Reflections on 2019 The Spida Team As we head towards Christmas and a well-earned break for everyone, we take the opportunity to reflect on all of the hard work that everyone has done in 2019 and thank our Spida customers and staff for all of their wonderful support in the last year. Square 1 Transition to Spida USA While... Read More December 2019 Issue #11245 Page 14
Epilogue to 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation: Designing Great Software Joe Kannapell Reviewing our 50-year journey tells us much about software. Now let’s recap how good software becomes great: 1. Continuity of development: Note our three distinct programs, each one totally rewritten to tackle larger objectives. Yet each was based on 15+ years of experience with the... Read More November 2019 Issue #11244 Page 8
Triad 60 Year Anniversary! TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team On behalf of the TRIAD sales department, we would like to thank our customers for supporting us over the course of our 60 Years in business. We would also like to thank and recognize the entire TRIAD team for all their efforts in preparing for, and participating in, the 2019 BCMC Trade Show; for... Read More November 2019 Issue #11244 Page 70
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” Chris Scott It was June 1982 and The Clash released the hit song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go,”— now it’s October 2019 and once again you find yourself asking, should I stay or should I go to the BCMC in Columbus, Ohio. As you’re humming that song for the rest of this... Read More October 2019 Issue #11243 Page 14
The Greatest Three Months of the Year Chris Scott October is right around the corner and that means cooler weather, Halloween, turning of the leaves, football, and the BCMC. As much as I would love to talk to you about all of these things, this article will stick to the most important and my favorite one….football. Okay, after a... Read More September 2019 Issue #11242 Page 14
Spida Acquires Square 1 Design Sean Hubbard 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... Read More August 2019 Issue #11241 Page 60
How Your Plant Can Benefit From a Spida Extruder Wall Panel Framing Line Chris Scott 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... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 14
The Power of SMED and 5S Keith Parker As a follow up to our 9-part “Ready for Change” article series, our next step down the “Lean” path is to introduce other tools and methods to reduce waste and time. The first in this new bi-monthly series focuses on SMED, Single Minute Exchange of Die, and how this... Read More August 2018 Issue #10229 Page 40
Roof Truss Automated Jigging Sean Hubbard This month, I was able to view some of the systems recently installed at customer locations. All of the systems seem to be engineered well and mechanically sound. I would like to offer this bit of information: Alpine’s SmartView offers an operator’s advantage, with dimensioning... Read More July 2018 Issue #10228 Page 16
Wood Components in Multi-Family Housing, Part One Joe Kannapell Part One: 1960 to 1979 Garden style apartments have been good for the truss business, but have morphed into an almost unrecognizable beast. In making this transition, component manufacturers have built on 40+ years of experience, and have conquered this beast, but not without... Read More March 2018 Issue #10224 Page 6