New Gear Equipment Sawmilling
CuttingEdge

LUMBER TRIMMING

Carbotech has new gate keeper

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.

PRODUCT PRINTING

RSI spells printing on wood products

The industrial printing experts at RSI Inc. have focused on marking wood products, and the results are available. The supplier says it combines HP reliability with minimal maintenance in a series of products for grade stamping, logos, barcodes, text and much more. RSI bills its systems as virtually maintenance free, easy to use and built using heavy-duty construction. The supplier can offer red, black and blue from a single system, print speeds to 200 boards per minute, and an economical 350-ml bulk ink delivery system.   More info at www.rsipro.com.

SAWBLADES

Next generation bandsaw steel getting results in Scandinavia

Sandvik Materials Technology says its next generation Durashift bandsaw blades are already netting impressive results in sawmills in Finland and Sweden. Sandvik says the blades offer higher tensile strength and have proven to be more forgiving in operation. The higher tensile strength gives a high and maintained blade tension, producing extra stability in the blade. The manufacturer adds that when combined with a forgiving steel that reacts well to processing variations, the result is a straighter and narrower cut for less yield loss, reduced vibration, and reduced cracking. Sandvik adds that its Durashift bandsaw blades maintain their shape over a significantly longer running time – up to 50% longer before grinding for reduced downtime.
More info at www.smt.sandvik.com.

DUST COLLECTION

Removal on the Sly, without compressed air

A new family of dust collectors has been announced by Ohio-based Sly Inc. The RAC Series of Reverse Air Collectors feature an advanced reverse air cleaning system that removes accumulated dust from filter bags without requiring compressed air. Each collector has an internal blower powered by an explosion-proof motor. A cleaning arm with high velocity nozzles directs this air for optimal continuous cleaning of each filter bag on every rotation of the arm. An HD 3/4-hp explosion proof gear drive motor designed for continuous service is used to move the cleaning arm. Sly RAC collectors are available to filter 4,500 to 70,000 ACFM. More info at www.slyinc.com.

SCANNING

Custom dunnage sorter working for Weyerhaeuser

Scanner supplier JoeScan Inc. has worked with Weyerhaeuser’s mill in Grande Prairie, AB to increase operator efficiency by automating dunnage sorting. Under the old procedure, one of the two operators had to leave the station to manually sort dunnage before the placer set it. Now, cracked and broken pieces are automatically identified and discarded without distracting the operator. “The system JoeScan designed for us allows us to do all our stacking with one person instead of two, and that’s on a per-shift basis,” said Guy Gaultier at Weyerhaeuser Grande Prairie. The system uses four JS20-SR profiling scanners to map defects found in each piece. The software, running on a standard Windows PC, grades the dunnage according to Weyerhaeuser’s criteria. The decision is sent to a PLC that controls a gate arm to save or reject the piece. “I’d say things are working very well,” Gaultier said. “Including benefits and related costs, the system is saving us about $180,000 a year.”  More info at www.joescan.com.

SAWFILING

Interest high in auto brazing machines

Cut Technologies Machinery says interest was high at both the BC Sawfilers convention and the Forest Expo in Atlanta in the new Kahny K06 automatic brazing machine. Cut Technologies is the exclusive North American distributor for Kahny, and says the K06 is made with the operator in mind for quick setups and changeovers to different saws and tips. It adds that the K06 delivers consistent bond and higher bond strength, a higher tooth bite, and faster feed rate, for the elimination of tip loss and reduced downtime.  More info at www.cuttech.com.

LUBRICATION

Next Tellus to reduce downtime

Oil may not be high on the list of sawmill expenditures, but Shell says the use of poor quality oil ranks pretty high on the causes of downtime, which in turn does rank high among sawmill costs. Shell Canada is launching its next generation of Shell Tellus hydraulic oil with this in mind. The goal is to reduce downtime and maximize productivity, and Shell says Tellus helps do that by extending maintenance intervals, protecting equipment, providing flexibility in maintenance scheduling, and thus increasing productivity. The company adds that customers will be able to overcome corrosion, contamination, sludge build up, filter blocking, and increased wear. “Although lubricants are only 2 to 5% of an average maintenance budget,” explains Diane Mcfarlane, general manager, Shell Lubricants, “the cost of repairing or replacing parts from using lower quality lubricants can severely damage a company’s profitability and competitiveness.” More info, and a free tool, at www.shell.ca/tellus.

REMAN OPTIMIZATION

Weinig Group buys LuxScan

With the acquisition of Luxemburg scanner manufacture LuxScan, the Weinig Group believes it is set to take the lead in future product development. “With LuxScan, we are integrating a company that leads the way in terms of quality and scanning consistency, and is therefore the best possible addition for us,” says CFO Karl Wachter. The Luxemburg company’s product line covers the whole scanner spectrum for the complete solid wood manufacturing process chain. The goal is to offer completely integrated machine and optimization solutions from one source. More info at www.weinig.com.

Trimmings…

• Smithco offers dry kiln operators parts shipping within 24 hours on its line of kiln propellers to help avoid downtime. www.smithcomfg.com.
  
• Metso Panelboard GmbH, a supplier of continuous presses and energy plants for the panel industry, has agreed to divest its German panelboard press business and to form a strategic partnership with supplier Siempelkamp GmbH. The parties agree to cooperate where Metso’s front end forming and panel handling technologies will be in line with Siempelkamp’s continuous press technology. www.metso.com.
  
• According to ACIMALL, the Italian Woodworking Machinery & Tools Manufacturers’ Association, its members saw excellent Q2 2007 results, with sales some 15% higher than the previous year. www.acimall.com.
  
• Carmanah Design & Manufacturing has sold two of its Super Chippers to International Forest Products (Interfor) for its new sawmill in Chase, BC, which will replace the existing Adams Lake operation. www.carmanahdesign.com.
  
• Biomass Combustion Systems, a maker of wood-fired combustion systems, announces the UL391 safety re-certification of its industrial wood burning surfaces by an independent testing company. www.biomasscombustion.com.
  
• The Structural Panels and Engineered Yearbook is now available from APA – The Engineered Wood Association. The 48-page publication includes US and Canadian softwood plywood and OSB production and capacity, US regional production, panel imports by country of origin, panel exports by destination, glulam timber, I-joists, LVL and much more. www.apawood.org.
  

November 24, 2011  By  Cheryl Quinn

InterSaw 2008 was on the quiet side