ISA 2011 – What we learned

We just returned from the International Sign Expo in Las Vegas, and had a great time.  It was enjoyable meeting new people in this expanding industry.  We got a lot of interesting feedback from companies in the industry about their need to constantly evolve and expand what they offer to meet the growing needs of their customers.

From vehicle wraps to window graphics and three dimensional signs, today’s sign professionals have to be able to offer at least as much, and usually a whole lot more than their competitors to survive and thrive.  They have to be able to think outside the box to grab any piece of business that comes their way, and traditional sign trimming machines only meet some of these needs.

We have learned that these traditional machines are comparatively light-duty when it comes to any type of heavier material or non-traditional application.  Or, if they can machine the necessary material, it is oftentimes very unproductive (requiring multiple passes and valuable time). This can cause you to miss out on jobs that your equipment simply can’t do.

What now?

You’ve seen this in other industries.  There reaches a point when everybody’s product basically does the job.  Some do it better than others, but they all get the job done.  After that, the market is saturated with copy-cats until someone comes up with a new innovation or way to use the technology in a different way.  Just like cell phones gave way to smart phones and laptops are slowly going away in favor of tablets, there is a new solution to the problems facing the sign industry. 

A different approach

Using a heavy-duty sign machine like the Thermwood SignRouter 43 offers the ability to cut and trim printed graphic signs on rigid substrates as well as machining and carving three dimensional signs and letters (all much faster than traditional machines). In addition to those features, it can also operate as a high-production CNC Router, giving owners the advantage of being able to offer a whole additional variety of products to their customers. 

The SignRouter43 is capable of machining flat and three-dimensional signs using wood, aluminum, composites, chip core, rigid foam, plastics, acrylic, non-ferrous metals and other various types of materials as well as operating as a traditional sign-making machine using optional i-cut Vision camera and software (these highly capable systems accurately trim printed signs, automatically compensating for distortion or rotation in the printed image).

At the show, we demonstrated the SignRouter 43 with a 5’×10 fixed table, featuring a 12 HP HSD spindle and an eleven position automatic tool changer. It features both high acceleration and high performance motions in both positioning and cutting. This system includes quality features seldom, if ever, found at this price point including full stress relieved weldments, high-end Siemens drives throughout, THK rails and three-dimensional volumetric position compensation.  In addition to the 5’×10 table, we also offer a larger variety of table sizes (dual or moving tables/vacuum hold-down methods available). 

Thinking outside the box

A unique aspect of our technology is the ability to do a lot more than just signs.

Thermwood’s SignRouter43 with “QuickCut” technology also offers a revolutionary new approach for nested based applications. Just select and resize cabinets, closet components and POP displays, then make them…right at the machine. You don’t need design software. You don’t need extensive training or a painful learning curve. Pretty much anyone in your shop can make cabinets and closets with a few minutes instruction.  It’s not much more difficult than running a copy machine. 

This can allow you to greatly expand your product offering with the same machine you use to produce your traditional signs!

We are streaming live from the International Sign Expo in Las Vegas, starting today 4/28/11 at 11:00am CST.

See our SignRouter 43 with i-cut Vision technology in action direct from our Booth #5333.  It is like attending the show from the comfort of your office!

You can also interact directly with our folks at the show via real-time chat. Ask questions and also see what everyone is saying on Facebook and Twitter about our exciting approach to the sign industry (all in one place).

Visit the Thermwood Booth from your computer at:

http://www.livestream.com/thermwoodcnc

Featuring the SignRouter 43:

The SignRouter 43 is capable of machining flat and three-dimensional signs using wood, aluminum, composites, chip core, rigid foam, plastics, acrylic, non-ferrous metals and other various types of materials as well as operating as a traditional sign-making machine using optional i-cut Vision camera and software (these highly capable systems accurately trim printed signs, automatically compensating for distortion or rotation in the printed image).  Click for more info

Thermwood’s SignRouter43 with “QuickCut” technology also offers a revolutionary new approach for nested based applications. Just select and resize cabinets and closet components, then make them…right at the machine. You don’t need design software. You don’t need extensive training or a painful learning curve. Pretty much anyone in your shop can make cabinets and closets with a few minutes instruction.  It’s not much more difficult than running a copy machine. 

The SignRouter 43 is a robust, highly flexible production system capable of operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

At the recent IWF show in Atlanta, Thermwood partnered with Hafele, Columbia Forest Products and Conestoga to build complete cabinets for Habitat for Humanity.   

Thermwood demonstrated a working production cell consisting of the CabinetShop 43 CNC Router (for nested based applications) and a Fravol S2 ECO edgebander.  Attendees were able to get hands on experience using the easiest and simplest system in the industry.  Within a few seconds they selected a product to cut, modified the size and watched the machine cut their parts.  Attendees then took the parts to the edgebander to complete the process.

Complete cabinets were produced at the show from the ¾” thick, pre-finished maple plywood provided by Columbia Forest Products.  This Pure Bond plywood is sealed with AquaSEAL (a formaldehyde-free recyclable overlay conforming to the latest in green technology).

Hafele provided the hinges, slides and shelf hardware for the cabinets, and Conestoga Doors providedfinished five-piece doors and solid wood drawer fronts. 

Cabinet joinery was Thermwood’s new revolutionary Barb Dado joint (patent pending), which allowed the cabinets to be put together without the use of clamps or other holding methods.  The Barb Dado joint is a modified versionof the Blind Dado joint in which we machine a series of barbs in the mortise slot. When you press the parts together, the barbs bend down, bending the fibers in the wood downward firmly holding the pieces together. It is a lot harder to pull it apart than to put it together. This means you can assemble cabinets without screws, clamps or any other fasteners.

The result were beautiful, complete cabinets produced quickly, utilizing an innovative new, highly efficient manufacturing approach which results in a superior structure coupled with enhanced use of materials, all at a dramatically lower price. All cabinets produced at the IWF were donated to Habitat for Humanity.

We are streaming live from IWF, starting today 8/25/10. See the show without leaving your office!

http://www.livestream.com/thermwoodcnc

Featuring the New Barb Dado Joint:

We have a CabinetShop 43 production cell at our Booth # 5153 demonstrating the new Barb Dado Joint. This is a new development at Thermwood that we have applied for patent protection on. The joint is a modified version of the Blind Dado joint in which we machine a series of barbs in the mortise slot. When you press the parts together, the barbs bend down, bending the fibers in the wood downward firmly holding the pieces together. It is a lot harder to pull it apart than to put it together. This means you can assemble cabinets without screws, clamps or any other fasteners.

This simple idea is pretty revolutionary. We have a video from another project which shows how a cabinet is assembled using the barb dado joint. You can find it at:

http://www.thermwood.com/thermwood_barb_dado_joint.htm

CNC Automation is holding an open house event on June 10 and 11, 2010 from 9 am to 5 pm both days at its St. Zotique, Que., headquarters.

The event marks the official launch of the company's new Canadian Solid Wood Technology Division as well as the Kentwood by Stiles program of woodworking machinery. A number of machines will be in operation during the event, including a Kentwood 6 heard moulder, a Kentwood Profile Grinder and a Kentwood Multiple Rip Saw. In addition, Stiles solid wood experts will be on hand both event days.

On the panel processing side, CNC Automation has announced it will have a complete nested based manufacturing cell in operation. The cell will consist of a Thermwood CNC router, Fravol & Lange edgebanders (straight and contour), Omal dowel drilling and inserting machine as well as a Giben computerized panel saw. 

This is a neat video from the HGTV Canada program "House of Bryan", showing the creation and installation of custom cabinets for host Bryan Baeumler's house. 

The machine making the cabinets is a Thermwood CabinetShop 45 with a 5×10 table, and is owned by Top Notch Cabinets, of Oakville, Ontario.

In the Woodworking industry, laser scanners and touch probes have been used for some time for digitizing objects, but due to severe technical or practical limitations, neither has seen significant use in the market. Software and CNC machine technology already exist to take advantage of 3D digital models, so digitizing has been the weak link in the process. The recent introduction of the FastSCAN to the woodworking market has changed that, and allows woodworkers to leverage digital technology to increase their productivity and get more return on their CNC investment.  Click HERE for the full article.

Thermwood Corporation, always on the cutting edge of technology, is now taking its CNC expertise to new markets

Written by Militza Richard & Produced by Shaheen Mohammadipour

The Thermwood Corporation has never been intimidated by technology. Founded in 1969 as a plastic molder for wood-grained parts for the furniture industry, the company developed their own CNC tool in the mid 1970s.

"We ended up building the first CNC control system ever offered commercially," says company founder and CEO Ken Susnjara. The company developed its own operating systems and evolved their CNC routers into a very powerful and capable system.

Used to cut, trim and shape a wide variety of materials including wood, plastic, composites, foam, honeycomb core and non-ferrous metals into either flat or three-dimensional shaped products, CNC routers have changed the face of the machine industry. Thermwood is the oldest CNC router company in the world and the only CNC manufacturer in the country with a GSA certification.

With customers ranging from NASA to Broadway, Thermwood offers a wide variety of systems, in both three and five axis configurations in a wide range of sizes. The company has also become a major international player with operations across the globe.

NEW MARKETS

For many years, Thermwood Corporation has been extremely successful focusing on three key markets: woodworking, plastics and aerospace. However, the company has recently begun expanding into new markets, such as the growing wind sector.

"We've made a huge number of changes in the downturn," says Susnjara. "We've revamped marketing, targeted the wind energy market, and created some new machines. We didn't pull into our shells. You have to go out there and get the business."

With Ken's son Jason Susnjara heading up the marketing department, Thermwood Corporation has embraced online marketing and begun attending new tradeshows, opening doors into new business sectors.

"We had a traditional marketing plan that had worked well for us, but over the past few years we have begun embracing electronics and becoming internet savvy. It's worked rather nicely. By spreading out our marketing we have been able to pick up business in new sectors," says Ken Susnjara.

Entering these new markets has been essential as the economy continues to struggle. "The biggest trends are our competitors going out of business," says Susnjara. "We are in a dozen markets in 35 countries, and we would have never believed they would all dip at the same time."

But the company has taken the down time to revamp and is now excited about the future. "As the economy recovers we will be much stronger," states Susnjara. He believes the economy is turning around and is excited that more and more companies are beginning to adopt CNC technology.

IMPROVED MACHINES

As Thermwood enters new market places, the company has also developed larger, more accurate machines. However, one problem with large machines is the head alignment. Ensuring accuracy comes with a high cost.

To solve this problem, Thermwood has employed 3-D laser systems to measure the exact position of the head everywhere in the working envelope. They then developed technology that allows their CNC control to take this data and compensate for any machine error.

This system cuts down on the cost, making it practical to build larger machines. "We have sold 60ft machines and with the new system we can run the Z axis into the 10-12ft range," explains Susnjara.

As Thermwood continues to improve its systems, its technology continues to become more accurate and easier to use. For example, mounting a fixture used to be a task that could take hours of painstaking work, but Thermwood's new technology can transform the program to match the fixture instead of the other way around, cutting out hours of work.

"Things that used to take a lot of time and skill are now being handled in the control," says Susnjara. "Once we discover the needs of a client, we can generally come up with a way to meet those needs better than our competitors. We can offer the machines for 1/3 less money with specs that are better."

Thermwood hopes to apply this technological savvy to the growing wind sector. Susnjara says the company has programs in place with leaders in the industry and is excited about the "unique technologies they will be able to bring to the industry."

STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Thermwood is able to offer flexible technological solutions to its clients thanks to the hard work and skill of its employees. "We get pretty good folks. This area has a strong work ethic and skilled people," says Susnjara.

In fact, he says many of the people who were with the company in the beginning are still there today. Their very first employee just retired last year, and many employees are second generation. And while there have been layoffs and pay cuts due to the economy, Susnjara says that in a normal year a turnover rate of 1 or 1.5 percent is bad.

Thermwood also cultivates long-term relationships with its vendors and distributors. Having been in the same business for so long, they have maintained great relationships with all of their vendors. "We have a philosophy that everyone needs to make money. We don't squeeze our vendors. It's better to create relationships where you support each other," says Susnjara.

Similarly, the company has worked with many of its distributors for 20 or 30 years. Many are now second generation.

FACTS AT A GLANCE:

Company Name: Thermwood Corporation

CEO: Ken Susnjara

Operations: Thermwood is the oldest CNC router company in the world and the only CNC manufacturer in the country with a GSA certification

Established: 1969

http://www.thermwood.com

The members of projectione recently utilized the 3 Axis CabinetShop 45 CNC Router at Associated Fabrication in New York to create several cool projects.

The first is a combination of CNC Router and a set of drafting and art pens to draw abstracted versions of character sketches.  For more information on this process, please click here:

We've created a couple of videos demonstrating the superior performance of the CabinetShop 43 in a variety of applications.  The first is the Carving of an inset carving, and the second is Cabinet Cutting.

About the CabinetShop 43:  The CabinetShop 43 offers premium performance not normally seen at this price point. For example, it has positioning speeds to 3,180 inches per minute and programmed cutting speeds to 2,250 Inches per minute. The actual speed at which you can cut is determined more by tooling and material than by the machine, but its speed is indicative of the overall solid CNC performance of the CabinetShop 43.