PC Mediciones de Troncos

Case Study Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung noax industrial PCs support measurement and transport logistics of tree trunks in all types of harsh conditions

noax industrial PCs measure and document the tree trunks for Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung

Reliability that counts Björn Weiss and two of his colleagues stand in a clearing located in the northern Black Forest, discussing the course of their day. The air is clear, and has a heavy odor of sap and freshly cut wood. The men climb aboard two vehicles, which are about 33 feet long, and loud machine noise shatters the morning stillness.

“We have been looking for One of the vehicles is a industrial PC‘s that fulfills next to several freshly all of our requirements for cut spruce trunks. The a long time now.” driver of this vehicle lifts a 65 foot tree trunk with a gripper arm mounted on the machine, and positions it adeptly on the edge of the second vehicle, a bark removal machine.

It has a platform onto, where the trunk is placed. Rollers, outfitted with small spikes, insert the tree exactly into the center of the machine. In roughly ten seconds, a 69 foot peeled log emerges from the other side.

The entire vehicle vibrates so much that the jarring can be felt even at a distance of 13 feet. As soon as the bark is removed from the tree trunk, the operator of the second vehicle takes hold of it with a gripper arm, and places it on the ground next to his vehicle. Sometimes it can hit the cabin with such a jolt, that it makes the driver jump.

IPC and other key figures. The acquired measurements are helpful in determining how Weiss will bill its customers, but also for determining future processing steps of raw wood. Data entry is done via a keyboard which is connected to the panel industrial PC‘s. The noax touch panel PC stores the data, and evaluates it. The software named Lignolog was developed specifically for the wood and forestry industry by Weiss himself.

The program is based on Windows XP and is compatible to the ELDAT standard. With ELDAT the Trustees Waldarbeit und Forstwirtschaft e.V. created a standardized solution, so that data exchange can take place effortlessly between all market partners. Björn Weiss puts great emphasis on the system being designed in such a way that it will also correspond to future standards. Currently, most forestry information still consists of an asembly of paper lists and local individual

solutions. The Weiss bark removal company has established itself firmly as a leader in the wood and forestry industry. The scope of its customers not only includes the northern Black Forest area, but all of the state of Baden-Württemberg and its bordering countries. Weiss serves primarily small and medium lumber mills which neither measure the lumber nor remove the bark. Together with its nine employees, Weiss has held this rank since 1978, and has not only carried out repairs on the bark removal machines, but also made technical improvements and developments since the mid-nineties.

Service - a reason to purchase Weiss knew from the beginning where data logistics would lead, and worked toward an IT-supported data acquisition of logs. This means that next to the levers and machine

Service leader of the timber industry

While the machine removes the bark, sensors determine its size. A programmable logic control transmits data to a noax industrial PC which is mounted on the ceiling of the cab. This allows the driver to see through all of the windows, operate all of the buttons and levers, observe the gripping arm, and easily recognize information on the vehicle The noax industrial PC is easy to operate in the narrow cabin

When it is about bark-removing and exact measurements of logs, a lot of mills depend on service providers like the Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung. The Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung delivers reliable data for every part of processing including: harvesters, transporters and mills. For data recording in the woods, Weiss relies on the strength of noax industrial PCs. The terminals from Ebersberg, Bavaria, perform under the hardest circumstances power and reliability.

During the wood processing, the noax IPCs face heavy shocks and a wide temperature range

control indicators, a industrial PC‘s also had to fit into the cabin. From the start, Weiss had imagined a industrial PC‘s which could be securely mounted in the vehicle cab. Since space is limited, Weiss required a compact unit which would not interfere with the work of the operator. In addition, it had to be able to withstand the rugged conditions of the forest. A serious concern was the extreme temperature variations throughout the year.

In July, temperatures in the vehicle cabin can reach 50° C, and on January mornings Weiss and his colleagues often begin work at – 25° C. The industrial PC‘s has to be able to deal with both extremes. In addition, the forestry products manager wanted a unit that is easy to operate, but is also resistant to vibration and shock. It had to be entirely sealed so that humidity, dust or dirt could not get inside the industrial PC‘s. A laptop was out of the question because he wanted the industrial PC‘s to be rigidly mounted in the cabin. At first, he experimented with a vehicle industrial PC‘s from another country, but he was very disappointed with the machine. Due to its size, it did not fit into the cabin, and broke down every six months. There were no USB connections, and the hard drive failed regularly. In addition service left a lot to be desired, since the company had no service outlet in Germany.

Reliable, rugged and dependable Weiss looked around and, during a presentation at his company, became acquainted with all the aspects of the noax industrial PC‘s.

That was the decisive moment, “We have been looking for a industrial PC‘s that fulfills all of our requirements for a long time now,”

stated Weiss. “I liked the compact size of the noax IPC from the beginning, but other details also convinced me. After my experiences with other industrial PC‘s, service be-

and damaging the components. Since it has a entirely sealed enclosure, noax industrial PCs have neither ventilation slots nor sensitive, external fans, which often fail.

Looking toward the future

During bark-removing, the trunk is measured – and the data is captured by a noax C12 IPC

came the deciding factor.” Weiss continued, “But, I haven’t had the occasion to use it yet.

The noax vehicle industrial PC‘s has always operated without any issues.” In 2005, he decided to install a noax Compact PC C12 in his mobile, bark removal vehicle. With a 12” touchscreen, it visibly displays all data and is easy to read. Due to its compact size, it fits easily into the narrow cabin of the vehicle. Each noax rugged vehicle industrial PC’s is entirely sealed according to protection class IP65, preventing dust and humidity from entering the industrial PC‘s

However, inside the noax industrial touch panel PC a micro controller takes over the task of regulating temperature. It insures that heat is only turned on when it is required, and that the internal ventilators by ebm Pabst distribute the heat in such a manner that it can be optimally routed out via the cooling fins inside the enclosure. All essential components were developed by noax engineers and are matched to work optimally together. In order to meet the requirements of extreme environments, noax does not use sensitive cable connectors. The connctors of traditional industrial PC‘s can become loose, even under minor vibrations. In contrast, all industrial grade components in a noax “After my experiences industrial PC‘s including with other industrial PC‘s, the hard drive and the CPU service became the are rigidly mounted; even deciding factor.” large shocks cannot loosen them and cause downtimes. industrial PC‘s, as well as the machines used by Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung in the forestry industry, have to be able to withstand the continuous vibration and shock, making this a particularly important requirement.

The touchscreen can be operated easily, and withstands the rough treatment it receives in the forest. All these points are decisive, and clearly support the noax industrial PCs. After several years of experience with the noax industrial PCs, Weiss fully supports noax, “With the noax industrial PCs one plays a safe hand!”

Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung

Specifications and Application

Overview of Components

Company Profile:

Objectives:

Hardware:

The Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung is an established service provider in forest economy.

The area they work in is not only in the Black Forest, but whole Baden-Württemberg and bordering countries. With its mobile bark removal machinery Weiss serves mostly the small and middle mills, which are not equipped to take the measurements and bark themselves. The company has been in existence since 1978 and employs nine employees. Since the mid-nineties the company does not only repair, but further develop and improve those bark machines.

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Measuring and documentation of tree trunks in the forest

-- Industrial PC Compact C12

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Exact depiction of data on- site

-- In-house developed noax All-in-one motherboard

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Tracking of used paths in forests

-- Input: particularly robust touch panels

Efficient data exchange with ELDAT

-- Bright, high-contrast TFT display

For more information, please visit: www.weissholzentrindung.de

-- Protection class IP65

IPC Requirements: ··

IPC operation in a large bark removal machine

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Completely sealed according to protection class IP65

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Protection against shock and vibrations

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Protection against dust, dirt and humidity

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Resistant to wide temperature ranges

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Narrow installment

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Easy connection over USB and serial ports

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Easy operation via touchscreen

-- Completely sealed, without external fan

Software: -- Operating system: Windows XP -- Application programs: Lignolog (ELDAT compatible) developed by Weiss GmbH Holzentrindung

© noax Technologies Case Study arranged 2007

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