October 2001 Volume 26, Number 8
October 2001 Volume 26, Number 8
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Initial efforts were focused on the development and refinement of the sensors and the high-speed communications interface needed to meet the improved performance expectations of the mill. This was a tough application: most 3D scanners were not fast enough to fit the unique needs of the headrig carriage. Even a fraction of a second of delay in the scanning process would reduce the overall benefit of the accuracy gains. "The goal was NO delay for scanning," recalls Inovec President Kerry Wilson.
While Inovec software and hardware engineers worked hard on creating a high speed 3-D log modeling system that could meet the demanding application, and maintain compatibility with the hundreds of YieldMaster systems installed worldwide, LMI/DynaVision remained intent on incorporating Inovec's testing results into the ongoing development of the best sensor possible. The resulting LMI/DynaVision L4 sensor, combined with Inovec's proprietary high speed interface and 3D modeling/optimization system, is now known as StereoScan--so named because each laser line is in view from two camera viewpoints.
After development and initial testing in Inovec's lab for nearly two years, the Inovec StereoScan system was brought on line as an upgrade to the existing YieldMaster light curtain scanning system at the Eugene mill. Logs in production were scanned by both the new and the old scanning technologies at the same time and the results were compared.
It soon became clear that the new system was capable of substantial improvements in opening face accuracy. The StereoScan system computed different set points and different taper orientations for the logs based on shape characteristics undetectable by the light-curtain scanner. These new decisions quickly proved to be significantly more accurate and the results looked promising for improved levels of both volume and grade recovery.
Fine-tuning of the hardware and software package provided by Inovec and LMI/DynaVision continued, and after exhaustive testing by Inovec engineers and Northwest Hardwoods quality control personnel, the prototype system was accepted by the mill in early summer 1998, and the old light-curtain scanner system was removed from the mill.
The biggest surprise of the development effort was the huge improvements in the number of logs processed. Although Inovec light curtain scanners were already the fastest in the industry, improved scanning speed had been a significant objective of the development plan, and even then the overall potential for production improvement had been underestimated by all parties.
After examining the new production levels carefully, it became clear that three specific aspects of the new system were responsible for the improved production performance:
First, the StereoScan was so accurate that shim passes previously needed to "clean up" faces on very rough and badly swept logs were eliminated, improving the number of productive lines taken at the carriage.
Secondly, because the StereoScan system was able to scan without moving the log in and out of the scan field during scanning, any hesitation waiting for the scan to complete was eliminated.
Third, because the logs were not moved around during the scanning process, the need to stop and re-dog was eliminated, especially on larger logs.
Significant improvements in both production and recovery were recorded in the following months as the sawyers became familiar and gained confidence with the new capabilities of the StereoScan system. By September of that year, the Inovec StereoScan system was performing so well that Northwest Hardwoods was convinced that this newly developed technology would provide the results the company needed to justify the ongoing investment, and immediately placed orders for StereoScan systems to replace all of the light-curtain systems that were operating in its West Coast sawmills, as well as upgrades for several non-scanning systems.
Jerry Roach, Vice President of Northwest Hardwoods Midwest and Southern Operations, met with Inovec to discuss the success being enjoyed by his West Coast counterparts. Having several mills in the Midwest and the Northeast needing upgrades, he soon began purchasing the StereoScan system for his mills.
Today, Inovec has installed 11 systems in Northwest Hardwoods sawmills in the U.S. and Canada, and have installed more than 30 units worldwide, including the application of the StereoScan technology to a short-coupled small log application.
Inovec's vision of a more accurate and high-speed scanner for its YieldMaster carriage systems coupled with industry leaders in both lumber manufacturing and sensor technology who shared that vision and who were willing and able to join in the development process made this a success story. By taking the initiative as well as some risk, Northwest Hardwoods has not only helped create a new technology and the opportunity it brings, but was able to jump ahead of the competition by being first in line for the new technology. Now, other lumber manufacturers have this technology available to help them make the change in improved headrig carriage production and recovery.
The StereoScan development project exemplifies the benefits possible from the cooperation of different segments of the industry that work together to bring forward a new technology. In the end, everybody wins from this advancement because it now takes fewer trees to meet the demands of the lumber market.
This article was submitted to Timber Processing by Inovec, Inc.
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(c) 2001 Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., used by permission.