2018 International Forest Industries IFI April May 2018 Digital | Page 52

Microchip and Macrochip drum options
provide greater range of wood chip sizes
From countries adopting policies
to help reduce greenhouse
gases to people looking for more
natural, sustainable solutions for
heating their homes and feeding
their plants, quality processed
wood material is in high demand.
Capitalizing on the growing
number of revenue streams for
wood chips requires more than
just a connection with customers
— forestry and logging companies
also have to be able to produce a
variety of material sizes to meet the
needs of the end user.
A common issue forestry
companies face is not having the
ability to produce the appropriate
size of material to meet the needs
of their wide variety of customers.
For example, the biomass industry
usually prefers smaller or micro-
sized wood chips to accommodate
pellet stoves, wood burning plants
and so on, but the chippers that
crews use in the field are not able
to produce the appropriate size,
resulting in the need to regrind
material. Regrinding material
multiple times can significantly
impact a business and requires
additional equipment.
Manufacturers like Vermeer
have recognized the market
demand for wood chips of
varying sizes and have developed
equipment that delivers more
sizing options.
According to Vermeer
applications specialist for Recycling
and Forestry Brad Van Rheenen,
the design of Vermeer whole
tree chippers gives contractors
the ability to produce a broader
range of chip sizes. “We offer two
different drum options on Vermeer
whole tree chippers — a microchip
drum to produce a range of smaller
sized chips, and a macrochip drum
50 International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2018
that can also be easily adjusted to
produce different, larger sizes of
chips,” he explained.
Two drum options
The main difference between the
Vermeer microchip and macrochip
drum options is the number of
pockets. “The microchip drum has
two full width pockets, while the
macrochip drum only has two,” Van
Rheenen said. “Producing smaller
chips requires more cuts per
revolution, so by doubling
the pockets and knives
on the microchip drum, we
are able to produce
smaller
chips
in one
pass.”
Operators can add spacers
under the knives for each drum
size to make additional sizing
adjustments. “Whether a company
selects the microchip drum or a
macrochip drum, the ability to
make quick adjustments between
jobs or in the field is important,”
Van Rheenen added. “Making a
few small adjustments can help
reduce the amount of regrinding
that has to be done to fill an order
with