Options

To open the Options window, do one of the following in Simple:

• Click on the toolbar.
• Once a file is open, select Options... from the Tools drop-down menu in the Simple menu bar.

The General tab relates to the overall running of the saw.

• Bunk Feeder: specifies whether an automated timber retrieval or feeding system is installed and which kind.

  Note: when "Linear Pickline" is selected, the communication port used to fetch the picklist can be set in the Picklist Port field.

• Error System: specifies which of the Diagnostics window or the new error reporting system (Error Codes) will pop up when an error occurs.

  Note: If "Error Codes" is selected, an error notification icon will be displayed on the control bar. By selecting "None", no error window will ever pop up. The Diagnostics button remains available regardless.

• Automatically run job upon loading: begins the cutting sequence immediately after a job file has loaded.
• Display warning before running job: shows an operator warning when a cutting sequence begins.

• Auto-scroll when running job: synchronously scrolls through the list as the cutting sequence is taking place.

  If unchecked, the display will stop scrolling back constantly to each new member being cut.

• Expand members upon running: enables a zoom effect in the Member List or Optimised tab when a cutting sequence begins.

• Ask quantity multiplication factor for file members: asks a value to multiply all members in the job file upon loading.

  Note: this feature is for .smp and .trs files only.

• Draw editing boxes in the member list view: draws boxes around the editable parameters on the Member Diagram when the Member List tab is active.

• Metric: switches from imperial to metric units.

  Note: you must restart Simple for the change to take effect.

• Add undercuts using opening data: enables undercuts to be performed on members that are used for openings (e.g. window, door...) if relevant data are available in the file.

• Add dot to repeated truss names when processing batches (Omni XML files only): rename each new instance of the same truss with an additional dot when found in a separate batch section of the Omni XML file.

Note: this will give each batch a unique truss name and keep the multiple instances of the truss from being optimised together, so they can be cut at different times and sent to different kickoff locations.

The Optimisation tab is used to configure the optimising algorithm according to the plant's requirements.

• Look Ahead: specifies how far the optimising algorithm should look ahead in the file to find members to combine. The entity or field that will be looked at (most commonly truss) can be selected from the drop-down list.

  EXAMPLE 

  If set to "0" and "Trusses" is selected from the drop-down list, the optimising algorithm will only consider the current truss to combine members into the stock length before selecting a new stick. If set to "1", the algorithm will consider the current truss and the next one in the list to combine members into the stock length before selecting a new stick and so on. Increasing the Look Ahead value will therefore improve the optimisation.

  • Members: This will look at the member name for combining members. If all members to be optimised have a quantity of "1" and the Look Ahead value is set to "0", only one member will be placed into each stock length. However if the Look Ahead value is increased to "2", there is a potential that there will be three members with different names combined into each stock length.
  • Trusses: This will look at the truss name for combining members. However it can only consider members of that truss and subsequent trusses with identical material. If there are five members with identical material in each truss and the Look Ahead value is set to "0", there is a potential that all five members of the same truss will be combined into one stock length (members of a different truss will be ignored for that stock length). If the Look Ahead value is increased to "1", there is a potential that members of two different trusses will be combined into the same stock length.
  • Pieces of same material: This will look at the material name for combining members. If all members to be optimised have a quantity of "1", they are all the same material and the Look Ahead value is set to "0", only one member will be placed into each stock length. However, if the Look Ahead value is increased to "2", there is a potential that there will be three members combined into each stock length.
• On-the-fly Look Ahead: specifies how far the optimising algorithm should look ahead in the selection to find members to combine for an on-the-fly optimisation.

• Scaling: relates to the priorities associated with any particular piece of timber.

  • Priority Emphasis: specifies the weighting that is placed on the material priority as defined in the materials database. Changing this will affect what timber will be chosen based on the priority of the timber. If set to "100", the algorithm will always select the top priority timber where possible. If set to "0", the algorithm will always select the configuration with least amount of waste regardless of timber priority.

    Note: the highest priority timber may also produce the least amount of waste.

  • Auto Waste: uses the most waste-efficient optimisation that is found according to the Min, Max and Cnt values defined below. With this enabled, the algorithm will be run many times with the different Priority Emphasis values as defined by Min, Max and Cnt. At the end of the process, the algorithm will choose the optimisation of highest Priority Emphasis that also produces the least amount of waste. This means you will always get the best waste reduction regardless, but it increases the chances of also getting the best timber utilisation possible based on preferred timber.

  • Auto Cost: uses the most cost-efficient optimisation that is found according to the Min, Max and Cnt values defined below. This works exactly the same as the Auto Waste feature, but will look at minimising total cost of the job rather than waste.

    Note: to use this feature, all stock materials must have an entry greater than $0 in the Cost column of the materials database, and this must be up-to-date to provide accurate results.

  • Min: lowest Priority Emphasis scale value (0 to 99) used by the algorithm while iterating through optimisation scenarios for the Auto Waste and Auto Cost features.
  • Max: highest Priority Emphasis scale value (1 to 100) used by the algorithm while iterating through optimisation scenarios for the Auto Waste and Auto Cost features.

  • Cnt: number of iterations performed by the algorithm in even increments between the Min and Max values while trying to find the best optimisation scenario for the Auto Waste and Auto Cost features.

    EXAMPLE 

    If Min is set to "20", Max is set to "80" and Cnt is set to "4", the algorithm will be run four times at a priority emphasis of 20, 40, 60 and 80 of which the scenario with the lowest waste or cost will be selected.

• Force member separation distance: specifies the length of timber that should be cut between two members when not sharing a cut.

• Stack: enables the optimising algorithm to use stacked materials.

  • Thickness: enables the materials to be stacked one on top of the other.

    • Before stick optimisation: attempts to create stacks of individual members and then to combine those stacks in a stack of timbers.
    • After stick optimisation: attempts to combine members in a timber and then to stack that timber with another one.

    Note: The Before stick optimisation may cause more stacking and thus be more time-saving, but may also produce slightly more waste. On the contrary, the After stick optimisation may cause less stacking and thus be more time-consuming, but may also reduce waste.

  • Top/Bot. Plates: enables the top and bottom plates of a same frame to be stacked one on top of the other or cut side by side in case of trenching.
  • Only stack identical materials: prevents the optimising algorithm from stacking different materials (with a different description, width or thickness), whether it be one on top of the other or side by side.
  • Mitred Members: enables side-by-side stacking of mitred members where possible.

• Flip Members to Fit: enables the members to be flipped either length-wise or width-wise based on the length of the individual member.

  Notes:The flipping of members is performed to try and achieve an optimal solution by sharing cuts wherever possible. However, because some members (such as top and bottom chords) require the timber bow to coincide with the geometry of the member, it may be necessary to disable flipping.When the following values are changed, any open files need to be reloaded for the change to take effect.

  • Sideways if shorter than: specifies the maximum length allowed to flip a member width-wise.

    Note: if a member is flipped sideways, no Truss Markings will be printed on it.

  • Lengthways if shorter than: specifies the maximum length allowed to flip a member length-wise.

The Sorting tab contains two lists that are used to group certain members together based on different criteria before and after the optimisation.

Note: the following rules apply:The number "0" will not perform any sorting based on that field.A number different from "0" will define the position of that field in the sorting order ("1" being first, "2" being second, "3" being third and so on).A positive number will perform the sorting based on that field in ascending order (lowest first) and a negative number will perform the sorting in descending order (highest first).

• Pre-Optimisation: determines the order in which the members are fed into the optimising algorithm.

  Using pre-optimisation sorting will have very different effects on waste reduction and cutting order depending on how it is set up. This does not help control the infeed side of the saw, only what members are more likely to be cut first.

• Post-Optimisation: determines the order in which the optimised sticks are listed in the Optimised tab at the end of an optimisation.

  Using post-optimisation sorting will not affect the waste in any way, it will simply re-arrange what order the timber is loaded on the infeed, making the loading process simpler and more efficient. It will however affect the order in which members are cut.

EXAMPLE 

In the Pre-Optimisation list, if the Truss field is set to "1", the Length field to "-2" and the other fields to "0", all members will be grouped by truss first and then sorted by length in descending order within each truss before being processed by the optimising algorithm.

The Offcuts tab is used to manage how the waste materials are automatically reused to produce useful pieces like wedges or wall noggins.

• Offcuts Enabled: enables the Offcuts feature.

  Note: if unchecked, the activation status of each offcut will have no effect.

• Maximum offcut blocks / wedge pairs / custom offcuts per length of timber: specifies the maximum number of offcuts (or pairs of wedges) allowed per stick.

• Maximum waste length to include offcuts (in mm): specifies the maximum length of the waste capable of getting offcuts inserted into the stick.

  Note: If the waste associated with a stick is greater than either of these two previous values, no offcuts will be inserted and the waste will be spared for future use. To ignore one of these options, "0" should be entered into the associated field.

• Generic Kickoff Location for all offcuts: specifies the kickoff location for all offcuts if a kickoff system is installed.

• Blocks / Wedges / Custom: different types of offcuts to select from (squared-off noggins, wedges or custom members)

  Note: if Custom is selected in the previous option, the table will show the custom members created in the Complete Member Editing window.

• Insert (table): adds a new row to the table with the type of offcuts selected in the previous option (Blocks or Wedges only).
• Delete (table): removes the selected row from the table (Blocks or Wedges only).

Note: You can sort the offcuts by clicking any column header. Click a column header to sort the offcuts in ascending order based on that column. Click the same column header again to sort the offcuts in descending order.

The following properties can be defined in the table:

• : activation status of the offcut (check to enable or uncheck to disable the offcut)
• Offcut: name of the offcut (e.g. Block255)

• Material: material to be used for the offcut

  Notes:If a material is specified in this field, the description must be exactly the same as the one in the Materials tab, and the width and thickness specified in the next two columns must match this material.If this field is left blank, the optimising algorithm will use any material that matches the width and thickness specified in the next two columns.

• Width (in mm): width of the material to be used for the offcut
• Thickness (in mm): thickness of the material to be used for the offcut
• Length (in mm): length of the block (for blocks only)

• Rise (in mm): rise of the wedge (for wedges only)

  Note: this value should be equal to the width of the material.

• Run (in mm): run of the wedge (for wedges only)

The Materials tab provides access to the materials database that contains information relating to the timbers used in the plant.

Note: optimising can only occur with the timbers listed in the materials database.

• Leave c mm of material uncut: specifies the length of timber in each stick that is seen as unusable by the optimising algorithm.

• Ignore quantities: disables the inventory control performed by the saw.

  If unchecked, the saw will only use the materials with a number greater than "0" in the Avail. column and reduce this quantity by one each time a specific type of timber is cut.

• Cut bin 7 last (pack feeder): enables the materials from the last conveyor of the Packfeeder (optional) to be cut after the materials from the six bunks.

  This is to ensure all materials that require manual handling will be processed in a row.

• Ignore timber description while optimising: enables the optimising algorithm to pick timbers based on their width and thickness only (the material description is not taken into account).
• Add new material (table): adds a new row to the materials table.

Note: You can sort the materials by clicking any column header. Click a column header to sort the materials in ascending order based on that column. Click the same column header again to sort the materials in descending order.

The following properties can be defined in the table:

• Material: material description to be used to match with material descriptions in a file

  Note: the description must be exactly the same as what is read in from a file.

• Length (in mm): length of the timber
• Width (in mm): width of the timber
• Thickness (in mm): thickness of the timber
• Bin: bunk the timber is located in if an automated timber retrieval system is installed

• Priority: priority each type of timber is to be used in

  Notes:A priority of "0" disables the material.A material with a priority of "1" will try to be used first.It is not advisable to have two lengths of the same material with the same priority. The best practice is to start with the longest stock length at priority "1" and work in descending order to the shortest one.

• Cost: cost per metre of the timber

  Note: optimising and statistics use this value.

• Used: number of pieces of this particular timber that have been used to date

• Available: number of pieces of this particular timber that are still available

  Note: this value is used for inventory control (if Ignore quantities is not enabled).

The Kickoff tab is used to set rules that automatically determine which kickoff location to send a member to. Those rules are applied to all the members in the Member List tab when a job file is loaded. This will override any kickoff location already set in the job file. For more details, see Kickoff Rule Syntax.

• Delete Rule: removes the selected rule from the list.
• Move Up: moves the selected rule up one row, increasing its priority in the list.
• Move Down: moves the selected rule down one row, decreasing its priority in the list.

Note: when opening an optimised job file, the kickoff locations may differ between the Member List tab and the Optimised tab until you re‑optimise the file with the current kickoff rules.

The Statistics tab is used to manage how the daily and monthly reports are generated.

• Maximum Command Execution Time: specifies the maximum time allowed between saw command executions for the system to be seen as in production.
• Sampling Period: specifies the time interval between two samples.
• Monthly Statistics Interval: specifies the time interval used to update the monthly reports.

• PRD Output: shows the output directory and specifies other settings related to Production Feedback files.

  Note: PRD files are specifically designed for MiTek customers. For more information, please contact MiTek.

• RPF Output: shows the output directory and the version of Real-time Production Files.

  Note: RPF files are specifically designed for Pryda customers. For more information, please contact Pryda.

To exit the Options, do one of the following:

• Click .

  The changes are saved.

• Close the Options window.

  All changes are lost.

• Click .

  All changes are lost.