Canadian Wood Products Magazine

In This Issue

• Value-Added Winner
• Surviving in the Big Pond
• Something Different

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Canadian Wood Products’ Featured Products is updated regularly to give visitors a glimpse at new technology as it is introduced to the solid wood products sector. If you have new gear you’d like to share with our visitors, please contact Bill Tice at btice@annexweb.com. Featured Products subject to editorial discretion. 

Easy Grade Improvement

Now you can edge and trim for grade and value without replacing your current scanning system.

Newnes-McGehee offers higher beetle kill profits

Newnes-McGehee (Div USNR)'s Linear High Grader (LHG) offers an easy upgrade path for sawmills that want to reduce labour and improve their mill’s performance, as experienced recently by the Tolko mill in Merritt, BC. The unit was installed for geometric scanning in October 2004. The mill’s log diet is primarily Western SPF with some green Douglas Fir, and runs 8’ to 20’ random length product. The Merritt mill is currently seeing approximately 80 bug kill in its wood supply. The graders had to be overly conservative when grading to stay in control of below grade. This resulted in a large amount of above grade in finished packs, and lost revenue.
The upgrade entailed installing new processors, water-cooled x-ray source and detector, 4 multi-channel vision sensors, and LED light bars as well as a new electrical panel. From that point it was simply tuning the system to the mill’s requirements, and training mill personnel.

With graders, the mill was limited by speed and the number of high grades it could pull from beetle killed pine. With the LHG grading capability, the mill has the flexibility to pull all the high grades. It has also increased throughput speed by 15 , and gained control of off grade, so it can realize the full value of its products. Don Willson, Tolko Merritt’s planer mill Quality Control Supervisor made the following comments. “Before the upgrade, we were limited to the number
of grades we could pull – now it is virtually limitless with the graders only grading for a couple of defects. We can pull any grade at current line speeds and stay in control.” The LHG also allows the mill to make cut-n-two decisions, increasing the high grade yield. Achieving more of the high-value grades in its mix made a significant difference in Tolko Merritt’s ability to compete in a global marketplace. www.newnes-mcgehee.com.  

Concept Systems offers two board marking options

Systems integrator Concept Systems has two options for lumber barcoding that do not require staples, giving customers the option of using printed labels or printing directly on lumber. The new BoardMark family of products places highly reliable, readable barcodes on the ends of lumber without the use of staples or hot melt adhesives. The first option is the BoardMark-DP, which prints barcodes directly on boards with a UV-curable ink substrate, saving label costs and waste, while eliminating the safety issues with staples and maintenance issues and cost of hot melt adhesives. The second product is BoardMark-LB, which uses barcode labels with a rubber-based, pressure sensitive adhesive backing that adheres to any lumber surface, whether it is wet, split, or rough-cut, and will survive the elements, from freezing cold to extreme humidity. www.conceptsystemsinc.com
 

European Sawmill Giants Microtec-Springer open in Canada

If the folks at newly-formed Microtec Industries North America have their way, you'll no longer have to travel all the way to Europe to see Microtec scanning systems and Springer lumber handling gear in action. You can't miss this stuff if you've been to any of Europe's new high-tech mills, and it includes solutions from log and lumber scanning to massive lumber sorters and complete log infeed and debarking systems, as well as glue lam systems and the new M3 moisture meter pictured below. The new company is based in Salmon Arm, BC, and features many familiar and experienced faces from the old Coe Newnes McGehee days, including Tim Gallant in sales and marketing, and Chris Wells in optimization. Visit the company web site for more info on people and products.

It's official - USNR to run Newnes-McGehee as division

To the great relief of many employees and clients alike, USNR has acquired most of the assets of Coe Newnes/McGehee, and will run the innovative entity as a division of USNR called Newnes-McGehee. The first step according to president George van Hoomissen, was to put CNM's support and service operations back in 24/7 operation to keep existing systems up and running. "It is our intent to continue supporting all of the Newnes-McGehee lines," he told customers in a recent letter. As for the future, the sky appears to be the limit.  "USNR is working aggressively to address the problems which led to the bankruptcy of CNMI, and to pursue our goal of making Newnes-McGehee a great company once again. USNR's past experience in turning around other troubled businesses in this industry, and in managing through previous industry downturns, makes us confident that we will succeed in this endeavor."

Mill Math Made Simple

The engineer types at woodproductsonlineexpo.com have updated a couple of their popular mill calculation tools. The site is best known for its slew of sawmill machinery videos and active graphics, but it also has a slew of sawmill calculator and converter tools to make the math easier. Two that have just been updated are: A metric/Imperial calculator/converter; and a brand new version of the very popular saw feed speed/horsepower calculators. Feed speed calculators are available for bandmills, gang edgers, and quad saw boxes. www.woodproductsonlineexpo.com.

PLC and FinScan make the grade together

Finnish colour scanning and auto-grading experts FinScan has licensed the lug loading and lumber handling experts at PLC to manufacture and market the BoardMaster automated grading system in Canada and the US. FinScan began marketing its BoardMaster systems in North America in 2002, and has over 20 systems working in Canada (300 worldwide). The current system offered by PLC is the 5th North American generation, modified to meet local industry demands and a wide range of species. PLC is based in Senneterre, QC, and has over 500 of its high-speed Tong Loaders (lug loader) and 45 Board Turners in operation. It will sell and service the BoardMaster systems from its head office, as well as sales agents based in Rapid River, MI (PLC USA) and Surrey, BC and the US PNW (Progressive Machine Industries). www.plcinc.ca.

In-Spector boosts flooring value 10 percent

According to Electro Beauce, its new EB-3000 automatic grader-optimizer for hardwood flooring can boost production value by three to 10 percent based on higher yield and upgrading compared to manual trimmers and graders. Developed over eight years, the In-Spector system sits after the moulder, and using colour and geometric scanning looks for a wide rage of defects, allowing it to sorts boards according to individual defect positioning, colour background matching, and dimensional characteristics. Printing heads can be used to print both trim decisions and/or grades. www.electrobeauce.com.

Cut Technolgies and Camco join forces in east

Cut Technologies has formed a partnership with Camco to distribute its Carbide and APF saw tips in eastern Canada. Camco is a leading manufacturer of high-performance carbide and APF saw tips, designed to minimize grinding time and increase saw performance. Cut Technologies says the addition of Camco's high-performance saw tips to its Cougar line of sawing products will provide a single source of industry-leading saws and filing room gear. Cut Technologies is already a US distributor for Camco. www.cuttech.com.  

Autolog adds full vision to popular LPO

Gabriel Payant of Autolog was all smiles at the recent Wood Technology Clinic in Portland, OR, and why not. The supplier who helped put the linear planer optimizer (LPO) on the map has added German high-definition colour scanning to its system, a modular add-on that is offered with new models or that can be retro-fitted to the over 90 Autolog LPO's on the market. The result is true grader-less grading. The first systems are being installed at high-production Arbec Forest Products mills in Peribonka and Port Cartier, QC. www.autolog.com.

Premier Tech Automates Palletizing for Quick ROI

According to the wood pellet and shavings packaging and shipping experts at Premier Tech Systems, there is no competition between manual palletizing and its Fanuc series of robotic palletizers. " With manual palletizing, even if you foresee palletizing 20-22 bags per minute, that will fall to 18 bags/minute by the end of the shift. On the other hand, an automated palletizer can regularly handle 27 bags per minute." That's in addition to the health and safety implications of this repetitive lifting task, and the potential cost savings. "Manual palletizing on one line requires four employees over two shifts, while the annual operating costs of a palletizer is about $10,000." More info at www.premiertechsystems.com.

JoeScan's JS-20 ideal for transverse, high-speed scanning

JoeScan has introduced the JS-20 WX Scan Head, a wide-angle laser scanner that delivers accelerated and precise profile measurements for transverse scanning of boards and cants. The latest in the JS-20 series, it provides accurate length, width, and thickness measurements of boards and cants using one type of scan head. With points every 1/8", the scanner provides more data and detects finer details and defects. "Given the importance of transverse scanning, JoeScan has engineered a product that is fast and accurate," says president Joey Nelson. "The JS-20 is capable of 650 profile measurements per second, with each profile containing up to 243 data points. It is substantially faster, collecting as much as 10 times more data than the typical multi-point scanner." More info at www.joescan.com.

MEGTEC helps LP clean up act in Houlton

Louisiana Pacific has gone with CLEANSWITCH regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO)  technology from MEGTEC Systems at its OSB mill in Houlton, ME. Perched near the New Brunswick border, the panel plant was aiming to both reduce emissions and improve operating costs," says MEGTEC business director Rodney Schwartz. "The older RTO was not designed to take advantage of the energy savings provided by structured media," he notes. The new high energy cost reality is an important factor in today's pollution control environment, and MEGTEC says the CLEANSWITCH RTO offers 99+ percent VOC removal in addition to thermal efficiencies of up to 97 percent.  In this case, the investment in new technology was deemed a better option than  trying to upgrade the older RTO, as Schwartz explains. "Rather than try to retrofit the existing RTO with new internals suitable for structured media, there was more value in buying a proven system that would deliver lower energy consumption." For more info on this install or the technology, visit www.megtec.com/woodproducts.

Sawmill Machinery Seen in Action!

Seeing is sometimes believing, so if you'd like to see some sawmill gear in action, you can't beat the folks at Wood Products Solution Inc. (WPSI) - now called Wood Products Online Expo. This web site and animation company specializes in creating cut-away video animations that show modern sawmilling gear in action, allowing mill managers and production personnel to see how the bits and parts are supposed to work. The site includes a host of conversion and calculator software as well. We're so impressed with the site, we've agreed to share links with WPOE where appropriate in both the magazine and web site content. For example, where machinery mentioned in CWP is also animated on Online Expos, we'll let you know, such as in the case of Sept/Oct's article on Tolko Kelowna, where both the Comact DDM6 and GradExpert can be found running in animated form at Online Expo.

Costs all wrapped up

Pelliko, the manufacturer of the Pellikowrapper, has just started marketing what it calls a revolutionary wrapping concept in which the supplier lends the wrapping system to a mill basically free of charge as long as the mill has a sufficient volume of products to be wrapped on an annual basis. Pelliko says that estimated savings range from 5 to 25 percent compared to an existing wrapping operation and from 20 to 50 versus buying a new machine. The system includes a plastic film supply contract using Inteplast's new cross-laminated technology, complete with three-year minimum term with annual price indexation done according to a preset formula based on the HMW index (Chemical Data Inc., Houston TX). The system requires no operator and no fasteners. More info at lpacaud@pelliko.com.

Filtration on the go 

Donaldson Co. has a convenient solution for off-line filtration, flushing and fluid transfer for in-plant machinery and hydraulic equipment using a new filter cart. The new filter cart includes two in-series pressure filters that remove course/fine particulate matter. Additionally, a water absorbing element may be installed to further remove particulate matter and water. Its powerful one horsepower motor coupled with a 10 gpm pump provides efficient fluid transfer and filtration. Benefits include:
• Filter new fluids that are usually above the recommended ISO cleanliness levels.
• The off-line filter cart can be used to supplement existing filtration.
• Free water can be removed using the Donaldson water removal elements.
• Machines can be thoroughly flushed after service, repairs and rebuilds.
• New machines can be rid of original fabrication debris and dirt accumulated during storage and transport. More info at www.donaldson.com

Inotech sells second trim line to Savoie

Only nine months after starting its optimized trimmer line from Quebec's Inotech Fabrication, the value-added folks at Group Savoie in northern New Brunswick have ordered a second optimized trimmer, also for its hardwood operation. It will include a 1x1 in lug loader, optimizer, positioning system, and 7-saw trimmer, all from Inotech. The goal is increased quality and throughput. A bit further north, near Saguenay, QC, Scierie Girard has ordered Inotech's flagship PosiEdge optimized infeed system for its bull edger, capable of handling 22 12-ft cants per minute, running at just 440 ft/min to do so. It will handle 8-in cants, fitting into a very tight retrofit install. More info at www.inotechfabrication.com.

Huot flare reducer cuts production jams

Flared butts are a reality most sawmills face, and they can cause production disruptions all the way down the line. S.Huot has a simple, "pencil sharpener" style solution that can be installed before or after the ring debarker to identify and reduce flared butts before they cause hang ups. Its 42-in depth allows retrofits to existing lines, while the 2-second cycle and no extra manpower means your production flow and over head remain the same. The system includes diameter scanning to identify logs needing action. Follow this link to see a 3-minute video on the reducer.

Carbotech/Autolog has new gatekeeper

InterSaw 2008 was on the quiet side, but the Quebec City show still had its share of new gear. Carbotech for one had a new live fence system called Accugate that is designed for high-speed yet gentle and precise board positioning ahead of optimized trimmers. The design is from Sweden, where it has been used in high production mills for four years, and is made under licence in North America by the lumber handling experts at Carbotech, with Autolog controls. It runs above 200 lugs/min, with positioning accuracy very conservatively put at 3/32", precision not affected by reaction time as even at full speed it allows for 1.5 seconds to move the board. Accugate boasts smooth, positive placement with no bounce-back from a simple, low-cost design. The first Canadian install is slated for Arbec's high-speed mill in northeastern Quebec during the Christmas shutdown. More info at www.carbotech-intl.com. 

BoardHound tracks lumber data at high speed

The BoardHound from Oregon-based integrator Concept Systems is billed as a revolutionary lumber tracking system designed to reliably track board info on a per board basis from the edger or planer to the trimmer optimizer. It applies invisible fluorescent marks on the wood as it moves through sensing equipment, reads the mark at the trimmer infeed, matches the associated collected data, and then delivers it to the trimmer optimizer to help create a trim solution. Each mark refers to a record number and not the actual data, so there is no practical limit to the amount of info that can be tracked with each board. BoardHound can track such detailed info as MSR results, moisture, geometric data, and optimizer solutions for up to 10,000 boards simultaneously at planer speeds to 3,000 fpm and a trimmer at 200 lugs/min. More info at www.conceptsystemsinc.com.

New saw design lacks sawdust

A new saw design has been patented in Canada, the US and Europe that claims to cut wood products in secondary and tertiary manufacturing without creating sawdust. Designed by Jérôme Lavoie of northern Quebec's sawmilling region, the design uses two very thin "toothless" saws or rotating cutting discs and a feeding system that forces the wood to pass between them. Three prototypes have been in industrial testing for the past six months in an I-Joist plant in the Lac St. Jean region of Quebec.

USNR handles SEECON in North America

The SEECON real-time lumber size control systems Canadian Wood Products Magazine saw so much of during our recent tour through Finland's sawmilling sector are sold and supported in North America by the folks at USNR. The MillWide Lumber Size Control system uses dense 3D scan data and hyper fast computers to allow mill staff to monitor, understand and control key breakdown processes, moving from after-the-fact quality control to on-time process control. Aside from a host of features, the system can do simultaneous size measurements on up to 15 individual pieces at a gang saw exit. More at www.usnr.com. 

Hear only what you need with ETY Plugs

The folks at Etymotic Research know a thing or two about measured noise reduction - Their main claim to fame is protecting the ears of musicians without muffling the notes they need to hear. Etymotic says its ETYPlug high-fidelity earplugs protect hearing (20 dB at all frequencies) without muffling voices or environmental sounds. At just $12/pair, they may be an option worth checking out. More at www.etymotic.com.