Temporary website for Smartborer
www.smartborer.com
Sorry for the delay. Here I opened a simple website about our electric coring device, smart increment borer (Smartborer). In future, new website will be opened elsewhere.
To all users of increment borer,
I would like to draw your attention to our newly developed electric increment borer. The device is capable of sampling a 12-mm x 500-mm softwood core in three minutes. As a proof, please watch the following videos.
Electric increment core sampling in three minutes
(without music)
Electric increment core sampling in three minutes
(Daft Punk cosplay ver.)
The corer in the video is 12 mm in inner diameter, 800 mm in length. The device weighs less than 10 kg. It can be disassembled and easily carried in a backpack. In Japan, several researchers are already using this device and it is getting very popular here. I am sure scientists worldwide will find our device useful as much as Japanese researchers.
There are two models, for sampling 5 and 12 mm cores. The device uses battery-powered Makita electric wrench as a power source and its torque is amplified at the gear ratio of 1:24-1:118. At the gear ratio of 1:118, you can sample 12-mm x 800-mm core from the hardest hardwood (such as beech and oak). When we cored every tree at a given site for wood quality research (no need for long walk from tree to tree), we could sample about three times as many cores compared to manual increment coring. In a typical field trip, we carry about 2-3 batteries. For more information, please read the following paper of ours.
Kagawa, A. & Fujiwara, T. Journal of Wood Science (2017).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-017-1668-6
(email me for PDF)
If you have a Facebook account, please also refer to "The Tree-ring Times" group to read comments about our device (such as "JUST TAKE MY MONEY, NOW!!!" by Henri D. Grissino-Mayer).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treeringtimes/
(1) 5-mm core sampler system (includes reaction bar (small), connection socket for
Haglof 5mm borer, and the large gear) About 6665 USD
(2)12-mm core sampler system for softwood (includes reaction bar (large), connection socket for Haglof 12 mm borer, and the large gear) About 7023 USD
(3)12-mm core sampling system for hardwood (the system (2), plus additional gearbox) About 10,055 USD
(Please understand that prices are subject to change due to the exchange rate and the minor updates).
In addition, you have to buy Makita wrench (available only in Japan), the recharger and the batteries (available in the U.S., within EU and other areas).
The device is already available if you pay in advance in JPY and if you come to Japan to bring the device back to your country by yourself. If you place an order now (December 2017), it will be available in April-May 2018. I do not know how much extra it would cost for shipment, import tax etc. in each country yet. If you want the device to be shipped to your country, please make a reservation so that we can check in advance how much extra it would cost for shipping, export tax etc. to your country.
If you would like to visit me in Japan to try out our device, or if you would like to try it in your field trips, please let me know.
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
With best regards,
Akira Kagawa <akagawa@ffpri.affrc.go.jp>
Wood Anatomy and Quality Laboratory
Forestry & Forest Products Research Institute
1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan
(located 70 min. away from the Tokyo International Airport in Narita)
Tel.+81-29-829-8301 Fax.+81-29-874-3720