SPECIFIC CUTTING ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN A CIRCULAR SAW FOR EUCALYPTUS STANDS VM01 AND MN463

Modern technologies for continuous carbonization of Eucalyptus sp. require special care in wood cutting procedures. Choosing the right tool, cutting speeds and feed rates is important to manage time and energy consumption, both of which being critical factors in optimizing production. The objective of this work is to examine the influence of machining parameters on the specific cutting energy consumption of Eucalyptus sp. stands MN 463 and VM 01, owned by V&M Florestal. Tests were performed at the Wood Machining Laboratory of the Federal University of Lavras (DCF/UFLA). Moist logs 1.70m in length were used. The experiment was set up using a 3 x 3 x 4 x 2 factorial design (cutting speed x feed rate x number of teeth x tree stand). Results were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared by the Tukey test at the 5% significance level. Greater cutting speeds, lower feed rates and the 40 teeth circular saw consumed more specific energy. Stand MN 463 consumed more specific energy. The combination of cutting speed 46 m.s(-1), feed rate 17 m.min(-1) and 24 teeth circular saw produced better specific energy consumption results for stand MN 463. As for stand VM 01, the combination of cutting speed 46 m.s(-1), feed rate 17 m.min(-1) and 20 teeth circular saw resulted in lower specific energy consumption.