Processing Machinery
Industrial processing machinery that employs large rotating drums equipped with parallel steel blades to scrape and clean flax straw represents the primary equipment used in the mechanical extraction of linen fibres. The scutching turbine operates on stalks that have been partially crushed by rollers to loosen the wooden core. This machine is mounted in pairs to process both ends of the flax bundle in a continuous operation.
Mechanical Sequence
The first drum in the sequence processes the root end of the flax stalks while they are held by a heavy rubber clamping belt. As the belt carries the stalks forward, the second scutching turbine processes the tip end of the bundle. The steel blades of the rotating drums scrape along the length of the fibres, knocking away the broken wooden shive and leaving the clean long fibres intact.
This operation requires precise coordination between the conveyor belt speed and the rotation speed of the drums to ensure uniform cleaning.
Waste Management
The scraped woody debris is collected below the drum housing and removed by an pneumatic suction system. This system maintains clean air within the processing hall and prevents the re-deposition of shive on the clean fibre.