Panels & Furniture Asia January/February 2023

PANEL MANUFACTURING
3
4
Legend
3 A wide shot of the Panel Repairing
Line R7
4 Features like multiple repair heads and
continuous panel flow were appealing
to the PotlatchDeltic team
5 The Panel Repairing Line R7 has an
accurate defect detection powered by
3D scanners and high-resolution colour
cameras
6 PotlatchDeltic’s panels
and working a fill applicator require
repetitive motions that can put stress on
our team members’ hands and wrists,”
acknowledged Gimbel.
“When your repair line operators only
have one or two years of experience, not
decades, you have to work especially
hard to ensure that repairs will be
performed safely and effectively,” added
Shoemaker.
Ashlee Cribb, vice-president of the wood
products division at PotlatchDeltic, saw
that an automated panel repair solution
could not only help PotlatchDeltic
minimise the hazards associated
with operating patch line equipment,
but also place those operators in
positions more suited to their talents.
“Automation is a way for our team
members to focus on activities that
generate higher value,” she said.
SEARCHING FOR AN AUTOMATED
PANEL REPAIR SOLUTION
Equipped with an understanding of
their plywood facility’s capabilities,
PotlatchDeltic’s leaders began the
search for an automated panel
repair solution that would help them
achieve multiple objectives: improve
ergonomics for team members,
phase out inefficient manual panel
repair and patching processes, realise
repair material cost savings, achieve
a uniform high quality of repairs,
regardless of wood species or end
product, and finally, put their team
members in the best position to
succeed — and more fully participate in
the enterprise’s success.
This search eventually led them to
Chile. There, they visited an Arauco
mill to see how that manufacturer
leveraged several different Raute
solutions. “That sold us,” said
Shoemaker. “Being able to see first-,
second-, and third-generation panel
repair lines in action, compare their
features, and track the evolution of
that technology — that experience was
invaluable.”
Branson and Shoemaker were
particularly impressed by
Raute’s defect analysers. “Raute
demonstrated to us that their
equipment could be fine-tuned to
handle the wood species, such as
Douglas fir, larch, and pine, that we
process,” the latter explained.
RAUTE’S PANEL REPAIRING LINE R7
After completing its fieldwork,
PotlatchDeltic decided to invest in
Raute’s Panel Repairing Line R7. This
solution appealed to Shoemaker
and team due to its high capacity,
continuous panel flow, multiple repair
heads, an accurate defect detection
powered by 3D scanners and highresolution
colour cameras, precise
application of repair materials,
and ease of operation. With the
potential to be supervised by a
single operator, the Panel Repairing
Line R7 can deliver up to 65% in
repair material savings, according
to Raute. Operators can also use
Raute’s MillSIGHTS data-capturing
38 Panels & Furniture Asia | January / February 2023