When we started down the path of creating the JAX automated retrieval system, it had to work with our existing saws from three different suppliers. So, one of our first tasks was to bring their disparate cutting files into a common format to feed JAX. We also had to bring the sequence of jobs from our supplier’s management system, and our inventory levels and costing from Quick Books. Our goal was to enable JAX to function with any vendor’s software and any manufacturer’s hardware. After two years, and with the assistance of Q4US, we developed browser-based software that compiled data from multiple sources and displayed it in a universal format. We call this the JAX Universal Compiler, or JAX-UC for short. [For all images, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Building browser-based software was incredibly appealing to us, because we could display live views of our JAX processes anywhere in our plant, or even at a remote location. Then, these views could be updated and enhanced as we connected JAX-UC to our accounting software, and eventually to the PLC driving the JAX hardware, as will be illustrated here.
We condensed much of the data we gathered and displayed it beneath the bunk location number, conforming to the arrangement of bunks within JAX. Onto this display, called the Production Manager, we’ve overlayed a red dash so that we can tell at a quick glance when any bunk needs to be replenished. In this example, the red dash appears in the top half of both SKUs, and indeed, they are 60% and 90% full, respectively. Likewise, we created a Sawyer Report so that each sawyer can see which jobs are next on the conveyor coming to their saw. These have formed the beginning of a stream of useful reports that we’ve created to manage our shop, each of which is easily accessed by clicking on a link.
Each sawyer receives a report summarizing what is coming to him on the conveyor from JAX, and if any substitutions occurred. In fact, JAX is able to select a higher grade or a longer length if material is out of stock. In this example, 52 pieces of #3 lumber were substituted with #1 grade, so this report alerts the sawyer that these are web members and signals to him that more bow and crook is permissible than if they were chords.
One of the most powerful features of the JAX-UC software is its ability to communicate with JAX hardware through its onboard computer, the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). This interaction enables everyone on the network to view the operational status of JAX and the safety light curtains surrounding it. Since we have divided JAX’s working area into two light curtained zones, in one of the zones the light curtain can be broken and lumber carts replenished, while JAX continues to retrieve lumber in the other zone, which remains protected.
On the large monitors in our shop, we now display JAX’s status. In this example, the display is covered with red cross-hatching, indicating that the gantry head is locked in place after being stopped by an operator over bunk 27. Prior to this stoppage, it had picked lumber from bunk 20 and delivered it to the Blade Saw.
With these reports, everyone in our shop is able to have all the information that they need to keep material flowing from JAX to the saws. But, we haven’t stopped there. From this foundation, we’ve continued to add more features, which we’ll talk about next month. In the meantime, if you have questions, please reach out to me or Richard at 980-404-0209 to learn more about JAX, The Wood Retriever.