POSSIBILITIES OF DETERMINING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODCHIPS USING IMAGE ANALYSIS IN THE MATLAB PROGRAM

Abstract

This article deals about the possibilities of obtaining information from a sawdust sample using the Matlab program. Using sawdust analyzing during chip machining, it makes it possible to determine unsuitable conditions by cutting and woodworking, such as dulling of the tool, unsuitable cutting conditions, overheating of the tool and others. Such conditions can have negative effects on the operation and economics of the company. Commonly used sawdust sizing methods, such as sieving, obtain only partial information about a given sample. On the other hand, by means of image analysis of a sawdust sample, it is possible to find out much more, for example the largest and smallest dimension of each single particle, its circularity, area, perimeter, eccentricity, convex hull major and minor axis length, or color of the particle. For some other particle analysis methods, it is not appropriate to repeat the experiment with the same sample, because it may occur damage of the sample during the measurement. This can happen during sieving, where the sample is mechanically stressed and can crumble. In the image analysis, the sawdust is scattered on the substrate and a digital image of these sawdust is create. Therefore, there is no mechanical damage on the sample.