Chipping
The round wood is loaded onto a conveyor that feeds the chipper. The chipper drum is equipped with six pairs of rotating steel blades (12 in all) that reduce the logs to chips that are 1.5 centimetres in diameter and no more than 6 centimetres long. They are then routed either to storage or directly to the boiler.
Feeding the chipper
Chipper
Chipper drum
Video interview of Istvan Kovacs, Head of the Transport division, on the chipping process:
The wood is delivered to the site by road or rail and reduced to chips by a chipper that is among the most powerful in Central Europe. A conveyor feeds the wood into the chipper drum, around which six blades are arranged at a 60° angle. The machine is configured to produce chips with a diameter of 1.5 centimetres and a maximum length of 6 centimetres. A sorter downstream from the chipper ensures that the machine is complying with these specifications. The chipper can process between 90 and 100 tonnes per hour, depending on the feed rate and the size of the wood.
Istvan Kovacs, Head of the Transport division
The blades on the chipper drum are sharpened and changed daily.
Condition of the blades after a day's work
Sharpened blades
3D film showing the chipping process
Chips