Allegheny’ s carriage optimization sees both sides
Allegheny’ s carriage optimization sees both sides
“ For our mill study we used 200 logs. We ran all those logs through and we were able to get a very good comparison between the two lines. We discovered a very significant difference in favor of both front and backside scanning.”
The value of backside scanning was recently proven out in a comparison at this hardwood mill after it chose a dual scanning carriage optimization solution.
Allegheny Wood Products’( AWP) mill at Kingwood, West Virginia features primarily USNR equipment including its two carriage optimization systems, gang saw, optimized edger and trimmer, and its sorter / stacker system. When the decision was made to update the carriage technology, all major vendors were evaluated. Mike Frantz, AWP’ s IT director, commented that USNR was the vendor of choice because it had the best products for the application. The precursor to the LASAR / MillExpert system on the mill’ s two carriages was USNR’ s ScanMax system. With 11 years in operation Mike knew there was better technology available to stay ahead of the curve.
Proving the value of backside scanning
At the same time that it was implementing the two new carriage optimization systems, the mill took advantage of the chance to set up the two carriages with differing approaches for the scanning component. One line was fitted with both front and backside LASAR scanners while the second line received only a front side scan unit. This allowed the mill to perform a detailed analysis and comparison between the two configurations to determine the true value of dual scanning systems.
Jeff Storey, USNR’ s project manager, weighed in on the increased value with backside scanning.
“ The backside scanner allows for a better full breakdown solution by knowing what the contour of the log is on its backside. The fit for products becomes much more accurate with that first opening cut. Without it the system has to use knee locations to extrapolate the backside shape of the log, which is never as accurate.”
Mike Frantz explained the mill’ s process for the comparison.“ For our mill study we used 200 logs. We split them up between the two lines so we would have the same number of logs in each. There were a variety of sizes and grades and amounts of defects, but we made sure both batches were equal. We wanted to determine how both lines would handle the upper and lower grades. We ran all those logs through and we were able to get a very good comparison between the two lines. We discovered a very significant difference in favor of both front and backside scanning.”
With such positive results AWP is considering adding backside scanning to the other carriage optimization system. When asked his level of satisfaction with the LASAR / MillExpert combination Mike said,“ Overall I am very satisfied. We did see an increase in our yield per log. And we did see an increase with front and backside scanning versus front side scanning only. It’ s definitely a cost effective enough difference to make it worth pursuing.”
Application matched solution
In certain circumstances the mill required a face order change from the full breakdown solution, and MillExpert is designed to provide this capability. Jeff Storey explains how this process works. After the first face is sawn, the typical solution would call for the sawyer to proceed to the opposing face( 180 degree turn) to finish the log. With the Kingwood mill’ s application processing certain log types and shapes, it is advantageous to be able to first turn the log 90 degrees and saw a few cuts before continuing on to finish the solution on the opposing face. When making this first turn, the system provides the sawyer with a minimum opening face( MOF) scan so any number of cuts can be made at his discretion. This allows him to resize the center cant of the log for more efficient processing at downstream machine centers. With the solution being maintained or rescanned on the final face, the sawyer can continue to use the optimization rather than causing an“ out of sequence” situation where he would be required to finish the log with manual decision making as opposed to an optimized solution.
Jeff also explained that customization was done to the control consoles and hardware to reduce the time required to switch over to the new system, thus ensuring the mill’ s timeline for implementation.
Mike Frantz commented,“ The system is only ever as good as the people operating it, but MillExpert makes it very easy. It is very user friendly for people to work with.”
ISSUE 3- 2013 | Millwide INSIDER 17