Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXI: Rebirth of the Linear Saw Joe Kannapell, PE Entering the new Millennium, the linear fed saw needed to be reborn. Though CMs had boosted productivity with bolted-on improvements to their Metra-Cut type saws, they still couldn’t keep up with automated component saws. Yet they remained an essential part of the saw shop, even though... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 10
The Last Word: The Last Word on CM Disruption Joe Kannapell, PE Is component manufacturing ripe for disruption? Two foreign-backed entities came to our shores and tried to do just that for six years: Katerra with billions and Blueprint Robotics with many millions. Both were going to teach us how to build better, but with entirely different approaches. Out... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 142
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XX: Cyber Success Joe Kannapell, PE Before the Cyber Saw was introduced, I saw its PLC “brain” control the machines on a GM assembly line. From the conference room at General Electric’s PLC factory, I was able to watch a live display of the automation systems it powered. While most were “Greek” to me,... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 10
The Last Word: The Last Word on Commercial Trusses Joe Kannapell, PE With surging housing demand, 1981 was much like 2021. Yet, in the midst of overflowing residential orders, a gutsy CM decided to take a chance on a different line of business. His painful memories of housing’s boom-bust cycles, and his Harvard education, told him to diversify. Ricks... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 145
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XIX: Automation Battles Joe Kannapell, PE An automation battle was brewing in the late 1980s, but the first skirmish wasn’t over machinery. It was over software. Software that would minimize more than just the manual labor, but also the “thinking” done by machine operators. The time finally arrived when, after decades... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 10
The Last Word: The Last Word on Great Plant Engineers Joe Kannapell, PE Who will step forward to direct the increasing automation of our truss plants? Only the best qualified need apply. For example, people with the discipline of Dick Rotto, the in-plant experience of John Houlihan, and the analytical skills of Keith Fell. Each of whom possessed unique abilities... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 142
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XVIII: Automation Momentum Joe Kannapell, PE We suppliers had to escape the bind that Jerry Koskovich’s automation portended. We had been chastened by our CMs’ excitement viewing his Auto Omni Saw at the 1988 BCMC. Then we were shocked shortly thereafter when one of our leading customers, Tom Nomeland at Superior Truss (now... Read More May 2021 Issue #13262 Page 10
The Last Word: The Last Word on Covid Recovery Joe Kannapell, PE “Make more eye contact,” Dick Marriott once told me after a sales call. Since then, I’ve been practicing the art. But, after Covid, people often avert their eyes when I encounter them. And their eyes are all I can see over their masks. Do they believe the virus can be... Read More May 2021 Issue #13262 Page 141
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XVII: Automation Takes Hold Joe Kannapell, PE The future of automation was on display at the 1988 BCMC, but few of us recognized it. Two leading truss plant owners did, however: Lenny Sylk of Shelter Systems and Dick Rotto of Trussway. Lenny’s purchase of the automated saw encouraged others to follow suit. Dick demurred on the... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 10
The Last Word: The Last Word on CLT – Cross Laminated Timber Joe Kannapell, PE While admiring a Mass Timber building rising nearby, I wanted to find out if CMs can benefit from this business. Katerra apparently thinks so, first becoming a CM and later a CLT manufacturer. So far, the supply of CLT is limited – the Katerra plant is 2500 miles from this Virginia jobsite... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 154