There is a lot of overlap between the design, function and benefits that edgers and multirips offer.
Both machining platforms have robustly designed frames that give the torsional rigidity needed to support the arbours and circular blades that cut accurately sized timber consistently at high speed and volumes over time.
Both are used during the secondary breakdown phase of the sawmilling process to break or cut the components that exit the primary breakdown stage down further.
Edgers edge, trim or square sideboards or slabs and flitches with wane from the primary breakdown phase into a uniform-size product. Multirips rip cants and blocks exiting the primary breakdown phase into boards.
Both also offer specific benefits that allow sawmills to improve efficiencies, increase productivity, boost recovery and bolster the safety levels of a mill.
Increased efficiency:
A board edger increases the efficiency of the process used by a sawmill to trim and square sideboards/slabs and flitches with wane into uniform sizes. Edging helps sawmillers process lumber more quickly and efficiently. By trimming and squaring rough boards, the machine creates straighter, more uniform boards, which can be processed more efficiently. Sideboards that formerly went to waste but are now sawn into boards with less waste boost profits.
Adding a multirip to a sawmill's line-up boosts efficiency by simplifying the log breakdown process. It harnesses the speed and accuracy of a band mill to break logs into cants, with the strength, simplicity, and accuracy of a multirip, then used to saw the cants or blocks into finished boards.
A multirip also has fewer moving parts to maintain than a multi-head band resaw that does a similar job. Fewer stoppages and less maintenance are money in the pocket, increasing efficiency and boosting productivity.
Improved quality:
The consistent sizing that an edger delivers improves the quality of the sawn produced with consistently sized, straight and uniformly sized build the bottom line.
The accuracy that a multirip delivers reduces the wet target size of a sawmill with reduced within-board sawing variation, less waste and higher yields from each board growing profits.
Reject boards caused by sawing inaccuracy also eat into profits – boards that are not the right size will not sell. Well-set-up multirips always cut straight. Straight boards sell well.
Reduced waste:
Using an edger to trim and square rough boards reduces waste and increases yield. An edger can easily produce sawn product from sideboards or slabs that are often left as waste, and more sawn product and less waste build profits.
The accuracy that a multirip provides slashes the within-board size variation with less waste and higher yields, growing profits.
Versatility:
Using an edger and multirip allows sawmillers to produce more lumber sizes and timber products faster. More sawn product produced faster from a variety of log shapes builds sales.
Increased safety and reduced labour costs:
Using a board edger can help to improve safety in the sawmill by reducing the need for manual trimming and squaring of boards. This can help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and makes the sawmill a safer place to work in.
Introducing a multirip can reduce the labour bill with fewer workers needed to operate fewer machines and handle a simpler material flow through the mill.
Less resharpening
An edger and multirip can work across shifts without blade changes. Although circular sawblades cost more than bandsaw blades, they require less resharpening and fewer delays to change blades, with this reducing the workload to resharpen blades with more uptime in a shift producing more boards.
Reduce maintenance costs
Using edgers and multirips simplifies the operation with fewer machines that must be maintained, slashing running costs and higher volumes adding to the bottom line.
Improved material and waste handling
The simpler material flow that an edger and multirip offer streamlines material handling and waste removal processes to boost efficiency and slash costs.