Systems and methods for tracking lumber in a sawmill
At least one geometric characteristic for each of a number of pieces of lumber is determined. Each of the pieces of lumber may then be logically associated with at least one of a log or a cant from which the piece of lumber was sawn.
1. A system for tracking lumber in a sawmill comprising:
a first laser scanner positioned to scan sideboards near an infeed of an edger;
a second laser scanner positioned to scan cants near an infeed of a gangsaw;
at least one computing device coupled to the first laser scanner and the second laser scanner, the at least one computing device configured to determine at least one geometric characteristic of a sideboard, determine at least one geometric characteristic of a cant, and logically associate the sideboard with the cant from which the sideboard was sawn based at least in part on the at least one geometric characteristic of the sideboard and the at least one geometric characteristic of the cant;
wherein the at least one computing device includes:
an edger computer optimizer communicatively coupled to the first laser scanner and configured to control the edger during sawing of the sideboard based at least in part on data received from the first laser scanner;
a mill audit computing device communicatively coupled to the edger computer optimizer and configured to receive geometric information indicative of the sideboard from the edger computer optimizer, the mill audit computing device further configured to determine the at least one geometric characteristic of the sideboard based at least in part on the received geometric information;
wherein the mill audit computing devices is further configured to receive image data associated with a current display of the edger computer optimizer and extract the geometric information indicative of the sideboard from the received image data; and
wherein the at least one computing device further includes a gangsaw computer optimizer communicatively coupled to the second laser scanner and configured to control the gangsaw during sawing of the cant based at least in part on data received from the second laser scanner, and wherein the mill audit computing device is further communicatively coupled to the gangsaw computer optimizer and configured to receive geometric information indicative of the cant from the gangsaw computer optimizer, and is further configured to determine the at least one geometric characteristic of the cant based at least in part on the received geometric information.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a third laser scanner positioned to scan logs near an infeed of a primary breakdown machine;
wherein the at least one computing device is coupled to the third laser scanner and is further configured to determine at least one geometric characteristic of a log, to compare the at least one geometric characteristic of the log with the at least one geometric characteristic of the sideboard and the at least one geometric characteristic of the cant, and to logically associate the sideboard and the cant from which the sideboard was sawn with the log based at least in part on the comparison.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one computing device further includes a primary breakdown computer optimizer communicatively coupled to the third laser scanner and configured to control the primary breakdown machine during sawing of the log based at least in part on data received from the third laser scanner, and wherein the mill audit computing device is further communicatively coupled to the primary breakdown computer optimizer and configured to receive geometric information indicative of the log from the primary breakdown computer optimizer, and is further configured to determine the at least one geometric characteristic of the log based at least in part on the received geometric information.