Lab Stranding Research & Support

Advanced Lab Stranding Services for Industry and Academia

Supporting Both Industry and Academia as Strand-Based Research Partners

At Kadant Carmanah, we maintain and operate a strand-based testing laboratory, where we use lab-scale stranding equipment to help our customers identify the most effective way to achieve their targeted strand geometry from their wood supply. Within our controlled environment and specialized expertise, we support OSB and LSL producers looking to improve strand quality and reduce fines, as well as research institutions exploring new sustainable fiber based product concepts, where we provide reliable, data driven analysis.

For Industry

Solving Operational Challenges to Improve Strand Quality and Reduce Fines

Our customers will provide us with the specific wood species, log diameters, and moisture content levels they have access to, and we’ll use our lab to test and analyze different ring or disc speeds, against a range of counter-knives, to determine the optimal setup and configurations for their stranding operation. Whether you’re forecasting the strand quality distribution for a new greenfield mill project, or you’re receiving variability in your wood supply at an existing mill installation, we offer research and analysis to replicate the mill environment in producing consistent, high-quality strands.

Kadant Carmanah Stranding Lab makes Quality Strands

The Magnitude of Producing Consistent, High-Quality Strands

The strander is a critical machine center in the engineered wood manufacturing process. With wood supply representing the largest cost to a wood product manufacturer, even a 1% reduction in fines can lead to millions of dollars in cost savings per year. Improving the quality and consistency of strands being produced at the strander can also lead to less reliance on resin and wax application at the blender, which represents the second largest cost to an engineered wood producer. Improved and consistent strand geometry can also lead to higher-rated structural properties in the end-product, which can lead to new applications and new markets.

For Academia

A Controlled Test Environment for New Materials and Strand-Based Product Concepts

If you are studying the feasibility of a new raw material or the development of a new engineered wood product, could stranding be a viable process for you to consider? Beyond testing the stranding feasibility of different wood species and conditions, we have also consulted and conducted research on a variety of other sustainable materials, including different species and conditions of bamboo, grass, stalk, and reclaimed wood, such as sawmill trims and edgings.

Consultation on Stranding Feasibility for New Product Development

As pioneers and innovators of the global stranding industry since we first introduced our block flakers in the 1970s, we’ve worked with countless mills, universities, and research facilities in the development and improvement of new, sustainable, strand-based engineered wood products. By leveraging our strand processing expertise with research strategies, business objectives, and market competitiveness, we can help you bridge the gap between research and commercialization.

The Most Advanced Stranding Lab in the World

Our testing laboratory is fully functioning to produce consistent, quality strands which can be replicated in a mill environment. Our stranding lab is equipped with a lab-scale ring strander and disc strander, along with a conditioning tank, drying oven for small wood samples, screening equipment, and our Argus StrandIQ camera system to measure strand quality. We test and analyze different material species and conditions, ring or disc speeds, and counter-knife angles, to determine the most optimized way to reach your targeted strand geometry.