The wear characteristics of cemented tungsten carbide tools in machining oil palm empty fruit bunch particleboard

A series of machining experiments on the Oil Palm Empty-Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) particle board were carried out using tungsten carbide tools, to ascertain the predominant mechanism of tool wear when machining this material. The experiments were carried out using a high speed lathe, which machined a rotating disc of the OPEFB particle board. It was found that mechanical abrasion and micro-fracture was the primary mode of tool failure when machining OPEFB particle board. The low cutting temperature recorded during the machining experiments provides compelling evidence to eliminate any significant effect of electrochemical and oxidation mechanisms on the wear of tungsten carbide tools. Therefore, the wear of cemented tungsten carbide tools when machining OPEFB particle board was predominantly by mechanical wear mechanisms. The results of this study implies that the high tool wear experienced during the machining of OPEFB particle board, may limit its use in the manufacture of value-added products, unless the boards are priced competitively in the market

Evaluating the machining characteristics of oil palm lumber

A series of machining experiments were carried out using a CNC multi-function machine, to evaluate the sawing, routing and boring as well as the tool wearing properties of the oil palm lumber. The result found that the resultant machined surface of the oil palm lumber of higher densities (>500 kg m-3) is comparable to that of solid Rubberwood. Further, it was also found that the machining properties of oil palm lumber was markedly improved when machining at high cutting speeds, which in turn significantly reduced the incidence of machining defects such as fiber tear out and chip out. However, with higher cutting speeds, accelerated tool wear is inevitable and coupled with the fact that the oil palm lumber is markedly abrasive due to its high silica content, the resulting tooling cost is a concern. Hence, the development of new tooling for the machining oil palm lumber is recommended. Despite this shortcoming, the lower cost and environmental friendly reputation of the oil palm lumber should encourage wider utilization of the material in the furniture industry

Dust-Emission from Abrasive Sanding Processes in the Malaysian Wooden Furniture Industry

A series of sanding experiments were carried out in a large dust tunnel, using an orbital sander with an aluminum oxide abrasive of 150 grit size, on twelve different hardwood species. Dust concentration measurements were taken using gravimetric isokinetic air-quality samplers. A field survey of 25 wooden furniture-manufacturing mills to ascertain the dust exposure levels at the sanding sections and also evaluate the labor productivity losses encountered among workers as a result of dust exposure. The results found that dust emission in the sanding process was primarily determined by the amount of wood removed. Further, the dust exposure levels at the sanding section in the furniture-manufacturing mills were above the standard 5 mg m-3 level and hence, control of dust emission and the use of dust protection gears by the workers must be enforced in the furniture-manufacturing mills to ensure the health and safety of the workers. Without such measures, labor productivity among the workers would be reduced