FPRDI’s digital wood moisture meter showcased in foreign symposium Philippine | 10/01/2020

The DOST- FPRDI’s digital wood moisture meter was one of the technologies included during the 21st International Non-destructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood Symposium held from 24-27 September 2019 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Dr. Marina A. Alipon, Scientist 1, presented the paper titled “Development and Commercialization of Digital Wood Moisture Meter” at the symposium.

“The gathering provided a platform for sharing the latest non-destructive innovations in examining wood properties and condition,” explained Alipon.

“Current methods are mostly destructive in nature, such as the use of the Universal Testing Machine and oven-drying where wood samples would usually crack or be destroyed during testing. With non-destructive technologies like the DOST-FPRDI’s digital wood moisture meter, wood samples
are preserved even during performance testing,” she added.

The digital wood moisture meter is a device that reads the moisture content (MC) particularly of Philippine wood species. Designed for small industry players, it was built using local spare parts and is cheaper than imported counterparts.

“Knowing how much moisture a wood contains is critical in ensuring the quality of wood products. For example, the MC of products bound for temperate countries must be low enough (about 7-10%) so as not to distort, shrink, or crack while in service. The fastest and most convenient way to determine the MC is thru the use of a moisture meter,” Alipon said.

According to Alipon, around 400 units have been sold mostly to handicraft and furniture firms nationwide.