LOS BANOS, Laguna, Philippines (PNA Feature) -- Scientists at the Forest Products Research and Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FPRDI-DOST) have developed a cellular phone-sized digital moisture meter, which is a valuable tool for owners and workers in the country’s furniture and handicraft industries.

Science officials said the hand-held device measures the moisture content of wood, a very important element for those involved in the manufacture of high-value furnitures and handicrafts, particularly wood products intended for the export markets.

The new device won the 2010 National Invention Award in the Outstanding Utility Model Category.

FPRDI Deputy Director Felix B. Tamolang said the digital moisture meter, which is now being used by more than 100 handicraft and furniture workers, is priced at P5,000 each, compared to the imported version whose price ranges from P15,000 to P50,000 apiece.

Tamolang said moisture meters are used to measure the percentage of water in wood and determine if the material is ready for use. He added that since wood shrinks and can also split, twist or change shape as it dries, most wood species are dried before being used.

He said the moisture meter reads the resistance of wood samples, normally at about 16 percent, depending on the locality but resistance of freshly cut wood ranges from 60 percent to more than 100 percent for any wood species.

A guidebook published by FPRDI says that the moisture meters are calibrated for Philippine wood species and adjustments are made for different species.

The guidebook says the FPRDI wood moisture meter is an improved version of an analog meter developed in 2001, which was calibrated to nine additional wood species such as bagras, gubas, Japanese alder, mahogany, malapapaya, mangium, narra, river red gum and tangile, which are raw materials used in the furniture and handicraft industries.

Tamolang said the traditional way of measuring moisture is by oven-drying where one gets a sample that is soaked in water, weighed and placed inside a 100-degree Centigrade oven.

He said, however, that the traditional process is very tedious because it requires a lot of wood samples.

“With the use of the moisture meter, you get the reading right away,” Tamolang stressed.

Dr. Marina A. Alipon, leader of the FPRDI team that developed the new device, said that knowing how much moisture is present in one’s raw material is key to making quality wooden furniture, builders’ woodworks and handicrafts.

Other team members are engineers Gil Dolotina and Grecelda A. Eusebio and researchers Gerwin P. Guba and Alvin E. Retamar.

Alipon said the moisture content of wood products bound for temperate countries must be low enough, about seven percent to 10 percent, in order that these products do not distort, shrink or crack while in service, thus, preventing expensive repair works.

She said the quality of finished wood products depends on the moisture content of the wood used. It is required that the lumber of wood products must be dried to the moisture content prevailing in their intended place of use, she added.

"By providing our exporters with an efficient, affordable meter, we help them monitor the moisture content of their raw materials,” Alipon said.

FPRDI director Dr. Romulo T. Aggangan expressed confidence the newly developed wood moisture meter could help small and medium enterprises compete better in the export market.

Aggangan said that the wood moisture meter was made for local wood species to benefit more of the small players in the furniture and handicrafts industries.

Project designers FPRDI and DOST’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute and Alexan Trading are eyeing the export of the moisture meter to Asia and developing countries starting this year.

At present, the Philippines’ major export markets are Japan, Australia, Europe, Great Britain and the United States, officials said.

FPRDI officials said the country’s furniture industry is made up of about 15,000 member companies, composed mostly of small and medium enterprises that employ 800,000 workers, including the manufacturers, sub-contractors and suppliers.