The development of Porcupine incising machinery is designed to offer a UK-made solution to improving the penetration of pressure impregnation timber preservatives. Most current incising technology, which involves cutting a series of regular small incisions on all faces of the timber, is sourced from the US.
Incising is gaining in popularity as one way of improving the performance of pressure-treated fence posts and other outdoor timbers amid numerous reports of early failures of some posts.
BSW Timber’s incised fence post product – easipost15 – recently became the first spruce post to be awarded a Wood Protection Association Benchmark quality assurance certificate.
The Porcupine technology has been developed for the treatment plant operator market, in both large and small volume operations. It passes sawn timber through bespoke blades that give a considtent pattern of incisions on all faces of the product.
"We are already in dialogue with several major sawmilling companies across the UK and we will be looking to expand sales opportunities across the wider timber treatment industry in the British Isles with export sales potential into European markets in the future," said Alex Brownlie, BSW Timber’s head of business development.
AV Birch Vince Jones director said the partnership would offer a complete aftersales servicing and support facility, including the supply of replacement blades.
Feed speed, incising pattern, density and depth can all be varied on the machinery, depending on the target market and product. The knife system also clears build-up of debris between blades and acts as a guide for the timber.
A variable sprung-loaded damping system on each head is included to cope with the dimensional variation within each product, as well as different timber density and knots.
As well as posts, the technology is also being aimed at use with garden sleepers and deck joists.
