The moulder is one of the most widely used machines in the wood industry. Its function is to cut stock with rough dimensions to a finished width, thickness, and cross-sectional shape in one pass, making it cost effective to produce mouldings, floors, window and furniture components, etc. Today’s moulders are fast, safe, flexible, versatile, precise, and productive. Many different configurations can be selected when specifying the purchase of a moulder. The Moulder Economic Calculator (MEC) was developed to determine the economic impact of choosing different moulder configurations. The calculator uses input data on machine price and purchase method, machine configuration, production parameters, and production costs. The MEC program gives three types of outputs: surface quality, productivity, and costs. The MEC program is a flexible tool that allows the user to estimate the cost of machining one linear foot of wood. Some capabilities of the MEC program include determining the effect of machine price on machining cost, the effect of setup time on production time, and the effect of machine configuration on machining cost. In this way, the MEC program allows the user to compare between different machine configurations and determine which best meets the user’s cost, production, or flexibility requirements. The model was taken to Weinig USA, where their experts reviewed the model and offered their input.
Contributor Notes
The authors are, respectively, Graduate Student and Research Professor, Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program, Dept. of Wood and Paper Sci., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh (Richard_lemaster@ncsu.edu); and Associate Director and Professor, Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Engineering Institute, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh (steve_jackson@imsei.ncsu.edu, hodgson@eos.ncsu.edu). Lucía Morales is currently Sales Manager South America, Homag South America, Ltda., Av. Francisco D’Amico 155, Taboa ˜o da Serra, SP, Brazil 06785-290 (lucia.morales@homag-south-america.com.br). This paper was received for publication in April 2009. Article no. 10608.
*Forest Products Society member.