How To Make OSB? What Is The Production Step?

keywords: #OSBproduction #OSBproductionstep #OSBequipment #OSBmakingmachine

OSB production line

Do you know how to make OSB (Oriented Strand board)? Do you know what is the specific production step for making OSB?

Let us see together

What is the OSB (Oriented Strand Board) ?

Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is a kind of high-strength structural board formed by orientation arrangement of wood shavings and hot pressing by Long Strands of wood shavings processed from fast-growing woods such as poplar and pine. 

OSB board can be standard size 1220*2440mm or can be customized to be other size as your market popular demands.

How to Make OSB? -What is the OSB Production Step?

OSB (Oriented Strand Board) production step mainly includes Wood chipper, Strands making machine, Rotary dryer, Vibrating sccreen, Slab forming, Continuous Pre-press, Hot press, Edge sizing and Sanding

As Different production capacity and panel size and thickness, each machine specification can be different. 

So how each machine works and what is each machine functions? let us see together

★ Raw Materials Prepare:

Ring flaker

Strands peeling machine

◎ Wood selection

Tree species: Fast-growing wood (poplar, pine, eucalyptus) or small-diameter wood, branches and twigs.

Moisture content: Fresh wood is approximately 40 to 60%, and it needs to be dried to 3 to 5%.

◎ Slicing processing

Equipment: Ring slicer or drum slicer.

◎ Particle size

Surface layer: 50-100mm in length × 5-20mm in width × 0.3-0.6mm in thickness (longitudinal fiber proportion > 70%).

Core layer: Length 40-80mm × Width 10-30mm × Thickness 0.5-1mm (more random orientations are allowed)

◎ Flakes making machine

Ring chippers and wood chips are two key equipment used in wood processing to prepare wood shavings or wood chips, but their design principles, output specifications and applicable scenarios are significantly different

Multiple flying knives (usually 6 to 12) are installed on the annular cutter head. When the cutter head rotates at high speed (800 to 1500 rpm), the wood is pressed towards the cutter head by the feed roller, and thin flake shavings are cut out

Flakes peeling machine by rotary peeling wood into required wood strands

★ Drying step

Rotary dryer for drying the moisture of wood strands and wood chips. Why OSB production have to use dryer? because The adhesives used in OSB production (such as MDI and phenolic resin) need to be fully cured in an environment with a low moisture content (2% to 4%). Wet wood shavings (with a moisture content typically ranging from 30% to 50%) can impede the penetration of glue and cross-linking reactions, leading to a decrease in the bonding strength; Also The dried wood shavings have better thermal conductivity, and the heat transfer is faster during hot pressing, which can shorten the press time

◎ Rotary dryer types

   - Single-pass drum dryer

   -Three-pass drum dryer

According to the OSB production capacity and your budget, you can choose the suitable dryer

★ Oscillating Screen

The OSB vibrating screen (also known as the grading screen or swinging screen) is used to grade the dried wood shavings by size (fine surface layer/coarse core layer), ensuring uniform laying and board strength

◎ Core Function

Size classification: Separate the surface layer material (50-100mm in length, 0.3-0.6mm in thickness) and core layer material (40-80mm in length, 0.5-1mm in thickness) that meet the requirements.

Impurity removal: Remove debris, dust and substandard wood shavings (either too coarse or too fine).

Directional pretreatment: Some vibrating screens can assist in the initial directional arrangement of wood shavings

★ Glue System

The OSB glue mixing equipment is responsible for evenly applying adhesives (such as MDI, phenolic resin) and additives (paraffin, curing agent, etc.) to the surface of the dried wood shavings

◎ Gluing System

  1. Adhesive supply unit

MDI rubber tanks (with nitrogen protection to prevent curing) or phenolic resin storage tanks (with heating and insulation to 30-40 ℃).

Metering pump (gear pump or screw pump), accuracy ±1%.

  2. Additive system

Paraffin emulsion tank (concentration 20% - 30%), curing agent (such as ammonium chloride) solution tank.

  3. Glue mixing mainframe

Drum-type rubber mixer or high-speed atomization rubber mixer.

  4. Control system

The PLC automatically adjusts parameters such as the glue volume, rotational speed and temperature

★ Slab Forming Line

The OSB forming system forms a cross structure of "longitudinal surface layer + transverse core layer" by layer-by-layer directional arrangement of wood shavings, endowing the board with high strength characteristics

◎ Forming System Consist

   1. Wood shavings silo

It is divided into a surface layer silo (for slender wood shavings) and a core layer silo (for coarse and short wood shavings), each equipped with a metering belt to control the flow rate.

   2. Paving head

Mechanical directional type (swing arm material paddle) or air flow suspension type paving unit.

   3. Directional control device

Mechanical swing arm, electrostatic guide plate or air flow guide plate

★ Multi-rolls Continuous Pre-press

The OSB (Oriented Strand Board) pre-press is mainly used to initially compress and shape the formed particleboard slab before hot pressing, to improve the efficiency and quality of subsequent hot pressing

◎ Functions

Initial compaction: Compress the loose wood shavings (fluffy and low-density after laying) to a certain thickness to reduce the compression ratio during subsequent hot pressing and avoid excessive pressure from the hot press.

Stable shaping: By pre-pressing, the blanks are initially bonded to prevent structural disarray during transportation to the hot press.

Exhaust air: Reduce the air inside the billet to prevent bubbling or delamination during hot pressing

★ Hot Pressing

The OSB (Oriented Strand Board) multi-layer hot press solidifies the pre-pressed particleboard slab into shape through high temperature and high pressure, endowing the boards with the final strength, density and durability. Its design needs to meet the requirements of high efficiency, high uniformity and stability

It can be different opening like 8-40 layers and different pressure as your panel conditions, equipped with auto loader and unloader to receive fully automatic pressing.

★ Edge Cutting & Sanding

The pressed OSB will be trimmed edges by Auto edge cutting machine and be calibrated by sanding machine, to ensure OSB boards are balance thickness and good surface, improve its quality.

★ Heating Center

Heating center /Boiler for support machines like rotary drum dryer, hot press, to make they keep good works. As your production capacity, the heating center will be different too. 

With above equipment, you can start to make OSB boards. Also as your production capacity, panel size, and other factors, machines can be different specification and cost. 

We as China factory and manufacturer of OSB equipment, Particleboard making machine, MDF making machine, we can offer you the most suitable solution to start wood based panel production. 

Welcome contact us for more information if you are interested

Mark:+86 18769900191

Ali: +86 15805496117

Lucy: +86 18954906501

Lucinda: +86 15805493072

Email: osbmdfmachinery@gmail.com