SAWED

The SAWED research project is developing the next generation of circular saw blades for the sawmill industry. Through advanced heat treatment, material modeling, and AI, thinner blades will enable narrower cuts and more resource-efficient utilization of forest raw materials.

A more resource-efficient use of forest raw materials is crucial to meeting future climate and sustainability challenges. By increasing the proportion of wood that becomes long-lasting products instead of waste material, both climate impact can be reduced and value creation throughout the value chain can be strengthened. Technical development in the sawmill process therefore plays a central role in combining industrial competitiveness with sustainable transition.

SAWED is a research project that is developing the next generation of circular saw blades for the Swedish wood industry. By combining advanced heat treatment, material modeling, and artificial intelligence, the conditions are created for thinner, more resource-efficient saw blades with maintained or improved performance. The project is being carried out in close collaboration between academia and industry and aims to strengthen both competitiveness and sustainability in the wood processing industry.

Background

The Swedish wood industry is one of the country's most important basic industries and a significant export sector. A large proportion of the harvested timber is processed in sawmills, where circular saw blades are used to cut and split wood into planks and boards. Each cut produces sawdust, which means that valuable raw material is lost. Several million cubic meters of sawdust are produced annually in Sweden, a large proportion of which is used as fuel instead of being turned into long-lasting wood products.
A decisive factor for the amount of sawdust is the thickness of the steel frame of the saw blade. Thinner blades enable narrower cuts and thus better utilization of raw materials. The challenge is to simultaneously maintain or improve the blade's rigidity, stability, and service life under dynamic loads. Traditional material solutions are not sufficient to achieve this combination of properties.
The SAWED project addresses this challenge by developing a new design strategy for circular saw blades based on localized heating and differentiated cooling. By controlling the microstructure and residual stresses in the steel, conditions are created for a thinner, yet structurally stable, steel frame.

Purpose

The aim of the project is to develop a prototype of a new, thin circular saw blade through an innovative and sustainable design process that combines advanced heat treatment, material modeling, and artificial intelligence. By using local heating and differentiated cooling, the microstructure of the steel can be graded to optimize the mechanical properties of the blade.
A central part of the project is to develop and use advanced simulation models, including AI-based tools for predicting phase transformations (CCT diagrams), to understand the relationship between temperature curves, microstructure, and residual stresses. This enables a digital design environment where new heat treatment strategies can be tested and optimized before physical prototyping.

Overall objectives

The overall goal is to reduce the steel blade thickness by at least 25%, with potential up to 50%, without compromising stability, service life, or performance. This should lead to a significant reduction in sawdust and thus improved resource efficiency in the wood industry.

The project will also contribute to a better understanding of heat transfer and phase transformation during rapid and differentiated cooling, and establish a robust methodology for integrated material and process design. The results are expected to strengthen the competitiveness of the Swedish wood industry and contribute to a more sustainable use of forest raw materials.

Implementation

The project is being carried out in close collaboration between academia and industry and is divided into several work packages: material selection and modeling, development of new steel body designs, experimental and numerical studies of differentiated heating and cooling, and prototype testing in an industrial environment. Advanced measurement methods, numerical simulations, and full-scale tests in sawmills are combined to ensure both scientific quality and industrial relevance.

Significance for business and society

By enabling thinner saw blades with maintained performance, the project can contribute to significantly reducing raw material losses in the sawmill process. This means increased production of high-quality construction timber and improved storage of biogenic carbon in buildings. At the same time, the international competitiveness of the participating companies is strengthened through the development of new, innovative products and digitized design processes.

SAWED thus contributes to a more resource-efficient and climate-conscious wood industry, in line with national and global sustainability goals.