CLASS-A FIRE-PROTECTED CROSS-LAMINATED TIMER (CLT) PRODUCTS, AND METHOD OF AND FACTORY FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

1 . An automated factory system for producing Class-A fire-protected cross-laminated timber (CLT) products, comprises:

a controlled-drying stage receiving short pieces of lumber from a supply and drying said short pieces of lumber in a controlled manner;

a finger-jointing stage for processing short-length pieces of dried timber and automatically fabricating finger-jointed pieces of timber, as output from said finger-jointing stage;

a lamination planing stage for planing said finger-jointed pieces of timber to produce finger-jointed timber laminations;

an adhesive stage for applying adhesive to said finger-jointed timer laminations;

a pressing and curing stage where the finger-jointed timber laminations with adhesive are stacked in a cross-directional manner and then placed in a pressing machine where said adhesive is cured under pressure to produce a cross-laminated timber (CLT) product;

a conveyor for conveying said CLT product along a production line; and

a CFIC liquid dip-coating stage, with a dipping tank through which said conveyor transports CLT product into said dipping tank and along its length while submerged under CFIC liquid during dip-coating operations, to form a CFIC coating on the surfaces of said CLT product, and removing the CFIC-coated CLT product from the dipping tank; and

a stacking and packaging stage for wet-stacking said dip-coated CLT product to produce a package of Class-A fire-protected CLT product.

2 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said packaging and packaging stage further comprises wrapping said dip-coated CLT product while wet for drying in a wrapped packaged.

3 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said finger-jointing stage comprises wood-working machinery, automation and programmable controls, for transforming multiple smaller-pieces of dried lumber into an extended-length piece of finger-jointed lumber.

4 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said laminating planing stage comprises wood planing equipment to cut and dimension finger-jointed lumber pieces produced from said finger-jointing stage, into finger-jointed timber laminations of a specified dimension and thickness.

5 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive stage comprises automated adhesive applicators for applying a predetermined amount of adhesive to each finger-jointed timer lamination.

6 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said pressing and curing stage comprises an automated pressing and curing machine for applying a predetermined amount of pressure to the timber laminations after the timber laminations have been cross-configured, and placed into said machine for pressing and subsequent curing operations.

7 . The automated factory system of claim 1 , wherein said conveyor comprises a plurality of chain-driven transport rails extending from said pressing and curing stage towards said dipping tank, and then running inside and along said dipping tank, and then running out of said dipping tank towards said packing and wrapping stage.

8 . An automated factory system for producing Class-A fire-protected laminated veneer lumber (LVL) products, comprising:

a stage for continuously delivering clipped veneer to the front of a production line;

a veneer drying stage for receiving veneers from the supply and drying to reach a target moisture content;

a conveyor for conveying components and LVL products along subsequent stages of said production line;

an automated veneer grading stage for automatically structurally and visually grading veneers;

a veneer scarfing stage for scarfing veneer edges to a uniform thickness at the joints between veneers, during the subsequent laying-up stage and process;

an adhesive application stage for applying adhesive to the veneers;

a lay-up stage for lifting veneers onto the processing line, and stacking and skew aligning the veneers with adhesive coating until the veneers are laid up into a veneer mat;

a pre-pressing stage for pressing together said veneer mat;

a hot-pressing and curing stage for hot pressing said veneer mat;

a cross-cutting and rip sawing stage for cross-cutting and rip-sawing said veneer mat into LVL products selected from the group consisting of studs, beams, rim boards and other dimensioned LVL products;

a print-marking system for marking each piece of LVL product with a trademark for clear visual identification;

a CFIC liquid dip-coating stage having a dipping reservoir through which said conveyor transports LVL product into said dipping reservoir and along its length while submerged under CFIC liquid during dip-coating operations, to form a CFIC coating on the surfaces of said LVL product, and removing the CFIC-coated LVL product from the dipping reservoir and wet stacking and setting aside for drying;

a spray-coating stage for spray-coating a moisture, fire and UV protection coating over the surface of said dip-coated LVL product;

a drying tunnel for quick drying said spray-coated/dip-coated LVL product, to product a Class-A fire-protected LVL product; and

and

a packaging and wrapping stage for packaging and wrapping said Class-A fire-protected LVL product, for shipping.

9 . In a lumber factory, an automated laminated veneer lumber (LVL) process comprising the steps of:

(a) installing and operating a lumber production line employing a controlled drying stage, a veneer laying-up stage, a veneer laying-up stage, a pressing and curing stage, a cross-cutting and rip-sawing stage, a dip-coating stage, a spray-coating stage, a print-marking stage, and a packaging and wrapping stage, installed along said lumber production line in the named order;

(b) providing a supply clipped veneers onto a conveyor installed along the lumber production line.

(c) providing the veneers to said controlled drying stage so to produce suitably dried veneers;

(d) applying adhesive material to dried veneers;

(e) vacuum lifting veneers onto the processing line and stacked and skew aligned with adhesive coating until the veneers are laid up into a veneer mat of a predetermined number of veneer layers;

(f) pressing together and curing said veneer mat at said pressing and curing stage;

(g) cross-cutting and rip-sawing said produced LVL mat at said cross-cutting and rip sawing stage, into LVL products selected from the group consisting of studs, beams, rim boards and other dimensioned LVL products;

(h) marking each piece of LVL product with a trademark for clear visual identification;

(i) transporting and submerging the cross-cut/rip-sawed LVL product through a dipping reservoir containing clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) liquid, at said dip-coating stage;

(j) spray-coating said dip-coated LVL products with a moisture, fire and UV protective coating at said spray-coating stage, and then passing through a drying tunnel for quick drying of said spray-coated and dip-coated LVL products, so as to produce Class-A fire-protected LVL products; and

(k) packaging and wrapping said Class-A fire-protected LVL product at said packaging and wrapping stage, into a package of Class-A fire-protected LVL products ready for shipping.

10 . The automated LVL process of claim 9 , wherein flame spread and smoke development indices of said Class-A fire-protected LVL product satisfy the test criteria for Class-A fire-protection rating.

11 . An automated factory system for producing Class-A fire-protected laminated veneer lumber (LVL) products, comprising:

a stage for delivering clipped veneer to a production line;

a veneer drying stage for receiving and drying clipped veneers to a target moisture content;

a conveyor mechanism for conveying components and products along the production line, including veneers that have been structurally and visually graded;

an adhesive application stage for applying adhesive to the veneers moving along said conveyor mechanism;

a lay-up stage for lifting veneers onto the processing line, and stacking and skew aligning the veneers with adhesive coating until the veneers are laid up into a veneer mat;

a pressing and curing stage for pressing said veneer mat;

a cross-cutting and rip-sawing stage for cross-cutting and rip-sawing said veneer mat into LVL products selected from the group consisting of studs, beams, rim boards and other dimensioned LVL products;

a print-marking system for marking each piece of LVL product with a trademark for clear visual identification;

a dip-coating stage having a dipping reservoir through which the conveyor mechanism transports LVL product into said dipping reservoir and along its length while submerged under CFIC liquid during dip-coating operations, to form a CFIC coating on the surfaces of the LVL product, and removing the CFIC-coated LVL product from the dipping reservoir for wet-stacking and setting aside to dry for suitable time period before being returned to the production line for further processing;

a spray-coating stage for spray-coating a moisture, fire and UV protection coating over the surface of said dip-coated LVL product, and then passing said spray-coated/dip-coated LVL product through a drying tunnel so as to form Class-A fire-protective LCL product; and

a packaging and wrapping stage for packaging and wrapping said Class-A fire-protected products, ready for shipping.

12 . A lumber factory supporting an automated laminated veneer lumber (LVL) process comprising the steps of:

(a) installing and operating a lumber production line employing a controlled drying stage, a veneer laying-up stage, a pressing and curing stage, a cross-cutting and rip-sawing stage, a dip-coating stage, a spray-coating stage, a print-marking stage, and a packaging and wrapping stage, installed along said lumber production line in the named order;

(b) providing a supply clipped veneers onto a conveyor installed along the lumber production line;

(c) providing the veneers to said controlled drying stage so to produce suitably dried veneers;

(d) applying adhesive material to the veneers;

(e) lifting, stacking and aligning the veneers with adhesive coating, at said laying-up stage, until the veneers are laid up into a veneer mat of a predetermined number of veneer layers;

(g) pressing together and curing said veneer mat at said pressing and curing stage, so as to produce an LVL mat;

(i) cross-cutting and rip-sawing said produced LVL mat into LVL products at said cross-cutting and rip-sawing stage;

(j) marking each piece of LVL product with a trademark for clear visual identification at said print-marking stage;

(k) transporting and submerging the cross-cut/rip-sawed LVL product through a dipping tank containing clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) liquid, at said dip-coating stage, and wet-stacking the dip-coated LVL product and setting aside to dry before returning to said lumber production line;

(l) spray-coating said dip-coated LVL products with a moisture, fire and UV protection coating at said spray-coating stage, and then passing through said drying tunnel stage for quick drying so as to produce Class-A fire-protected LVL products on said lumber production line; and

(m) packaging and wrapping said Class-A fire-protected LVL products into a package of Class-A fire-protected LVL products, ready for shipping.

13 . The automated factory system of claim 12 , wherein at said dip-coating stage, said LVL products are supported upon the chain-driven rails while said LVL products are transported through said dipping tank while fully immersed and submerged in CFIC liquid contained in said dipping tank, moving through said dipping tank and a liquid level sensor senses the level of CFIC liquid in said dipping tank, and a controller controls a pump for pumping CFIC liquid into said dipping tank to maintain a constant supply level during system operation in response to the liquid level measured by said liquid level sensor.

14 . The automated factory system of claim 12 , wherein the flame spread and smoke development indices of said Class-A fire-protected lumber satisfy the test criteria for Class-A fire-protection rating.

15 . The automated factory system of claim 12 , wherein said Class-A fire-protected LVL products are selected from the group consisting of Class-A fire-protected LVVL studs, beams, rim boards and other dimensioned LVL products.

16 . An automated lumber fabrication factory supporting an automated process for continuously fabricating cross-laminated timber (CLT) products which, after the planning stage, are automatically dip-coated in a reservoir of clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) liquid, and then packaged and wrapped.