New Lineally Scanned Board Edger 11/1/01
The customer said, "All I want is an
optimized board edger that can do the following:"
- peak at 45 cedar fence boards per minute.
- average 26 boards per minute over the entire shift.
- feed boards from either side.
- cost less than $500K for machinery and controls.
We proposed a hand fed infeed, lineal scanning
on a belt, a slewing 4 saw edger and finger picker.
The project engineer said, "There is no way that a man can feed 40+ boards per minute".
He might be right, but Michelle reached 45
boards per minute in the first week, with a feedspeed of 700 FPM.
Occasionally, she wants to go faster, so we will speed it up in a couple of
weeks
We did not believe that anyone could feed
boards much faster than 45 boards per minute. Now we find that when the
boards are available to the operator, 45 boards per minute is too slow for a
natural feed motion. Fortunately, the machine was designed to handle 60
boards per minute at 900 FPM.
The machinery was designed by Gerhard Mueller of GME, built by Deltech in Prince George. The controls were done by Jeff Ralph of PIC and the scanner / optimizer was done by me.
I believe this is the Coolest Board Edger in
the World. Anyone considering a new board edger should see this one
first.
Second Lineally Scanned Board Edger 11/11/01 |
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The shop test was completed on our second lineally scanned board edger on 11/11/01. This machine has an automated infeed, with board turning. This 4 saw edger also included a top head chipping module.
The customer requirement of 45 eight foot boards per minute did not present a problem at an 800 FPM belt speed. A higher belt speed would be needed to exceed 50 boards per minute.
The automated infeed was needed for this application, since 2" by 18" spruce flitches would be difficult to hand feed at 45 pieces per minute. The system was designed for feeding from one side, but modifications to the support for the overhead pinch rolls would allow feeding from both sides.
I said the previous system was the
"coolest in the world", but not all mills have wood as light as cedar
or operator's as good as Michelle. This infeed solves the handling issues
without the complication and expense of a positioning table. So, for some
mills, this may be the Coolest Board Edger in the World.
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LINKS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
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NBE Article in Timber Processing on Lineal versus Transverse Scanning |
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