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86 Vongchavalitkul University Journal

Journal of Vongchavalitkul University

Wood chipper design and construction

Design and Construction of a Wood Chipper

Received : November 9, 2020

Anurak Manomai, M.Eng. (Anurak Manomai, M.Eng.)1*
Revised : December 18, 2020
Accepted : December 18, 2020
Rapeepun Lekmuenwai, M.Sc. (Rapeepun Leakmuinwai, M.Sc.)2

Abstract

Objective: To design and construct a towed wood chipper and to test its efficiency. Methods: The
wood chipper was designed, constructed and tested with a specific configuration. setting speed engine that

The wood shredding test was performed at 1150 rpm, 1800 rpm and at a speed of 2450 rpm to find the suitable rpm
for wood shredding applications. The types of wood that exist locally, such as acacia wood, takhop wood, neem
wood and krathin narong wood, have been selected. with a diameter of 4 inches and a length of 45 centimeters for
shredding. This wood shredder uses an 11-horsepower agricultural diesel engine as the driving force and uses a

belt to transmit power to the wood shredder. while testing operation of the digester Fuel consumption rate,
characteristics of the wood obtained from the digestion process Results: It was found that at the speed of 1150 rpm,
acacia and acacia wood were able to be shredded, but neem wood was able to be shredded. and krathin

narong wood When the wood is fed in, it will causing the machine to twitch and turn off At a speed of 1800 rpm, it
can shred all kinds of wood and the wood that is shredded has a slight granularity. While the speed of 2450 rpm can
digest all types of wood, the wood obtained from the digestion looks very fine and takes less time to digest. other
speed but wasted most oil The speed of rotation that gives the best consumption rate is 1800 rpm, representing a
consumption rate of 0.98 liters per hour.

Keywords: wood shredder, rpm, fuel consumption

1,2 full-time lecturers Leader in Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering Vongchavalitkul University

(Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering Branch, Faculty of Engineering, Vongchavalitkul University)

*
Corresponding author
E-mail: anurak_man@vu.ac.th

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Abstract

Objective: To design and construct a mobile wood chipper and to test its performance.

Method: Designing, constructing and testing the mobile wood chipper. To determine the suitable speed for the wood

chipping process, the engine speed was tested at 1150 rounds per minute (rpm), 1800 rpm and 2450 rpm. The wood samples

with diameter of 4 inches and length of 45 centimeters were selected from local species such as Acacia wood, Jam tree wood,

Neem wood and Narong Acacia wood. This wood chipper was powered by an 11-horsepower agricultural diesel engine and used

the belt to transmit the power to the wood chipper. During the test, the information of the operation of the chipper, the fuel

consumption rate and the characteristics of the chipped wood were collected to evaluate the performance of the designed wood

chipper.

Results: At the speed of 1150 rpm, the wood chipper was able to break the Acacia wood and Jam
tree wood into chips unlike the Neem wood and Narong Acacia wood which caused the machine to jerk and
shut down. At the speed of 1800 rpm, the machine was able to chip all of the wood samples and the wood
obtained from the chipping process had a slight finely shape. At the speed of 2450 rpm, the machine was
able to chip all of the wood samples and the wood obtained from the chipping process was finely shaped.
The latest speed took the least time to chip the samples but it also had the highest fuel consumption rate.
The speed which had the most efficient fuel consumption rate was 1800 rpm with the fuel consumption of
0.98 liters per hour.

Keywords: wood chipper machine, speed, fuel consumption rate

1. Background and significance of the Therefore, the size of the objects that can be Being able to

problem With agriculture and the make it smaller is of great importance because it allows To

abundance of trees everywhere, there is a huge cause better degradation. Organic matter is popular to be
used as compost. The amount of organic matter to be made
amount of natural waste that must be disposed of.
This causes waste problems. Natural materials, if Degradation is one important factor. If the material is small

large, are left to decompose by themselves. It and other conditions are suitable, the decomposition will

takes a long time to decompose (Naparat Wai occur rapidly within a week, but if the material is large, such

Charoen, Saranya Panpuet, Roki Masae and as grass and leaves, it may take several days. months or

Wanwimol Srikong, 2018). Disposal at the venue years to be used as Fertilizer, but chopping to reduce the

there is an expense incurred Therefore, if there is size of the material is a task. wasting a lot of time In the

a device that can Allows natural materials to past, there were people who studied wood chippers. but still

decompose quickly or the device can making the found the limitation such as machine performance Size and

material have a large smaller size for transportation type of wood suitable for shredding Size of wood to be

or use in Various aspects would be beneficial, especially inshredded After digestion, it still does not meet the requirements.
the agricultural sector.

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require difficulty in use fuel consumption, etc. (Chok- 3.2 Test the prototype for study.

anan Phanluang, Sommit Nualma and Anurak Tessawat, Efficiency in use with 4 types of wood: Acacia wood,

2011; Pornchai Yamban, Charan Tuaychan and Songsak Ta-Khop wood, Neem wood, and Acacia wood. with line

Luechanda, 2017; size Diameter 4 inches and length 45 cm.

Hellstrom, Gulliksson, & Carlberg, 2010 ; Ismail 3.3 Analyze the test results and determine

& Ghazy, 2016). The researcher therefore aims to study and the rate. Fuel consumption and performance

develop a power-saving machine for use in reducing the size of

natural materials such as tree branches. This research has
4. Research Methodology
brought Presented the design, construction and testing
carry out the design of the structure and
of the efficiency of the wood shredder by using the wood shredder
The main components of the machine
that was not utilized for shredding by using an agricultural engine are as follows: 4.1 shaft design (Vorapot
as the power of the wood shredder. It is made from materials that
Sriwongkol, 1987) has designed shafts according to
are readily available in the area, can be easily maintained, and
ASME CODE, most shafts are under cyclic stress.
are not difficult to use.
Because the shaft is constantly rotating or the force

applied may change all the time. Most of the damage

2. Research Objectives 2.1 caused as a result of fatigue But the design method is a
To design and build a wood chipper suitable statistical method, so there must be a fatigue factor.
for use in the area 2.2 To study the engine speed
(Fatigue factor) is involved in calculating the size of the shaft can
suitable for wood chipping 2.3 To analyze the
be calculated It can be calculated from the following formula.
fuel consumption rate of the designed wood chipper
1
= 16
3
[( )2 + ( (1)
)2] 2

when

3. Scope of study 3.1 = bending fatigue factor

Design and build a prototype with the following = torsional fatigue factor

requirements: 3.1.1 Steel plate structure and d = size of shaft to find (m)

M = maximum bending moment in the shaft (Nm)

Angle steel, the machine itself is mounted on a towing T = induced shaft torque (Nm) 4.2 Power

caster. The installation point can be moved as desired. design for motor selection The motor is the original

Width 40 cm. Length 80 cm. Height 80 cm. Weight not over device. currently working to deliver power to different sets of
400 kg
devices so that they can perform Therefore, the power must
3.1.2 Kubota engine, size 11 horsepower be calculated from different parts first and then combined to
as the source of power get the required power. Then choose to use the motor to have

the desired power. which the equations used in the calculations

are obtained from

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2 where 1n = motor speed 2n = shaft

= (2)
60 speed

where D1 = diameter of motor pulley

P = power of motor (watt)

T = Torque (Nm) n D2 = Diameter of follower pulley

= Speed (rpm) 4.3 Pulley

5. Test results and discussion 5.1
Size Design In the design for the wood chipper
need to use speed Rotational speed suitable for digestion, Construction of the wood

chipper Build a wood chipper with components.

but the motor used as the source currently in the process
of delivering Because the power is sent to various parts, as follows

the speed cannot be adjusted, so it is necessary to use 5.1.1 Cutting blade cover
5.1.2 Lumber feeding port
pulleys to get the required speed of rotation. The size of
5.1.3 Wheels for moving
the pulleys can be calculated as follows:
5.1.4 Chassis 5.1.5 Kubota
D1 n2
interest rate = = (3) engine
D n1
2
5.1.6 Belt tension lever The

components of the wood chipper are shown in Figure 1.

2
Figure 1 shows the components of a wood chipper.

Figure 1. Components of the wood chipper.

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In testing the wood chipper, various factors related before importing the digester The logs were fed and the

to wood shredding were considered, such as type of wood, shredding was timed and the shredded wood chips were

speed of wood shredder. and the time required for digestion. weighed. The tests were performed 3 times per species. then

Start the test at 1150 revolutions per minute (rpm). Prepare each test rpm
According to the method mentioned above, 1800 at speed
and 2450

type of wood with a diameter of 4 inches and a length of 45 cm. rpm, the results of digestion are shown in Figure 2.

The logs are weighed.

Figure 2. The outflow of the digested branches.

5.2 Test results
The test results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Test results of the wood chipper

acacia wood stick neem wood Acacia wood Narong

cycle
1150 1800 2450 1150 1800 2450 1150 1800 2450 1150 1800 2450
(rpm)

Average weight

before digestion
3616 3633 3616 3283 3316 3366 - 3633 3516 - 5100 4916

(g)

average weight

after digestion
3566 3593 3570 3213 3270 3336 - 3576 3470 - 5023 4860

(g)

average
50 40 46 70 46 30 - 56 46 - 76 56
weight
loss ( g )

average time

test 33.57 25.97 19.96 28.52 23.23 16.89 - 28.27 23.20 - 70.30 46.28

(s)

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From the test, it was found that at 1150 rpm, which is Increased rev speed will cause to reduce digestion time and provide

rpm the lowest speed The last test of neem wood and acacia The fineness of the wood being digested was greater, with the
wood. cannot be digested because when feeding the wood to the Krathin Narong wood having a reduction in the digestion time than

shredder the engine will twitch until engine off Every wood that takes the wood species. other when increasing the speed from 1800 rpm to 2450

the least time to digest The rotation speed is the stick as shown in rpm
Figure 3 and when

Figure 3 The relationship between the speed of rotation and the time to digest all 4 types of wood.

The fuel consumption results of the wood chipper It was found that Takhop wood uses the least amount of fuel.
operating for 1 hour are shown in Table 2 and Figure 4, which show Acacia, neem wood and Acacia narong will be Consequently, more

that at low speed will consume less fuel over high speed when wasted, as shown in Figure 5.

comparing the amount of fuel used for shredding 1 log for each type
of wood

Table 2 Results of fuel consumption of the wood chipper at different speeds

Rotational Fuel before Rear fuel Fuel used, Time spent

speed ( r/min) the time digestion (liters) digest digesting

( liter ) (liters) (hours)

1 2 1.58 0.42 1

1150 2 2 1.65 0.35 1

3 2 1.62 0.38 1

average 2 1.61 0.38 1

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Table 2 Results of fuel consumption of the wood chipper at various speeds (continued)

Rotational fuel first back fuel used fuel time spent on

speed ( r/min) the time small small small small

( liter ) ( liter ) ( liter ) ( hour )

1 2 1.004 0.996 1
1800 2 2 1.01 0.99 1
3 2 1.02 0.98 1
average 2 1.01 0.98 1
1 2 0.34 1.66 1
1907 2 2 0.32 1.68 1
3 2 0.34 1.66 1
average 2 0.33 1.66 1

Figure 4 The relationship between rpm and the amount of fuel used

Figure 5 Amount of fuel used to digest different types of wood

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When considering the amount of fuel that increases Increase the speed from 1150 rpm to 1800 rpm as shown in

when Increased rev speed relative to water The weight of each Figure 6, showing the performance of the machine. High rpm is

type of wood that was digested showed that for Acacia wood and better than low rpm when working.

Ta Khop wood when The rev speed is increased from 1800 rpm shredding wood

to 2450 rpm. The amount of fuel used will decrease compared to the

Figure 6 Rate of fuel consumption in different types of wood digestion

6. Summary of test results and recommendations

6.1 Summary of test results The design when considering the increasing amount of

and construction of the wood chipper was able fuel When the rotational speed increases relative to the water

to meet the set specifications and the wood chipper was tested According to the weight of each type of wood being shredded, it

for 4 types of wood that were 4" in diameter and 45 cm long at 4 was found that acacia wood, neem wood, and kratin narong wood

speeds. Around 1150 the machine could not digest neem wood consumed more fuel for digestion, respectively. at 1800 rpm,

rpm and acacia wood. representing a consumption rate of 0.98 liters per hour and

Narong by the machine will cause a jerk until the engine stops. efficiency The machine at high rpm is better than low rpm when

As for acacia wood and acacia wood, they were well digested.

When the speed was increased to 1800 rpm and 2450 rpm, the shredding wood

machine was able to digest all types of wood tested. neem and 6.2 Suggestions for development

acacia wood, respectively. 6.2.1 Add a pusher device to feed logs enter
the digester to prevent the splash of the log while feeding the

and when the speed of rotation increases, the material obtained from the
wood into the shredder

digestion will have more resolution

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6.2.2 Increase the size of the engine 4. Worapoj Sriwongkol. (1987). Machine design .

pulleys. 6.2.3 Solve the problem of noise while the machine Chakkon 1. Bangkok: King Mongkut's Institute of
is working because when the wood is inserted into the inlet, Technology, North Bangkok.

there will be bounce of the stick to hit the 5. Hellstrom, L.M., Gulliksson, M., & Carlberg,
feeding hole 6.2.4 There is a diffusion of wood chips which T. (2010). A laboratory wood chipper for chipping
causes dust while the machine is working. under realistic conditions, Experiment Mechanics, 10

pages.
DOI: 10.1007/s11340-010-9452-1.

6. Ismail, ZE & Ghazy, MI (2016). Influence

7. References 1. of drum chipper setting on the wood chips

Chokanan Phanluang, Sommit Nualma and performance, Misr Journal of

Anurak Tessawat. (2011). Tree branch shredder. Agriculture Engineering, 33(4), 1293 –
1312.
(Bachelor's degree thesis). Burapha University,

Chonburi. 2. Naparat Waijaroen, Saranya Panpuet,

Roki Masae and Wanwimol Srikong. (2018). green on

campus Songkhla Nakarin Pattani Campus

Journal of Industrial Technology, 14(3), 33–43. 3.

Pornchai Yamban, Charan Thuaychan and

Songsak Luechanda. (2017). Machine development.

Leaf shredding, Journal of Vocational Education

Research and Innovation, 1(1), 16-26.

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