I recently had the pleasure of helping our engineering installation crew install and commission the first Spida PieceMaker Linear Saw in North America. While more than 24 saws in the last 24 months have been sold and installed in Australia and New Zealand, this is the first saw to make its way to the USA. Now permanently located at TrusPro, two hours north of Los Angeles in Guadalupe, CA, its journey to installation has been a long-planned and well-earned achievement.
The PieceMaker’s journey to the USA started in August 2019 for its appearance at the BCMC Show in Columbus, Ohio. At the show, we were able to talk about the saw with many frame, truss, and component company owners and their purchasing staff. Having this impressive piece of machinery on the show floor for everyone to see really made our job of explaining its features and benefits easy. Then, after the show, it was time to get the PieceMaker settled into its new home in the USA.
“It was one of the stars of Spida’s 2019 BCMC booth, as it is one of the most comprehensive Linear Saws at an amazing price point in the market today. Interest in the PieceMaker was staggering at the show and, with 5 shows per day of the saw cutting, we were never lacking in an audience for this beauty.”
Eventually, the PieceMaker was destined for TrusPro, where the owner was in need of a saw to replace his aging ALS. He was actively seeking an alternative to the limited options currently on offer in the US market and the PieceMaker hit the target completely. We signed the deal back in February 2020, expected to install it in March, and then it became one of several Spida installations put on hold for the pandemic.
But finally, after lots of conversations, we were able to lock down a date at the start of July to commence the installation! Previously, we had arranged for a couple of technical installation and service representatives from Australia to fly in and help install and commission the saw, but this plan was scuttled due to the lack of international travel. Fortunately, we had sent one of our head US installers, Brian Pickerel, to Australia and New Zealand for a month in late 2019. Because he had helped install several PieceMakers during his time on the other side of the world, his knowledge and ability with the PieceMaker install made the whole process a breeze in California. Brian and Dakota Wickham had the pleasure of installing our saw over three days (plus a couple of late nights). Australian technicians were involved over the phone, providing additional installation “tips and tricks” to help with the saw’s American transition, and within a day or two were able to get the saw successfully installed and cutting lumber. This is a testament to the installation skills of our Spida USA crew along with an exceptionally well-built piece of machinery.
I was fortunate to be there for the initial calibration and first test run of actual boards. This was the first time the PieceMaker Saw had ever cut US Lumber — using imperial measurements and a US-generated file, it just didn’t let us down. The very short run of four cut webs and a couple of heeled bottom cords all came out absolutely spot on and this trend continued as further testing took place. The saw rotation and movement along with the infeed and outfeed are incredibly fast and impressive to watch. I have been installing automated equipment in this industry for many years and, when introduced to the PieceMaker in 2018, I was totally smitten — I just knew we had something special. Now watching the PieceMaker in its new home in California, it just confirms my thoughts and those of TrusPro that they have made the right decision. This saw will be a great asset to this company and any future owners.
Once installation was complete, Dakota spent a week training the operators and making sure they were comfortable using the saw. He was also speaking regularly with our technicians to make sure that the cutting sequences and any teething difficulties were ironed out before leaving the site. It’s not only the sale, installation, or servicing of the product — we are determined that we see the customer satisfied with the saw prior to leaving. Importantly, the software and operating system for the PieceMaker are very intuitive and designed to have a minimal amount of screen use once the job has been loaded and the job optimized. The operators can batch and create a pick list for the current or next jobs which can be printed on any networked printer. The optimization software will pick from the pre-determined stock list and give you the order in which to feed the live deck on the saw. Boards can be single or double stacked to improve efficiency. The saw cuts a wide assortment of lumber including 4 x 3, 4 x 4, and 4 x 6, which proved to be a huge bonus for this particular customer who often does some large industrial and commercial trusses with some huge webs.
The PieceMaker has been part of production for the last four weeks at TrusPro, and over this time they have been pushing more and more work to the saw. So far, it has handled most everything they have thrown at it, with the occasional member being rejected by the saw. Built-in diagnostic tools and the technical support feature, however, enable Spida to quickly get the information to the programmers to have these resolved. Oftentimes, bow and spring play a part in the member being rejected or the wrong piece of lumber may have been fed into the sequence — but the PieceMaker will alert the operator to review or reject the problem piece. It’s all about the extraordinary capabilities of the saw, and the service aspect that Spida provides, that enables this saw and other machinery in the Spida range to be world-class.