Veneer - Lathe Charger
The lathe charger is integral to the veneer peeling process. The lathe charger chucks the geometrically centered block and rotates it for laser scanning BlockLogix while simultaneously raising and repositioning both ends optimally to maximize veneer recovery. A precision block pendulum precisely transports the block to the lathe spindles. This highly accurate positioning system allows for production speeds of up to 18 cycles per minute.
Once a block is loaded on the charger`s pre-centering vee, each end is sized to determine the best geometric spin axis, and the charger`s XY spindles engage the block ends accordingly.
As the spindles raise and rotate the block it is scanned every 0.05 inches along the length of the block and nominally every 1 degree of rotation. (See also the BlockLogix optimization system.)
The BlockLogix optimizer receives the scan data and analyzes a multitude of possible lathe peeling solutions before generating the best solution. This solution is passed to the PLC to reset the spindles` axes before the pendulum picks up the block, to achieve maximum fiber value recovery during peeling.