Wood machining with a focus on French research in the last 50 years

Abstract

Abstract& Key message Wood machining is compulsory both for timber separation and the surfacing of wooden objects. The anisotropy, cellular nature and multi-scale level organisation of wood make its cutting complicated to study. During the last 50 years, most of the wood machining subjects were covered by French teams. & Context Woodcutting is a very old technology but scientific research is scarce on the subject. In the last 50 years, much work on basic mechanisms as well as on industrial processes has been done in France. In primary conversion such as sawing, veneer cutting or green wood chipping, huge progress comes from automation and the possibility of linking the process to log and product quality through new sensors. In secondary processing, much has been done on the links between the cutting process, surface qualification and the properties of these surfaces for further processing, such as gluing or coating. Tool wear depends on the cutting process, timber quality and species. Tradeoffs are required in tool technology and coating technologies may improve tool life. & Conclusion A large amount of knowledge and innovation has come from 50 years of worldwide research effort, with France being particularly active in this period. The transfer of skills from metals cutting industry was often a key, but much is needed to move closer to both metal cutting sector and woodcutting skills among craftsmen.

Feed Force and Sawdust Geometry in Particleboard Sawing

“…According Thibaut et al (2016) [ 2 ], the total force exerted by the tool on the workpiece can be decomposed using different geometrical sums into two components: the first is the cutting force and the thrust force, respectively, the parallel and the perpendicular forces to the cutting direction; and the second is the rake force and the clearance force, respectively, the resultant forces exerted by the tool rake face to remove chips and by the tool clearance face by friction against the workpiece just behind the tool tip.…”

Visuo-tactile and topographic characterizations of finished wood surface quality by French consumers and industrials: acceptability thresholds for raised grain

“…Moreover, our work has contributed to broaden knowledge about the relationship between the 3D surface topography characteristics and the functionality of machined surfaces. We therefore answered one of the questions raised by Thibaut et al (2016) about the identification of criteria that should be considered to define a finished surface quality acceptable to consumers, and the optimization of machining parameters according to these criteria.…”

Editorial: “Fifty years Annals of Forest Science”

“…Wood structure is rather well known through numerous anatomy studies with a large variety of imaging tools, but the relationship between anatomy and structure vs. mechanical properties remains poorly understood; Perré et al (2016) present the most recent scientific approaches that allow to model the macroscopic wood properties (thermal conductivity, mass diffusivity, and mechanical behavior) from the knowledge of the wood anatomical structure. Wood processing and machining are important steps in the valorization of this complex product; the review by Thibaut et al (2016) depicts the main wood machining research carried out in the last decades on the interactions between cutting tools and the wood structure for the different modes occurring in woodcutting. This review covers the contexts of primary conversion (sawmilling, veneer cutting, or green wood chipping) and of secondary processing including the optimization of wood cutting, for improving surface properties necessary for coating.…”