Bois CFM − New advances for hardwood processing

Contents

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES THROUGH A PANDEMIC

The human spirit is nothing if not blessed with an abundance of resilience in the face of difficult circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has touched all of us, but our industry as a whole and our individual business partners and associates have weathered the storm with the strength of the human spirit. In this issue we bring you stories about enduring companies that are sustaining their operations with smart investments that bring renewed confidence for the future.

Bois CFM − New advances for hardwood processing .....................................3

When orders are flying in and production is limited by a highly manual process, the solution is to invest in automated systems that will meet the demand. This is what challenged Bois CFM to up its game and invest in a new advanced processing plant. Today that vision has become a reality in spite of difficult market conditions due to COVID-19.

Waipapa Pine − Gaining efficiencies ..................................................................8

Even when a mill is not capacity-limited, equipment upgrades delivering the latest technologies can bring significant returns, and make the job safer and more satisfying for equipment operators. Waipapa Pine’s chain of successful mill upgrades is proof positive.

USNR Service − Through COVID-19, and beyond .......................................... 16

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, USNR’s support for its customers has been unwavering. When and where you need us we are there to serve your needs, no matter the challenges. Like our customers, we’ve found new means and new tools to get the job done safely, efficienty, and effectively.

USNR’s Safety Culture − Driving this culture at USNR ..................................20

Recognizing the importance of health and safety, USNR created a role to elevate this culture within our organization. Meet USNR’s Safety and Training Manager, Adrienne Bootsma.

Millwide Insider

ISSUE 50

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Bois CFM

New advances for hardwood processing

SPEEDING UP PRODUCTION, PARING DOWN COSTS, IMPROVING RECOVERY

When orders are flying in and production is limited by a highly manual process, the solution is to invest in automated systems that will meet the demand, as well as reduce the overall cost of doing business for the longer term. This was the situation for Bois CFM when it decided to up its game with a new, advanced processing plant. Today that vision has become a reality, and in spite of the difficult market conditions (driven by COVID-19), the mill is getting the benefit of new technology while moving closer to its production targets. We believe the end-dogger system has a bright future in hardwood processing. It could replace up to half of the existing conventional log carriages in these types of applications.

A log is dogged at each end prior to being fed through the side and bottom chip heads. The 2 conical canter heads and drum style bottom head create a cant with 3 smooth sides upstream from the Quad Arbor Saw Box and VSA Gang.

Bois CFM is a sawmill located in Sainte-Florence, Quebec that processes aspen, larch, spruce, and birch into components for pallets. The pallet products that are typically 40” to 54” in length with differing thicknesses and widths, are custom green rough sawn for direct sale to North American pallet assemblers. Its old mill operated with a very manual process resulting in high production costs. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic customer demand was high and growing, so it made sense to invest in new, highly automated systems to move its production to the next level. After consulting a variety of vendors and other wood processors, the mill chose USNR based on expectations for better material yield and return on investment. The new supply The new mill incorporates a complete new optimized primary and secondary line. The line includes an optimized End-Dog Carriage system with LASAR2 scanning, canter heads, a Quad Arbor Saw Box, and a Vertical Sawing Arbor (VSA) Gang. Sideboards are routed to a new optimized edger system comprised of USNR’s Maximizer infeed to a Saw Boss edger box with BioLuma 2900LV sensors. The system features BioVision grading with Deep Learning technology to further improve the decision-making process. The mill’s trimmer was also equipped with USNR optimization and BioLuma 2900LV sensors for geometric and vision scanning, along with Deep Learning technology. Challenging species All this technology might seem like overkill for a pallet mill, but there is much more to the story and it begins with the log diet: mainly aspen. Aspen is a lower-quality hardwood species with few high-value products, which is why Bois CFM produces pallets in high volumes. Another challenge with aspen is its difficult log characteristics; gnarly shapes, lots of knots, extreme sweep, and other defects. Sometimes there are 3 different sweep curves in one log. The challenging characteristics of aspen are a major reason Bois CFM chose an end-dogging solution over a sharp chain. Because the enddogger holds the log in place at each end, there are no physical restrictions limiting rotation, compared with a

The End-Dog Carriage system features two Lasar2 sensors that are positioned to capture the complete profile of the log. The sensors are mounted at both sides of the carriage to scan the front and back sides of the log as it is rotated on the “knees” prior to being dogged. The drawing at right identifies the sensors’ field of view. Enhanced recovery is another big advantage of the end-dog system. The automated system offers a 33% improvement in recovery compared with the old manual process.

Scan the QR code to watch a video of the End-Dog Carriage system in action, or go to: https://www.usnr.com/en/ product/enddogcarriage/videos

conventional log turner (as quad rolls). The system provides full control of rotation, skew, and tilt on every log. More control leads to better accuracy, which in turn leads to better recovery.

25% less fiber per 1,000 bf; 33% improvement in recovery Enhanced recovery is another big advantage of the end-dog system. Between the old process and this new advanced system, the automated system requires 25% less fiber to produce 1,000 bf of products, thus yielding 33% improvement in recovery. As trees get smaller, hardwood producers could change their approach to processing. USNR Account Manager Martin Vaillancourt said, “We believe the end-dogger system has a bright future in hardwood processing. It could replace up to half of the existing conventional log carriages in these types of applications.” For customers processing small to medium diameter hardwood logs who want to increase piece count, this system will do it and achieve higher recovery at the same time. Conventional carriages have limitations. It’s basically a manual operation with the operator controlling the carriage speed, whereas an end-dogger is automatic. It loads the log automatically and sends it through the saws, with no back and forth. The end-dog process is closer to the philosophy of softwood where operators don’t have as much

The edger line boasts vision-based scanning for accurate defect detection utilizing Deep Learning technology.

We’ve increased the range of our products by staying flexible, and our product mix continues to evolve daily.

of an impact on recovery. USNR’s End-Dog Carriage system is a complete high-tech solution when combined with modern PLC controls, advanced scanning, optimization, and automated grading.

High-tech hardwood processing Bois CFM is a very high-tech mill in this market. One major focus for the mill was a system that could accurately process the complexity that aspen presented with its multitude of defects: knots, pith, splits, sap stain, bark pockets, rot, grub hole, and insect hole. The fact that they utilize vision at both the edger and trimmer is extremely beneficial. It allows the system to get the highest value from every piece by accurately finding defects, and using each board to its best suited purpose within the pallet based on its grade. Deep Learning helps the system decide where to put the waste within the pallet components. Although the mill is still in the commissioning phase, these systems are having a big impact on recovery.

A new processing paradigm The biggest challenge the mill faced was integrating the new technology into its operation both from a human resource as well as management mindset, going from highly manual