Our Article Library

When we talk about tolerances and adjustments to suit the manufacturing process, we acknowledge that building a metal plate connected wood truss is part art, part skill, and mostly perseverance. Plate embedment is very dependent on that process, and we are very dependent on plate embedment for...

Spec sheets for truss assembly machinery describe the press: tonnage, roller diameter, table length. They say less about the software, yet on an automated table the software decides where the pucks go, where the truss sits, how much of the table is in use, and what happens when the next truss...

It’s that time again. The 2026 Florida Building Code 9th Edition will take effect on December 31, 2026, bringing with it updates that could affect how structural components are designed, analyzed, and documented throughout the state. For engineers, truss designers, and component...

The shape of today’s truss plates was greatly influenced by their little-understood production processes. While these processes involve proprietary methods, their underlying technology was conceived decades ago in the tool and die shops and the punch press plants across America, and both...

If you visited our BCMC booth in Columbus this year, then you got a close-up look at NEXBOT, an optional autonomous mobile robot (AMR) upgrade for NEXPLATE. Enventek has joined the growing list of suppliers bringing robotics to component plants, continuing our tradition of delivering practical,...

Truss production has changed dramatically over the past few decades. What once relied heavily on manual jig systems, operator experience, and physically demanding processes has steadily evolved into a more connected, automated, and data-driven environment. Today, elements such as software,...

The component industry continues to weather economic uncertainty, but history tells us that construction will help lead the recovery after this pause. When demand returns, it often returns quickly — and manufacturers who have not prepared can find themselves scrambling to keep up. That...

Component manufacturers are operating in a market with little room for waste. Housing demand is difficult to predict. Material prices shift quickly. Labor is expensive and difficult to find. Customers still expect competitive pricing, dependable schedules, and fast turnaround. Those pressures...

In last month’s article, “NEXPLATE: Achieving F1 Pit-Stop Speed in Truss Production,” we analyzed a production run of 80 long-span agricultural trusses using an “all-or-nothing” approach to automated plate distribution. We demonstrated how Enventek’s NEXPLATE...

At a high-volume truss plant just outside Denver, Colorado, one person now keeps 14 build stations supplied with plates — truss by truss, across six tables. Not long ago, that same job meant carts of partial plates scattered across the floor, boxes and totes stacked wherever space was...