Setting up a cabinet shop: CNC router, edge bander and panel saw

Most frameless cabinet work comes down to three steps: cut sheet goods into parts, band the visible edges, and drill for hinges, shelf pins and hardware. The three machines in this guide cover those steps. Which one you buy first, and in what size, depends on your volume, your people and your floor.

What each machine does

Panel saw

A panel saw cuts sheets of plywood, melamine and MDF into rectangles. Three types are common:

• Sliding table saw: the operator moves the panel past the blade on a sliding carriage, often 3200 mm long to take full sheets. Flexible and relatively affordable, but accuracy depends on the operator, and large sheets often need two people.
• Vertical panel saw: the sheet stands nearly upright and the saw head moves. One person can handle full sheets and the footprint is small, which suits tight shops.
• Beam saw: a computer-controlled saw that pushes one sheet or a stack under a pressure beam and cuts it to an optimised cutting list. This is the high-volume option.

CNC router

A CNC router with a flat vacuum table, usually 4 x 8 ft or 5 x 10 ft, cuts parts out of full sheets and in the same program drills shelf pin and hinge holes, cuts dados and grooves, and shapes curves. Nesting software arranges parts on the sheet to reduce waste and can print a label for every part. For cabinet work, look for an automatic tool changer, a spindle rated for continuous production, and a vacuum pump strong enough to hold small parts.

Edge bander

An edge bander glues a strip of PVC, ABS, veneer or solid wood onto the cut edge, then trims and cleans it. Typical edge thickness runs from about 0.4 to 3 mm, with some machines taking thicker solid wood. The units that matter:

• Pre-milling: trims a fresh, straight edge just before gluing, which removes small chips from the saw or router and gives a tighter glue line.
• End trimming and flush trimming top and bottom.
• Corner rounding: rounds the band at the corners, so parts come off finished instead of needing hand work.
• Scraping and buffing: clean up the radius and the glue line.

Most machines run EVA hot melt, which is cheaper and easy to clean. PUR glue gives a stronger bond with better resistance to water and heat, useful for kitchens and bathrooms, but needs more care because it cures in the pot if the machine sits.

Nesting vs sliding table workflow

Saw workflow: cut rectangles on the saw, band them, then drill on a boring machine or with jigs. Different machines can work on different parts at the same time. It needs less capital to start and suits simple, repeated boxes. It relies more on skilled operators and careful sorting.

Nesting workflow: load a full sheet on the router, cut and drill every part in one program, label and unload, then band. There are fewer handling steps, less dependence on skilled cutting, and custom sizes cost no extra setup time. The trade-off is that the router becomes the single path every part takes, so when it is down, cutting stops.

Many growing shops end up with both: the router for parts that need machining, and a panel saw for plain rectangles such as backs, shelves and fillers. That keeps router time for work only the router can do.

Which to buy first

• Low volume, experienced staff, tight budget: a good sliding table saw and an entry-level automatic edge bander with end trimming. Add pre-milling and corner rounding when manual cleanup starts eating hours every week.
• Custom frameless work, growing volume, skilled labour hard to find: a nesting CNC router plus an edge bander with pre-milling. Keep or add a small saw for one-off cuts and solid wood.
• Router already busy cutting plain rectangles: add a panel saw before a second router, so the router only does parts that need drilling and shaping.

An edge bander belongs in almost every plan. Once cutting speeds up, banding by hand or with a small portable unit quickly becomes the bottleneck.

Space

• A sliding table saw with a 3200 mm carriage needs clear length on both sides of the blade to move full sheets; plan on roughly 5 to 6 m (15 to 20 ft). It can take up to about three times the floor area of a vertical panel saw.
• A CNC router needs its table plus walkways, a loading area for full sheets, space to unload parts and offcuts, and room for the vacuum pump and dust collector.
• An edge bander needs infeed and outfeed length at least as long as your longest panel, plus a way to return parts to the operator.

Lay the shop out in the order parts move: sheet storage, cutting, banding, drilling, assembly, with as little backtracking as possible.

Dust extraction

Extraction is the most underestimated cost in a cabinet shop. A 10 inch table saw needs roughly 350 to 500 CFM. CNC router manufacturers typically call for somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 CFM with ductwork of at least 7 inches, because the cutter moves over the whole bed and throws chips in every direction. Edge banders have their own extraction ports on the trimming units. Size the collector for the machines that run at the same time, and check fire code requirements for wood dust collection with your local authority.

Power and air

Production CNC routers, beam saws and larger edge banders almost always need three-phase power. Many Canadian industrial buildings are supplied at 600 V three-phase, and machines built for other markets may need a transformer. Add up the router, vacuum pump, dust collector, edge bander and compressor, and have an electrician check your service before you order. Many edge banders and routers also use compressed air for clamps, tool changes and trimming units, so plan a compressor with a dryer. In Canada, every machine must carry an accepted electrical certification or be field evaluated before it is connected.

Checklist

• Count cabinets or sheets per week today and what you expect in two years.
• Decide whether you want the skill to sit with the operator or in the program.
• Draw the floor plan with sheet flow and infeed and outfeed lengths.
• Get a dust collection plan sized for the machines that run together.
• Check three-phase voltage, available amps and compressed air capacity.
• Choose EVA or PUR based on where your cabinets will be installed.

Browse CNC routers, edge banders and panel saws in our catalog, then request a quote; we can quote one machine or the whole line, with freight, installation and operator training.