WHAT’S NEW:

GradeScan®:   Lucidyne has completed four GradeScan installations for Weyerhaeuser with systems in British Columbia, Alberta, and North Carolina.   The BC application required GradeScan to integrate information from a Metrigard CLT machine and an NMI moisture sensor to grade MSR and Dimension lumber.  The mill processes SPF species and requires the scanner to process lumber at speeds up to approximately 2250 feet/minute.  This scanner is scheduled to be moved to Princeton, BC later this year due to a mill closure.

The Grande Prarie, Alberta, installation was just completed.  This year it runs at speeds up to 2600 ft/min; next year it will operate at 3600 with bursts to 4000 feet/minute!  This plant processes SPF Dimension lumber and is configured to generate huge volumes of graded lumber and graded trim blocks.  A second scanner is scheduled for installation in Weyerhaeuser's Drayton Valley, Alberta mill this summer.

The Plymouth, NC installation required integration of an existing Newnes XLG and NMI moisture sensor with GradeScan to grade Southern Yellow Pine for Dimension and MSR/MEL.  The Greenville mill uses GradeScan with an NMI moisture sensor for Dimension grading of SYP and the trimming and sorting of the lumber in both mills is controlled by Lucidyne's Trimmer/Sorter Control System.

In each GradeScan installation, the minimum Lucidyne equipment includes the scanner itself, an outfeed roll set, computer system, and Warp Bridge.  Lucidyne utilizes off-the-shelf hardware to keep the use of special components to a minimum wherever possible.  However, the resolution, speed, and integration requirements of a successful automated grading application require that Lucidyne's imaging scientists and engineers design our own sensors.  So far there are 362 Lucidyne-built cameras in production operation in our scanners, and by the end of the year there will be 40 more!  

Our first GradeScan is running at Seneca Sawmill's planer mill in Eugene, Oregon.  It was our primary test site and has seen three different versions of GradeScan installed through the development process.  The final version (shown below) is grading green Dimension Douglas-Fir ranging from 2x4s to 2x14s up to 28 feet long.

A GradeScan was also installed at Sierra Pacific Industries' Burney, California plant.  This system is configured for grading dimension, shop, and common boards at speeds exceeding 1800 feet/minute.  The plant is now in production on Dimension White Fir and is being trained on other grades and species.  Sierra has purchased yet another scanner for its Aberdeen, Washington plant where it will grade Dimension Douglas-Fir and Hemlock.   This will Lucidyne's first application grading 4- and 6-inch thick lumber.

GradeScan represents a quantum leap beyond simple geometric profile scanning.  GradeScan features fully-integrated color, tracheid, geometric, and density sensors and is capable of operating at lineal speeds above 2000 feet/minute.  Each mill has found that the system provides consistent grade optimization and improved trim decisions.  Besides the obvious advantage of adding the biological aspect to lumber grading, GradeScan also deals with eased edges, gang saw mis-match, smooth bark, tear-outs, mechanical gouges, and light planer skip much more accurately than a geometric scanner alone.   A new fifth sensor is now available to add even more defecting capability in stained and distorted grain areas!

The scanner installs directly behind a planer, with a footprint as small as 24 lineal inches!   Warp information is collected downstream from the scanner where boards are relaxed.  GradeScan determines trim and grade according to physical and appearance grade rules (including knot displacement).  Other than a few defects such as Timber Break and some uncommon decays, GradeScan takes over ALL the tasks typically performed by a human grader.  The final production operation leaves one check grader in place to watch for material handling problems and provide limiting grade and/or trim marks for the occasional defects not covered by the scanner.  The Lucidyne Grade Mark Reader provides an opportunity to incorporate a manual input into the optimizing solution as well as capturing special symbols to assist with quality control sampling.   Click here for more information on GradeScan.

RipScan®:   Three more scanners containing the same sensors found in GradeScan were installed during the last few months of 2003 in Sierra Pacific Industries mills in California.  These systems are each configured to process up to 24 inch wide shop lumber and operate at up to 750 feet/minute to feed a movable arbor ripsaw.  These scanners upgraded their three existing Lucidyne systems (installed in 1995) from color defect scanning to today's multiple sensor technology.  Sierra processes multiple species of pine, fir, and cedar through RipScan, requiring very robust defect detection of wane, knots, stains, pitch, cracks, and other defects.  This same defect detection capability is being offered in Lucidyne's other scanning products. Click here for more information on RipScan

ChopScan®:   Bright Wood installed its third scanner in its Madras, Oregon plant in May 2006.   These scanners replace Bright Wood's innovative crayon and voice recognition systems in feeding six automated chopsaws.   They process random-width Ponderosa Pine, Radiata Pine, and Hemlock species for molding, window, and other cutstock products.

Meanwhile, Sierra Pacific's Red Bluff cut-up plants have been fully automated using twelve Lucidyne scanners!   Three RipScans and nine ChopScans have replaced all their manual rip and marking stations to allow Lucidyne's sensors and computers to take over all cutting decisions.  This conversion to fully automated scanning resulted in ChopScan directing a total of 17 automated chopsaws in Sierra's cutup plants!  

The system's high-resolution imaging sensors help it identify fine cracks and stains as well as grain distortions and larger defects.  The scanner's ability to continuously make better decisions than human operators has made it possible for Sierra's automation investment to pay off quickly.  Click here for more information on ChopScan.  

ColorScan®:   Lucidyne has designed a NEW Grade Mark Reader that uses the latest in solid-state lighting and control system design.  This Next Generation unit is called the "M5" and is being offered new or as a special pricing retrofit for existing GMR customers.  The most significant features include lifetime bulbs - no replacement required for at least 20 years; high-speed Internet support; and enhanced color detection--up to ten colors per shift! Click here for more information on the M5.

Our staff is currently working on other projects that have been generating strong interest in planer mills and cut-up plants.  Our Trimmer Solution Override option is now being installed in over 20% of our Grade Mark Reader systems to reduce the need to frequently retrain graders.   Instead of forcing graders to make different products to meet sales demands, the Grade Mark Reader with Trimmer Solution Overide can take the normal trim and grade solution from the grader and automatically execute cut-in-twos or trim and grade changes to output the best mix for the current demand!  Other Grade Mark Reader product changes include: GGD Display, Lumber Tally System, and an opportunity to Upgrade your system!