KLN Klein Awarded Contract With Forintek Canada
Monday, May 11, 1998
KLN Klein Awarded Contract With Forintek Canada
Langley, BC, May 11, 1998--KLN Klein Product Development Inc. of Langley, B.C. was awarded the contract to custom engineer and manufacture "VTI - Video Tooth InspectorsTM " for Forintek Canada Corp., a large research institute in the North American lumber industry. VTI is a new, very convenient, and highly precise instrument that measures the geometry of saw blade teeth in lumber
mills.
In order to maintain the sharpness of a saw blade each tooth must be ground frequently. Since the cutting performance of a saw is dependent on each tooth having the correct geometrical shape, an accurate way of obtaining grinding quality feedback is essential. Up to now, available measurement systems on the market had been limited in scope and inconvenient to use.
Forintek developed leading edge technology for the mathematical model, as well as the entire vision and software evaluation system of the VTI. "Then they approached us to assist them with the mechanical design of the instrument" says Peter Klein, President of KLN. "It was a fascinating project, that we completed in less than 6 months, including the machining and building of a fully working prototype." Peter Lister, VTI Project Manager for Forintek adds "KLN helped us develop a successful product that satisfies our customer's needs for quality, functionality and price.
Additionally, their in-house manufacturing capabilities greatly facilitated prototype development and production of the completed design."
The VTI accommodates all saw blades between 6 and 36 inches in diameter. It was designed so that each tooth could be viewed and analyzed from the top, the side, and the front. The video camera is mounted on a dampened arm which pivots, slides and automatically maintains the focus setting, regardless of the viewing angle. Additionally, through a cost saving, patent-pending innovation the camera looks through its own pivot point when inspecting a tooth's profile.
Three months after completion of the prototype, Forintek had orders from several lumber mills in North America and requested KLN to manufacture 20 Video Tooth Inspectors. This contract was subject to a tight delivery deadline and high manufacturing demands. Each VTI system had to consistently guarantee a measurement accuracy of 0.1 degree and one-ten-thousandth of an inch (1/10,000"). All demands were fulfilled to the customer's satisfaction.
The VTIs were installed in the lumber mills immediately after KLN's production delivery. Forintek has received very positive comments from the end-users, who value the ease and convenience with which they now obtain three-dimensional feedback on their grinding accuracy.
For more information contact Peter Klein at (604) 530-1491.