It’s time for a lesson in lumber. Yes, it comes from trees and you buy it at the building supply store. But the intellectually curious among you might like to know what happens in between—it’s more high tech than you might guess.
Grenzebach Machines and WEINIG Machines make industrial equipment that processes and sorts lumber so that wood is consistent and predictable in quality before it ever gets stacked on the truck, train, or lumberyard shelf.
Grenzebach’s Whirlwind Mills pulverize wood into uniform particles that are then compressed into home insulation. Would you be surprised if I told you those powerful beaters are designed with Creo?
WEINIG, on the other hand, uses robots and x-ray technology to inspect and sort lumber on the production line with a machine the company calls a CombiScan. And, yeah, Creo again.
The following Product Design Show describes wood-processing technology in much more detail, and since it’s from Engineering.com, you can expect a couple irreverent remarks along the way.
Click the play button–I promise you’ll leave a little wiser about wood when the episode is over. Plus, you’ll see how to get a free version of the software Grenzebach and WEINIG use to make the machines that handle the lumber that stocks your neighborhood shelves.
