H . G . Toler & Son takes on Sawmill grade scanning
USNR : Southern Strong
USNR is proud to be well known and respected in the southern US states , with a large installed base of equipment and systems for all facets of wood processing . The unfailing trust of our customers has led us to leave our mark , revolutionizing the process through technological advancement .
H . G . Toler & Son takes on Sawmill grade scanning
Sawmill BioVision scanning received its true value test with the first production installation on a transverse edger system . The H . G . Toler & Son team at Leola , Arkansas had been keeping an eye on developments in the industry for sawmill visual grading technology , so when it was time to update the edger optimizer the team chose to include vision scanning in the mix . Though they viewed competitive offerings , confidence in USNR and satisfaction in the MillExpert™ optimization suite swung the decision to USNR and the BioVision solution .
When asked about the selection of USNR for this project , John Grigsby commented , “ We like the MillExpert platform and we thought the greatest uplift would be through better geometric optimization . We ’ ve also been thinking about grade optimization for a long time and just waiting for the right product . With BioVision we would also be able to pick out grades . We have lots of USNR equipment and we ’ ve always received good support from sales to service .”
Phasing in
The project scope included a couple of phases ; first was an upgrade to the latest MillExpert platform for geometric scanning , followed by the BioVision bolton option to add visual grading technology .
The MillExpert edger optimizer supports almost any machine type including traditional sideloading edgers to high-speed lineal systems with multiple scan zones . With the switch to MillExpert optimization , the existing Geo2 scan frame and scan heads remain and continue to be used . As a part of the project , the existing scanner hardware was thoroughly checked for proper operation .
USNR ’ s MillExpert analyzes scanned flitch images in 3-D , accepting data from the Geo2 laser scanners . The optimizer evaluates all allowable products and combinations of those products that can be made from each flitch . Optimum recovery is calculated based on dollar value and volume recovery . The optimizer considers product fits based on the user ’ s inputs ( individual species , shape , grade , value , wane , priorities , and dimensional requirements ) to find the most profitable solution . The software allows for board products manufactured downstream to be fit into the flitch in real time , proven on virtually every type of edger machine configuration including 2-saw and multi-saw edgers , chipping edgers with or without reman heads . No lookup tables , patterns , profiles or matrixes are used to assure the absolute highest value edger solutions possible .
The second phase saw the installation of the BioVision grade scanning system . USNR ’ s BioVision solution is the only system on the market to offer the addition of sawmill visual grade scanning in one of two ways ; it can be incorporated into a new
ISSUE 3 - 2013 | Millwide INSIDER 13