Importance

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Abstract

Apparatus and method for spreading and refining natural wood (13) which has been crushed in a pair of crushing rollers, to form a flexible open lattice work web (14) of naturally interconnected wood strands which are generally aligned along a common grain direction and a substantial proportion of which are substantially discrete but incompletely separated from each other. The spreading and refining is performed by passing the crushed carcass (14) through at least two roller pairs (30) which have spaced corrugated rollers (32) with the maximum spacing between the corrugations of the opposed spaced corrugated rollers decreasing in the roller pairs with increasing distance from the crushing rollers. At least one roller (32) of each spaced corrugated roller pair is axially reciprocated. Between said at least two spaced corrugated roller pairs (30) is a pair (66) of intermeshing corrugated rollers (70, 74). A pair (46) of rollers (50, 56) incorporating a series of axially spaced blades (48) may be provided to break up knots and spiral grain growth and downstream of a last of the spaced corrugated roller pairs (30) a rolling harrow (82) or further pair (66) of intermeshing rollers may be provided.

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First Claim