Everything You Need to Know About Brunette Chippers
We don’t need to tell you that wood processing machinery operates under demanding conditions. When you are in the business of producing quality pulp chips you need Chippers that can handle the toughest jobs and deliver the highest production rates.
Today’s sawmills are faced with ever-increasing demands for capacity, efficiency and availability. They require custom solutions and rugged machines that are easy to maintain and perform well under rigorous use. While the main purpose of a sawmill is processing softwood or hardwood logs into quality lumber, they also need the means to process the sawdust, chips and bark as additional value streams.
Brunette Machinery offers a full line of drum chippers available in various sizes and model configurations. With their rigid structural frame and powerful high-inertia rotor, Brunette Chippers are built for optimal performance, lower maintenance costs, and the best quality chips at the highest capacities.
Our Chippers are renowned for producing quality pulp chips from short material that is difficult to control. Some of our models are capable of producing “micro-chips” — giving you access to more markets, and more flexibility.
Designed with a wide throat, Brunette Chippers can accommodate large pieces such as logs, lily pads, cores, and spinouts. The single piece tapered knives process material across the full width of the drum providing even wear and longer life.
Brunette Chippers have many features making them ideal for your application including adjustable chip length and the Brunette Quick-Change knife system for one-person changeouts.
The Benefits
Superior Chipping Performance: Brunette Drum Chippers combine high capacity and excellent cutting geometry to easily process green and dry trim ends, shorts, overs, lily pads, small logs, and butt ends.
High Quality Chips – Minimal Maintenance Costs: Brunette Chippers are furnished with first-class arbor bearings that ensure close knife to anvil clearance for optimum chip quality. The contour of the drum creates a clamping force to securely hold the material between the anvil and the knife path. This prevents the material from tipping up toward the drum, reducing maintenance costs.
Save Time & Money: The swing-away anvil saves valuable production time and repair costs associated with tramp metal.
The Construction
Frame: The rugged main frame is welded with reinforced steel plate bearing mounts and connecting flanges for infeed and rear discharge chutes. It is stress relieved and jig machined for accurate alignment of bearings, knives, and anvil. Heavy-duty bosses are spigotted into frame for pivot pins and shear pins.
Rotor: Constructed with welded steel plate segments, the high inertia rotor processes high volumes and uses less energy than other industrial chippers. The rotor is mounted to a HTSR shaft by two B-LOCs and the entire rotor assembly is supported by Pillow Block bearings. The rotor is adjustable for optimum knife-to-anvil clearance.
Access Hood: The hood opens with a hydraulic cylinder operated from a Hydraulic Power Unit with a 1.5HP 1800 rpm motor for safe, ergonomic, and easy knife changes.
Anvil: The swing away anvil assembly is secured by shear pins and comes complete with a bolt-on hardened, reversible anvil.
Knives: Brunette Chippers are equipped with solid, flat tapered knives, and quick-release knife clamps for easy knife changes. The knives process material across the full width of the drum for even wear and longer life.
Drive: V-belt transmission (where supplied)
Colour: Brunette Blue
The Options
Pneumatic Disk Brakes: These air adjustable, heavy-duty caliper brakes are built to bring the rotor to a stop quickly and safely. This quick stop action also speeds up knife changes. Guard is included for safety.
Screen: A bottom screen is available as an option for all Brunette Drum Chippers. Made from AR400 plate, this rugged bolt-on screen is designed to reduce overs — typically 0% to 3%.
Chute: The infeed chute mounts directly to the Drum Chipper ensuring a smooth transition for material entering the drum from a conveyor. The chute features one-piece construction with a 45-degree slope and comes complete with a large inspection door. The chute is equipped with a containment curtain to prevent debris blow back, heavy duty ribs for durability and an abrasion-resistant liner.
Key Knife Uni-Ridge System: This disposable turn-knife system is an alternative to Brunette’s standard quick-change flat tapered knives. The Key Knife system comes complete with Uni-Ridge Drum Chipper pocket assemblies including Uni-Ridge starter knives, counter knives, holders, and hardware. The Key Knife Uni-Ridge system is compatible with standard Brunette OEM knife clamps & studs.
The Safety Features
All Brunette Drum Chippers are equipped with the following safety features:
Electrical Safety Interlocks
• Hood lift
• Swing-away anvil
• Shaft motion sensor
Mechanical Safety Locks
• Hood lock
• Rotor lock
• Anvil restraints
Automatic shutdown
Devices wired to common junction box
Which Brunette Chipper is Right for Your Mill?
The Brunette Drum Chippers are available in various sizes, models, and both drop feed and horizontal configurations to suit your needs. Find out which one is right for you
Brunette Drum Chipper Model 3230
This Drum Chipper is built for the production of high-quality pulp chips from oversized chips, trim blocks, and small edgings. The precision machined, high inertia rotor and the large infeed ensures high capacity and optimum chipping performance that yields a consistently uniform, quality product. The 3230 Drum Chipper comes with three or four knives and is available with a drop feed or a horizontal feed and either a bottom or rear discharge.
Technical Data:
• Rotor Size: 32″ diameter
• Rotor Speed: 650 RPM (Nominal)
• Knives 3 or 4
• Infeed Width: 30″
• Shaft End Diameter: 4.9375″
• Chip Length, adjustable: 0.625″ to 1.25″
Brunette Horizontal Drum Chipper Model 4840H
The newest Chipper in our Drum Chipper line is the 4840 Horizontal Drum Chipper. This Chipper is designed with a horizontal feed (including feedworks), and either a bottom or rear discharge. Available in two models: the 4840HV Veneer and the 4840HT Sawmill. Both models are built with the same robust features as our other Chipper models. They are available with 3,4, or 6 knives.
The 4840H4V model features an anvil that is raised closer to the rotor so that the knives hit at an angle for thinner material. This model processes veneer waste rejects, round-up, cores, and spinouts all in one machine.
The 4840HT model significantly reduces overs from trim blocks and reject boards.
Technical Data:
• Rotor Size: 48″ diameter
• Rotor Speed: 533 RPM (Nominal)
• Knives: 3, 4, or 6
• Infeed Width: 40″
• Infeed Height: 18″
• Powered Top Press Roll, with a standard 7½ HP reducer, & a hydraulic cylinder to adjust down pressure
• Powered Bottom Feed Rolls with electric motor/reducer, roll to roll chain drive,
• Bottom Feed Rolls have replaceable chromed bed plates and bolt-on side liners. Optional speed up roll
• Upper frame has a large access door for maintenance, and a bolt-on removable section for rotor access
• Upper feedworks are contained in a pivoting modular housing (removeable)
Brunette Whole Log Drum Chipper Model 6040
The Brunette Whole Log Chipper is a horizontal-feed extreme-duty machine that can process logs up to 26″ in diameter. Hydraulic-driven powered feedworks — a top pressroll and two lower bedrolls — control log feed to produce high quality pulp chips for pulp and paper mills or micro-chips consistent in thickness and size for biomass and pellet industries.
Two rotors are available for our Whole Log Chipper – the standard rotor, for up to 1″ nominal pulp chip, and our unique MicroChip rotor which is designed to produce a ¼” nominal chip. Each rotor can be outfitted with either our standard Brunette quick-change knife system or the Key Knife disposable turn-knife system.
Technical Data:
• Rotor Size: 60″ diameter
• Rotor Speed: 375 RPM (Nominal)
• Knives: 4, 6, or 8
• Infeed Width: 40″
• Infeed Height: 26″
• Pulp Chip Length, adjustable: 0.625″ to 1″
• “Micro” Chip Length, adjustable: 0.25″ to .875″
• Powered Top Press Roll has two hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic motor mounted into roll
• Powered Bottom Feed Roll has 7.5HP electric motor/reducer, and standard flex insert coupling
• Bottom Feed Roll also has replaceable chromed bed plates and bolt-on side liners
Whole Log Chipper 6040 Optional Feature
The Brunette Whole Log Chipper can be supplied in a modular format complete with infeed conveyor, chipper drive motor and hydraulic power unit, all designed on a rigid-structured, one-piece frame suitable for containerizing.
Questions?
Would you like more information about our Drum Chipper Line? Do you want to get more from your mill?
Call us at 604.522.3977 or Toll Free: 1.800.686.6679 or email us at:
Our sales team can answer all your questions. Ask us about our complete line of wood processing equipment.
This article is reprinted from our Brunette Machinery email campaign “Everything You Need to Know About Brunette Chippers” published Feb. 27, 2023
