Tech Update Editor: Diane Mettler
For more information
on these products, please fill out our request form at the bottom of
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Autolog
Scanning technology has recently moved from the sawmill to the
planermill with great success. The Autolog Linear Planer Optimizer
system offers a very fast payback, says the company, such as recoveries
of more than $20.00/1,000 board feet. The payback will vary from three
to six months,
according
to mill production. The system’s technology is based on geometric
characterization of the boards, with board thickness, width, length,
wane, twist, crook and bow taken into account. Board sizes are measured
with accuracy exceeding 0.010”. The system receives inputs from moisture
meters, MSR machines and operator overrides, and it optimizes 4/4, 5/4
and other standard thicknesses. The Visual Defect Detector module was
introduced in April 2004 and can be retrofitted to existing optimizers.
It is offered as an option with the linear planermill optimizer. The new
system consists of four ultra sensitive CCD cameras housed in rugged
enclosures, providing great reliability and requiring almost no
maintenance. The detector operates at speeds of up to 2,000’/minute and
detects knots as small as 0.250”, edge knots, spike knots, combination
knots, intermediate knots, centre line knots and one-, two- and
three-face knots. Autolog’s R&D is working on additional software and
sensors, which will detect and optimize boards for rot, bark, split and
blue stain. It will be available to the industry in the next 12 to 15
months, eliminating some manual decisions needed today.
www.autolog.com Readers
Service Card #9050
Newman Whitney
Newman Whitney has been one of the leaders in the wood products industry
with innovations such as Quietcut helical carbide cutterheads,
quick-change cutterheads, computer diagnostics, electric and/or
pneumatic feed works and fabricated steel frames. The company has now
developed the PM-1600
modular,
high-speed, four-sided planer to produce a high quality finish on lumber
ranging in size from 1”x2” to 6”x15”. The electrically driven planer has
computer-controlled roll speed synchronization, cutterhead positioning,
optimized speed control and touch screen operator interface. The PM-1600
comes standard with Quick Change Head (QCH) modular assembly, allowing
for a variety of tooling. It is capable of feed speeds of up to 3,000
fpm. The PM-1600 is available with an inboard or outboard profiler, an
additional
mid-roll to make it an eight-roll machine and a high quality finish
module to make it a six-head model. Other features include: heavy duty
1-1/2” thick steel plate frame members, hydraulic positioning and
tensioning of feed rolls with encoder feedback for quick open and reset,
standard TEFC cutterhead motors,
quick-set simultaneous bottom roll setting and up to 200 hp on the top
head, 150 hp on the bottom head and 75 hp on side heads. The heavy-duty,
four-sided planer/ matcher, with 16” diameter steel feed rolls, is built
to last in a demanding environment, without sacrificing production or
quality, says the company.
www.newmanwhitney.com Readers Service Card #9051
PG Mill Supplies Ltd & GLC Controls
Inc
After implementing retrofits with innovative planer solutions from PG
Mill Supplies and GLC Controls, dynamic planer tensioning and setworks
control can achieve increased production and significant cost savings.
These systems allow for improved planer uptime due to faster and
smoother operation, fewer break-ups, quicker changeovers, and faster
clearing and recovery time. PG Mill Supplies Ltd and GLC Controls Inc
have teamed up to provide these proven planer solutions. Together they
make up a team with diverse experience in the planermill industry,
approaching planer projects from a “whole system” perspective. These
systems are currently in place and proven to be effective in British
Columbia mills. These planer systems address planer setworks and
tensioning issues using a unique approach. The dynamic tensioning is
based on constant pressure feedback to allow for constant force on
variable lumber thicknesses.
www.pgmill.com and
www.glccontrols.com Readers Service Card #9052
Gilbert Products Inc
There has been a recent revolution in the world of high speed planing
due to innovative development and precision engineering by Gilbert
Products Inc of Roberval, Quebec. Gilbert planers are rapidly setting
new
standards
in planer performance and offer many high-tech options, says the
company. The Gilbert planer uses a pull-through technology; each board
is drawn through independently of each other regardless of the space
between each piece. Benefits of this system include reduced stops in
production and elimination of offset defects. This becomes particularly
important when considering the jam-ups that occur in planers due to
brittle wood from over-drying and large knots—the conventional system of
running one board into the next causes breakage of timber in the planer.
This feature results in significantly less downtime (95 per cent uptime
is common with Gilbert planers) because timber can be seen passing
through the planer and the operator is able to remove broken pieces at
all times. All Gilbert planers are built to receive a scan and set
option for piece by piece optimization. An optimizer installed before
the planer optimizes each individual board to obtain the highest grade
coming out of the machine. The scan and set planer sets between each
board to remove maximum wane on the four sides. Both the pull-through
and scan and set designs are patented and exclusive to Gilbert Products
Inc. www.gilbert-tech.com
Readers Service Card #9068
Weinig
The Weinig Group will be introducing a revolutionary, high-speed planer
in 2005—the 2,000 feet per minute Powermat 6000 planer from Waco, a
member of the Weinig Group. The Powermat 6000 will employ the
industry-tested PowerLock (HSK) cutter head clamping system that
produces a high quality surface finish and has a fast changeover
capability because of the “push button” clamp/unclamp of the PowerLock
clamping system. The planer will plane at 2,000 feet per minute, set up
quickly, have cutterheads that clamp and unclamp at the touch of a
button and is so stable that an outboard bearing is not needed.
www.weinigusa.com Readers
Service Card #9053
Hasko
Hasko says that its FSM MatchMaster hardwood strip flooring side matcher
is among the biggest improvements to flooring machinery in the past 40
years, utilizing revolutionary technology to achieve record production
rates within weeks of installation. The FSM MatchMaster is a five-head,
6”x3”, true matcher (with directly opposed sideheads) and eight
hydraulic feed rolls typically used for flooring and S4S mouldings at
variable feed rates of 250-575 lineal feet per minute. Its advanced
technology can clear a jam anywhere in the machine and reset to exact
position in one minute or less, every time, according to Hasko. Hardwood
strip flooring manufacturers typically utilize it to produce over
200,000 linear feet per shift while processing random length material as
short as 10 inch. The standard machine is equipped with a 12-knife
(optional to 16 knives) high-speed, steel bottom cylinder built into the
machine and houses 11” long knives to provide four cuts on 2-1/4”
flooring before replacing. Close-coupled design, built-in jointing and
the availability of up to 16-knife top and bottom cutterheads ensures
high-grade finish and accuracy on random length strips at high feed
rates. www.haskomachines.com
Readers Service Card #9054
USNR
USNR’s high-speed electric planers utilize the patented Positive-Lead
geometry to help reduce sniping even at feed speeds up to 2,000 fpm. The
Positive-Lead advantage is in the angle of the top and bottom cutting
heads with respect to the guide and the centreline of the machine. In a
traditional
configuration,
the cutting head arbor is oriented 90 degrees to the centreline, and
exerts a force on the lumber that tends to push it away from the guide.
The more material removed, the greater the forces, and the greater the
likelihood of sniping the sides of the lumber. USNR’s Positive-Lead
planer is designed with the cutting head arbors oriented 90 degrees to
the lumber guide instead of to the centreline. The forces exerted by the
cutting head are now parallel to the lumber guide, eliminating the
tendency to push the lumber away from the surface, and cause side snipe.
All-electric VFD drives with electronic speed balancing make it easy to
fine tune systems for consistent results. The positive hydraulic locking
system for the top, bottom and outside heads maintains accurate lumber
dimensions, while the quick-change cutterheads facilitate faster knife
changes. The system is constructed with heavy-duty 2” steel plate,
stress-relieved and line-bored for perfect alignment. Designed for
lumber from 2” to 15” wide, up to 6” thick, and as little as 6’ in
length, USNR’s High-Speed Electric Planer accommodates 16 to 24 knives
for enhanced surface quality, providing a superior lumber finish.
www.usnr.com Readers Service
Card #9055
Yates-American Machine Co
The company’s Planer-Matcher A-95 can handle lumber 1/2” to 6” thick,
2-1/2” to 13” wide and 95” in length. The top head has 150 hp (200 hp
option) and the bottom has 100 hp (with 125 or 150 optional). The A-95
has a hydraulic or electric drive feed system with 16” feed rolls, and
all feed rolls are reversible and interchangeable. The cutterheads come
with up to 32 knives/head and the A-95 frame is constructed of heavy
steel. Standard features include pneumatic side head chipbreaker and
infeed hold-over shoe, electrical interlock safety guard and
quick-release left side head. The B-26 Hydraulic Drive Double Rough
Surfacer top head has 75 hp and the bottom 40 hp. It features a 40 hp
hydraulic drive feed system with a feed speed of 75-240 fpm (75-400 fpm
optional). Upper rolls are 12” diameter urethane filled tires,
hydraulically driven and tensioned. The lower rolls are 12” diameter
non-power, idler type, and reversible. Cutterheads have an 8” diameter
cutting circle, up to 12 knives (straight) and up to eight-row carbide
spiral bits (optional). Other standard features include: anti-lap bar
device, air tensioned/released chipbreaker, LCD digital positioner and
built-in top and bottom jointer with “safe stone advance.” Some of the
optional features include automated pressure bar control, hydraulically
powered infeed conveyor and bottom rolls and small remote operator’s
station. www.yatesamerican.com
Readers Service Card #9056
Coe Newnes/McGehee
Coe Newnes/McGehee (CNM) is a world leader in planermill technology,
says the company, offering complete planermill systems. CNM planermill
technology includes continuous tilt hoists with tier gap time of less
than five seconds, planermill optimization in either linear (LHG) or
transverse (D-Tec)
applications,
high speed grade and trim lines capable of speeds to 200 lugs per
minute, pusher, drag and J-bar sorters, high speed stackers and package
lines. The company’s integrated planer controls include ControlLogix,
VFD and Vector drive control, state-of-the-art grade mark readers and
full-featured “WinTally” sorter management systems. CNM Global Speed
Control offers the repeatability of highest production runs by saving
individual drive settings on demand. Coe Manufacturing says it leads the
way in high speed planing with the Coastal Planer product line. Planers
are available with hydraulic or electric drives, speed and position
control, ribbon feeding or “Smart Gapping,” and throughput rates of up
to 3,000 feet per minute. www.coemfg.com
Readers Service Card #9057
Industrie Guérette
Industrie Guérette has been a long-time leader in the sawmill industry.
The company has developed new products and modernized its installations
to maintain that position, and to respond to the new requirements of
customers. Guérette’s planers have a reputation for efficiency and are a
popular choice in the industry. The company has developed a new
generation of planer (with speeds up to 1,800 feet per minute) that
offers superior quality finished wood. It also now offers the Hydro-Grip
system for cutting heads or the automatic position systems with eight
axles. Industrie Guérette is the exclusive distributor for North America
of the Stratoplan planers of Ledinek (www.ledinek.com), which feature
the newest technology in high-speed planers (3,000 feet per minute).
Guérette has the equipment, knowledge and technicians to repair or
rebuild the majority of planer brands and models on the market today,
and the company’s technical service is available 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. With its large inventory of brand new parts, the company
will soon be able to offer 24-hour parts and service on all its planers,
covering the Atlantic provinces, Ontario and Quebec.
www.guerette-inc.com
Readers Service Card #9058
For more
information on the above
products, please fill in the contact information and check off the boxes
that apply. When finished, please click on the Submit Form
Button.
Check any of the following for more information:
Autolog #9050
Newman Whitney
#9051
PG Mill Supplies Ltd & GLC Controls Inc
#9052
Weinig
#9053
Hasko #9054
USNR #9055
Yates-American Machine Co
#9056
Coe Newnes/McGehee
#9057
Industrie Guérette #9058
