In this article were going to discuss a little about lineal foot counters for your moulding production operation.
Most wood moulding manufactured, either wholesale or retail, sold by the lineal foot, it is important that the client or customer received the proper lineal footage for purchased price.
I have visited many moulding companies that do not have a lineal foot counter on their moulder machine; they simply count the number of pieces of moulding and multiply by the length, (what about random lengths?), suppose somebody made an error in the moulding piece count during the manufacturing process? Here is an example: one row of 15, three inch wide moulding, twelve feet in length, which is 180 lineal feet of lost profits that were not charged.
Alternatively, let us say the count was short (your reputation) by the same amount. Now you will have to set up the moulding machine again and make another 180’ lineal foot of mouldings all because you might not know the exact amount of moulding actually manufactured. The result would be a waste of your time and money. A moulding lineal foot counter can pay for itself and give you the assurance you need for your moulding business.
Lineal foot counters come are either mechanical (Mirror Reflections tooling catalog) or digital (ISCO). Some lineal footage counters can be relatively inexpensive ($350.00 - $750.00) and a few can be more expensive (over $1000.00). Therefore, in short, do your homework and find the one that best fits your moulding operation needs. The mechanical lineal foot counter pictured below will cost about $600.00 including the mounting brackets. The lineal foot counter pictured below the mechanical ones is digital by ISCO, I am not sure on the price of that one.
Whichever you decide to purchase, I would recommend you purchase one with an adjustable height for moulding thickness changes, and a mounting arm that is at least 6” long for proper placement of the counter wheel. Look for a counter that is capable of reading 99,999 thousand feet, any less on large moulding production runs could lead to mistakes in totals of mouldings supplied.
Lineal foot counters install on either end of your moulder machine, be sure to order the correct mounting bracket for the proper installation. The most common application is the out feed end of the moulding machine. Installations of the lineal foot counter at the in feed end of moulder machine can hinder moulder operations with anti-kickback devices and or feeders.
I trust you now you have a better understanding of the importance of lineal foot counters and what to look for in your purchase, if I can be of any further help please feel free to contact us.
