Optimization of Production Parameters in Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Manufacturing by Using Taguchi Method

Abstract

Optimization of process conditions in oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing is a very important issue for both reducing cost and improving the quality of panels. Taguchi experimental design technique was applied to determination and optimization of the most influential controlling parameters of OSB panels such as press condition (pressure-time-temperature) and the ratio of adhesive parameters on modulus of elasticity (MOE). The value of the MOE is one of the very important mechanical properties of OSB panels. For this purpose, several experiments were conducted according to Taguchi L27 orthogonal design. The signal-to-noise (S/N) and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to find the optimum levels and to indicate the impact of the controlling parameters on MOE. A verification test was also performed to prove the effectiveness of Taguchi technique. Since the predicted and the measured values were very close to each other, it was concluded that the Taguchi method was very successful in the optimization of effective parameters in OSB's manufacturing.