Vision Intelligence for Wood Panel Production
For more than 17 years, APIXA has been providing cutting-edge vision AI solutions for production automation, process optimization, quality assurance, and safety improvement in the wood industry.
Our offering includes robust, industrial-grade 3D solutions, covering critical quality-determining steps in the production of wood boards.
Why APIXA?
The processing of natural products, such as trees, sets specific challenges. Different computer vision applications in the wood industry increase personnel safety, product quality and production efficiency by taking into account natural variations in shape, size and structure.
APIXA applies computer vision in a range of wood-related applications, including logs, oriented strand boards (OSB) and fiberboards. Felled trees are transported to the factory to convert into a variety of wood intermediate products. APIXA develops dedicated computer vision solutions, often based on 3D scanners, which capture the geometry of incoming logs and decide on pass or reject. Similarly, 3D profiles of a tree flake carpet are taken before it is compressed to form OSB boards. Other computer vision applications, based on laser triangulation, further drill down on the level of individual flakes or fibers to maintain high product quality.
As conveyor belts are used in most wood applications, the associated motion tolerances and vibrations must be accounted for. This adds to the complexity of such inline wood process applications. APIXA's specific solution configurations drive robust decision making in harsh outdoor conditions, generate production and supplier statistics, and allow for further image analysis.
3D Log Scanner
About
The 3D Log Scanner offers cutting-edge technology to capture the geometry of incoming logs of various sizes and shapes on a conveyor belt. This innovative solution uses the newest 3D scanning technology together with deep-learning algorithms to identify and analyze individual logs on the conveyor belt, providing real-time insight into the production process.
Applications
- Real-time monitoring of key dimensional parameters
- Detection of out-of-spec logs
Outputs
Advanced AI techniques are applied to determine log length, average diameter, and volume, even when logs touch each other or lie next to each other. A conveyor speed encoder is used to account for belt accelerations and decelerations in relation to the log scanning. Out-of-spec logs are rejected to ensure personnel safety and avoid damage to machinery. On the economic side, the accumulated measurements are used to generate running production statistics and provide feedback to log providers.
System outputs can be extended according to the requirements of a particular production line.
Benefits
3D Edge Scanner
About
The 3D Edge Scanner is a robust industrial 3D scanner designed for the real-time quantitative assessment of board edge quality, including thickness and uniformity, with sub-millimeter accuracy. The solution allows for continuous monitoring of the production line and facilitates process optimization while ensuring consistent edge quality. Additionally, it proactively alerts operators to any decline in quality, minimizing the production runs of boards with substandard edges.
Applications
- In-line quantitative assessment of board edge quality and thickness after edge trimming
Outputs
Benefits
3D Flake Scanner
About
The 3D Flake Scanner uses cutting edge technology to monitor an OSB production line. The solution can identify each flake in the scanned area of the forming belt and compute key features of the flake mat in real-time to better monitor and control the production processes.
Applications
- Real-time monitoring of orientation and width distribution of flakes and strands on a forming line
Outputs
Apixa 3D Flake scanner provides real time measurements visualization, including the distribution of the width of the flakes, distribution of the orientation of the flakes, and ratio between fines and flakes. This data is remotely accessible via web browser, as well as exported to a .CSV file for production analysis.
Benefits
3D Mat Scanner
About
The 3D Mat Scanner is a robust industrial 3D scanner for continuous monitoring of a flake mat on the OSB forming line before it enters the compressing stage. It allows timely detection and reporting of defects and deformations in the flake mat, like changes in height, local holes, or pileups. The early detection of these potential product issues drives corrective actions and avoids considerable material scrap. Visual data representations enable managers and operators to identify and evaluate production irregularities and trends. Historical inspection data also remain available for offline analysis.
Applications
- Continuous monitoring of flake mat profile
- Detection of anomalies
Outputs
Data can be viewed in real time for production view and offline for production analysis.
Benefits
3D T&G Scanner
About
The 3D Tongue and Groove Scanner is an industrial 3D scanner in development, aimed at real-time assessing quality of tongue and groove board edges. High-precision 3D scans are processed by state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms to make early defect detection possible and reduce recalls.
Applications
- In-line quantitative assessment of board edge quality and thickness after edge trimming
