End of board defecting.

The EB3100 is the first system of it’s kind that is specifically designed to detect physical defects on the end of boards after end matching such as splits and checks that can develop into costly claims after installation.

Positioned at each end matcher head, two separate camera systems take images of both the tongue and groove ends. When a defect is identified, a printer head prints directly on the board the type of defect and its location.

Benefits:

• Production

  • Improved productivity at sorting line
  • Improved productivity at finishing line
  • Process validation
  • Scalable alarm management

• Quality control and consistency

  • Quality is now consistent on all shifts, production lines and facilities
  • With better quality control, naturally comes a decrease in claims
  • A great tool to increase customer confidence

• Printing

  • Allows for manual or automatic returns to chopping process
  • Reduces your dependency on skilled labor at sorting stations
  • Facilitates quality control
  • Allows for later automation of sorting and packaging

Options:

• Automatic management of board returns to choppers
• End of board squareness validation
• Exclusion and inclusion rules based on grade from scanning system
• Exclusion of sound end of board from redundant end matching operation
• Customized production reports

• Project evaluation

-What is your need/objective?
-What are the physical constraints?
-What actions, results and/or information are required from the vision system?

• Initial feasibility evaluation
• Budget pricing and project gates(go/no-go)
• Initial validation tests
• Project official proposal

• Controlling processes
• Quality control
• Dimensional validation
• Detecting events
• Organizing information
• Modeling objects or environments (e.g., industrial inspection, image analysis or topographical modeling).
• Interaction

For example one of the most complex applications that we have come across is our EB3000 Optimizing Grader for hardwood flooring.  In this application we analyze entire board lengths of 12-14 feet. We then identify defects that need to be removed, we validate an extensive array of dimensional information and we grade the segments left according to user defined grading rules.  The challenge is tenfold when you factor in that wood is a natural ever changing living material.

One of In-Spector’s key strengths is the diversity of our team members and our team approach to product development.  Our strategy is to combine a variety of experiences and knowledge bases within our workforce to cover every foreseeable situation right at the design stage. By mixing together field technicians that have years of troubleshooting experience with automation specialists, vision specialists and engineers along with an OEM’s market knowledge we can guaranty that our solutions will not only be technically sound but will also be designed for the “Real World”.

As an OEM, this approach allows you to access this important and growing segment of industrial process with your own brand name and product without having to field a whole new department and going through a painful learning curve.

True optimized grading!

Developed over an eight year period by a multidisciplinary team of leading edge engineers, this fourth generation platform has been tested and improved in the field since 2001.

Board characteristics are captured by multiple cameras and lasers.  These characteristics include dimensional validations, overall board coloration, individual characteristic coloration, position and dimensions.  Only after all characteristics have been captured does the optimizer start computing all possible solutions by comparing up to 7 grades simultaneously. Grades can be set to any recognized standard or easily customized to your in-house grading rules or even specific customer requirements.  Grades and trim lines can then be printed directly on each segment.

What the system sees, you manage.

What does the system see?

At 500’/minute

• This system is designed to identify physical structures as small as .078” X .008” at rated acquisition speed 100% of the time.
• The EB3000 accurately detects
  • Splits, checks
  • Shake
  • Wane
  • Hit & miss
  • Knots(Sound, open, through & through, encased and black)
  • Pin Knots
  • Stains(Blue, grey, sap, stick, heart, log), mineral streaks and mechanical burns
  • Bark streaks, inclusions and pockets.
  • Pith and tear
  • Fleck and burl
  • White speck and decay
  • Worm and pipe holes
  • It also accurately measures
    • Width, thickness and length
    • End of board squareness
    • Presence, position, angle  and dimensions of Micro V joint
    • Presence, position and dimensions of tongue

What do you manage?

Once all characteristics have accurately been identified, the next step is a matter of you telling us what you want and what you don’t want per grade.

You control:

• Exclusion/inclusions rules of all detected characteristics per grade
  • Including proportion, position, density and frequency of occurrence per board segment.
  • Segment lengths per grade.
  • Grade preference according to orders to be filled and/or desired inventory.
  • Proportional management of individual board lengths to facilitate nesting and eventually complete automation of packaging.

Other benefits:

• Printing
  • Allows for manual or automatic chopping process.
  • Reduces your dependency on skilled labor at chopping and sorting stations.
  • Facilitates quality control and process validation.
  • Allows for later automation of sorting and packaging
  • Production
    • An Increase in production value and yield (3% to 10%).
    • Average board length increase of 3 to 8 inches
    • Increase in productivity
    • An unequaled process diagnostic tool
    • Precise production data available

Simulation package

Every EB3000 comes with a simulation package, by using saved production images, you can:

• Test and make changes to grading rules without affecting production
• See the monetary and yield effects of a change on a sampling of your production images for whatever time frame you judge to be sufficient.
• Price a customer requirement appropriately.
• Initiating a change is as simple and expedient as loading the new rule and pressing enter.  No personnel training required.
• Quality control and consistency
• Quality is now consistent on all shifts, production lines and facilities
• With better quality control, naturally  comes a decrease in claims
• A great tool to increase customer confidence.
• A great tool to qualify yield and quality from various wood suppliers