How to Increase Yield on Unedged Boards: Multi-Rip Infeed, Wane Waste, and Positioning (Practical Guide)

Unedged boards are hard material: variable width, wane on the edges, curvature, and high board-to-board variability. That is why yield at the multi-rip stage can change by shift even when the saw itself is mechanically fine.

The core production reality: money often leaks out before the board touches the blades. If infeed reference is not repeatable (offset + angle), ripping becomes inconsistent and waste grows.

This is a practical guide for sawmills running unedged boards: what to measure, what to fix, and where the biggest yield levers usually are.

1) Define yield first (so you measure the right thing)

For unedged-board lines, two metrics are most useful:

• multi-rip stage yield (m³ out / m³ into the multi-rip),
• sales/grade yield (sellable m³ A/B out / input m³).

If you want a clean measurement setup: /blog/how-to-calculate-sawmill-yield/.

2) The most common yield losses on unedged boards

Wane and side waste

On unedged boards, waste typically sits at the edges:

• poor pattern selection gives away material,
• random infeed placement gives away material on the wrong side.

Practical steps to reduce wane waste: /blog/reduce-wane-waste-unedged-boards/.

Random infeed before the multi-rip (offset + skew)

If boards enter shifted left/right and occasionally skewed:

• widths drift,
• wane waste increases,
• manual corrections become part of the process.

This is often the fastest lever because it’s an infeed problem, not a “replace the saw” problem.

Kerf and blade condition (important, but usually second)

Kerf is a fixed loss on every cut, and on multi-rips it can add up. But in practice:

1. stabilize infeed first,
2. then chase kerf and blade optimization.

How to convert kerf into m³ loss: /blog/saw-kerf-vs-yield/.

3) Infeed optimization: the biggest lever on unedged boards

With variable material you need two things:

• a repeatable infeed reference (offset + angle),
• a repeatable decision logic (width sets for the shift).

Sorting and “width sets”

A simple approach that often works:

• 3–5 target widths as the primary set,
• 1–2 fallback patterns for boards that don’t “close” cleanly,
• split boards into “easy” and “difficult” groups.

More on practical ripping optimization: /blog/ripping-optimization-boards-lumber/.

2D/3D vision + centering

A vision-based centering/positioning system removes guesswork:

• detects board/cant position + angle,
• (optionally) profiles geometry with 3D/laser,
• computes best placement for your saw spacing and width targets,
• positions the workpiece in real time.

Vision system overview: /blog/vision-system-cant-centering-multi-rip-saw/.

4) Multi-rip setup and feed: stability beats “max speed”

On unedged boards, the goal is stable cutting without binding:

• feed rate should match thickness range and blade condition,
• hold-down and guides must prevent lateral drift,
• extraction must keep the cutting zone clean and cool.

When infeed offset/angle is stable, it becomes easier to:

• hit width targets consistently,
• reduce waviness and burns,
• reduce blade sharpening cost.

5) Automatic positioning before the multi-rip (where we fit)

If your multi-rip is mechanically sound but yield on unedged boards is leaking out, the root cause is often before the saw.

xception.io builds an industrial retrofit positioning module for multi-rip infeed:

• detects position + angle,
• computes optimal placement for your width targets and saw spacing,
• centers and deskews in real time,
• integrates on existing lines.

Solution overview: /solution/
Technical article: /blog/board-centering-before-multi-rip-saw/
Contact and line review: /contact/

6) About the numbers (70–80% vs 85–95% yield)

Online you’ll see many percentages. In practice, yield depends on:

• which yield definition you use,
• product mix (thickness, widths, moisture),
• input variability and how the infeed is positioned.

Instead of adopting a percentage from an article, run a quick audit:

1. measure multi-rip stage yield (m³ out / m³ in),
2. track side waste/wane waste and when it spikes,
3. quantify losses caused by random offset and skew.

Start with this checklist: /blog/how-to-increase-sawmill-yield/.

FAQ

Does it help if my saw spacing is fixed?

Yes. With fixed spacing, the biggest lever is consistent infeed positioning (offset + angle) so the same pattern is applied consistently.

Do I need full 3D to recover yield?

Not always. If offset and skew are the core issue, 2D can deliver strong results. 3D helps when geometry variability is high and placement decisions benefit from profiling.

What usually delivers the biggest improvement on unedged boards?

Stable infeed reference plus repeatable ripping logic. Then kerf and detailed tuning.

Summary

On unedged boards, yield is typically won or lost at the infeed. Stabilize offset + angle, run a repeatable width strategy, and you reduce side waste without rebuilding the entire line.

If you want, send us your infeed layout and width targets—we’ll propose a realistic retrofit scope and ROI estimate: /contact/.