The acquisition of Square 1 Design solidifies Spida Machinery’s position at the apex of machinery suppliers for the Building Components industry. Globally positioned to supply machinery around the world, our equipment profile includes options for all component manufacturers—from...

Being only as strong as your weakest link is not only true in sports but also on the production line, whether we are talking about people or equipment. Diagnosing the slowest and least efficient point in any production line is key to having a successful and profitable manufacturing...

Powered by people, a manual line in an average component plant is composed of a rough opening station, a subcomponent station, a framing station, a squaring station, and a sheathing station. In the configuration, typically 8 people are on this line, and 1000 LNFT of output is the average goal...

The trip home provided for some much-needed quiet time to reflect on the most successful B.C.M.C. of modern times. I believe the equipment displayed well represented the advancements made by our industry over the last decade or two. It also offered a glimpse into the future where automation in...

September is here, so it’s time to wrap up our comparisons of wall panel equipment. Again I would like to thank all of the manufacturers who have taken the time to review the draft charts I’ve compiled and supply additional information and clarification. Their input across these...

While the International Residential Code (IRC) gives the structural requirements and prescriptive design data for residential framing, additional help for the non-engineer is available through the Wood Frame Construction Manual for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (WFCM) published by the American...

To expedite the adoption of pre-built wall panels, shop labor must be significantly lower than site labor. That means replacing hand-nailing, measuring, cutting, and manhandling with practices that have been proven in truss fabrication. In addition, major builders and reluctant framers demand...

The long overdue rebirth of domestic wall panel technology is finally upon us, as U.S. manufacturers have begun to innovate. For the last 30 years, they ceded the upper end of the market to the Europeans, and focused on manual framing and sheathing solutions. For the last 10 years, they have...

In the first part of the Primer for Wall Panels, we discussed the fundamentals of wall panel production and how they may figure into your wood component business. In summary, we asked the reader to remember that wall panels were built for decades with little more than a blueprint,...

Home buyers naturally take for granted that the floor system in a new house is safe and complies with the building code—and rightly so. But home buyers also have expectations for their floors that are unrelated to safety or the building code. In particular, many home buyers are aware of...