The Wesbeam Distribution Centre in Dandenong Victoria recently commissioned a Hundegger CNC to cut penetrations in e-joists, and dock e-beam and e-joist with millimetre accuracy.
Machines with similar capability have been operating in Australia for some time, but what sets this machine apart is the way in which it integrates with the Wesbeam ‘tree to trade’ software network. From customer order forecasts that drive the manufacturing program, customer order entry, order picking and transport tracking, all activities at Wesbeam are modelled and managed in an integrated software environment. Our recently commissioned CNC is connected to this digital environment, creating a continuous chain of information, from the log yard to the customer.
Wesbeam’s custom developed inventory management software, SCIE, matches outstanding orders with inventory and generates waste minimising instructions to the distribution centre production team via interactive touch screens on a wearable tablet.
Floor system quotes are generated in Wesbeam’s e-house software. When the floor system calls for prepenetrated e-joist, the size and position of the penetrations are designed into the floor system working drawings and processing instructions are transferred to the Hundegger CNC via SCIE.
Customer orders are either keyed by Wesbeam’s Customer Service team or sent by the customer directly to the Wesbeam EDI portal, where orders are automatically processed through SCIE.
In seconds, SCIE evaluates thousands of options to determine the optimal waste and time minimising configuration. Instructions are then presented to the operator, via a wearable touch screen tablet, for activation on the CNC.
Having processed the e-joists, the CNC marks each piece with an individual code that matches codes on the e-house generated working drawings, greatly assisting the carpenter onsite.
While providing options for the operator and instruction for the CNC, SCIE is communicating with the Wesbeam inventory management system, providing accurate inventory manifests and autogenerated resupply orders to the factory in Western Australia.
At Wesbeam, we not only build a better wood, we also look for better ways to provide efficiencies to our customers.
