referring in more particularity to the drawing , a pin plate 1 has a hub portion 2 , in which there is a star - shaped opening 3 . this star - shaped opening serves to slide the pin plat 1 onto a polyhedral shaft 4 ( cf . fig2 ). due to the star - shaped opening 3 , the individual pin plates can be indexed in the axial direction of the polyhedral shaft at arbitrary angles to one another in the rotational direction . as shown in fig1 a , a circular ring 5 is positioned near the outside periphery of pin plate 1 , and four equally spaced apart ribs 6 radiate from hub 3 to ring 5 . if , between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 , there are no more than four ribs 6 on which the pins 7 , 7a are located outside of the ring in the same radial direction , a spiral - shaped arrangement of the ribs 6 and the pins 7 , 7a may be achieved over the axial length of the polyhedral shaft . such spiral arrangement occurs if each subsequent pin plate is indexed by 45 °, as shown best in fig2 b . this spiral - shaped progression of the ribs 6 and the spiral - shaped progression of the pins 7a additionally supports the oriented discharge of the wood chips , as explained more fully below . a device of this nature is preferred in the production of osb boards ( oriented strand board ). the pins 7 comprise extensions of the ribs 6 and have the same dimensions as ribs 6 . pins 7a have similar dimensions , but in the circumferential direction , they are wider than the ribs 6 . according to the invention , the result of such an execution is that larger chips are also affected by the corresponding impulse and can be oriented into a preferred direction . from fig1 a it can further be seen that auxiliary ribs 8 may be provided between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 . these auxiliary ribs 8 serve to stiffen the pin plate 1 and simultaneously to support the orientation of chips . if these auxiliary ribs 8 are extended beyond the closed ring , the result is pin plates with six pins , for example , which in certain cases facilitate the orientation of chips . the star - shaped opening 3 is not fixed to the arrangement represented in fig1 a , 1b , but other star - shaped openings can also be applied , so that a pin plate with eight pins , for example , may be indexed at a specific angle in the circumferential direction from plate to plate so that a spiral - shaped arrangement of the pins 7 and 7a and the ribs 6 as well as the auxiliary ribs 8 is possible on the polyhedral shaft with this arrangement of the pin plates . it is also possible to provide the pin plates 1 only with pins 7 or only with pins 7a or , as shown , with an arrangement which combines pins 7 and pins 7a . as can further be seen from fig1 a , the pin plates 1 may also have individual segments 9 , which are limited on one side by edges 10 and on the other hand by ribs 6 . thus , in the manufacturing of osb boards , pin plates 1 may be used which consist of ribs 6 and pins 7 , a hub portion 2 , a star - shaped opening 3 and a closed ring 5 , as well as pin plates 1 , where , in addition to the ribs 6 , there are segments 9 between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 . pin plates 1 may be used which have only segments 9 between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 and in radial direction , in addition to the closed rings 5 , pins 7 and pins 7a , or only pins 7 , or only pins 7a . it is also possible to make pin plates 1 , in which auxiliary ribs 8 are provided between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 in addition to the ribs 6 or the segments 9 . fig1 b shows a pin plate 1 , where an elliptical ring 33 encloses the hub portion 2 with the star - shaped opening 3 . auxiliary ribs 8 and ribs 6 extend inside the elliptical ring 33 . rib extensions 34 , 35 connect to the ribs 6 outside of the elliptical ring along the minor axis of the ellipse while rib extensions 36 , 37 connect to the ribs 6 outside the elliptical ring 33 along the major axis of the ellipse . rib extensions 34 , 35 are dimensioned lengthwise in such a manner that they have the same tip location as rib extensions 36 , 37 . the radial distance from the center of rotation to the outer tip ends of each extension is the same . in the example of fig1 b , the rib extensions 34 , 35 are each provided with a reinforcement 38 due to their greater length as compared to the rib extensions 36 , 37 . the pin roller shown in fig2 a consists of a number of pin plates 1 , which are arranged at distances from one another on the polyhedral shaft 4 by means of spacer rings 11 . these pin rollers 12 extend over the entire width of the chip material to be produced , so that a continuous wood material , i . e . a material with oriented chips , can be produced . the pin rollers 12 may be associated with vertical guide surfaces 13 located below the rollers and through which the oriented chips are loaded onto a discharge base 14 , as shown best in fig2 a and 3 . as can be seen from fig2 a , the pin plates 1 have the same movement diameter 15 , but the diameters of the closed rings 5 vary . this means that the individual pins 7 or 7a extend to different distances beyond the closed ring 5 . by means of this relationship of different diameters of the closed rings 5 , it is achieved that even long chips assume a specific slide - by angle to the axis of the polyhedral shaft 4 and thus arrive oriented between the individual guide surfaces for deposition onto the discharge base 14 . basically as a result of the space between the hub portion 2 and the closed ring 5 of the open pin plate 1 , the pin plate itself does not constitute a resistance surface which could cause congestion of non - oriented chips and in turn blocking of the chutes 16 between the guide surfaces 13 . due to the sequence of spacer rings 11 and pin plates 1 of the same thickness , the rotating grid of pin plates 1 and consequently of pin rollers 12 can be selected so narrowly that no chip falls on the spacer rings 11 without being oriented . this assures that no chip will be deposited on the discharge base 14 without first being properly oriented . fig2 b illustrates the arrangement of pin plates 1 , each having only four ribs 6 , and indexed on the shaft 4 so that each plate is offset from an adjacent plate by 45 °. this produces an outside spiral or helical pattern of pins 7 and 7a . otherwise the arrangements of fig2 a and 2b are the same . the orientation device shown in fig3 is fed with material to be oriented , namely via an opening 17 . this material has previously been broken up by means of preliminary break - up rollers 19 which are located in a housing 20 . the orientation device extends over the entire width of the discharge base 14 and in the direction of arrows 21 , 22 , the not yet oriented material is fed to pin rollers 12 consisting of pin plates 1 and spacer rings 11 on polyhedral shafts . the pin rollers 12 also rest on left and right bearings ( not shown ) positioned in the housing 20 and extend over the entire width of the discharge base . as shown in fig3 two pin rollers 12 rotate clockwise , while one pin roller 12 rotates counterclockwise . the purpose is that the pre - broken chip material coming from the breaking rollers 12 is transported and oriented through the guide surfaces 13 expressly by means of the pin rollers 12 . thus , chip material which has not been oriented cannot fall onto the guide surfaces 13 behind the last pin roller 12 , as shown by the double arrow 23 , where it could cause congestion . the guide surfaces 13 have upper edges 30 , 31 , whereby the upper edge 31 has a greater distance to the axes 32 of the pin rollers 12 than the upper edge 30 . the lower edges of the guide surfaces 13 are not displaced in respect to one another . according to the invention , the outermost guide surfaces 13 have upper edges 30 , while the guide surfaces 13 arranged between these entry surfaces have alternatingly upper edges 30 and 31 , i . e . different distances to the axes 32 . limit flaps 24 , 25 additionally screen the area above the pin rollers 12 so that the pre - broken chip material 21 , 22 is transported through the chutes 16 between the guide surfaces 13 in the area of the pin rollers . after leaving the guide surfaces 13 , the oriented chip material is deposed as a mat of wood material 26 onto a discharge base 14 . the guide surfaces 13 are connected with the housing 20 of the orientation device by means of screw connections 28 and 29 . the different distances of the upper edges of the guide surfaces 13 in itself facilitates a tipping of extremely long chips into the individual chutes . in addition , and in combination with the pin rollers 12 , it facilitates the discharge of chip material to be oriented .