Abstract: A method of optimizing the yield of useful material cut from a piece of raw material, such as lumber, includes considering different cutting options for cutting the piece, identifying different potential yields obtainable for each cutting option, determining the relative probability of obtaining each potential yield, and determining the relative value of each cutting option, preferably by averaging the potential yields for that option where each potential yield is statistically weighted by its relative probability. By comparing the relative values, the highest-valued cutting option is identified and cutting of the piece is performed in accordance with such option.

Abstract: A linear positioning cylinder drive has a piston connected at one end to a load and at the other end to a cable. The cable is secured to a pulley secured to a shaft urged in a takeup direction by a coil spring or hydraulic motor. The piston is moved by a hydraulic pump through a servo valve actuated by a circuit controlled by a transducer driven by the shaft. In one embodiment, the transducer is rotary and in another embodiment the transducer is linear.