Did you know that any existing automated saws output can now be boosted by switching from a forklift lumber picking process to that of a Lumber PickLine? That’s right, we have proven that a Lumber PickLine will boost the cutting output of all the major automated linear saws out there, simply by recapturing saw idle time.
In fact, my previous articles have highlighted plants with the vast assortment of saw brands that will benefit from the use of a Lumber PickLine. For example, the plant featured in January 2022 has a MiTek Blade, “Optimize Your Saw with a Lumber Pick Line”; July 2022 involves the TCT XL, “ROI with No ‘Space’ Fear Factor”; September 2022 has the Monet DeRobo, “Incremental CapEx ROI and Plant Tours”; and the May 2023 article is based on an Alpine ALS, “Incremental CapEx and Accelerated ROI.” Automated component saws are notorious for lost saw idle time, and that is why we can put Lumber PickLines in to feed automated component saws including MiTek CyberSaw/EasySet series, Alpine AutoMill, Monet Desauw, Auto Omni, and others to boost cutting output.
All automated component saws can setup within 6 to 14 seconds, and most can easily cut lumber at the rate of 10 boards per minute. On paper, this is more cutting output than a linear saw. However, most truss plants feeding their component saws by forklift will not send a quantity of 3 or less of the same truss to the component saw. But with a Lumber PickLine, a component saw can be turned into a “cut-by-truss” saw and a batch cutting saw – the best of both sawing output worlds, and a result you cannot achieve with a linear saw. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
With a Lumber PickLine, more trusses can be grouped in a batch to collate and maximize truss table output. “No more mini batches,” which all started with the lumber stretching and/or lumber optimizing capabilities of linear saws which increased cut-piece throughput and simplified the feeding of lumber to linear saws by just stocking long lengths in front of the linear saw. The “lazy” lumber picking was at the expense of truss production as “lumber-optimized pieces” results in unorganized lumber at the tables.
Here is a process analysis and qualitative ROI of an automated component saw with approximately 30% idle time, which is a constraint of their current forklift lumber picking process that cannot get lumber consistently quicker to the saw.
The savings will begin to accumulate even before entering the manufacturing plant!
Valuable yard space is used up with forklift lumber picking, as shown in the first photo. Here, a wide forklift path is needed to transport lumber from the dense lumber storage to the saw.
As shown in the second photo, yard space is further “wasted” as the space is reserved for the forklift to maneuver and drop the picked lumber onto the side-feed conveyor.
Whether it’s snowing or not, this is a lot of space commitment for forklift tires!
Next, let’s talk about what happens as the lumber enters the plant.
At the component saw, the sawyer has to grab the board, lift it up onto the red in-feed arms and feed it into the saw. With longer lengths and larger lumber widths, this is hard on the sawyer. Furthermore, bad lumber is inefficiently culled at the saw and as such extra pieces are knowingly picked by the forklift picker. The extra pieces and culled lumber end up in the building and need to be dealt with before pulling in the next load of lumber to cut, further slowing down the sawyer.
Instead of the forklift running lumber up to the saw, lumber is dropped into the Lumber PickLine trough (shown on the left in the photo) and the #50-2 roller chain carries each piece of lumber up to the exterior conveyors. Bunks of picking lumber will be placed alongside the lumber trough and the entire yard can be used to manage the daily picking lumber. The forklift will simply replenish the daily picking lumber, resulting in at least an 80% reduction in forklift usage.
As the lumber passes from the lumber trough into the steel lumber incline, there are sensors that will check the lumber picked against the lumber picker’s tablet picklist for width of lumber, length of lumber, and quantity of pieces. If there is a discrepancy, the lumber trough will stop and the light will flash red along with an error message on the picker’s tablet describing the error detected – wrong board width/wrong board length/wrong quantity. The picker makes the correction and re-starts the lumber trough chain from the tablet and continues picking lumber.
The lumber will progress up the sloping lumber incline up the flat conveyors and bring perfectly collated lumber into the saw building, as shown through the opened overhead door in the photo.
The front sawyer’s deck will re-fill automatically up to the raised lumber stops as the saw cuts the lumber. The sawyer is the second line of lumber quality check, and will have the last look of crowning the lumber. If and when a bad board makes it to the front of the conveyor, the sawyer can easily replace the board that the picker “missed” by going out to the PickLine to replace the board and have a teaching moment with the picker.
It is easy to see how the wear and tear on the sawyer is significantly reduced. The sawyer can simply transfer boards from the PickLine front deck into the saw in feed arms by hand or by foot pedal or a semi-automated combination of both. This is a major ergonomic improvement, along with no culled lumber to deal with inside the building. Consistent quality lumber getting to the truss tables will also boost truss production as the number of “piece re-cuts” will be reduced significantly using a Lumber PickLine.
When you’re ready to Feed Your Beast and see these efficient and effective systems for yourself, let us know! Inside and out, LimTek Process Organization Technology will help you squeeze out more truss production and deliver quality trusses with shorter lead times to better service your customers by organizing your truss fabrication processes to maximize your investment in automation. https://limteksolutions.com/#solutions