carried out in order to define the most appropiate interrelationship of these parameters, through the utilization of wood of the following species: guapinol (Hymenea courbari/); encino americano (Quercus spp.); granadillo (Platymiscium yucatanum); pino (Pinus spp.); cedrillo (Guarea spp.) and guanacastle (Enterolobium cyc/ocarpum ).
The heating tests were performed in a metalic container, using water as the thermoconducting medium; the temperatures inside the flitches were determined with an electrical thermometer with thermocouples. The optimum heating period varied directly with the density and inversely with the moisture content ofwood.
The temperatures for the production of high quality veneer, measured at the moment of cutting the wood were: for guapinol from 46 ºC to 53 ºC, for oak from 45 ºC to 49 ºC, for granadillo from 43 ºC to 46 ºC, for pine from 40 ºC to 47 ºC, for cedrillo from 43 ºC to 44 ºC and for guanacastle from 23 ºC to 31 ºC.