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Capio Lumber is a successful sawmill in South Africa that produces structural timber for the construction industry in the region.
A complete Wood-Mizer sawmill line, that has undergone several upgrades over the past six years, has allowed Capio Lumber to meet its output targets that have risen consistently since the mill’s start in 2012.
Capio Lumber’s current breakdown capacity consists of three Wood-Mizer units, an LT20B Electric and two LT70’s.
The second LT70 Remote that went into service in 2016, assisted to kick the mill’s output capacity up a further notch with an additional LT40 Diesel now also assisting with log breakdown duties in the mill’s industrial timber section.
Three Wood-Mizer primary breakdown units in the background feeding into the EG800.
The mill’s secondary processing side consists of three Wood-Mizer HR200 single head resaws with a Wood-Mizer HR500 double-head resaw and Wood-Mizer EG300 that followed later adding to the mills secondary processing and recovery side.
Improved productivity came under the spotlight again in the third quarter of 2017 when a further mill refurbishment saw the addition of a Wood-Mizer TITAN EG800 to Capio Lumber’s equipment line-up.
Management is confident that the efficiencies from the entire line and specifically the EG800, will position the mill for constant growth into 2018 and beyond.
Improved efficiencies from Wood-Mizer TITAN EG800
Before the Wood-Mizer TITAN EG800 was installed, the two LT70’s and LT20 broke the logs down into blocks and sideboards.
Saleable timber from the sideboards was recovered on the HR200’s and EG300 edger.
The blocks passed through the doubled head HR500 resaw with two or three end-spec boards exiting.
According to Bruce Moxham, who manages Capio Lumber with Ross Scorgie, output at the time stood at +-60 m³ depending on log size. Recovery averaged 60%.
“Despite the numbers, we knew that we could streamline the process better and improve overall productivity,” Bruce commented.
“To produce the block sizes for the resaw required turning the log through four sides. The sideboards that resulted from this took time, labour and handling systems to reroute to a busy recovery section and we tended to only recover low value shorts. To produce the blocks also ate into machine time.
“Efficiency improvements included a more streamlined material flow that required less labour, less machine time, gave more flexibility to change board sizes quickly and that fetched better prices and that allowed us to recover higher value product.
“The introduction of the EG800 has alleviated most of these inefficiencies,” Bruce said.
Simplified primary breakdown
Because the EG800 can rip material up to 110 mm thick with a multi-blade arbour, the cutting patterns for the breakdown units are now very simple.
Either cut a two-sided cant that can go straight to the EG800 or cut the two-sided cant into through-and-through boards before it goes to the EG800.
The Wood-Mizer TITAN EG800 working at Capio Lumber
At the EG800, the two-sided cants can then be cut into blocks for further processing on the HR500 double-head resaw, while the through-and-through boards can be cut directly into end-spec material.
Sizing flexibility
The ripping capacity of the EG800 and the fact that the arbour can be packed with multiple blades allows for a multitude of product sizes.
Less machine movements and sideboards
The initial top-bottom log squaring process is fast (less machine movements), puts less strain on the breakdown unit, produces only two sideboards and the operator is less likely to make a mistake. Less mistakes also means higher saleable volumes and better-quality end product.
Less sideboards also alleviates the pressure on recovery and requires less labour and material handling systems to move from breakdown to recovery.
Streamlined material flow
“One of the most important benefits of the EG800 has been a more streamlined material flow,” Bruce Moxham says.
“Previously, material and material handling systems, which also required a lot of labour, criss-crossed at various places, which made the mill very busy. The stop-start process and our inability to find clear channels that could make the mill more productive, placed a ceiling on further expansion.
“Looking at the final numbers, recovery and output has stayed pretty much the same, but we’ve managed to recover more brandering ( 38 x 38 mm), which is a good seller.
In total however, the EG800 has unlocked a more streamlined material flow that has given us the clear channels we need to now take production to the next level,” Bruce said.
Unpacking the machine
The Wood-Mizer TITAN EG800 Manual Board Edger is designed to offer a twofold solution to small and medium-sized sawmills.
This robust machine can edge material up to 40mm thick at high speeds (130 m/min) but it can also run at slower feed speeds to rip material up to 110mm thick.
The wide arbour can be packed with multiple blades. By aligning the incoming board accordingly, it is possible to achieve a multitude of product sizes, simply and affordably.
Further benefits delivered by the unit include:
Powerful, 30 kW main saw motor (Optional 37, 45 or 55 kW)
Easy to maintain due to bolt-on subassemblies
Variable feed speed capacity of up to 130 m/min
Heavy duty, large diameter, high traction and driven hold-down rollers
Laser lines for board alignment
In and outfeed roller tables
Optional extras:
37, 45 or 55 kW main saw motor
Sawbust belt conveyor
Extra infeed and outfeed manual roller tables - 1.6 m each
