Timber yard from a single source

In spring 2021, Baljer & Zembrod supplied sawmill newcomer Alsol in Vápenná, Czech Republic, with a timber yard designed for an annual output of 60,000 cubic metres in single-shift operation. The sawmill is designed for processing softwood. However, there are also plans to cut beech trees in  future. The timber yard is designed to be correspondingly robust.

"Alsol commissioned us to supply an entire timber yard for heavy timber, including butt end reducers, debarkers, measuring and sorting", explains Marcel Koubek, responsible for sales at Baljer & Zembrod in the Czech Republic. The system is designed for log lengths of 2.5 m to 5.5 m and diameters of 20 cm to 90 cm. The Alsol sawmill is owned by the Archbishopric of Olomouc, which owns around 42,000 hectares of forest in the Czech Republic. A large part of it is located around the town of Vápenná, where there used to be a timber yard. Around 60% of the round timber required comes from our own forests. Baljer & Zembrod's scope of delivery starts with the log cross conveyor with a length of 12 metres. "This can take a load of around 40 tonnes", says Koubek, describing the robust design. The lorry driver usually places the the top end of the logs in front of the feed. The timber is separated and transferred to the WRP-QB-KH butt end reducer from Baljer & Zembrod with a disc inserter. This is specially designed for short timber, has a milling shaft with a 55 kW drive and a milling length of 1 metre. The hydraulic turning device with two chain prisms is infinitely adjustable. Around 30% of the quantity must be butt end-reduced. This decision is the responsibility of the system operator.

High debarking quality guaranteed
Before the debarker, the logs are fed onto the inlet block train with centring flap for optimum alignment. The ZE905 debarker with five blades has a self-centring rotor that automatically pre-positions itself depending on the log diameter. The debarker is also equipped with a frequency converter. This allows the speed to be optimised up to a maximum of 32 m/min. After debarking, the operator determines the quality. If chips are detected in the subsequent metal detector, the control system automatically ejects these logs into an extra box.

Twelve boxes are available for sorting. The logs are sorted into one of the boxes based on the quality and dimensions determined by Jörg Elektronik's 2D measurement. Baljer & Zembrod also supplied the waste disposal. "There is a beam scraper under the feed conveyor, which pushes the falling bark or small pieces of wood to the disposal scraper at the butt end reducer", explains Koubek. Bark and chips are collected separately. The operator's cabin, control cabinets and hydraulic system are housed in a container.