Panels & Furniture March/April 2022

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Full range of machinery
and complete OSB-PB-MDF
plant by IMAL PAL
PAL technical departments to ensure
a complete design of the engineering
projects. All of the automation parts are
supplied by IMAL, and are designed in
three electrical departments: the first
designs the motor control centre (MCC)
electrical cabinets, the second designs
the programmable logic controller (PLC)
software, and the third designs the
supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) software or human-machine
interface (HMI) computer visualisation.
For the production of LSB panels, IMAL
supplies a complete production plant at
the IPAN facility in Italy and has a system
inside the OSB formers to distribute the
resined material over the two surfaces
of the board. According to the company,
the LSB panel may be regarded as a
“top-quality” particleboard or even an
OSB board that may be laminated, as it is
an OSB board where the two surfaces are
coated with fine material.
From above: IMAL PAL Group’s technical engineering department; IMAL PAL Group’s PLC & SCADA department
The IMAL PAL Group, consisting of IMAL,
PAL and GLOBUS, supplies orientedstrand
board (OSB) or particleboard
production lines that can manufacture
and supply all the equipment — not
only from the debarker through to the
after-press area, including the dryer,
but also the electronic online quality
controls and the laboratory equipment.
For example, in the case of a complete
OSB or light-strand board (LSB) plant,
PAL manufactures the debarker,
screening equipment, and the forming
line; GLOBUS manufactures the flaker
Disk Strander; and IMAL manufactures
the belt dryer, gluing system and
equality and measurement controls,
in addition to the continuous press
and handling system. The IMAL
continuous press is manufactured in
Italy and equipped with parts that are
of European origin. Around a hundred
engineers are engaged in the IMAL and
IMAL also produces a belt dryer with
energy recovery that ensures a moisture
content of 2% at outfeed. This particular
dryer runs at low temperatures, and as
such, the electrofilter is not required,
and with a maximum dust emission level
of 5mg/m 3 , volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) are below the maximum
level requirements with a working
temperature of less than 100°C. To date,
30 belt dryers have been supplied in
Europe and one in Asia.
The screening area where the PALpatented
Quadradyn screens are
installed is used in over 90% of the OSB
lines in Europe. The IMAL resination for
OSB production distinguishes itself from
the old American system as it does not
require spinning heads or glue sprayers
driven by rotating motors, but applies
a high-pressure system to spray the
resin. This means that electric motors
38 Panels & Furniture Asia | March / April 2022