On-line –jatkojalostuksen integrointi mäntysahan tuotantoprosessiin

Diplomityön tavoitteena oli selvittää erilaisia jatkojalostusmahdollisuuksia, joilla voidaan nostaa suuren mäntysahan tuotteiston arvoa. Lisäksi tuli tarkastella jalostuksen integrointia sahan tuotantoprosessiin. Työn taustalla on toisaalta puutuotemarkkinoiden muuttuminen ja toisaalta raaka-aineen laadullinen huononeminen. Molemmat seikat vaikuttavat negatiivisesti perinteisen mäntysahan kannattavuuteen .Jatkojalostuksen integroinnilla sahatavaraprosessiin saavutetaan säästöjä tuotantokustannuksissa, kun tarkastellaan koko prosessia tukista jatkojalosteeksi. Myös raaka-aineen tuottavuutta voidaan nostaa integraation avulla. Jatkojalostus voidaan integroida sahatavaraprosessiin raaka-aineen valikoinnilla sahatavaraprosessin eri osissa, on-line –jalostuksella sekä taloudellisesti. Sahatavaraprosessissa tapahtuva raaka-aineen valikointi voidaan suorittaa tukeista ja sahatavarasta. Valikointikriteerinä voi olla puun ominaisuudet, sahatavaran mitat ja laatu. Valikointiin voidaan nykyteknologiasta hyödyntää röntgentekniikkaa sekä konenäköä. On-line –jalostus tarkoittaa kiinteästi sahatavaraprosessiin liittyvää jalostusta, jolloin ns. turhia prosessivaiheita jää pois ja syntyy säästöjä. On-line –jalostuksen edellytys on raaka-aineen jonkin asteinen valikointi, esim. pituus. Taloudellisesti integroitu jalostus tarkoittaa, että jalostuslaitoksella pyritään nollatulokseen ja jalostuksen lisäarvo palautetaan sahan toimittamaan raaka-aineen hintaan. Tällainen toiminta yhtiön sisällä poistaa turhaa keskustelua raaka-aineen siirtohinnoista ja siten vapauttaa osaltaan resursseja tuottavampaan toimintaan. Erilaisten jatkojalostusmuotojen ja puun ominaisuuksien hyödyntämisen seulonnan perusteella löytyi yksi jalostusmuoto, jolla voidaan kohottaa mäntysahan tuotteiston arvoa. Työn tuloksena syntyi investointiehdotus aihiotankotuotannosta ikkunateollisuuden tarpeisiin. Raaka-aineen hyödynnettäviä ominaisuuksia ovat männyn sydänpuun luonnollinen kestävyys sekä keskimääräinen oksaväli. Valikointi tehdään välitukeista, joiden sahaamisen kannattavuus on männyn rungon osista heikoin. Aihiotankoprosessissa hyödynnetään konenäköä ja sormijatkostekniikkaa. Jatkojalostuksen integrointi sahatavaraprosessiin toteutetaan rakentamalla on-line –jalostuslaitos sekä soveltamalla röntgentekniikkaa raaka-aineen valinnassa.

Roundwood shipping in the Baltic Sea region

Itämeren liikenteen on ennustettu kasvavan voimakkaasti tulevaisuudessa. Metsäteollisuus toimialana on kuitenkin syklinen. Tällä hetkellä raakapuun tuonti Suomeen on hienoisessa nousussa, kun taas Ruotsissa tuonnin alamäki jatkuu. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli kuvata ja arvioida raakapuun merikuljetuksia Itämeren alueella. Tutkimuksessa esitetään keskeisimmät raakapuun materiaalivirrat Itämerellä ja kuvataan satamatekniikan ja alustyypin valinnan vaikutusta, kun tavoitteena on saavuttaa tehokas raakapuun kuljetusketju. Tutkimuksen merkittävin tulos on teoreettinen edestakaisen matkan laskentamalli, jonka on tarkoitus kuvata aluskohtaista kustannustehokkuutta sekä kapasiteettia tietyllä laivausreitillä. Malli sopii käytettäväksi varsinaisen linjaliikenteen reittisuunnittelun perustana.

The rise and fall of evaluation standards

Abstract

Improvement of Operational Efficiency effectiveness (OEE) using Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology — Case Bottomer line AD2378

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the key metric of operational excellence. OEE monitors the actual performance of equipment relative to its performance capabilities under optimal manufacturing conditions. It looks at the entire manufacturing environment measuring, in addition to the equipment availability, the production efficiency while the equipment is available to run products, as well as the efficiency loss that results from scrap, rework, and yield losses. The analysis of the OEE provides improvement opportunities for the operation. One of the tools used for OEE improvement is Six Sigma DMAIC methodology which is a set of practices originally developed to improve processes by eliminating defects. It asserts the continuous efforts to reduce variation in process outputs as key to business success, as well as the possibility of measurement, analysis, improvement and control of manufacturing and business processes. In the case of the Bottomer line AD2378 in Papsac Maghreb Casablanca plant, the OEE figures reached 48.65 %, which is below the accepted OEE group performance. This required immediate actions to achieve OEE improvement. This Master thesis focuses on the application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology in the OEE improvement on the Bottomer Line AD2378 in Papsac Maghreb Casablanca plant. First, the Six Sigma DMAIC and OEE usage in operation measurement will be discussed. Afterwards, the different DMAIC phases will allow the identification of improvement focus, the identification of OEE low performance causes and the design of improvement solutions. These will be implemented to allow further tracking of improvement impact on the plant operations.

Power line communication in motor cables of variable-speed electric drives − analysis and

Data transmission between an electric motor and a frequency converter is required in variablespeed electric drives because of sensors installed at the motor. Sensor information can be used for various useful applications to improve the system reliability and its properties. Traditionally, the communication medium is implemented by an additional cabling. However, the costs of the traditional method may be an obstacle to the wider application of data transmission between a motor and a frequency converter. In any case, a power cable is always installed between a motor and a frequency converter for power supply, and hence it may be applied as a communication medium for sensor level data. This thesis considers power line communication (PLC) in inverter-fed motor power cables. The motor cable is studied as a communication channel in the frequency band of 100 kHz−30 MHz. The communication channel and noise characteristics are described. All the individual components included in a variable-speed electric drive are presented in detail. A channel model is developed, and it is verified by measurements. A theoretical channel information capacity analysis is carried out to estimate the opportunities of a communication medium. Suitable communication and forward error correction (FEC) methods are suggested. A general method to implement a broadband and Ethernet-based communication medium between a motor and a frequency converter is proposed. A coupling interface is also developed that allows to install the communication device safely to a three-phase inverter-fed motor power cable. Practical tests are carried out, and the results are analyzed. Possible applications for the proposed method are presented. A speed feedback motor control application is verified in detail by simulations and laboratory tests because of restrictions for the delay in the feedback loop caused by PLC. Other possible applications are discussed at a more general level.

Microwave Slot Transmission Line Filled with Ferroelectric and Ferromagnetic Layers

Now when the technology is fast developing it is very important to investigate new hybrid structures. One way is to use ferrite ferroelectric layered structures. Theoretical and experimental investigation of such structures was made. These structures have advantages of both layers and it is possible to tune the behavior of this structure by external electric and magnetic field. But these structures have some disadvantages connected with presence of thick ferroelectric layer. One way to overcome this problem is to use slotline. So this is another new way to create hybrid ferrite ferroelectric structures, but it is needed to create new theory and find experimental proof that the behavior of these structures can be tuned with external magnetic and electric fields.

Enhancing Customer Knowledge and Its Sharing At a Paper Production Line

This study has been made for specific paper production line at an international forest industry company in Finland. The main purpose for the study was a need to examine the current situation of the customer knowledge and its’ sharing at case production line, recognize the problems in it and finally, find out the improvement actions. The study is composed of theoretical and empirical parts. In theoretical part, knowledge management and information sharing in addition to customer knowledge management are presented. Empirical data from case production line was collected by using survey questionnaires. The results are analyzed in discussion and conclusions and finally, study ends with summary which includes recommendations. Based on the study, the amount and quality of customer knowledge and gaining and transferring the customer knowledge were found as the main challenges. The proposed solutions were discovered from moving towards more dynamic operating environment and in the area of customer knowledge management, especially from the communities of creation.

The intrinsic mechanisms of softwood fiber damage in brown stock fiber line unit operations Lappeenranta 2010

The effects of pulp processing on softwood fiber properties strongly influence the properties of wet and dry paper webs. Pulp strength delivery studies have provided observations that much of the strength potential of long fibered pulp is lost during brown stock fiber line operations where the pulp is merely washed and transferred to the subsequent processing stages. The objective of this work was to study the intrinsic mechanisms which maycause fiber damage in the different unit operations of modern softwood brown stock processing. The work was conducted by studying the effects of industrial machinery on pulp properties with some actions of unit operations simulated in laboratory scale devices under controlled conditions. An optical imaging system was created and used to study the orientation of fibers in the internal flows during pulp fluidization in mixers and the passage of fibers through the screen openings during screening. The qualitative changes in fibers were evaluated with existing and standardized techniques. The results showed that each process stage has its characteristic effects on fiber properties: Pulp washing and mat formation in displacement washers introduced fiber deformations especially if the fibers entering the stage were intact, but it did not decrease the pulp strength properties. However, storage chests and pulp transfer after displacement washers contributed to strength deterioration. Pulp screening proved to be quite gentle, having the potential of slightly evening out fiber deformations from very deformed pulps and vice versa inflicting a marginal increase in the deformation indices if the fibers were previously intact. Pulp mixing in fluidizing industrial mixers did not have detrimental effects on pulp strength and had the potential of slightly evening out the deformations, provided that the intensity of fluidization was high enough to allow fiber orientation with the flow and that the time of mixing was short. The chemical and mechanical actions of oxygen delignification had two distinct effects on pulp properties: chemical treatment clearly reduced pulp strength with and without mechanical treatment, and the mechanical actions of process machinery introduced more conformability to pulp fibers, but did not clearly contribute to a further decrease in pulp strength. The chemical composition of fibers entering the oxygen stage was also found to affect the susceptibility of fibers to damage during oxygen delignification. Fibers with the smallest content of xylan were found to be more prone to irreversibledeformations accompanied with a lower tensile strength of the pulp. Fibers poor in glucomannan exhibited a lower fiber strength while wet after oxygen delignification as compared to the reference pulp. Pulps with the smallest lignin content on the other hand exhibited improved strength properties as compared to the references.

Line filter optimization in elevator use

The purpose of this thesis was to create design a guideline for an LCL-filter. This thesis reviews briefly the relevant harmonics standards, old filter designs and problems faced with the previous filters. This thesis proposes a modified design method based on the “Liserre’s method” presented in the literature. This modified method will take into account network parameters better. As input parameters, the method uses the nominal power, allowed ripple current in converter and network side and desired resonant frequency of the filter. Essential component selection issues for LCL-filter, such as heating, voltage strength, current rating etc. are also discussed. Furthermore, a simulation model used to verify the operation of the designed filter in nominal power use and in transient situations is included in this thesis.

Examining the Role of Rebranding in Perceived Image of a Product Line

The main objective for this study was to explore certain organization’s product line rebranding process and its impact on product line’s perceived image. The case company is a global paper, packaging and forest products company, business segment paper board. The audience explored is one of the company’s major customers, merchant in Germany. The research was performed as a descriptive case study with a purpose to provide longitudinal insight into the product line image and its eventual alteration as a result of the case company’s rebranding process. Mainly qualitative methods were used for conducting the research. The data for the empirical part was collected with a web-based survey at two different points of time; before the rebranded products entered the market and after they had been available approximately six months. The results of this study reveal that the case company has performed well in its attempt to improve product line’s brand image through rebranding. It was found that between the two brand image measurements the product brand image seems to have improved in all of the areas which according to theoretical framework of this study contribute to formation of brand image; brand associations, marketing communications and interpersonal relationships, not forgetting the original platform that initiated the change; technical quality modifications. In other words it may be concluded that as technical quality was brought to a new level, also assessments about the brand image improved respectively.