A new high-resolution grading system will soon provide stability and increased profitability to Anthony Timberlands, Inc.’s Bearden, Arkansas, mill. The purchase is consistent with the company’s strategy to improve its grade yield and respond to increased production demands. Anthony’s latest investment in technology was to purchase a GradeScan^® system from Lucidyne Technologies to complete the move to full automation of their grading process. A January 2013 start-up will position the company for the spring building cycle. In addition to some rough surfaced and other special products, the new lineal scanner will grade Anthony’s Dimension, Boards, Decking, and Timbers. Board tracking from the planer to the lug chain will be managed by Lucidyne’s patented True-Q^® lumber queuing system using no inks, sprays, or other marking equipment. Anthony’s QC capabilities will also benefit with their ability to access all scan data and solution information for any or all of the last 50,000 boards produced.

Ingram Lumber Company Purchases GradeScan^®

Effingham, SC: Ingram Lumber Company selected Lucidyne's GradeScan^® automated lumber grader for their planer mill grading, trimming, and sorting operation. The system started up in early March 2012 and is grading all of Ingram's planed products. Ingram spent the last few years closely monitoring the progress of automated grading and subsequently testing scanners of various vendors before they made their choice. Their purchase also includes new Lucidyne Trimmer/Sorter Controls and a new M5 Grade Mark Reader. They expect to see a positive improvement in the value recovery of their dimension grades, but look forward to the biggest uptick to happen in their appearance products. GradeScan^® will integrate with Ingram's existing lineal moisture sensor and strength grading system to grade MSR lumber and improve yields through e-trimming when additional value is available in the fiber. Other pluses of the new scanner include its True-Q^™ lumber tracking system and its Warp Tunnel method of measuring bow, crook, and twist.

Strength Grading News

The American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) has certified a new technology platform for strength grading. The method utilizes a “Strength Grading Module” developed by Lucidyne and installed in a GradeScan^® automated lumber grading system. The system is certified to grade MSR and MEL grades using only the scanner itself, or in combination with other external equipment. This non-contact technique takes advantage of GradeScan^®’s unique sensor configuration and resolution to identify high-strength candidates. The same technologies consider defect and other fiber characteristics to generate accurate visual grading solutions. A recent doubling of the scanner’s resolution now makes it possible to find timber break and other tiny defects. The first application of this technology will be in Weyerhaeuser’s Plymouth, NC, mill. The second will be at Westervelt Company’s Moundville, AL site. The technology will soon be tested at a Weyerhaeuser mill in Alberta, Canada. Successful testing will be followed by application for certification in Canada. GradeScan^®can also be used with existing strength grading systems to provide significant value uplift through an integration of visual and strength grading technologies.

Tolko Scans Beetle-Killed Lumber

A new high-resolution scanning system is helping Tolko’s Lakeview plant in Williams Lake, BC process damaged timber. Specifically configured to target the extensive shake and decay issues caused by the Pine Beetle, Lucidyne’s automated grading system GradeScan^® took over the planer grading process. The new system grades for Dimension SPF products, separates species and interfaces to an existing Metriguard HCLT for e-trimming MSR lumber. GradeScan^® was installed in line with Tolko’s planer outfeed and cost the mill one day of downtime before they were in full production mode. Boards are tracked from the planer to the lug chain by Lucidyne’s patented True-Q^® lumber queuing system using no inks, sprays, or other marking equipment. Tolko’s QC capabilities will be enhanced with its ability to access all scan and solution information for any or all of the last 50,000 boards produced.

Sierra Pacific Buys GradeScan^® for Sonora and Quincy

Sierra Pacific Industries purchases two more Lucidyne GradeScan^® systems; one to retrofit into its Quincy, California mill and one wide 24" scanner for its new mill at Sonora, California. Sierra processes several species and grades, including Dimension, Common, and Decking, with sizes ranging from 1x4 to 4x12 and 6x6 timbers. The Sonora scanner will spend much of its time grading Shop Lumber. The purchase also includes two new RipScans^® for Sierra Pacific mills at Richfield and Red Bluff.

Westervelt Opts For GradeScan^®

The Westervelt Company purchased its first planer mill automated grading system from Lucidyne Technologies. Their lumber division (Moundville, AL) is the largest Southern Yellow Pine production facility in North America. Westervelt made this purchasing decision despite a poor economy and weak lumber industry projections because extensive testing of their lumber with leading suppliers of linear and transverse systems indicated that Lucidyne's GradeScan^® would provide a significantly higher rate of return on investment. The purchase includes new Lucidyne Trimmer/Sorter Controls and a new M5 Grade Mark Reader. Read Timber Processing article about this installation. Update: Westervelt purchased a second GradeScan^® system after evaluating their first system for one year.

Sawmill Shares GradeScan^® Board Data with Customer

Weyerhaeuser at Princeton BC used GradeScan's RuleScribe to develop a new product for an I-Joist manufacturer. Normally, a lumber vendor would have to ship a car load of the new product to the client for suitability testing before acceptance. In this case their client, Louisiana Pacific at Red Bluff, California is also a GradeScan customer. Instead of shipping lumber, the Princeton mill sent scanned lumber computer files via the Internet. The files were optimized off-line in Red Bluff on their GradeScan^® system using LP proprietary grade rules. Both parties saved thousands of dollars in lumber and shipping costs!

Australian Mill trims for Moisture and Low MOE

Our first Australian GradeScan^® installation is the Hyne & Son Tuan planar mill in Tuan, Queensland. Once Lucidyne's engineers placed the system in automatic it stayed there and has not been switched out since! Hyne's GradeScan system can trim based on moisture pockets and regions of low MOE. Their output of stress graded lumber has increased dramatically. "Our product has never been straighter"...They hadn't realized that their graders just were not able to effectively grade for warp because now the warp system is working so well that all their packages look beautiful.

LP Reduces Material Costs

Louisiana Pacific at Red Bluff, California received a new software module that allows them to scan two new species, Hem-Fir and Larch DF. Now they can take advantage of reduced material costs for the new species.

GMR Uses Solid-state Lighting System