Ongoing research concerns the possibility of determining the 3D orientation of wood fibres within the entire volume of a wooden board using surface information from laser scanning. Previous research, Olsson and Oscarsson [1], has shown that the fibre orientation of side boards can be determined on the basis of such information. The present research is extended to also comprise boards cut from the centre of the log and a first step in this work is to establish 3D models of knots in boards on the basis of information from dot laser scanning of surfaces.

In comparison with other approaches aiming at 3D models of knots and wood fibre orientation, e.g. Guindos and Guaita[2] and Hackspiel et al. [3], the present model relies to a larger extent on the actual fibre orientation measured on each individual board, rather than on general assumption and mathematical models of typical fibre orientation alone.  

The fact that all data needed for the model can be sampled in sawmill production speed means that developed models could be used as a basis for advanced strength grading methods, for grading with respect to shape stability and for other purposes of industrial interest.