System and process for material management

An automated system and process for managing building materials which requires a minimal amount of manual labor and supervision. The automated system and method are especially suited for precutting lumber used for building trusses and frames having predetermined specifications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to a system and process for 
managing the production of building materials which increases efficiency, 
eliminates excess waste, and reduces costs. More particularly, the present 
invention relates to a system and process for continuously producing 
lumber of various predetermined grades and lengths by cutting off a 
continuous line of lumber instead of handling several different lengths 
and grades of lumber to arrive at the lumber pieces having the 
predetermined grades and lengths. Further, by cutting off of a continuous 
line of lumber, the present invention relating to a system and process for 
managing the production of lumber eliminates the trim end waste that is 
associated with handling and cutting several different lengths and grades 
of lumber to arrive at the required or ordered lumber pieces of 
predetermined lengths and grades. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Methods and processes for continuously finger jointing pieces of lumber 
end-to-end in order to create a continuous line of lumber which can be cut 
to desired lengths are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,927,705 issued to Cromeens et al. discloses methods and means for 
the continuous vertical finger jointing of lumber. In the Cromeens et al. 
patent reference, the ends of individual short timbers are conveyed 
transversely along their longitudinal axis in an abutting side-by-side, 
on-edge relationship or in a solid sheet-like array throughout the finger 
shaping operations and application of adhesive to one end of each timber. 
The timbers are maintained in right angular relation to their longitudinal 
axis of travel and are then assembled end-to-end during linear conveyance 
to a final step where they are cut to desired lengths. Further, another 
patent issued to Strickler, namely U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,723, describes a 
process for producing end jointed lumber wherein the continuous resulting 
lumber can be cut into desired lengths. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,771 issued to Shannon et al. discloses a structural 
truss having upper and lower wooden chords that are separated along their 
lengths by vertical wooden struts. A finger jointing machine is used to 
create continuous lengths of chords and a paper membrane having an 
adhesive backing is applied to the underside of the chords by a pressure 
roll. Precut strut members are inserted downwardly between the continuous 
lengths of chords, and on top of the adhesive backed membrane. A second 
adhesive backed membrane is applied to the upper faces of the chords and 
struts and the adhesive backed membranes which contain the loosely 
assembled truss frame are then cured thereby securing the membranes and 
truss frame elements together. The continuous one piece truss frame is 
then cut into predetermined lengths. 
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,280 issued to Taylor, describes a 
method and machine structure for finger jointing lumber. More 
specifically, this patent reference discloses a continuous process for 
joining incoming random lengths of lumber to form a continuous outgoing 
length of lumber which can be cut into desired lengths. The process 
includes the steps of I) clamping the ends of two pieces of lumber at a 
predetermined distance apart from one another, ii) trimming the end of the 
lumber pieces using a trim saw, iii) simultaneously preshaping the 
opposing board ends to form opposing and complimentary angled finger 
members using a single axis preshaper saw, iv) further shaping and forming 
the opposing angled finger members using a heated die to densify and 
lengthen the angled finger members, v) simultaneously applying adhesive 
material to the angled finger members, and vi) jamming the finger members 
of the opposing board ends in an interlocking relationship for a 
predetermined period of time. 
Several other prior art patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,233, U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,095,634, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,340, disclose methods and apparatus 
for finger jointing lumber. Still other prior art patents, e.g. U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,813,842, U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,050, U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,502 and U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,005,556, disclose methods and apparatus directed to wood truss 
structures, wood truss joints, and truss framed housing comprising 
preassembled frames. 
Conventional wooden trusses comprise an assemblage of lumber members which 
form a rigid framework. Roof and floor trusses in the building industry 
comprise long upper and lower wooden chords that are separated by a 
combination of vertical and diagonal wooden struts that are joined to the 
chords by nails or metal truss connector plates. The wooden members which 
comprise the truss must be cut to predetermined lengths with their ends 
sometimes cut at predetermined angles depending upon the resulting 
location of the truss in the building structure. Accordingly, a process 
which efficiently and effectively cuts all of the wooden members required 
for any given structural truss would greatly reduce the cost and time 
involved in preparing a lumber order for that given truss, and at the same 
time eliminate unnecessary waste lumber material associated with 
processing the lumber for that truss. 
Although the prior art patents disclose methods and apparatus for 
continuously finger jointing pieces of lumber end-to-end in order to 
create a continuous line of lumber which can be cut to desired lengths, 
none of the prior art patents addresses the material handling problems 
associated with cutting and preparing the different wooden members 
required for a given truss structure. For example, although different 
lengths of a given width and grade of lumber may be cut from a continuous 
line of lumber of that same width and grade, a completely different grade 
and width may be required for another wooden member within a given truss. 
This would require the handling and processing of a different grade and 
width of lumber. To date, no one has conceived of a method or process for 
streamlining the cutting and processing of the wooden members required for 
building a given truss which eliminates the need for handling several 
different lengths of varying grades of lumber. Accordingly, there is a 
need for a method or process for managing the cutting and shaping of 
wooden members which comprise a given truss which reduces the manpower and 
increases the efficiency of the equipment needed for the process by 
eliminating the need for handling several different lengths of lumber of 
varying grades, which eliminates waste by eliminating the majority of the 
lumber which comprises the trim ends associated with trimming the varying 
lengths of lumber, and which increases production efficiency by enabling 
the equipment involved in the material management process to operate 
without significant downtime or waiting time. 
The system and process for material management of the present invention may 
also be used in conventional light frame construction of housing. In other 
words, the system and process for material management of the present 
invention may also be used to efficiently cut and shape all of the wooden 
members or elements required for a preassembled rigid framework such as a 
floor truss, a roof truss, or a wall truss, or a preassembled rigid 
framework which combines floor, wall and roof truss components into a 
rigid structure for light construction. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is a principle object of the present invention to provide a system and 
process for the management of building materials in constructing 
preassembled rigid frameworks such as trusses. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and 
process for managing building materials which results in better and more 
efficient use of manpower and processing equipment. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system and 
process for the managing building materials which reduces or eliminates 
waste of the building materials that are being processed. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system and 
process for managing building materials which drastically reduces the 
costs involved in managing the building materials to produce an end 
result. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and 
process for managing the cutting and shaping of wooden members that 
comprise a truss which reduces the manpower necessary for the process and 
increases the efficiency of the equipment necessary for the process. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and 
method for managing the cutting and shaping of wooden members that 
comprise a truss which is more efficient and cost effective over the 
existing conventional method for the same process by eliminating the need 
for handling several different lengths of lumber having several different 
grades for each length. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system and 
method for efficiently and effectively managing the cutting and shaping of 
wooden building members which includes means for treating the wooden 
building members with a fire retardant. 
The present invention is directed to a system and method for managing 
building materials which streamlines the cutting and shaping of wooden 
members having predetermined lengths, grades, and angled edges. The system 
and process involves the utilization of any length of board which is 
finger jointed to form a continuous line of lumber. The continuous line of 
lumber is then cut and shaped according to preprogrammed information 
regarding the required length and grade of the desired wooden members as 
well as the required shape of the edges of the wooden members. The entire 
system and process is computerized to enable the steps which comprise the 
system and process to be in communication with one another. 
The material management process of the present invention starts with the 
step of stocking lumber, all of equal length, by grade. The model system 
of the present invention may have several positions or chutes from which 
to begin the operation of carrying out the process of the present 
invention. For example, each of the chutes may be stocked with a specific 
width and grade of specific length wooden boards. The chutes separate the 
wooden boards by grade and width and it is anticipated that the length of 
the boards will all be the same. An operator stands at the chute area and 
feeds the needed grade of lumber onto a conveyor belt one board at a time. 
The board proceeds down the conveyor and passes through a moisture 
detector and a metal detector. Any board that does not pass the required 
specifications for moisture level and metal content is ejected off of the 
continuous conveyor line. If the board requires trimming for one reason or 
another, such as to trim a bad spot at the end of a board, the board is 
side ejected to a trim area. Once trimmed, the board is returned to the 
continuous conveyor line in linear arrangement with the other boards. The 
boards are then side transferred to enable them to be grooved on each of 
their ends for the finger joint process. After the ends of the boards are 
cut to form grooves, glue or some other type of adhesive is applied to one 
end joint on each of the boards. The boards are then side transferred back 
onto a continuous conveyor line which moves the boards in a linear 
relation to one another. The boards are then sent into a crowder which 
tightly shoves the ends of the boards together. The finger jointed lumber 
continues from the crowder into a radio frequency (RF) tunnel to allow for 
the drying and setting of the glue. When the lumber exits the RF tunnel, 
it proceeds to a proof loader which tests the reliability of the joint for 
strength purposes. The continuous piece of lumber is then cut to desired 
lengths indicated on a previously determined list. If no more cutting is 
required, the boards continue travel linearly on a conveyor to be 
packaged. 
If additional cutting is required on the boards which have now been cut to 
a predetermined length, the boards are side transferred and accumulate in 
this transfer area for undergoing the next step of the process. The boards 
are then transferred again and run through another saw and cut, if 
necessary. Whether cut again or not, the boards then continue into a 
hopper where they are side transferred into a component saw to cut the 
required final lengths and angles on the boards. Once off the component 
saw, the lumber is stacked long to short, banded, and side transferred 
once again so that the banded package of lumber is transferred out of the 
building for staging and use. 
In brief, the system of the present invention for managing building 
materials comprises: 
means for loading a plurality of boards onto a continuous conveyor system; 
means positioned along the continuous conveyor system for fingerjointing 
the ends of the boards to form a continuous piece of lumber; 
means positioned along the continuous conveyor system for cutting the 
continuous piece of lumber into boards having predetermined lengths; and 
means positioned along the continuous conveyor system to cut the ends of 
the boards to their required angles. 
Further, the automated method of the present invention for managing 
building materials, especially in pre-cutting lumber used for building 
trusses and frames having predetermined specifications, comprises the 
steps of: 
preprogramming a computer system to run an automated production line for 
lumber; 
entering required lumber specification data for end products into the 
computer system; 
loading a plurality of boards onto a continuous conveyor belt system; 
fingerjointing the ends of the boards together to form one continuous piece 
of lumber while the boards travel along the continuous conveyor belt 
system; 
cutting the continuous piece of lumber into boards having predetermined 
lengths based on the required lumber specification data while the boards 
are positioned on the continuous conveyor belt system; 
cutting the ends of the boards to predetermined angles based on the 
required lumber specification data while the boards are positioned on the 
continuous conveyor belt system; and 
stacking, banding and transferring the cut boards to a defined location 
while the cut boards are positioned on the continuous conveyor belt 
system. 
The objects and features of the present invention, which are believed to be 
novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The 
present invention both as to its organization and manner of operation, 
together with further objects and advantages, may best be understood by 
reference to the following description, taken in connection with the 
accompanying drawings wherein like numerals denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A schematic of the material management system 10 of the present invention 
is shown in FIG. 1. The material management system 10 of the present 
invention is designed to manage and process the cutting and shaping of 
wooden members which make up a prearranged rigid framework such as a 
structural truss without the need to handle several different lengths of 
lumber. The material management system 10 of the present invention is 
designed to handle lumber only by grade and width in order to reduce costs 
and increase efficiency of the system over that of the conventional system 
for cutting and shaping wooden members for the building of trusses and 
other building structures. Once the required length of board for starting 
the process is eliminated, lumber can be stored in bulk by grade and width 
because there is no longer a need to have access to the varying lengths of 
lumber. As a result, the lumber does not have to be spread out according 
to length and lumber yard storage room is eliminated. Eliminating the need 
for required lengths of lumber to start the process also enables one to 
purchase the required grade and width of lumber in one length, preferably 
the cheapest. 
The material management system 10 begins with the formation of stalls or 
chutes which may be stocked with designated grades and widths of lumber. 
For example, a material management system having five stalls or chutes may 
store the following lumber in those stalls or chutes: 2.times.4-#2, 
2.times.4-1650, 2.times.4-2100, 2.times.6-#2, and 2.times.6-1650. The 
numbers designate width and grade of lumber. The number of stalls or 
chutes does not change the process. A manual operator is stationed at the 
stalls or chutes 12. The manual operator visually checks the quality of 
the boards and feeds them onto a continuous conveyor line 14 one at a time 
in linear relationship to one another. If a board is identified as 
visually defective, the operator rejects the board and does not feed it 
onto the continuous conveyor line 14. If the board is not defective but 
needs trimming to eliminate a bad spot, for example on the end of the 
board, the operator marks the board as a board which needs to be trimmed. 
The boards continue down the continuous conveyor line 14 to an automatic 
sensor 16 which checks the moisture content of the board and detects the 
presence of any staples or foreign materials in the board. If the board 
does not meet the specifications for moisture content, or if the board 
contains foreign metal objects, the board is automatically ejected from 
the continuous conveyor line 14. 
The boards that meet specifications continue down the conveyor line 14 and 
those boards that were marked for trimming are side ejected to a trim area 
18. The side ejection to the trim area may be performed manually by a 
second operator or automatically by having a sensor which detects the 
demarcations that were made on those boards designated for trimming. A 
trim saw operator will then trim the bad spots on the board and then place 
the board back into continuous flow on the conveyor line 14 such that the 
boards are still in straight linear alignment with one another. 
Next, the boards are side transferred by a side transfer conveyor 20 to a 
first saw 22 which has mechanisms for squaring and for serrating or 
cutting finger joints. After the boards are side transferred, this first 
saw 22 squares one end of the boards and then grooves that same end. The 
boards then continue to be side transferred across the side transfer 
conveyor 20 to a second saw 24 having mechanisms for squaring and for 
serrating and cutting finger joints. The second saw 24 squares and grooves 
the opposite ends of the boards. A glue or other adhesive is then applied 
to one grooved end of each of the boards by unit 26. After applying glue 
or adhesive to the one grooved end of each of the boards, the boards are 
then side transferred over to a second linear conveyor line 28 such that 
they are once again in a linear end-to-end relationship with one another. 
A crowder 30 is positioned along this linear conveyor line 28 and the 
boards traveling in an end-to-end arrangement along the linear conveyor 
line 28 are fed into the crowder 30. The crowder 30 tightly shoves the 
ends of the boards together so that the grooved ends of the boards are 
interengaged with one another to form finger joints. The system of the 
present invention for managing building materials is further distinguished 
over those systems in the prior art by its functional capability of 
aligning the boards such that they are continuously flush along one side 
during each of the processing steps carried out throughout the system. In 
conventional material processing systems, boards are typically aligned 
along their centerline so that any deviation in width from board to board 
is split to both sides. In contrast, the alignment of the boards in the 
present system such that they are flush with one another along one side of 
their lengths results in any arrearage in width to occur on the inside of 
the truss. The side of the boards which are flush is where the drywall is 
applied. In order to create this type of alignment in the present system, 
the infeed operator crowns all of the boards all one way. As a result, the 
crowned boards are toward the exterior of the truss and any arrearage in 
width is always toward the interior of the truss. Accordingly, one side 
edge of the continuous piece of lumber formed by finger jointing pieces of 
lumber is perfectly smooth and that smooth side will comprise the outside 
of the truss. 
After leaving the crowder 30, the lumber travels through an enclosed RF 
tunnel 32 where heat is applied to the lumber. The heat functions as a 
catalyst to start the electrolysis reaction in the glue which causes the 
glue to set. The continuous piece of lumber then exits the RF tunnel at 
the far end 34 of the RF tunnel and then enters a double bending proof 
loader 36 to test the reliability of the strength of the joints. In the 
proof loader, the continuous piece of lumber is run between rollers where 
the pressure of the rollers can be adjusted based on the grade of lumber. 
If a joint is bad, it may break. Alternatively, if a joint doesn't meet 
the strength requirement for its particular grade, the joint is identified 
by marking it with a spray paint. This process step is carried out 
automatically. If a joint breaks or is identified as inferior, a trim saw 
38 trims that end straight and a computer signal which is generated by the 
use of the trim saw is sent to the infeed operator that he is going to be 
short a board. The infeed operator the makes up for the missing board by 
infeeding another board. 
Once the continuous lumber piece exits the proof loader 36, it enters an 
optional treatment area 40 which contains a unit that is capable of 
spraying the lumber with a fire retardant. The treatment area 40 will be 
incorporated such that the unit may be shut on or off with the flip of a 
switch depending upon the lumber or specific job being processed. If the 
unit is switched off, the continuous lumber simply passes through the 
treatment area 40 without any application of the fire retardant. 
The continuous piece of lumber then proceeds to a flying saw 42 which cuts 
the boards to their exact predetermined lengths. This saw may also cut the 
boards to their exact lengths while angling the ends of the boards at a 
predetermined angle. Nevertheless, the preferred function of the flying 
saw is to cut the continuous piece of lumber into boards having 
predetermined lengths and squared off edges. The boards requiring square 
cut ends, which do not require further angle cuts, are ejected after being 
cut to their predetermined lengths and travel linearly along a third 
continuous conveyor line 44 to the outside of the building or room which 
contains the system equipment where the system is carried out. These 
boards can then be stacked outside the building. The flying saw 42 
functions by grabbing the continuous piece of lumber, cutting the lumber 
while traveling with the lumber, releasing the lumber, and then returning 
and grabbing the lumber again. The flying saw can be programmed to cut 
specific lengths of lumber at predetermined angles leaving the 
predetermined lengths of boards having either square cut or angle cut 
ends. 
Boards which require further processing in the way of shorter lengths or 
additional angles are then side transferred on a second side transfer 
conveyor 46. This second side transfer conveyor 46 functions as a staging 
area for housing lumber so that the remaining saws do not run out of 
lumber to cut while the flying saw 42 stops to adjust and change length 
and angle measurements. The boards are then transferred once again in 
linear arrangement to a fourth continuous conveyor line 48. The boards 
then travel linearly in an end-to-end configuration to another saw, namely 
a cutting-in-two saw 50. Here, if needed, the boards are cut in half to 
arrive at shorter length boards that would have slowed the process 
substantially if their predetermined lengths would have been cut using the 
flying saw 42. If this optional length cutting step is not needed, the 
boards simply pass by the cutting-in-two saw 50 and are transferred 
linearly into a hopper 52. The boards are then side transferred along a 
third side transfer conveyor 54 which functions as a buffer for a 
component saw 56. 
The boards are then kicked up on their edges and the component saw 56 makes 
the required angle cuts on the boards. Again, like all of the previously 
described saws, this component saw is programmed by a computer to make the 
required angle cuts. The cut boards then proceed to a stacker 58 which 
stacks the boards flat and bands them together. The banded stacks are then 
side transferred in a linear arrangement onto a fifth continuous conveyor 
line 60 which carries the banded stacks to a staging area outside the 
building. 
A continuous exhaust system is connected to all of the saws to collect and 
remove the sawdust which is created during the cutting steps of the 
process. The entire system is managed by one or more computers which 
communicate with one another during the course of the process steps which 
comprise the system in order to keep the system running effectively and 
efficiently without a lot of downtime. The process starts by entering a 
cut list into one of the computers which computes the total lineal footage 
that will be required for that batch of cut lumber. The infeed operator 
then enters the length of boards that are currently available or being 
used for processing. The computer then computes the number of boards of 
that length that should be fed into the system. The computer counts the 
input of the number of boards all the way down to the last one and then 
indicates the number of boards of a given length having a different grade 
that should be entered into the system next. In carrying out the system 
and process of the present invention, the lower grades are fed first with 
followed by increasing grades until the highest grade is used. The infeed 
operator then starts feeding boards all over again starting with the 
lowest grade. Starting out with the lowest grade ensures that the same 
grade or a higher grade will be used to produce the next board in the 
event of a shortage. In other words, the system is always feeding a higher 
grade board over the grade of board that is being cut. 
Turning now to FIG. 2, a schematic showing the optional system component of 
the material management system of the present invention comprising means 
for treating the building material with a fire retardant is illustrated. A 
linear conveyor belt 70 having rollers 72 is used to feed the continuous 
board 74 that has been joined together by finger jointing individual 
boards. The continuous board 74 is fed, via the linear conveyor belt 70, 
into a treatment housing 76 which includes upper and lower fluid lines 78 
having apertures 80 for releasing and spraying a fire retardant or other 
chemical composition onto the continuous board 74. The treatment housing 
76 also comprises a control box 82 having switches which control the 
automatic or manual functioning of the sprayers contained in the treatment 
housing. 
This above described means for treating the lumber with a fire retardant 
comprises an optional step in the system and process for managing building 
materials of the present invention. When the step of treating the lumber 
with a fire retardant is not desired, the process for this step can be 
eliminated by shutting down the spraying mechanism within the treatment 
housing 76 at the control box 82. With the spraying mechanism disabled, 
the continuous board 74 simply passes through the treatment housing 76 
unaffected. 
A flowchart illustrating the material management process of the present 
invention is shown in FIG. 3. In step one 90, lumber is stacked by width 
and grade. In that the material management process of the present 
invention is designed to accommodate any length of board, the boards to 
not have to be separated and organized by length. Product specifications 
regarding the required lengths and angles of the boards, as well as the 
total linear footage required for boards which will comprise a given truss 
or number of given trusses, are entered into a computer system in step two 
92. The computer system controls the functioning of all of the machinery 
that is utilized throughout the process for managing building materials of 
the present invention. Once the specifications are entered into the 
computer, an operator feeds the required number of boards having a given 
width and grade onto a linear conveyor belt in step three 94. As the 
operator feeds the boards onto the conveyor belt, he performs a visual 
check of the boards and marks any boards that appear to have spots needing 
trimming. 
Next, the boards travel along the linear conveyor belt until they reach a 
detector which determines the moisture content and the metal content of 
the boards. A further determination is made in step four 96 as to whether 
each of the boards meets the moisture requirement for the boards. If the 
moisture requirement for the board is not met, the board is rejected and 
side ejected off of the linear conveyor belt and out of the system in step 
five 98. Alternatively, if the moisture content of the board does meet the 
requirements, another determination is made in step six 99 to determine 
whether the board contains staples, nails or other metal objects. If the 
board contains metal objects, the board is rejected and then side ejected 
off of the linear conveyor belt and out of the system in step seven 100. 
Alternatively, if the board does not contain an inordinate number of metal 
objects, the board continues along the linear conveyor belt to a second 
operator. 
The second operator views the boards as they travel along the linear 
conveyor belt and determines whether the boards need trimming in step 
eight 102. The boards may have already been marked for trimming by the 
first operator in which case the second operator simply pulls the 
designated boards and trims out the bad spots on the board in step nine 
104. Once the boards are trimmed, they are returned to the linear conveyor 
belt. If the boards do not require any trimming, they simply continue to 
move along the linear conveyor belt to a side transfer area. The boards 
are then side transferred in step ten 106 so that they are now traveling 
along a conveyor belt side by side instead of end-to-end as was the case 
with the linear conveyor belt. 
Both ends of each of the boards are then cut with grooves in step eleven 
108. This is done by first passing one end of the boards past a first saw 
which squares off the ends of the boards and then grooves them. The boards 
continue to travel side by side and the opposite ends of the boards are 
then passed along to a second saw which squares off and then grooves these 
opposite ends. An adhesive is then applied to only one of the grooved ends 
of each of the boards in step twelve 110. Next, the boards are side 
transferred once again in step thirteen 112 to a linear conveyor belt 
where the boards once again travel in an end-to-end relationship with 
another. The grooved ends of the boards are then joined together in a 
crowder in step fourteen 114. More specifically, as the boards travel 
along end-to-end with only one grooved end of any two given adjacent 
grooved ends having adhesive, the crowder shoves the adjacent grooved ends 
of the boards together to form one continuous board. This process of 
grooving the ends of boards and then joining them together with an 
adhesive to form a single board is identified as finger jointing in the 
field of art. Nevertheless, although the process of finger jointing is 
contained within the process of the present invention, the process of the 
present invention goes way beyond finger jointing lumber in that the 
present invention accomplishes a way to automatically process lumber that 
is required for building specific trusses or housing frames, with a 
minimal need for manual involvement. This can drastically increase 
efficiency and reduces costs in the building industry. 
Next, the continuous board travels through an RF tunnel in step fifteen 116 
in order to dry and set the adhesive contained in the finger joints. The 
strength of the finger joints contained in the continuous board are then 
tested in a proof loader in step sixteen 118. In step seventeen 120, a 
determination is made as to whether any of the finger joints have broken 
or are weak. If a finger joint has broken, or if it is weak, the ends of 
the boards around the finger joint are trimmed so that they are cut square 
in step eighteen 122. Then, in step nineteen 124, an adjustment is made 
for the board shortage which has occurred by cutting and trimming the 
board at a weak finger joint. When the saw for trimming around the bad 
finger joints is used, the computer system which controls the process of 
the present invention detects this and enters information to the feed 
operator located at the start of the process to feed in an extra board. 
Once the ends around the bad finger joints are trimmed, the lumber 
continues to move along the linear conveyor belt to an optional treatment 
area. If the finger joints are not weak or broken, the continuous board 
also continues to move along on the linear conveyor belt until it reaches 
the optional treatment area. 
In step twenty 126, the lumber is optionally treated by spraying the lumber 
with a fire retardant. A main on and off control switch, which can also be 
automated as part of the computer system, allows this step of the process 
to be either included or completely discluded depending upon its need. The 
continuous board is then cut to the required lengths and angles, which are 
predetermined and have been entered into the computer system at the start 
of the process, in step twenty-one 128 with a flying saw. Subsequent to 
this cutting, a determination is made as to whether additional cutting of 
the boards is required in step twenty-two 130. If no additional cutting is 
required, the cut boards are packaged and transferred to a location 
outside the process in step twenty-three 132. These boards may be 
transferred entirely out of the building depending upon their intended 
use. 
The boards which require more cutting are then side transferred to a buffer 
area in step twenty-four 134. Next, in step twenty-five 136, a 
determination is made as to whether the board length meets its required 
length. If the board length is not accurate, the board is cut to its 
required length in step twenty-six 138. This additional length cutting 
step is present in the system in order to accommodate the cutting of short 
length boards so that the system will not be required to slow 
significantly at step twenty-one 128 where the initial length cuts are 
made. All of the boards, whether cut or not, are then transferred to a 
hopper in step twenty-seven 140. The boards are then side transferred in 
step twenty-eight 142 to a component saw which cuts the boards to their 
required final lengths and angles in step twenty-nine 144. 
Finally, the cut boards are stacked and banded together in step thirty 146 
and the bound stacks are transferred to a desired destination in step 
thirty-one 148. It should also be noted that the system and method of the 
present invention for managing building materials allows for short gaps 
between product runs whose specifications are entered by batch into the 
over computer system. As a result, the system will accommodate the 
processing of boards having a different width by allowing a predetermined 
time gap within the system between boards having different widths that are 
aligned along the continuous conveyor belt system to ensure that boards of 
varying widths are not fingerjointed to one another to form a continuous 
piece of lumber having significantly varying widths. 
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the 
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily 
occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the 
invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. 
Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents fall within the 
scope of the invention.