ECHO: Machine feasibility program

Abstract

Reductions in saw kerf (the term saw kerf refers to both the sawtooth width as well as the actual sawline made in sawing) on headrigs and resaws can dramatically increase lumber recovery. Research has also shown that lumber target size reductions are even more important than kerf reductions in providing increased lumber recovery. Decreases in either kerf or lumber size, however, always come at some expense in both capital and variable costs. Determining whether the financial benefits from increased lumber yield outweigh the incurred costs can be a difficult task. The Economic Choice for Hardwood Sawmill Operations (ECHO) is a software package developed to help analyze the economic benefit of installing thinner-kerf and higher-accuracy sawing machines. Replacement of headrigs and resaws with reduced kerfs and increased sawing accuracy can be tested.

Citation

Steele, Philip H.; Boden, Craig; Araman, Philip A. 2000. ECHO: Machine feasibility program. Proceedings, 28th Annual Hardwood Symposium. 53-57.