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Sonoco Products Intelligent Mobile Lumber Tally System
Collaborators: University of Maine, Sonoco Products,
Inc. Contact: Bruce Segee Project Summary The objective of this project was to provide an accurate lumber tally for the North Anson Plant of Sonoco Products Inc. This was achieved by integrating hardware and software to automatically count lumber being stacked on the mobile stacker that follows the bin sorter. This replaces the previous method of taking a "layer average" of the bundle just stacked, which provides an inaccurate count by nature. Inaccurate bundle counts provide false information to both Sonoco and its customers who find themselves shorted or in surplus of lumber. This has the effect of upsetting customers when they receive less then stated and hurts Sonoco financially when they provide more then stated. The solution to this problem eliminates guessing the bundle size with a "layer average". Instead, each piece of wood being stacked will be measured lengthwise using sensors looking down over the path the board will follow. When the board passes underneath the sensors, only those sensors that see the board will trip. In turn, the number of sensors that trips determines the length of the board (i.e. 14 ft.). To ensure every board is measured and recorded, the sensors are connected to a single chip computer (embedded controller) which transfers the board length information to the PC via the serial port. The PC on predefined intervals, processes this board length data on the serial port and provides the information to the stacker operator. Besides board length data, other pertinent information such as board feet and linear feet are also recorded and made available to the operator through the PC interface. All this lumber data on the PC is stored and organized in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and is done so using OLE, a software standard defined by Microsoft for interprocess communication. OLE allows applications to harness the power of other applications such as Excel or Word. This eases software development and makes applications more robust. For more information on OLE in industrial applications, see the paper Industrial Automation using OLE. Upon completion of a bundle, the operator simply presses a pushbutton and continues on to create the next bundle. The pushbutton alerts the computer to archive the bundle information and clear out any lumber tally totals so it can handle the next bundle to be made. Many obstacles complicated this solution. For instance, the stacker was a mobile unit that moved on a track from bin to bin, each bin containing different width boards. The PC system would have to be located on the stacker since running of wires off the stacker was not feasible. The stacker not only provided noisy electrical power, but also jostled and jolted whenever it moved. This would prove a threat to the integrity of the PC and ultimately the life of the system. Another obstacle was the temperature. The stacker is located in a building with a roof but no walls. Thus in the summer time extreme heat poses a problem to the PC and in the winter, the bitter cold. To handle both issues, the PC was placed in a insulated heated/cooled cabinet with an absorption base to handle the thrashing of the stacker. This system is has been in full use since January 1998 at the North Anson Plant and has been successful thus far. It has proven to survive the harsh environment and harsh working conditions imposed by the lumber mill. Further intelligent system projects with Sonoco are in the planning and will be posted here when initiated. Recently Professor Bruce Segee went on the air to discuss the Sonoco
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