What is FMI-5
The FMI-5 inline moisture meter system is a 100% new development with the latest microprocessor and sensor technology. It is the successor of the well-known Brookhuis FMI-3 and FMI-4 inline moisture meter systems.
An FMI-5 system consists of an operating panel, 1 or more moisture sensors with a prefabricated sensor cable and a reference board. It can be operated manually or fully automatic by the machine line. Via remote access a fast service is available.
The operating unit is available in 4 different models and with 8 different sensor models the FMI-5 ensures that it can be installed in practically every longitudinal or transversal operating machine line.
How does it work?
The FMI-5 system categories wood into different moisture levels, gives information to reject wood outside the set moisture levels, mark boards, measures real-time to get the boards moisture profile for optimizing and scanner lines to cut out or mark wet spots. This makes the FMI-5 a very versatile system suitable in all known applications.
The new FMI-5 sensors measure 500 times per second to detect the smallest wet spots in the fastest production and sorting applications. Each sensor stores calibration data making the system a perfect fit in quality control systems or according to international Standards.
The new transversal sensors are more compact compared to the previous models. In case of a replacement of an older Brookhuis transversal sensor, a mounting kit is available so integration can be realized within minutes. Maximum 10 transversal sensors can be connected to a FMI-5 operating unit to get a maximum of 20 measuring fields of 250mm resulting in 5,000mm effective moisture content board information.
250 boards/minute in transversal mode or 1,200 meter/minute in longitudinal mode makes the system fast enough for all existing machine lines, and with the FMI Reporting software all measuring results can be stored on a computer, reports can be printed or data can be transferred into a customer’s database.
Thanks to the new touch screen with graphical user interface the FMI-5 system is very simple and intuitive to handle. In manual mode, the operator first select either batch, product and sorting mode and presses start for measurement. All crucial information is shown in the display and when more in-depth information is needed, the operator just presses the screen to see in real time, the sorting results, the moisture distribution of the batch, the batch information or the current measurement.
Very simple, very informative, very effective.
By using new methodologies and mathematical models, the calibration is simplified and, depending on the FMI-5 model, it only needs the board dimensions to run the system fully automatically. This also makes it possible to get the yield of the produced batch based on number of boards or board volume.
How to choose the right one?
To know which FMI-5 system and sensor configuration is best for your sorting or production line you can contact Vlantex for the best advice or see the tables below for additional information.
| Function | FMI-5 30 | FMI-5 60 | FMI-5 300M | FMI-5 300MA | FMI-5 2400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact free moisture content measurement for solid wood | + | + | + | + | – |
| Contact free moisture content measurement for pallets | – | – | – | – | + |
| Non-destructive measurement | + | + | + | + | + |
| Digital display | + | + | + | + | + |
| Moisture range 2-30% (dry-sorting) | + | + | + | + | – |
| Moisture range 30-250% (pre-sorting) | – | – | + | + | – |
| Moisture range 2-250% (dry + wet pallets) | – | – | – | – | + |
| Resolution in % (absolute value) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Accuracy in % (absolute value, measured on reference material) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Repeatability in % (absolute value, measured on reference material) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Measurement according to EN 13181-3 | + | + | + | + | + |
| Measurement on spruce, pine and larch approved to EN 14080:2013, EN15497: 2014 and EN16351:2015 | – | – | + | + | – |
| Function | FMI-5 30 | FMI-5 60 | FMI-5 300M | FMI-5 300MA | FMI-5 2400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average moisture content per board | + | + | + | + | + |
| Peak moisture content per board | + | + | + | + | + |
| Average + Peak moisture content per board | – | – | + | + | + |
| Realtime + Average moisture content per board (L-Type sensors only) | – | – | + | + | – |
| Realtime + Average moisture content per board (Layer function only) | – | – | + | + | – |
| Function | FMI-5 30 | FMI-5 60 | FMI-5 300M | FMI-5 300MA | FMI-5 2400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum speed (L-type sensor) | 50 m/min 165 ft/min | 150 m/min 500 ft/min | 1200 m/min 4000 ft/min | 1200 m/min 4000 ft/min | – |
| Maximum throughput (either sensor type) | 30 pieces/min | 60 pieces/min | 300 pieces/min | 300 pieces/min | 2,400 Pallets/Hour |
| Maximum L-type sensors per Operator Panel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Maximum X-type sensors per Operator Panel | 1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| External input cable (X-type sensors only) | – | – | O | O | • |
| Board-by-board (X-type and L-type sensors) | + | + | + | + | – |
| Pallet-by-pallet (X-type) | – | – | – | – | + |
| Endless board (L-type sensors only) | – | – | O | O | – |
| Layer – AVG, Peak and Real-Time (X-type sensors only) | – | – | O | O | – |
| Layer – External trigger (X-type sensors only) | – | – | O | O | + |
| Moisture content per X-type sensor for max. 4 x-type sensors “too dry / too wet” | – | – | O | O | – |
| Moisture content per X-type sensor for max. 8 x-type sensors ” too wet” | – | – | O | O | – |
| Function | FMI-5 30 | FMI-5 60 | FMI-5 300M | FMI-5 300MA | FMI-5 2400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjustable sensitivity for knot, wet spot and finger joint suppression [mm] | + | + | + | + | + |
| Calibration – manually | + | + | + | + | + |
| Calibration -automatically | + | + | + | + | + |
| Calibration -optimization | + | + | + | + | + |
| Density – Pre-set, per batch | + | + | + | + | – |
| Density – Automatically, per batch | – | – | + | + | – |
| Density – Automatically, per board | – | – | – | + | – |
| Width – Pre-set, per batch | + | + | + | + | – |
| Width – Automatically, per batch | – | – | + | + | – |
| Width – Automatically, per board | – | – | – | + | – |
| Thickness – Pre-set, per batch | + | + | + | + | – |
| Thickness – Automatically, per batch | – | – | + | + | – |
| Thickness – Automatically, per board | – | – | – | + | – |
| Temperature – Pre-set, automatically per batch | + | + | + | + | – |
| Temperature – Automatically, per batch | – | – | + | + | – |
| Temperature – Automatically, per board | – | – | – | + | – |