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February 2005 |
FEATURES
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Quality Hardwoods improves flow and yield with 3D LASAR Carriage optimization Quality Hardwoods, Inc. of Sunfield, MI is a high-grade, high-production mill producing about 8 mmbf per year of 4/4 furniture-grade hardwood lumber. Quality Hardwoods has been operating since 1973 processing Red Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Walnut, Ash and Cherry harvested from land they own and manage themselves. Luke Brogger, President, has plenty of hands-on mill experience. He started out as a Sawyer, moved into Lumber Grading and finally purchased the mill 1989. As President, Luke places a high priority on getting the best yield and maintaining the highest quality possible. So when the Line Bar began consistently out-producing the circle headrig, he investigated and discovered accuracy issues with the 2D optimized circle saw. He needed to increase production and yield and do it fast. Last June he built a new building right next to the old one, and installed an HMC Slant Carriage optimized with 3D LASAR front and backside scanning. The mills were connected with minimal downtime and now both lines feed the existing revamped resaw. Luke says "it was a great startup" and found the MillWide optimization software “pretty easy to learn.” Quality Hardwoods now processes about 500 to 650 logs per shift from the combined mills "depending on the species and how many times we change over species during the course of a day." Quality Hardwoods very recently purchased a Lineal Edger from Valley Machine with USNR Smart TriCam scanning and optimization. "We're very excited about that." He went on to say that "once we get our products and width classes set up and defined in the new edger system, we’ll be able to transfer some of those parameters to the headrig and utilize the Whole Log Breakdown system on the Carriage Optimizer for certain diameter class and grades of logs.” |
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Douglas County Forest Products Meets the Challenge Douglas County Forest Products is an independently owned sawmill located in the scenic Umpqua Valley, near Roseburg, Oregon. They're not a big mill, but they have a big mission: Meeting The Challenge. To Douglas County Forest Products, Meeting The Challenge means staying a step ahead of the competition. If their new state-of-the-art sawmill is any indication, Douglas County is exceeding the challenge. In September, the mill started up a new USNR Quad Roll Log turner and sharp chain system with autorotation, along with vertical feedrolls that were installed between the existing chippers and bandmills. This new line features an innovative log offset verification system that enables the mill to correct any offset and skew errors that might be generated in the quad roll log turners. The log offset verification system rescans portions of the log on the sharp chain, after the quad roll log turner, when there is not enough room to get a complete rescan of the log like in a double length infeed. The software rotated log image from the autorotation solution is then adjusted to the offset and skew orientation of the log on the sharp chain. The final sawing solution is calculated based on this combination of scans. The concept is to correct any offset and skew errors that may be generated in the quad roll log turners. This feature can also be applied to correct for vertical offset error in the cant. |
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NEW PROJECTS
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Abitibi Consolidated has ordered a 75" Chipper with top discharge and cyclone for it's mill in St-Thomas, PQ. The cyclone slows down the chips when they're ejected so they don't break on their way into the chipscreen. Beadles Lumber of Moultrie, GA has ordered a seven bin addition to an existing USNR sorter for more flexibility in the sorting process. Bennett Forest Industries has purchased five complete USNR machine centers for a new sawmill in Grangeville, ID from primary breakdown to the stacker. The new mill features a 6' reducer Twin Bandmill with Porter optimization, and a 6" Horizontal Shape Saw that can accommodate feed speeds up to 550 fpm. Boards will travel to an optimized Edger Maximizer using Transverse TriCam scanners, while flitches are routed to a 6' Twin Horizontal Resaw. A Trim-Sort-Stack line completes the order featuring an optimized Accu-Trim air-lift trimmer, a 36 bay vertical bin sorter and a Lunden-style automatic sticker-stacker. Bennett Forest Industries also ordered the MillWide Web system to link all the various optimized machine centers, allowing management to monitor the mill and create up-to-the minute reports on key operating characteristics. They will also receive Dynastar, the computerized Maintenance Management system to optimize and improve manufacturing productivity. Bennett's new mill will process Douglas Fir, Grand Fir and Ponderosa Pine. Evergreen Forests of New Meadows, ID has purchased a transverse Edger optimizer. Flexcrete Building Systems has bought a planer outfeed for its mill in South Jordan, UT. Hancock Lumber recently converted the entire kiln operation at the Bethel, ME facility over to the Kiln Boss Computer Control System. This location has a number of dry kilns from various manufactures including USNR and some older Irvington-Moore kilns. The company has nine locations and dries a total of 62.5 mmbf of Eastern White Pine per year. Hawkins Sawmill of Isle, MN has placed an order for an Edger Maximizer with infeed and outfeed tables. High and High Lumber has purchased a 3D LASAR scanning and optimization system for a new Salem Carriage at the Vaughn, NC facility. The system features front and backside scanning International Paper has ordered a 10-bay addition to the sling sorter at the New Boston, TX plant and placed an order for a partial re-skin of two existing double track, high-temp, direct fired dry kilns at the Whitehouse, FL operation. Mackeys Ferry Sawmill of Roper, NC is replacing an Inovec carriage optimization system with 3D LASAR scanning and optimization on a new Salem carriage. Mackeys Ferry cuts both hardwood and softwood. Nelson Hardwoods New South in Camden, SC recently reskinned one of its USNR Softwood Dry Kilns and upgraded the heating and venting systems of another. Nix Forest of Timpson, TX has added 10 more bays to an existing sling sorter. Potlatch has ordered a new linear package maker for the planer mill in Warren, AR. Prime bought a 3D LASAR Carriage optimizer system from CNC Design for its mill in Gisborne, NZ. Skookum Forest Technology is providing controls. Prime is currently the second largest flitch exporter from New Zealand and is a specialty supplier of quality moulding and furniture grade timber. Produits Forestiers in La Tuque, PQ recently ordered a 10x16' Super Chipscreen to sift the chips. The new Super Chipscreen is an enhanced design featuring less moving parts to reduce maintenance costs. Shoppa's Material Handling in Fort Worth, TX recently bought a US-205 Lift Truck. Southport Forest Products is building a new sawmill in Coos Bay, OR with one of the most sophisticated primary and secondary breakdown lines to date. The small log line features a Knuckle Turner Infeed, side chipping heads and a double sideboard profiler that feeds a 16" Quad Arbor Sawbox. Cants are then processed by a 6" Vertical Shape Saw with top and bottom profilers. All chippers are furnished with USNR's ‘True Flow’ knives. Smart TriCam lineal scanning is featured throughout, including (PSI) Bucking, Autorotation, Log Optimization and Cant Shape Sawing. USNR is also providing the controls along with a Vertical Cant Offset Verification system to facilitate Southport's production of dimensional lumber, wood chips, planer shavings, hog fuel and logs for resale. Spray Lake of Cochrane, AB has purchased the Dynastar Computerized Maintenance Management system designed to optimize asset value and improve manufacturing productivity. Dynastar provides the functionality that empowers maintenance personnel and operators to effectively manage maintenance activities, improve manpower utilization and extend asset life. Suwannee Lumber of Cross City, FL has completed installation of a USNR double track dry kiln. This makes the third USNR kiln running at the site and the second USNR burner. Suwannee Lumber is one of the largest employers in Dixie County, FL processing Southern Yellow Pine and Cypress. The Swanson Group just bought a complete new planer mill for the stud mill in Roseburg, OR. The order includes an electric planer with controls, that will run at 200 lugs per minute processing KD-studs of Fir, Hemlock and Cedar. The high-speed stacker line has a Quad Cam Boardfeeder along with an Accu-Trim Air Lift Trimmer. Lumber will be sorted in a vertical bin sorter and sent to a linear hydraulic Package Maker. The Swanson Group also purchased an Accu-Trim Lineshaft Trimmer with controls for the Noti, OR sawmill. It's the only trimmer in the industry with the ability to position saws at one-foot increments. The Noti facility produces 2x4 and 2x6 dimensional lumber. Oregon companies Superior Lumber, Swanson-Superior and Sun Studs all now operate under the Swanson Group name. TDC Sawmills in Whangarei, NZ purchased a Smart TriCam scanning and optimization system through CNC Design for a HewSaw Log Line. The mill manufactures radiata pine for the domestic market in Auckland and Northland as well as for export to the USA and China. Temple Inland of DeQuincy, LA has ordered a Smart TriCam Transverse Edger optimizer. Tolleson Lumber has added additional bays to the green end sorter and the planer mill sorter at the mill in Preston, GA. Tri Sate Lumber of Fulton, MS recently bought a Kiln Boss Computer Control System to dry timbers in a multi-zone kiln. Kiln Boss is the key to drying the most lumber possible in any given space. It automatically runs drying schedules while compiling diagnostic information, allowing you to access kiln histories, pinpoint problems, and adjust the heat where you need it. Most importantly, Kiln Boss has been found to reduce degrade by up to 8 percent. Unity Lumber of West Union, OH placed an order for a 4x10' Super Chipscreen. The mill is owned and operated by Amish people and does not use electricity. The chipscreen will be powered by a hydraulic motor hooked up to the power take off on a tractor. It is speculated that mill power is generated from steam. Weyerhaeuser of Lebanon, OR has purchased a Quad Cam Board Feeder, the fastest board feeder ever. It tests at up to 235 pieces per minute, with a guaranteed 98% lug fill. |
EVENT CALENDAR
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Feb. 11-13 - VFPA Virginia Forest Products Association is having its 47th Annual Convention this at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, VA. For more information visit http://www.vfpa.net Feb. 21 - 23 - 3-Day Lumber Grading Short Course at Zickgraf Hardwood Flooring in Franklin, NC. For more information call Carol Lewis at (901) 377-1818 ext. 119. For more information visit http://www.natlhardwood.org March 9 - 11 - HMA Hardwood Manufacturers Association National Conference & Expo will be held in Hilton Head, SC. For more information visit http://www.hmamembers.org |
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