SCANNING & OPTIMISATION
Comact is increasing its presence in hardwood mills with an increasing technology range
allows us to provide continual support and service on all system hardware including PLC systems and sorter controls”. “We see the future need of both sawmills and planer mills for customised systems to meet global demands for specific products and real-time inventory control. We also see a need for mills to replace expensive manual handling tasks with more efficient automated grading and sorting systems. The ability to provide complete optimisation, PLC control and lumber handling control systems from one source makes it much easier for mill owners to plan new projects and retrofits.” SOFTAC’s approach to market changes and tight capital project budgets is to provide a “custom” system, tailored to meet the customers’ requirements at the most competitive price. SOFTAC has gained the reputation of being the “easy-to-do-business- with company”, according to Bowman, as a result of this marketing approach and the company’s flexibility in control options. “It is our feeling that today’s technology is
more than adequate to provide sawmills with the uplift in recovery required to be profitable. We simply need a return to ‘normal levels of demand for the product in order to fulfil these ambitions and to demonstrate the benefits of the technology,” Bowman continued. “Our success in utilising this approach has seen sales in Chile, Japan, New Zealand and Australia as well as our domestic North American market. As the lumber Industry pulls out of this global slump, SOFTAC will be ready with its experienced staff and quality products
to meet the needs of our valued customers and to expand into new fields of optimisation and controls.”
Canadian group, Comact, is primarily known for its softwood sawmill solutions but because of new ‘Vision’ technologies marketed in recent years, this scope is expanding with Comact increasing its presence in the hardwood sector. The Vision system is a transverse scanner which optimises cuttings by combining the geometrical and vision readings. It can grade according to NLGA standards, in softwood, or NHLA, which is generally used in hardwood. It is also possible to optimise several products at the same time (lumber, square, pallet, NHLA). Currently, the species processed in softwood are spruce, pine, fir, southern yellow pine, douglas fir, hemlock, and species in hardwood are sugar maple, yellow birch and oak. Walnut, ash and cherry are under development and will be available soon.
Dual camera In troubled, dry or dead wood, cracks are a defect which multiplies and represents a very big challenge. To move up from single to double
The Vision system is a transverse scanner which optimises cuttings by
combining the geometrical and vision readings – Comact
cameras makes it possible to increase detection of these same cracks by more than 50%. The performances reached by the Vision system exceed 98% – at 220 boards/minute and more – of the optimal value determined by a team of graders.
The following Comact systems are completely graderless: GradExpert for planermill; EdgExpert for sawmill edger; and TrimExpert for sawmill trimmer. Comact has more than 50 systems in operation around the world right now.
22 International Forest Industries | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011
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