At Weber Marking Systems’ European headquarters in Rheinbreitbach, we develop, design and manufacture innovative labeling and coding systems for a wide range of surfaces, one of them being wood.
After sawing wooden beams, the many individual planks must be labeled with additional information. This ensures, among other things, that the origin of the planks can be traced back.
Leonid Yanshin, a labeling technology consultant, tells us about the complicated process of labeling wood.
What are the challenges for labeling wood?
Leonid Yanshin: Wood is a natural product whose dimensions are influenced by basic physical laws such as temperature and humidity. It is also a rough surface, which makes labeling particularly challenging.
The environment in sawmills is often harsh, dusty and unheated. Despite the high throughput, each board must be securely labeled. The individual boards are preferably labeled in a line via a conveyor belt or in bound stacks.
In stack labeling, the quality of the stacking plays a major role. For example, one shelf sticks out more and the other is shifted more to the inside, so that the shelves are not all exactly on top of each other. But still, everything must be labelled neatly.
How does Weber Marking Systems’ wood labeling solution work?
Leonid Yanshin: With our labeling solution, we label bound stacks of wood while they are standing still. The stacked wood is individually labeled at the front. It is a system that allows different shelves to be approached for labeling. The station is equipped with a scanner for automatic product recognition and a sensor for scanning reference edges.
Once the stack reaches the labeling station, the corresponding parcel label is scanned and the product is identified. Based on this information, the packet diagram and the appropriate layout are given to the system from the product management.
The system calculates the necessary travel path based on the label of the pack. Then, our label printer and dispenser Legi-Air 4050 E comes into operation. Two labels can be applied at the same time with a double label roll thanks to its double dispenser.
The double dispenser is independently sprung to compensate for different depths. This means that deviations in product positions can also be compensated for and the labels can be actively pressed on.
We use special labels to provide reliable labeling even on rough surfaces. Thus, a reliable marking of all shelves is guaranteed.
What opportunities does the Legi-Air 4050 E offer for the wood industry?
Leonid Yanshin: The Legi-Air 4050 E offers reliable labeling on wood and a high degree of automation for the labeling of individual shelves.
We have developed a flexible, user-friendly and process-reliable system consisting of standard components. If necessary, several systems can be installed one after the other in order to reduce the cycle time even further.
Other labeling solutions for wood
Besides the automatic labeling of wood, there is also the possibility of marking wood directly. We have several thermal inkjet printers that can do this.
CONTACT WEBER
