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.

Delcam's ArtCAM software enabled Adirondack Studios to complete successfully a project to produce five giant chandeliers for the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs, Pennsylvania.

For over 30 years, Adirondack Studios, based in Argyle, New York, has helped to design and build themed environments for theatres, arenas, exhibit halls, ballrooms, parks, restaurants, casinos, amusement parks, supermarkets, museums, stadia and marinas. About a year ago, the company began using the ArtCAM artistic CADCAM software to program the CNC routers used to manufacture the majority of the company's products.
"The software that we used in the past for CNC programming worked fine for routine jobs but many of the projects that we get involved in are far out of the ordinary," said Bob Gregory, Senior Router Operator. "We spent too much time watching the clock while we were machining and ran into quite a few bugs. Also, the software developer was not as responsive as we wished when we called in for support."
"We had heard that a number of our competitors were using ArtCAM with very good results so we decided to give it a try," Mr. Gregory continued. "From the very beginning we felt that ArtCAM was a more finished product, more robust, with much higher performance. The tutorials make it very easy to take advantage of the many advanced features of the software. The support provided by Delcam has been superlative and they do listen to, and implement, user suggestions for improving the software."
Adirondack Studios' designers began the construction of the chandeliers by building a 3D model in AutoCAD. The file was imported into ArtCAM to generate the CNC program to machine a positive shape in low-density foam. This was used by a subcontractor to vacuum-form the plastic bowl segments. These were then painted to look like alabaster.
In a similar way, the casting department used ArtCAM to make a mould to cast the grouse models that would be used to decorate the chandeliers. A black-tinted silicone rubber was used to give the grouse the appearance of wrought iron.

The next step was to create a bird's nest pattern and weave it around the circumference of the bowl. ArtCAM allowed the ways in which the strands crossed each other to be varied for a more natural appearance. "Birds do not use a CNC machine to build their nests so it took considerable effort to get the correct look," Mr. Gregory said.  Mr. Gregory generated a CNC program to cut the bird's nest negative shape into MDF. It took only fifteen minutes to create the program compared with at least four hours that would have been needed with the previous software. The mould was used to cast the bird's nests from the same silicon rubber used for the grouse. Finally, the birds and the nests were glued to the bowl of each chandelier.
The finished chandeliers were then installed in the casino. They formed part of a $208-million renovation of the site, aimed at transforming it into the area's leading entertainment complex.

We are now a Business Member of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), and will be exhibiting at the Windpower Expo 2010 in Dallas, TX (May 23rd-26th, 2010).  Make plans now to come out and see us in action.

Thermwood offers 3 and 5 axis systems ideally suited for the production, fabrication and trimming of composites and other materials used in the production of wind energy products. 

For more information on our applications in this area, please visit the composite page of our CNC Routers By Applications area.

We've just completed updating and expanding our 3 and 5 axis CNC Router areas on thermwood.com. 

This new interface allows a wider variety of information to be accessed easily and more quickly than our previous version, and lists images, dimensional drawings (which can be easily printed), technical specifications, movies of the machines in action and brochures all in one convenient place.  I've included some screen shots below - to visit, please click on either:

3 Axis CNC Routers

5 Axis CNC Routers

AWFS^®Fair 2009 announced that the most recent show, "proved to be the place for the entire woodworking community to come together, show support and strengthen the industry.  Exhibitors reported strong buyer interest, especially from international delegations." 
 
"The show exceeded my expectations by far; our sales have been great," Gaspar Tellez from Laguna Tools, Irvine, Calif. wrote in a post-show survey.
 
AWFS said that it added value to the show with new features on the show floor like the Green Desk, smartSHOP and shredding program and had a strong line up of educational seminars. The new features were a huge success and will be expanded and enhanced in the years to come. AWFS, along with exhibitors WEIMA America and Delmac, also showed local support with donations of products made at the Fair to several Las Vegas charities, including The Animal Foundation, The Springs Preserve, Greener Vegas and Habitat for Humanity.
 
"The show was much better than we expected.  We came in hopes of gaining market share so that when things turn around we'll be a few steps ahead of our competition," said Mike Serwa from Vortex Tool Company, Schofield, Wis.
 
Guatemala and Mexico proved to be the two most active international delegations, in terms of purchase orders, according to Ana Druk, who heads AWFS' International Buyer Program.  Buyers from the two countries were on the show floor each day, making purchases of both equipment and supplies.  
 
"The show was excellent for us," Brent East from Thermwood Corporation, Dale, Ind. agreed. "Both the number and quality of buyers were much better than I anticipated."  
 
Two new countries sent delegations of buyers - Iraq and Mongolia.
 
"New buyers seem to be most interested in distributorship opportunities, purchasing small tools and education materials.  The leaders of the two new delegations both stated that they will be back in 2011!" said Druk.
 
This year's fair hosted 9,000 registered attendees and close to 600 exhibiting companies.  Woodworking industry professionals, drawn from 52 countries from around the world met, networked, attended some of the more than 50 education sessions and conducted business over the course of four whirlwind days. 
 
Overall, the show proved to be a success, according to Archie Thompson, AWFS Tradeshow Chair, National Sales Manager of Spectrum Adhesive.
 
"The signs of life turning up in the housing market suggest that our industry really has passed the worst of this economic downturn. Two years from now, we will look back at these tough times and remember how we were able to pull together as an industry and survive," said Thompson. "When we return in 2011, we'll be celebrating the 100th year anniversary of AWFS and the resurgence of our industry."
 
More than 165 students entered into the Fresh Wood national woodworking student design contest, and 46 were able to make the trip to Las Vegas with their teachers. For the first time ever, two high school students were awarded the Best of Show and People's Choice awards.  Several TV crews taped live interviews with the students.
 
The woodworking media came out in full force. Many reporters were live blogging and podcasting from the show floor.  Chris Grundy, host of the show "Cool Tools" on the DIY network filmed on the floor for two days," covering new products and doing exhibitor interviews.
 
In 2011, AWFS®Fair will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center, July 20-23. Please check http://www.awfsfair.org/ for updates.
 
About the AWFS®Fair: The full-scale AWFS®Fair has become a critical hub for international commerce in the woodworking industry. The AWFS®Fair brings together the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, lumber, construction materials and other suppliers to the furniture, cabinet manufacturers and custom woodworkers. 
 
For more information, visit www.awfs.org/.

Purdue University has two Thermwood routers, and recently had a student win first place in furniture design at AWFS: 

Leah Kenttamaa Squires, a student at Purdue University, West Lafayette, recently received a First Place Award for her entry SAKURA HANA in Fresh Wood, a national competition for woodworking projects sponsored by the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS). Judges Dan Hershberger, AWFS Board Member, left) and Randy Johnson, editor, American Woodworker (right) presented Kentamaa-Squires with her award at AWFS Fair 2009, in Las Vegas, NV.

Leah Kenttamaa-Squires created this award-winning piece in a class Furniture Design for CNC Manufacturing in Fall of 2008, under the leadership of professors R. Gazo, E. Haviarova, R. Paul and Wood Research Laboratory technician D. Warner. The course is a joint effort between the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and the School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The 50 finalists were chosen from 169 entries from 49 different schools in North America. Hongtao Zhou a former Purdue student who graduated in 2008 from the same program and now teaches design at University of Wisconsin in Madison received an Honorable Mention at the same competition.

Here is a reprint from an informative article published in Composites Technology about Bedford Reinforced Plastics and their application of Thermwood CNC Routers in cooling tower fabrication: 

Operators of chemical refineries, mining operations and power plants use cooling towers to reduce the temperature of process water that often contains corrosive chemicals. These large square or rectangular structures house equipment in which heated water trickles downward through filtration media while large fans draw air up through the wet media to transfer the heat to the atmosphere. Although cooling towers traditionally have been made with wood and concrete, composite materials are gaining acceptance due to their corrosion and rot resistance, light weight and ease of installation. "Redwood was used in the past because of its innate ability to resist rot. But, as good redwood became scarce, treated Douglas fir was substituted, and in addition to the negatives associated with the chemicals used to treat the wood, fir just couldn't hold up in the cooling tower environment," says Eric Kidd, cooling tower market manager at Bedford Reinforced Plastics (Bedford, Pa.).

Bedford has pultruded square tubes, angles, channels and deck board for cooling tower alternatives since the mid-1990s, says Kidd, including one of the world's largest - a 46-ft tall, 54-ft wide, 1,080-ft long (14.2m by 16.6m by 332m) structure at Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc. in Carlin, Nev. Bedford supplied more than 600,000 lb (272 metric tonnes) of pultruded components made with Owens Corning Material Solutions' (Toledo, Ohio) continuous filament mat and E-glass roving, Ashland Inc.'s (Columbus, Ohio) fire retardant polyester and vinyl ester resins and polyester surfacing veil. Drilling the thousands of fastener holes and cutouts that enable assembly and fastening of the tower's skeletal structure is a huge challenge. For that task, Bedford employs five 3-axis, CNC-controlled routers from Thermwood Corp. (Dale, Ind.). Configured with overhead moving gantries, the machines have bed sizes that range from 5 ft by 10 ft (1.5m by 3m) to 5 ft by 40 ft (1.5m by 12.2m). According to VP of marketing Jason Susnjara, Thermwood is the only CNC router manufacturer that supplies its own controller programs with the machines, enabling customers to seamlessly integrate CAD/CAM designs with the controller and postprocessor.

Bedford considers automated drilling and cutting to be essential to optimizing finished-part production rates, hole consistency and location accuracy. The former, says Bedford, reduces product lead time, permitting the company to meet tight customer deadlines. The latter ensures that tower structures assemble correctly on site, without delays for part rework. 

A couple of photos of our booth on the first day of the AWFS show in Las Vegas.  We are Booth #5200 - Great turn out so far!

**Update**

More Pics!

Demonstrating our CNC Routers, I-Cut, Links from eCabinets to ShopBot & from 20-20 to a Thermwood

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Nice sample of graphic produced with i-cut software on a Thermwood Model 45 CNC Router at AWFS Show in Las Vegas  

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Our "Wall of Applications" possible on a Thermwood CNC Router

Recently we asked ourselves a simple question - Why should someone purchase a Thermwood CNC Router over any of the other options on the market?  To us, this seemed like a no-brainer.  Of course they should purchase one of our machines, because they are superior to all the others, right?  Well, we think so, but that answer to such a simple question doesn't really explain anything about our advantages or help a potential customer understand the entire support system and huge range of unique tools and time-saving capabilities built into our control and machine.  We just take these powerful advantages for granted, and assume everyone knows about them....but how can they if we don't let them know?

Our next task was to come up with a concise listing of these features/advantages that could be easily understood without needing to go into complex detail just to explain everything to someone.  That proved to be easier said than done.  We stood back and started listing everything we have that gives our machines, control system, training and service and support programs a huge advantage over anything offered by our competition - it was a very long list! 

We spent the better part of a week refining this list into three main points (each also being broken down into further information).  The concise reasons we came up with are that someone should purchase a Thermwood CNC Router because we offer Better Machines with More Features and Better Support.  Anyone can say this, right?  But we can also prove it with facts.  To do this, we created a new area on our site that goes into further detail on this subject.  It breaks all of these areas down and explains everything in further detail. 

This exercise was a positive experience for us in helping to focus our message into a simple statement that includes everything a Thermwood customer receives as part of their machine purchase.  without sounding too "sales-like":

The bottom line is that Thermwood systems install fast, start up quick, are easier to use and maintain, produce more and last longer.