A
Th e
Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$$er
June 2022 #14275 Page #10
Sixty Years of Machines Part XXXI: Icing on the Cake
I
n the year 2000, a transformation, like none other, gripped our industry. Jim Urmson’s TCT started it by breaking our component-saw-centric paradigm. Then in 2002, Dave McAdoo’s ALS quickened its pace by adding the capability to cut every conceivable truss part. But even before his ALS was underway, McAdoo envisioned a much wider range of innovations, provided that he could prove the linear saw’s viability. And he surely did that at Production Truss in 2003, and, in the process, set a high bar for followers. However, the TCT, the ALS, and their several competitors were just the beginning of a wave of innovation, with software being the critical enabler.
Joe Kannapell
To minimize waste, linear saw programs cycle through hundreds of possible arrangements of pieces (see “Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXVII: Optimization Redefined”) using an iterative process much more sophisticated than simply sorting by length or angle. From the launch of the TCT in 1999, until Dave McAdoo’s Optimization patent was granted in 2010, the computer algorithms constantly evolved and so did lumber lengths being selected. Early TCT users hand-fed boards, typically picked from a single bunk of 20’ 2x4s. Early ALS users, such as BFS in Jacksonville, achieved better results by picking from 4 different-length bunks positioned near the saw infeed. Later, when lumber decks were added, optimization programs specified the most advantageous lumber lengths and produced pick lists. Once batches were initiated, the saw ran operator-less, and the sawyer became a catcher/stacker. This labor-saving capability enabled linear saws to produce comparable board-feet-perman-hour to component saws, with much better identification of cut parts. The ink marking of truss members was a crucial element of the linear saw’s success, eliminating manual marking, expediting truss assembly, and precluding errors. Once these markings began appearing, they quickly were deemed essential, by both build crews and framers. Urmson moved his inker to the infeed side of the cutting chamber and reprogrammed his software to apply the markings before boards were cut. This insured that even the smallest pieces were marked. Later, McAdoo added the girder-ply markings shown here, which are of untold benefit in assuring that these critical structural members are properly plied together. Continued next page
PHONE: 800-289-5627
Read/Subscribe online at www.componentadvertiser.com
FAX: 800-524-4982