CA2014339A1 - Control system and method for automatic adjustment of lathe components in response to temperature of log - Google Patents

Abstract

A veneer lathe apparatus control system and method are described for automatic adjustment of lathe components which engage the log during peeling in response to reduction of the log diameter and to changes in the surface temperature of the log. The lathe components which are automatically adjusted include the lathe knife pitch angle, the knife gap spacing from the nose bar, and the radial positions of backup idler rolls and of core drive rolls. A computer control system is employed for such automatic adjustment of the lathe components in response to control signals produced by a temperature sensor which senses the surface temperature of the log and by a lathe carriage position sensor whose output indicates the diameter of the log as it is being peeled. Adjustment curves selected by the computer, such as pitch angle profiles and knife gap curves, are stored as data tables in the data memory of the computer. These adjustment curves include families of curves for many species of wood with each family having curves of different log temperatures to provide offset temperature adjustments between adjacent curves for different temperature ranges.