Method for measuring width and edge profile of a single board in a stack of multiple boards
This disclosure provides systems and methods for continuous wallboard manufacturing, and in particular methods that include measuring a wallboard width and edge profiles in a post-kiln stack of at least two wallboards or more with a laser scanner, preferably a two-dimensional (2D) laser scanner positioned at a distance from a post-kiln conveyor and performing a laser scan of the stack passing by on the post-kiln conveyor.
1 . A system for manufacturing a wallboard, the system comprising:
a wallboard manufacturing line,
one or more kilns configured for receiving wallboards from the wallboard manufacturing line,
a post-kiln conveyor configured for receiving from the one or more kilns a stack of two or more wallboards, wherein a first wallboard and a second wallboard are aligned in the stack with a front long surface of the second wallboard covering a front long surface of the first wallboard, and wherein the second wallboard in the stack is a target wallboard, and wherein the post-kiln conveyor being configured for moving the stack with a cross-machine surface of the stack moving along the length of the post-kiln conveyor, and
one or more 2D laser scanners configured to detect a gap between the first wallboard and the second wallboard positioned at a location which is at a distance from the post-kiln conveyor, the one or more 2D laser scanners having a view from the location of a cross-machine surface of the stack situated at a place along the length of the post-kiln conveyor; and
wherein the one or more 2D laser scanners are in operable arrangement with a processor in operable arrangement with a non-transitory, computer-readable medium that stores a computer program which when executed by the processor, selects the target wallboard from the stack for calculations and computes a width and edge profile of the target wallboard in the stack.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a taping station configured for receiving the stack from the post-kiln conveyor.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further includes a controller in operable arrangement with the one or more 2D laser scanners.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more kilns, each has several shelves, each shelf configured for housing one or more wallboards.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer program locates the target wallboard in the stack by detecting a gap between tapered edge portions of the first wallboard and the second wallboard.
6 . A method for manufacturing a wallboard with the system of claim 1 , the method comprising:
mixing a gypsum slurry from calcined gypsum, water and one or more additives;
depositing the gypsum slurry on a facer paper cover sheet continuously moving on the wallboard manufacturing line;
covering the gypsum slurry with a backer paper cover sheet;
forming a ribbon precursor of wallboard;
cutting the ribbon into wallboards;
transferring the wallboards to the one or more kilns;
drying the wallboards in the one or more kilns;
while removing the wallboards from the one or more kilns, arranging the wallboards into a stack of two wallboards or more on the post-kiln conveyor; and moving the stack on the post-kiln conveyor pass a location wherein the one or more 2D laser scanners are located; scanning the stack with the one or more 2D laser scanners on its cross-machine surface; and selecting the target wallboard from the stack by executing the computer program which locates the target wallboard in the stack by detecting the gap and computes the width and edge profile of the target wallboard in the stack.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the stack contains 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 wallboards.