Recovery ramps up

Southern Veneer

Recovery ramps up

YIELDS 4% MORE RECOVERY, 10-15% MORE PRODUCTION

When Southern Veneer was ready to update its existing lathe, it acquired major components from a nearby closed plant, and proceeded to source a vendor for the project. The goal was to increase productivity and veneer quality, improve fiber recovery, and at the same time decrease downtime and maintenance costs. Taking on this project, USNR also realized the opportunity to introduce its next generation scanning and optimization system – BlockLogix, based on the BlockPLUS system.

We’re averaging 4% increase in recovery. We've been able to decrease labor costs by at least a shift each week and still achieve 10-15% more production volume.

Southern Veneer is situated at Fitzgerald, Georgia, in the heart of Southern Yellow Pine country. The major production focus for the plant is veneer that is primarily marketed to producers of LVL panels. The operation includes a log yard, lathe and green end line, vintage Coe dryers, lay-up line, 10-bin Coe dry stacker, press line, and a saw line. Capacity is in the range of 200 million board feet annually.

The operation is privately owned by Kendall and Tammy Adams, and the plant is managed by Rick Payne. The Southern Veneer team is a tight one, having worked together for many years and enduring together through the up and down cycles this industry is famous for. Input for the article came from the following team members who each had a hand in the success of the project, including Robert Clark, special projects coordinator; Mike Edwards, maintenance and electrical supervisor; Barry Donnelly, green end superintendent; Amy Tharp, CFO; and Juan Medellin, sales and production manager.

A retrofit Coe Model 1380 core drive holds a block against the lathe knife for peeling, while a new pendulum readies another block for its turn.

Detailing the plan

The 20-year-old lathe required significant modification to achieve the level of production and reliability the team was looking to realize. Southern Veneer also wanted to incorporate scanning and optimization in the mix, to improve recovery. They determined that USNR offered the best package to bring the lathe system up to the performance standard they required. The team related, “USNR offered the best complete package, as well as service and support.” And having dealt with USNR (Coe) in the past, the Southern Veneer team knew they could count on USNR to be there for future support.

The project was completed in two phases. Along with the installation of the newly-acquired Coe Model 790 XY charger and Coe Model 1380 core drive, the line was updated with a new charger pendulum, new hydraulic power unit to operate the XY charger and infeed step feeder, BlockPLUS (XY scanning and optimization system) and ControlLogix PLC motion control for all of the lathe mechanical functions. The first phase of the project went off without a hitch, and quickly got the plant up and running.

The second phase would require programming changes to the BlockPLUS system to transition it from VME to the ControlLogix PLC platform. The next generation scanning and optimization system is called BlockLogix™. The charger's first scanning system was started up using a temporary VME controller while the new ControlLogix PLC software code was in development back at USNR. The team knew going into the project that the second phase would require more time because of this effort. They explained, “We knew the installation of the second phase was going to take time. We also ran extra production leading up to the second phase so we didn’t lose any production during the changeover.”

Executing the second phase

The second phase involved designing the PLC controls system to transition from the VME controller to the ControlLogix platform. Tim Dezellem, USNR controls technician, master-minded this second phase. He explained, “After the first phase was completed, everything except the XY scanning was controlled via the ControlLogix PLC. Phase two eliminated the requirement for the VME processor. Positioning of the XY spindles and the block rotation are accomplished through the PLC, while the optimization is done through a Dell server PC.” He went on to say that this was USNR’s first full PLC motion controlled lathe deck, and was a significant project that required input and coordination between multiple USNR teams to integrate the redesigned system.

The lathe peels a block, while another is picked up by the pendulum, and a third rests on the pre-centering vee, waiting it's turn to be scanned.

The BlockLogix system

USNR offered the best complete package, as well as service and support.

Once a block is loaded on the charger's pre-centering vee, each end is sized to determine the best geometric spin axis, and the XY spindles engage the block ends accordingly. As the spindles raise and rotate the block it is scanned every 0.05 inches along the length of the block and nominally every 1 degree of rotation. The optimizer receives the scan data and analyzes a multitude of possible lathe peeling solutions before generating the best solution. This solution is passed to the PLC to reset the splindles' axes before the pendulum picks up the block, to achieve maximum fiber value. Beyond maximizing veneer recovery and value, a secondary outcome is minimizing lost time in the block peeling cycle, thus improving production. The optimizer calculates the volume of veneer that can be recovered from the block. When the peel is completed the PLC communicates the point at which the peel stopped, and that information is used to generate management reports that display the optimized solution vs the actual volume of veneer recovered from each block.

Adding up results

We ran extra production leading up to the second phase so we didn't lose any production during the changeover.

The team saw impressive results after the project wrapped up. They said, “It’s given us more recovery, saved on labor and maintenance costs, saved material costs through increased recovery, and we’ve seen a significant decrease in downtime.”

They went on to quantify some of their comments. “We’re averaging 4% increase in recovery, and between 10 and 15% increase in production. We’ve been able to decrease labor costs by at least a shift each week and still achieve the 10-15% more production volume. Weekly maintenance cost has been dramatically reduced. This project has exceeded our expectations.”

Southern Veneer was very appreciative of the team effort displayed by everyone involved. “We helped USNR’s team on the install, and they stayed for about a week afterwards to train us on how to operate and maintain the system.” Besides those who offered input for the article, the Southern Veneer team also provided rave reviews for these team members: Dennis Crager, Jose Trejo and Juan Carlos Trejo (lathe operators), and Jeff King Contractors.

Now that the project is behind them and the lathe line is humming along, the team looks to the future with anticipation. They’ve enjoyed several years of steady markets, and are hoping to expand their product mix in the near future. This project is helping Southern Veneer to achieve its goals.

The user interface is user-configurable to view information in a variety of ways. Data displays the optimizer's solution for each block including the block's geometric measurements, volume of veneer, block and charger positioning offsets, etc.

Above and below: A variety of screens, views and information is available depending on user security level and preference.

BlockLogix: Evolution in lathe optimization

More than 10 years ago Coe introduced the first high density (100,000+ data points) XY charger scanning and optimization system, BlockPLUS, and it has been providing good returns for many veneer lathe customers.

Since then USNR introduced its next generation system based on BlockPLUS. It is appropriately renamed BlockLogix™ in recognition of its transition to the Allen-Bradley ControlLogix motion control platform. There are significant changes to this system that make it a better package for our customers.

The BlockLogix system features:

• Fast, efficient processing

• The highest fiber recovery

• Simple to maintain, troubleshoot

• Few electronic components

The BlockPLUS system was designed to work with the VME control platform, with the controller software embedded within the optimization architecture. While this configuration is fully capable of generating highly accurate peeling solutions, it is more cumbersome to program and troubleshoot.

BlockLogix uses ControlLogix, an industry standard in many regions. With BlockLogix, the PLC control software is separate from the optimization architecture, making it easy to adjust motion control functionality. And troubleshooting can usually be performed by your plant's technical personnel.

BlockLogix optimization is based on the Windows platform, another industry standard. The streamlined code makes it easy to adjust optimization parameters. And together with new, powerful computer hardware, BlockLogix can process more data faster, allowing an increased number of computations before generating a solution.

No more pac chassis!

Another development with BlockLogix is ethernet-based scan heads. With these sensors, the pac chassis – the computer that was required to collect the scan data and transmit it to the optimizer and PLC controller, is no longer necessary.

The user interface is also designed to align with USNR's standard user interface for optimization in solid wood applications.

This evolving system is one more example of USNR’s continuing development and support for its range of panel products. To learn how BlockLogix can benefit your operation, please contact us at www.usnr.com.