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December 2023 #15293 Page #50
WTS and HoD Team Up to Bring Innovation to the Industry
W
ood Tech Systems (WTS) has traveled thousands of miles and spent several years researching robotics while trying to find the best fit for the North American wood component industry. There have been many challenges in our industry when it comes to integrating robotics, but the biggest one in my eyes is that robotics tend to be best suited for repeatable tasks. Our industry has processes that might look like they’re being repeated, but these can vary greatly from region to region or even truss plants within the same market. Some of this is driven by the species and grade of lumber being used, other variations are driven by what the component manufacturer’s end-user builds, and even more is driven by local building codes.
By Joe Halteman
In 2020, when we first started researching which robotic solution would be a good fit for our industry (and for us to represent), the first stop for us was to visit House of Design (HoD) in Nampa, Idaho. We were impressed at the time, but we needed to do our due diligence and look at other systems before making a decision on what equipment we wanted to bring to our customers. As we traveled the country over the next two years, we saw various robotic applications from companies that have been serving our industry for years. We consulted with a robotics company that is currently serving the automotive industry but also wanted to try to tackle wood component manufacturing. After discussing the differences between the automotive and wood component industries, it became clear just how challenging our industry is when it comes to new technology. There is no single “right” way to set up a component plant and there isn’t an agreed upon perfect combination of equipment for building roof trusses, floor trusses, or wall panels. On top of that, if you look at trusses on the West Coast and compare them to trusses in Texas, then to Florida, then to Michigan, you will see four incredibly different ways to build trusses, each addressing issues that the other component plants won’t have to consider.
Joe Halteman during WTS training at HoD in Nampa, ID PHONE: 800-289-5627
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