The main issue in the drying wood process is the availability of reliable and precise measures, with a fast response: this aspect is very important mostly in the EMC and wood moisture measures, which are the "hardest" to obtain. These features allows to develope faster drying schedules, as well as higher quality results.
In more than 10 years of experience in the wood field we have constantly studied and optimized the sensing tecnique, both from the physical and the algorithmic point of view, i.e. the elaboration after the acquisition of data. The result of this hard work is now available in the CETsense technology, on which is based the KMU03 device, our Kiln Measurement Unit. This device allows several improvements: higher interference immunity, a more precise wood moisture measure with wider dynamic range, the possibility to calibrate/configure each measue channel by using a special software.

Moreover, two absolute news:
1. The possibility to have 4 electrical corrent inputs and 3 inputs for relative humidity and temperature digital sensors, as well as the traditional 8 wood probes, 2 EMC probes by cellulose strip and 2 temperature probes. All this is completely configurable.
2. The possibility to use the PST032-S2 strip in place of the traditional cellulose strip.

PST032-S2.

PST032-S2 strip is obtained by a sophisticated manufacturing process which guarantees an excellent repeatability of the physical features. The advantages introduced by this new strip are really important: a major capacity to point out also quick climate fluctuations, a major precision in measure and a very low mean hysteresis. It allows to obtain results so good to be comparable to the electronic meters ones, but with a best price. For this reason is possible to use a new strip for every drying process, avoiding the alteration of the chemical and physical features of the electronic probe, that is inevitable because of the prolonged exposition in a hard environment as the drying kiln.

PST032-S2 can operate in existing systems which use the traditional strips, but the best results in precision and in the sensing of quick climate fluctuations are obtained with the KMU03 measuring boards, which contain the convertion system and the CETsense technology, that consists of the elaboration algorithms and the measurement tecniques we have specially studied.

The same high quality measures of KMU03 can now be obtained by two new products:
1. WProbe (wireless probe): more reliability and practicalness, less need for maintenance. This wireless probe will be soon available: it will take wood moisture or relative moisture measurement and temperature measurement by an external sensor (the main application of this function will be the sensing of temperature in the sterilization processes).
2. WMM (Wood Multi Meter): a handheld device which effects wood moisture, temperature and relative moisture measures both by a digital sensor and the same sensors of the drying kiln. Excellent tool to get precise measurements and to verify the correct running of sensors and connections inside the Kiln dryer.

Control and regulation

The drying process can be controlled by two different devices (both combined with a KMU03):
R33: entry level controller for an easy and automatic drying, based on programs with seven configurable phases. Other advanced functions are the history data record, the alarm signalling and the possibility of remote control by SystemRX software.
R2000: this sophisticated controller can manage programs with full configurable phases (24 max.) and allows to set up time bands, programmed start etc. Combining the system with a KTU04 device (Kiln Temperature Unit), or having wireless probes at disposal, it's possible to set up one or more "sterilization" phases according to the FAO's ISPM-15 provisions.

The using of SystemRX and KMU-Spy control softwares coupled with this drying and sterilization controller permits to homologate the all system in conformity with the above mentioned provisions. The software has a lot of utilities which favour and guide the sterilization management. Other advantages in the measure field will be soon available to semplify further this kind of work.

For drying kilns manufacturers we are delighted to realize hardware and software personalizations and ad-hoc controllers, or we can just provide the measurement system if the manufacturer provides himself with the control system.