Drystar^®  Intuitive Kiln Control with Simple Hardware and Comprehensive Software

Drystar^® Computer Control System
Principal Features | Drystar Options |  Feedback circuits
 Flexible Drying | Hands-on | Specifications

Drystar from American Wood Dryers is a state-of-the-art kiln control and monitoring system designed to provide improved wood quality and greater production efficiency. Simple to use, Drystar is a complete hardware and software solution that is adaptable for any lumber species and kiln configuration.

Principal features of the Drystar system are:

	Besides a Windows XP Host computer for each site, each kiln has its own PC-104 single board computer (SBC) complete with an embedded version of Windows XP(e) on a 256MB CompactFlash card. By eliminating moving parts (fans, hard drives) system reliability is greatly improved.
	Temperature and humidity control is fully modulating using position feedback from each valve and vent actuator to provide the highest level of accuracy and confidence.
	Easy-to-use graphical operator interface software uses a mouse for most operations, with familiar pull-down menus and pop-up dialog boxes.
	Kiln operation can be either pre-programmed time-based or moisture-content-based drying schedules, or you can simply use manual set-point control as you did with your old controllers.
	Troubleshooting is easy with Drystar's embedded Web-based help pages. When a component failure is detected, an alarm box appears on the host computer screen. Just one click and the operator is linked to annotated and illustrated Web pages for comprehensive assistance. Drystar is truly an expert-enabled system
	Dual modem capability with high speed proprietary software enables off-site monitoring and control of your kilns from any location and alarm notification to any telephone number.
	Integrated variable frequency fan speed control software enables programming of fan speed for each schedule segment. Fan speed can also be changed "on the fly" when needed..

Drystar options for moisture content monitoring include:

	Sartorius electronic scale to compute and log daily moisture content values of up to 16 traditional sample boards per kiln. With a resolution and accuracy of 0.5 grams (less than 1/50th of an ounce) it can also be used to weigh the moisture sample wafers to establish initial MC for the kiln samples.
	Wireless resistance-based moisture probe circuits for automatic moisture-content-based schedule control and in-kiln moisture monitoring.
	Loadmaster® patented in-kiln sample board weighing system keeps the sample board out of harm's way in the plenum space of your dry kiln. University studies performed by the inventor, Dr. Robert L. Little, showed a very close correlation between Loadmaster results and oven-dry results of lumber in the adjacent packages. Because it measures actual weight loss, the Loadmaster system is accurate from "dead green" to "bone dry" providing the most accurate possible readings. Other systems that use "pins" in the lumber to measure resistance, or those that measure power loss in an electric field are only measuring "analogs" of moisture content, which vary in both resolution and accuracy, especially at  very high or very low moisture contents. With the Loadmaster in kiln sample board weighing system you have an important tool to produce top quality products in a minimum amount of time.

Feedback circuits close the control loop
Feedback is an important management tool. Without it, you only know what was supposed to happen; not what actually occurred! We use position feedback from each valve and vent actuator to precisely track its movements. The computer uses this information together with information on actual and desired temperature and humidity values, to calculate new output values every few seconds. It is not unusual for actual temperatures to stay within a few tenths of a degree of desired set-points for hours and hours.

Besides providing extreme accuracy in process control, feedback also provides valuable information to detect hardware failures almost immediately. If the position information received is implausible, something is wrong! Special alarm circuits are  configured to broadcast news of a suspected fault in a variety of ways to suit client needs.

Versatile and always up-to-date
Drystar systems can be configured to perform well on any manufacturer's dry kilns. Both electrical and pneumatic outputs are available. Best of all, we provide free drying software upgrades for life to the original purchaser of the Drystar system. Software improvement is an on-going project at American Wood Dryers.

When new operating systems appear that have significant advantages over earlier ones, Windows XP for example to replace Windows 98, hardware upgrades are made available on an "exchange" basis (where possible) to minimize expense.

Flexible drying schedules support totally automatic drying
Automatic drying schedules consist of up to 25 segments. Each segment has dry bulb and wet bulb temperature set-points, segment time, fan speed, fan reverse time, steam spray, temperature alarm settings, and target moisture content.

EMC is automatically calculated and displayed on the main screen based on actual current conditions.

Supports hands-on operations with on-the-fly changes and semi-automatic control
You can interact with the schedule as you feel is necessary during the drying process. Whether you want to increase or decrease segment time, fan speed, or change the sensitivity of your alarm settings, you can make changes easily without having to restart the schedule.

If you don’t want to bother with automatic schedules, you can simply start the system up and make periodic adjustments to the set-points according to your judgement. The resulting work product can be saved and can become an additional library schedule

Principal Features | Drystar Options |  Feedback circuits
Flexible Drying | Hands-on | Specifications