DETROIT - As part of the 2017 Executive Briefing Conference, Gary Wernlund of Stiles Machinery summarized some of what he calls Tech Bytes, short descriptions of improvements and developments in woodworking technology.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things he described in a presentation at EBC:

• Machines that have smaller footprints while performing similar tasks
• Improved materials management, including two carriages working at the same time in a large material retrieval system
• Better management of offcuts, including a return conveyor that allows the machine operator to sort pieces
• LED guidance to help the panel saw operator
• Higher textures in laminates in answer to what consumers want
• Edgebander return conveyor at a lower height than the edgebander itself to avoid collision between pieces moving in opposite directions
• Improvements in zero seam technology
• Faster changeover of gluing materials, allowing different glue technology to be used on the same machine without a separate setup
• Quality improvements in edge milling
• In tooling, a “boring pin” that doubles bring speed.

Travelers to Ligna 2017 this month will be able to see many of these new technologies demonstrated. Also see www.stilesmachinery.com.