Flake Conveying System

The Dardanup plant is Laminex’s primary source of particle board for both the Australian and International export markets, producing in excess of 260,000 cubic metres of board per year. The plant utilises numerous types of raw material in the production of particle board. A key material component is ‘flake’ which is produced by processing an existing supply of wood chips through a Pallmann ring flaker.

The capacity of the flaker at the plant was 14 tonnes per hour. Laminex wanted to increase their flake material volume by installing two additional Pallmann ring flakers to increase the total capacity to 42 tonnes per hour. Brightwater Engineering was contracted to provide a turnkey solution from concept engineering to commissioning for the upgraded flake handling system.

“We provided an efficient and effective low capital cost solution which requires minimal maintenance and the fully enclosed equipment has resulted in zero spillages. If we also consider the relatively low installed power (<81KW total) together with the minimal maintenance requirements, Laminex will benefit from low ongoing operational and maintenance costs,” said Brian Hurley, Brightwater Engineering Project Manager.

A major challenge in the project was to design a system to convey material from below relative ground level (beneath the flakers) to a point 17 metres above relative ground level, spanning 100 metres in linear distance across the plant.

The resulting solution incorporated a Tubulator conveying system. This method of conveying dramatically reduced the associated steel structure and access requirements of a typical truss supported belt conveyor. In addition, the low power requirement of this solution also provided a more favourable outcome over the pneumatic transport system which was previously utilised. The Tubulator was designed to convey the product within a fully enclosed tube where the belt is carried on a film of air as provided by a system of fans. This method negates the need for idler rollers and access walkways to maintain such components.

Brightwater also engineered and supplied an En-Masse conveyor, transfer tower and an aspiration system required to match and manage the self generated air through the ring flakers.