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 Sawmills need to make the most of every log. Color vision technology can help.The unique characteristics of wood have a direct impact on how logs and boards are processed throughout the sawmill. By understanding these unique characteristics, an operator can refine their production processes and extract more value from their raw materials.
This means more time is spent on identifying specific characteristics of boards to produce better optimization solutions.
Today’s sawmills are concerned with the decline in size and quality of logs that are available for wood manufacturing. Mills are determined to find new ways to maximize the value from each log during the production process. The varying physical characteristics of each log, and the way in which the log is broken down, will affect the quality and value of the boards produced.
In this respect the wood manufacturing industry seeks new technology to ensure that the highest level of value is extracted from each board produced. In the past, board value was only evaluated in the planner mill. At this point, visual information was used to help increase the value of a board by looking for defects such as, knots, splits, rot, or stain. In the mills today, applying the use of vision to increase the value of a board in the planer mill is not enough.
Identify board defects earlier Sawmills need to be able to identify board defects earlier in the production process, according to LMI Technologies, Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia. This allows the optimizer to control each cutting decision through dimensional and visual information collected through a sensor system, the company said. Many sawmills have installed LMI Technologies’ DynaVision™ chroma+scan 3300 sensor (Figures 1 and 2) to achieve better value recovery. This particular sensor integrates high-density 3D differential profiles and true color vision for defect detection.
Combining these two technologies into a single sensor provides the sawmill with the best technology to increase the value of each cutting decision at the edger and trimmer. This field proven technology provides early detection of wood defects, such as cracks, stains, knots, and pitch pockets from the boards. The value recovery is immediately observed through improved productivity and a higher value end product.
Make better decisions at the edger Mr. Yvon Hubert, Vice-President of Optimization and Control at Comact Equipment, Inc., a North American leader in the design and manufacturing of sawmill technology and equipment for the lumber industry, explains that “mills can now make better decisions at the edger. Color vision provides a solution for specific problems that have occurred, such as split wood. In this particular case color vision technology helps to locate defects to reduce the problem of cracked wood.”
Hubert goes on to explain that he has also seen more applications where mills want to sort their lumber at the trimmer. At this stage, mills want to send clear lumber to a different process so they can quickly compile the low-grade lumber for faster kiln dry schedules. Using top and bottom color vision to identify rot, the mill owner can cut right at the mill to avoid drying costs. |
