agree with the THG’s solution by letting the board pass, or override it by making a mark on the board. The True-Read grade mark reader reads any marks the check grader has made and feeds them back to the THG optimizer. The system transmits the final solution to the PLC to direct the Multi-Track Fence to adjust the paddles to position the board, and to direct the trimmer to lower the appropriate trim saws for the cut. One hurdle that the USNR engineering teams faced with the Glendale THG unit was grading for green Doug Fir. This is a very challenging species for scanning. The knots tend to be similar in color to the rest of the wood, making them difficult to detect through visual means. “Wet” wood is also challenging as the moisture content in the wood can deflect the laser and vision scans to a degree, distorting the data. That being said, the Glendale unit has overcome these challenges based on the excellent results the mill is achieving.
fussy timing and maintenance. “With this fence we put it in, set it up and it has been smooth and problem free from start up.” He said his experience with the Revolver Lug Loader was similar; it went in easily and is running far better than others the mill has previously used. He mentioned that the MillTrak camera is working to minimize crooked boards being fed to the lug loader. He said, “The front end of the line is running very well and that is a big piece of the production increase we’re seeing.” The mill also installed USNR’s WinTally sorter management solution. One of the key strengths afforded this line is the information feedback loop capability when combining the THG automated grading system controlling the trimming process, with the WinTally system managing the sorting process. This combination offers a very powerful tool for managing product processing and package makeup. Doug commented, “We do some unique things with our lumber packs, and we also produce some premium grade, no-wane product. The system allows us to select how we want to pull that specialty grade from our products and package it. We are utilizing that capability today on a couple of items and we have plans to take that a bit further down the road. We have a lot of future potential things that we want to implement, we are just not at that stage of the project yet.”
on the THG during the evaluation phase of the decision making process. Glendale personnel were on hand once the purchase decision had been made, and received both theoretical (classroom) training as well as hands-on training on the Glendale unit while it was at the Eugene facility. Once installed at the mill, Glendale personnel were intimately involved in the THG start-up phase and tuning process.
Looking ahead
Doug is optimistic about the future direction of the Glendale mill with the new THG line, and with the added implementation of lumber drying capability. “Right now with the dry kilns coming on and the THG line in place, it will allow some more products as far as species go as well as dry vs. green products. With the THG, early indications are that consistency is better and we are very close to meeting or exceeding our grade out goals. We are pretty excited that not only are we close to meeting our targets but we will be able to surpass them going forward. We are consistently running more production through the system. We’ve increased speed about 10% and that is now limited by other equipment.” Doug also commented that the Glendale operation will have its dry kilns running by the end of 2013, and by 2014 the company expects it will be producing some different products for the marketplace to allow it to be more versatile with its product mix.
We've passed three inspections by the grading bureau and we're seeing all of our grade out percentages tracking nicely to our projected targets.
Training Strengths of this line
Doug was complimentary about the ancillary equipment that was installed with the project. “The Grade Projector is a pretty valuable piece of the check grading system. The graders can see the projected grade, agree or disagree with it and make changes if they so desire.” He was particularly impressed with the Multi-Track Fence, commenting, “The fence is an outstanding system. It’s very smooth and precise and its operation has been flawless.” He went on to explain that paddle fences typically pose problems such as an abundance of moving parts that require Training is an essential element of any new process. It ensures the mill receives the best possible return o ?] ??\][[??\?Y[? ? ?Z[?[?????[?[H \????[ ?\?[\[Y[?Y ??Y?H ?\?Y] H?YX[??HZ[ ?[? X???? [X?\? ?T???&\?]Y?[?K?Y???X?[] H?? \?[????Y[?? H?[?H] H?[?[HZ[? ???[Y[???K?
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