Smart-routers alert you when running critical or prominent parts.  Certain parts are prominent on the final product, door and drawer fronts for example.

Smart-routers instruct you to hand select the sheet if it has any of these prominent parts on it. If left to random, it is easy to encounter a flaw or unattractive grain pattern, forcing you to scrap valuable parts. By hand selecting, you can use the best possible material for these important parts. 

And since nesting is done right at the machine, it is easy to use material left from previous jobs. At the beginning of a new job, simply scan the label on any material you want to use and the machine nests on it. You can even use material with flaws by nesting around the flaws. This feature alone can save 5-7% of your material cost each year.

Thermwood at AWFS 2013

Thermwood will be demonstrating many of the features of smart-router technology and nested based manufacturing at the 2013 AWFS show on July 24th-27th (Booth #8400).  Plan to stop by and check it out, or click the button below to request a personal consultation on how we can help improve your production process.

	Please click the "Request a Consultation" link above or give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 and we will sit down and show you how all this happens, in detail.

Smart-routers use smart labels to make parts easy to sort and edgeband.

Most jobs consist of several individual items, for example, a kitchen full of cabinets. To get the most efficient nests, parts are scattered throughout the job. Once complete, the first thing you must do is figure out which parts go with which cabinets. Smart-routers use a color symbol on the labels. Put the parts with the same symbol together; red circles with red circles, blue triangles with blue triangles, yellow squares with yellow squares, etc. Color symbols are much easier to sort than text descriptions. This saves a ton of labor. Using a diagram of the part, smart labels also show which edges need to be edge banded.

Thermwood at AWFS 2013

Thermwood will be demonstrating many of the features of smart-router technology and nested based manufacturing at the 2013 AWFS show on July 24th-27th (Booth #8400).  Plan to stop by and check it out, or click the button below to request a personal consultation on how we can help improve your production process.

	Please click the "Request a Consultation" link above or give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 and we will sit down and show you how all this happens, in detail.

AWFS 2013 (July 24th-27th)  promises to be an exciting time to visit Las Vegas.  This year, Thermwood is proud to demonstrate our affordable CabinetShop 43 CNC router equipped with the new optional Auto Labeling and Unload Rake System for nested based production as well as our Model 45 CNC router demonstrating solid wood machining. Both machines are equipped with smart-router technology that helps save labor and material, is easy to use and will make you a lot more money than ordinary routers.

Plus, we are offering a FREE 2 GB flash drive to anyone who signs up for a time to meet with our CNC Experts at the show (Booth #8400) to discuss how Thermwood can improve your production process.

Speed up Production Time with CabinetShop 43

This new option helps save time by automating the process of placing labels and off-loading finished material.  The automated system quickly places the labels and then machines the parts.  It next unloads the finished material to a sorting table.  This automatic and economical addition can greatly speed up production time, and is available both on new machines and as a retrofit. 

Solid Wood Machining on Thermwood Model 45

We will also be demonstrating solid wood machining utilizing the Nemi Pod Hi-Flow System on our Thermwood Model 45.  The heavy-duty Model 45 is designed for a variety of functions including the machining of rotary operations when equipped with our optional C-Axis.  This expands the capability of this already useful machine to include volutes, carvings, chair parts, stair components and much more.

FREE 2 GB Flash Drive Sign up below to schedule a time during the show to meet with one of our CNC Experts (Booth #8400).  They will evaluate your production needs to determine how you can best reduce costs and increase efficiency.   Plus, receive a FREE 2 GB Flash Drive during your meeting!

The basis of a smart-router is that, instead of a machine that just executes a program, smart-routers automatically perform numerous functions that otherwise must be done by skilled, and expensive people. Smart-routers aren’t just controls that move a machine. They actually know the job they are doing, so they can make judgment calls to make operation much more efficient.

A smart-router allows a less-skilled operator to easily run programs.  One way it does this is through the use of on-screen instructions during the program operation.

Smart-routers guide you step by step through the program

During program operation, smart-routers tell you what they are doing and offer instructions every step of the way. They tell you how many steps are in the program,what step they are on and what step is coming up next. 

If you can read you can run a smart-router.

	Please click the "Request a Consultation" link above or give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 and we will sit down and show you how all this happens, in detail.

Smart-routers support pause technology. The operator is no longer forced to remain at the machine to stop it in an emergency. A pause button clipped to his belt can stop the machine, so the operator is free to perform other tasks away from the control. A progress bar, visible from a distance, shows the operator how long before he needs to service the machine. It’s like getting an extra worker for free.

With standard routers, the operator must remain close to the control so he can stop the machine if something goes wrong. The only job he can really do is watch the machine. With a smart-router, a pause button clips to his belt. Pressing it anywhere in the production cell stops the machine. It works like an emergency stop, but is not a “wrench in the gearbox” emergency stop. It immediately stops the machine, but offers options:

If you break a tool, the smart-router drops off the tool holder and tells you to replace the tool. It then picks up the new tool, automatically measures it, adjusts the program for the new tool length and diameter, recuts the path of the broken tool and continues with the job. You can also abandon and recut the sheet you are working on. Perhaps the sheet is warped or you found an internal defect when you started cutting. The machine gives you step by step instructions to replace and recut the sheet, right in the middle of the job. 

Perhaps some parts are moving because you didn’t fly-cut the spoilboard soon enough. You can instruct the machine to go ahead and finish this sheet, but leave a skin on all remaining parts so they won’t move and be scrapped. You can easily trim the skin afterwards and save the parts. By the way, smart-routers can fly cut a spoilboard in the middle of a job, then adjust the program for the new spoilboard thickness and finish the job. If these types of problems are encountered on an ordinary router, addressing them is much more involved. 

If you think about it, just the labor saving of being able to use the machine operator to do other tasks in the production cell is enough to pay for the upgrade to a smart-router. The savings in scrap, labor and programing when you encounter a problem makes it that much better.

By the way, not fly cutting the spoilboard soon enough to keep parts from moving is probably the single most common reason for scrapping parts in nested based machining. Smart-routers try to help by keeping track of where you have cut into the spoilboard as you machine parts. Before instructing you to load another sheet, it looks at the parts on the next sheet and at the cuts already in the spoilboard and makes sure every part has sufficient hold down area so it won’t move. If any part falls below a minimum, it gives the operator a choice, either fly cut the top before continuing or it will leave a skin on the problem part so it remains connected to other parts around it and doesn’t move. Over time this saves a ton of scrap, a lot of time and a lot of money.

	Please click the "Request a Consultation" link above or give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 and we will sit down and show you how all this happens, in detail.

Smart-routers may very well be the next wave in CNC routers. Just like smart phones have replaced regular phones, smart-routers may replace regular routers. Why? Because they are a lot easier to use and they make a lot more money from nested based jobs.

The big difference with smart-routers is not only do they know how to move, they also know the job they are doing. They can help in ways no simple machine can.

For example, when a smart-router finishes a job, it already knows how to make every part in that job, so if you need to cut a replacement part, the smart-router can do it without creating a new CNC program. In fact, they remember parts from all previous jobs. Just scan the label and it will cut it from the material left on the table. And, mentioning material left from a job, smart-routers use that material first when cutting a new job. You no longer have to throw it away or create specialized CNC programs to deal with it. It’s quick, easy and virtually automatic. It’s simple and saves the average shop thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars in material each year that would otherwise be scrapped, and we’ve just scratched the surface.

Just like a smart phone handles dozens of daily tasks through special apps, smart-routers handle dozens of aspects of running nested based products. The list is impressive and each feature saves labor, saves material, avoids scrap and makes the whole thing so much easier.

Please click here for a detailed list of some of these smart-router features.

	If you would like to see just how much a smart-router can save you compared to an ordinary router, please give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 and we will sit down and go over it in detail.