Where to go for help:

The best place for eCabinet Systems software users to turn for technical help is the Member Forum on the eCabinet Systems web site. Most common questions have been addressed and many users stand ready to offer help and suggestions. This is a huge resource full of tips, techniques and suggestions. If your question cannot be resolved by searching, then post the question on the forum. The forum is monitored by many eCabinet Systems users, as well as Thermwood staff and you can often be notified of a resolution within minutes, regardless of your geographical location and time zone. As an extra benefit, questions answered on the forum are available for others in the future, making it even more valuable.

Online Video Training:

Although the software includes a user’s manual, to really learn to use the software in a timely manner, Thermwood offers an online video training program for eCabinet Systems. This is a low-cost monthly subscription which can be started and stopped at any time. It offers extensive training in all aspects of eCabinet Systems software. It is available when you want and you learn at your own pace. Anyone that plans to operate a business using eCabinet Systems software should subscribe to this video training. It will save you huge amounts of time, will make you more efficient and help you to get full benefit from all aspects of the program.

Five-day On-site Class:

Thermwood also offers a formal eCabinet Systems training class for those who want to unleash the full potential of this powerful program as quickly as possible. This is a week-long class, conducted at Thermwood and includes a one year subscription to the video training program above.

Phone Support:

For questions that just can’t be answered any other way, Thermwood offers phone support to anyone currently subscribed to the video program or anyone that is operating a Thermwood CNC router using eCabinet Systems. It is not practical to extend phone support to anyone not a current subscriber to the video program because most answers to operating questions refer you to sections of the online video.

We can offer phone assistance if you are having problems with initial installation but before you call make sure your problem hasn’t been addressed on the forum and that you don’t have a firewall or other program blocking access to the registration code. These firewall programs are the most common problem encountered during installation.

A revolutionary new joinery system is on the way!  Thermwood is proud to announce our upcoming “Lock Dado” joint.   

A Lock Dado joint is an improved version of the old KD joint. It uses a machined dado and tenon to precisely align and securely hold the joint and cam-lock fasteners to clamp it in place.

This new joint can be assembled and disassembled with just a screw driver, yet the joints are rigid, solid and strong.  Combining Lock Dado joints with our patented Assembly Marks makes assembling easy and the joinery strong while allowing for disassembly.

This new joint will be available as a joinery selection in eCabinet Systems in the near future.  Stay tuned for more updates and information.

As a sponsor of the CabinetMakerFDM Woodworking Business E-vent, Thermwood Corporation invites you to attend this unique and interactive event on November 18, 2010.

As an attendee, you’ll have the opportunity to view five educational sessions on innovations in the wood products industry, network with colleagues and visit our booth in the Exhibit Hall - All from the comfort of your office!

We will also be running live demonstrations throughout the day - available via webcam.

Register online to join us at the Woodworking Business E-vent. We look forward to seeing you there!

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.

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.

Today is the first day at the WMS show in Toronto where our Canadian Dealer, CNC Automation has a very nice booth with a couple of Thermwood CNC Routers including the New CabinetShop43. We are continualy adding pictures from the show to our TwitPic account. You can view them here:

http://www.twitpic.com/photos/thermwood

You can also follow Thermwood, CNC Automation and the WMS show on our twitter page or blog:

http://www.twitter.com/thermwood

The booth consists of two Thermwood routers, CabinetShop45 and CabinetShop43., and two Fravol Edgebanders, S4 and S7.  They are demonstrating eCabinet Systems and QuickCut on the CS43, cutting random cabinets and 20-20 Technologies is sending files to the CS45.

The CS45 is also creating furniture for Canada's Habitat for Humanity. Once the parts are cut on the machine, they will get edgebanding, finished and assembled right there in the booth, so there are other secondary type of machines within the booth.

 Here are a couple of pics of the CNC Automation /Thermwood booth at the opening of the show:

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.

We've created an updated QuickCut video that shows how easy and powerful the entire process is:

About QuickCut:  QuickCut is available on all Thermwood CabinetShop series machines and offers the fastest, easiest and simplest possible way to make custom cabinets. Everything is done right at the machine. You don't need separate computers, design software, networks or anything else other than the machine.

Please Click Here for more information on QuickCut 

We are pleased to introduce a revolutionary new CNC Router System, called the CabinetShop 43, for nested based applications. This new high performance CNC router is built in the US, at Thermwood's Southern Indiana factory and utilizes a whole new, highly efficient manufacturing approach which results in a superior structure coupled with enhanced use of materials, all at a dramatically lower price.

The new machine features a 61 by 121 inch fixed table, a 10 HP HSD spindle and an eleven position automatic tool changer. It offers high acceleration, high performance motions in both positioning and cutting. This new 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.

The system also includes Thermwood's QCore SuperControl which sharply distinguishes it from every other machine in this class offering features such as:

"QuickCut" is the fastest, simplest, easiest way to make cabinets and closets ever. Just select and resize a cabinet from the library and cut it, all right at the machine control.

"Job Level Interface" means you communicate with every major cabinet design software package using a single job file instead of dozens or hundreds of individual programs. Nesting and program development happen automatically at the machine; an approach that offers dramatically simpler operation and higher productivity.

The QCore SuperControl also executes standard G-Code programs developed elsewhere.

The QCore SuperControl also has an impressive list of operating features all with one purpose, make the machine as foolproof as possible to reduce errors, minimizing the time you fiddle with the machine. It runs more with less effort.

- Automatic Tool Management helps you manage tooling and tracks tool life

- Maintenance Tracking tracks machine use and guides you through routine maintenance

- Graphic Error Reporting shows you exactly where a problem is and suggests solutions

- Complete User Manual in the control

- Dynamic CAD drawings of the entire machine on the control screen

- Maintenance Videos on the control guide you through mechanical adjustments

- Virtual Service provides direct link from the control to Thermwood service

Never before has this level of technical sophistication, quality and performance been available at this price. The CabinetShop 43 is ushering in a new era of productivity, ease of use and profit for custom cabinet operations.

We are pleased to announce a new, simplified approach to nested based production of cabinets and closets that does not require separate cabinet design software. This new approach, called "QuickCut", is done entirely at the CNC machine.

The operator, working at the machine control, simply selects and resizes cabinets and closets from a built-in library and runs them. This entire process happens at the machine. The process is simple enough that virtually anyone can run it with minimal instruction. Libraries can be modified or extended through a programming service.

"For the first time you can operate a CNC router without extensive training or technical skill", says Thermwood's Vice-President of Marketing Jason Susnjara. "This approach allows cabinetmakers to focus on making cabinets using an amazing new tool that's really easy to use".

Operating a CNC router usually requires specialized knowledge which limits its use to specially trained employees. We used the technical power in our Gen2 SuperControl to totally automate virtually every task, then created a simple user interface, resulting in a system that almost anyone can use without extensive training.

The QuickCut feature targets smaller, less technical shops but can also be used by larger companies to make virtually any part or product in their product line any time they want. A library of parts can be stored on a network drive. At that point, almost anyone can walk up to any QuickCut machine and make any part. It's that easy. By storing files in a central location, management has complete control of anything that is made, anywhere in the factory.

"This new interface takes what has been a confusing area for non-technical users and makes it almost as easy as using a copy machine", states Thermwood's President, David Hildenbrand. "We believe it will fundamentally change how cabinets, closets and perhaps many other products, are made".

All nested based systems from Thermwood are QuickCut compatible and Gen2 systems operating in the field can be retrofitted to make them QuickCut compatible.

For more information on this exciting new development, please visit our QuickCut area of the website.