SWI Keeps on Innovating – who said it “cant†be done?
Solid Wood Innovation (SWI) has developed an optimisation tool that gets the best of out of each cant. For those not conversant with sawmilling-talk, a cant is a piece of timber that has undergone primary breakdown (say through a chipper/canter bandsaw set up) and has two flat sawn sides.
The new process works at full line speed and suits mills that have a flexible sawing system. Each cant is measured for density with a pencil X-ray, and for sonic resonance. The two measures are then processed using an SWI-developed algorithm to predict the pith-to-bark green stiffness of the cant. In doing so it maps out the low stiffness zone associated with the pith (and which is often not central).
This information then drives the cutting pattern which will maximise the outturn of structural lumber and minimise the outturn of low stiffness material which may be cut into larger dimensions for other end-uses such as landscaping. A commercial trial of 500 radiata pine logs in Australia increased the value of timber processed to AU$61/m³, an increase of AU$14/m³ compared to a non-optimised solution. The value to a mill is dependent upon factors such as the average stiffness of its resource, the market demand/prices for structural versus non structural products and the volume of lumber being cut through the optimised line. The first commercial installation has been operating for six months.
The technology is available to all SWI shareholders in signing of a confidentiality agreement and SWI finalising the licensing agreement.
Cant being subjected to measurement by sensors