WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA - Mr. Dennis Glenn Blackburn, age 62, died from multiple challenged systems Tuesday (February 7, 2012).

Dennis was born in Appleton, WI, on Jan. 10, 1950 and moved to Winter Haven from Portage, WI, in 1966. 

Dennis has been associated with Thermwood Corporation since 1990, becoming an exclusive dealer for Thermwood in March of 1997.  Dennis was highly committed to Thermwood, continuously placing in the top tier of sales every year.  “Dennis was very passionate about Thermwood, and cared deeply about all of his customers” said Vice President of Sales, Dennis Palmer.  

He was a member of the Polk Area Bicycling Association, and attended Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church.

Dennis is survived by his wife Elizabeth C. Blackburn, and daughters Celeste and Ona.

The International Sign Expo (March 22nd-24th) is a great way to see exciting new technologies in the sign industry.  

Thermwood has been in the sign industry for many years and will be showcasing our SignRouter 43 demonstrating the machine capabilities by machining aluminum, plastics and foam (Booth #1080).

Thermwood is offering Free Trade Show Passes to the 2012 International Sign Expo in Orlando, FL, March 22nd - 24th.  If interested, please click on the link below to regsiter for a free pass.

Free ISA Trade Show Pass Registration Link

Habitat for Humanity will be the beneficiary of CNC Automation's technology and generosity at the Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo (WMS) October 27-29.

The St. Zotique, QC-based company plans to make and assemble parts into residential casegoods at its exhibit booth throughout the three-day show, taking place for the first time ever at the Direct Energy Centre. The casegoods will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Restore in Ontario.

Making this live production possible are three production lines that CNC Automation will have in operation during WMS. They include:

Solid Wood Processing, CNC's newest division, will showcase Kentwood moulders and Ironwood classical woodworking equipment to manufacture five-piece wood cabinet doors.

Panel Processing, including Thermwood CNC nested-based routers, Omal drill and dowel insertion equipment and a panel saw, will produce case good components.

Spray Finishing & Sanding, featuring Timesavers calibration sanders, Loewer finishing sanders and Makor water-based spray systems, will be used to finish the solid wood parts. 

In addition, CNC Automation is finalizing plans for a tour of Toronto-area woodworking facilities to take place on Wednesday, October 26, the day before the show opens. To assist out-of-town customers, the company has secured a block of rooms at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel conveniently located to the Direct Energy Centere.

 "We are extremely excited to see the change in venue of the WMS show," said Daniel Comeau vice president, general manager of CNC Automation. "The move to downtown Toronto has injected the market with a new enthusiasm in this important Canadian event. The WMS show is an important part of the Canadian marketplace. Canadian manufacturers deserve and should expect a "locally" based and focused showcase of products featuring the newest technologies."

"CNC Automation is committed to all of our customers Canada wide," Comeau added. "The WMS event provides us the opportunity to express this commitment to the Canadian marketplace. As a Canadian machinery dealer, we owe it to our Canadian customers to provide a Canadian event where they can view the latest technology and be exposed to new ideas that are important to their future growth and prosperity."

Please visit CNC Automation's booth at WMS in Toronto.  Booth #'s are 129 and 1504.

For more information please visit www.cncautomation.com (800.421.5955) or www.thermwood.com (800.533.6901)

Section 179 Tax Deduction/Bonus Depreciation

Thinking of purchasing a new cnc router in 2011, and still on the fence because of the uncertain economy? Some great news is the current dual benefit of the Section 179 deduction/100% bonus depreciation which helps make 2011 the ideal year to purchase your new cnc router!

These newest changes are as follows:

• The Section 179 Deduction limit has been increased to $500,000. The total amount of equipment that can be purchased increased to $2 million. This includes most new and used capital equipment, and also includes software.

• The “Bonus Depreciation” has been increased to 100% on qualified assets. However, this can be taken on new equipment only.

2011 is the Year to Do It!

Due to the extension of Section 179 under the 'HIRE Act of 2010' - the enhanced limits under the 'Jobs Act of 2010' - and the recently enacted 100% Bonus Depreciation under the 'Tax Relief Act of 2010':

You can basically write-off 100% of all the equipment and software your business needs to buy or finance this year!

Depreciation Bonus At A Glance:   

• 2011 Deduction Limit - $500,000 (up from $250k previously). Good on new and used equipment, including new software.

• 2011 Limit on equipment purchases - $2 Million Dollars (up from $800k previously).

• “Bonus” Depreciation - 100% (taken after the $500k deduction limit is reached). Note, bonus depreciation is only for new equipment. This can also be taken by businesses that exceed $2 million in capital equipment purchases.
  
  The above is an overall, “simplified” view of the Section 179 Deduction for 2011. For more details on limits and qualifying equipment, as well as Section 179 Qualified Financing, please visit section179.org
  
  An example of Section 179 at work:

For more detailed information: please click here.

Calculate your potential savings: please click here

Please use the following links to view our line of 3 axis and 5 axis Thermwood CNC Routers. 

Visit Why Purchase a Thermwood? to see why our machines are the most reliable, technically advanced and safest choice for over 40 years.

The 2011 AWFS Show promises to be an exciting opportunity to visit Las Vegas and see the very latest in CNC Router technology from Thermwood!

At AWFS we will be demonstrating the machining of custom nested based cabinets along with a variety of other applications including MDF doors, sheet plastics, and wood components.

Featuring the CabinetShop 45 with load/unload system:

Our demonstrations will include machining products on our CabinetShop 45 CNC, complete with our new optional load/unload system that reduces labor and eliminates the need to load and unload material from the router.  Also at AWFS we will be demonstrating the S400 and BEE Fravol edgebanders.  Fravol, known for high quality edgebanders, is exclusively represented and serviced in the US by Thermwood.

The CabinetShop 45 will feature our new QCore SuperControl system.  The QCore operates with Windows 7 Pro, has a massive 1 Tb Hard Drive for program storage, utilizes a Quad Core Processor and provides the highest level control platform for CNC router technology today.

QCore also features an all-new optional Hand Held Programmer that puts the expanded power of the QCore control into a compact, rugged hand remote.  This new hand held offers improved ergonomics, a color LCD touch screen display and a durable 24-key steel dome membrane keypad.  It allows the operator to perform a wide variety of tasks that were previously only available through the machine control.

Live streaming webcam from AWFS!

We will be showcasing Thermwood’s speed and quality by running LIVE machine demonstrations using different materials such as plywood, melamine, MDF, Acrylic and King Plastics’ Starboard throughout the day – and available via webcam. 

Hands-on Access!

Attendees will also have a chance to customize a product and run the machine yourself using our QuickCut software right at the control.  Just select an item, change the size and watch the machine do the rest.

If you’re interested in not just increasing throughput but also reducing assembly time, stop by Thermwood’s booth to see the latest in construction joints and assembly marks. 

Featuring the New Lock Dado Joint:

We announced the new Barb Dado Joint at the IWF show in 2010, this year for AWFS we will be demonstrating our new Lock Dado Joint which combines blind dado and KD Fasteners (available from Hafele) making assembly unbelievably fast and easy!

Plan to stop by Thermwood Booth #4210 and check us out!

The AWFS show is located at the Las Vegas Convention Center and runs from July 20th-23th.

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.

If you are planning to attend the 2010 ShopBot Jamboree held tomorrow April 23rd and Saturday April 24th in Durham, NC, you will want to check out the informative eCabinet Systems presentation hosted by Dennis Englert. 

Dennis is the Manager of Product Training here at Thermwood, and is a guru with eCabinet Systems.  He is also the author and voice behind our popular eCabinet Systems Online Training program. 

Dennis will be representing Thermwood and more specifically, eCabinet Systems at the Jamboree. He will be demonstrating the power and flexibility of eCabinet Systems as well as how you can use the ShopBot/eCabinet Systems Link to export your eCabinet Systems .twd files into a format that will run on a ShopBot.

He will have the ShopBot/eCabinet Systems Link on-hand for purchase as well as "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems".

Make plans now to attend the Jamboree and experience the eCabinet Systems presentation for expert guidance and tips.