Lumber, Timber and Wood Products

Laser rangefinders are used to measure the length of lumber to ensure that the boards are cut to the correct length. While other methods of end-tallying lumber rely on human judgment or estimations, using laser measurement sensors guarantees that boards are measured and cut with extreme accuracy.

Long distance sensors can be mounted on cranes to profile the height of log stacks to provide an accurate inventory count.

Laser sensors are used to monitor loop distance between rolls. The non-contact laser is mounted above the loop and pointed down to measure the bottom of the loop.

Acuity’s rangefinders are used at sawmills to measure the width of lumber boards while sorting on a conveyor line.  A customer has an AR1000 laser distance sensor mounted in line with the board and housed under a higher conveyor area approximately 10 feet away.

Lumber mills are taking advantage of the high speed and high accuracy AR2000 sensor for sorting applications. As lumber is moved down the conveyor line, sensor length measurements are made on each board in less than two seconds.

The forest, lumber and wood products industry is a regular user of Acuity laser sensor products for the measuring of logs, cants, lumber, veneer thickness, paperboard, etc.

Sawmills are harsh environments that demand accurate laser sensors under dusty conditions. Production of plywood and OSB (oriented strand board) sheet is highly automated. Several Acuity customers are system integrators who develop specialized instruments for the forest products industry.

As a very large roll of paper winds off to smaller individual rolls, manufacturers must ensure that the smaller rolls have enough material present to be able to sell.

Our customer from the lumber industry is using the AR2000 laser sensor to measure the length of cut lumber as it moves down the mill. With a measurement range of over 300 feet on natural targets and an accuracy of 0.040″ at 20 Hz, the AR2000 is a good fit for this customer.