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. 

The open house will also feature finishing solutions in operation including Timesavers Wide Belt sanders, Loewer profile and moulding finishing sanders as well as a Makor surface staining and coating machine.

Representatives from hardware, software, tooling and dust collector manufacturers will also be on hand to address application questions.

For more information, visit cncautomation.com

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.

 

eCabinet Systems version 6.0 Build 1 is now available. This latest version of eCabinet Systems is available as a download only. No disc is required. It is a full install. It will either update your existing version of eCabinet Systems or complete a full install.

To obtain this version, click on the link below. Save this file to your computer then double click it to run.


Full Installation/Upgrade:
http://order.ecabinetsystems.com/updates/eCabinetSystems6-0Build6.asp
(113 Mb)


NOTE: Fresh installations (not upgrades) do NOT include pull, wood product, or lazy susan store entries. So to have access to these 3D objects you must download and install them from the following links. If this installer is used on a pc that already contains eCabinet Systems then the 3D files are already on your pc and these downloads are not needed.

Pulls:
http://order.ecabinetsystems.com/updates/PullsV6.asp

Wood Products:
http://order.ecabinetsystems.com/updates/WoodComponentsV6.asp

Lazy Susan:
http://order.ecabinetsystems.com/updates/LazySusanV6.asp



Features available in version 6.0 Build 1:

- Full install downloadable. No disk is required.

- Vista & Windows 7 compatible

- Windows 64 bit compatible

- Ability to save Cabinets and Assemblies in a location other than that specified by the installation.

- Improved cabinet construction and Part Editor operation recognition. Problems in previous versions where Part Editor cuts can not hit a construction operation should not exist any longer.

- Ability to add hardware components. This means that the old Members Store is completely removed. The only items that are kept from the old store are those with 3d objects. These components are pulls, wood components, lazy susan & moldings. (To obtain these components on a fresh installation you will need to download them with the links provided above. NOTE: Moldings are already included in the install.) An additional field has been added for Distributors. If you load a job, cabinet or assembly that has a component from the old store you will be asked to add or alter this component with a New Hardware dialog. NOTE: Moldings can not be added or manipulated in this version.

- Item Window for quick access to cabinets,assemblies,doors,drawers,display items for the Room and Cabinet Editor. This supports dual screen systems as well.

- Drawer Box parts can be modified in the Part Editor and Constraint Manager

- Stretchers from the Stretcher Editor can be modified in the Part Editor and Constraint Manager

- A new buy list is available in the Item Window. There is one for the entire job and one for a single cabinet. This buy list can be exported for a means to create a purchase order.

- Export/Import in CSV format for hardware items. This offers a quick means for altering pricing on all your components in Excel.

- CNC Output immediately creates twd for current job. The batching jobs CNC Output is now only available when there are no items in the room or batch area.

- Ability to Nest the items in the Cabinet Editor by clicking Nested Output when in Cabinet Editor


NOTE:
If downloading the install is not an option, an install cd may be purchased online HERE

The fee for the installation cd will be $30.00 (Shipping Not Included)

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:

 

 

 A cool thing we've just completed is adding our Production Sharing Members to Google Earth.  Google Earth is a free download, and once you have it, you can click on the Production Sharing Members map of your choice and view all of the Members that list their services on an interactive map.  This tool allows you see see at a glance Members who are in your area.

For more information, please visit the Production Sharing Area our website.

About Production Sharing - This is a free listing service that Thermwood offers any of our CNC Router Owners where they can list their production services and allows any eCabinet Systems Member or other interested parties to contact these Production Sharing Members and have their jobs machined out on a CNC Router quickly and cost-effectively. 

 

A CNC panel saw coupled with a machining center is the most common production arrangement for higher volume cabinet production. Nested based machining is more productive in lower volume shops but hasn't offered enough throughput for larger shops. Now there is a way to combine the best of both approaches to achieve even higher throughput and higher productivity.

The idea is simple but the technology to achieve it has been elusive until now. The basic approach is to use the panel saw to cut rectangular parts that do not require additional machining and use a CNC router to cut parts that require machining using a nested based approach. As simple as the idea sounds, it offers some significant benefits.

1. You only need to cut parts on the panel saw that don't require additional machining. Less panel saw labor.
2. You don't need to sort parts at the panel saw that need additional machining since they are not cut there. Even less labor.
3. You don't need to transfer parts from the panel saw to the machining center.
4. At the CNC router, you load full sheets of material instead of identifying, selecting programs, handling and setting up each part, one at a time. Much faster.
5. During the machining cycle the operator has time to do other operations such as edge banding which is not possible if you are handling one part at a time.

The technology to do this now exists and in a very refined form. For example the system can easily do the following:

1. Automatically separate rectangular parts and send them to the optimizer and send all machined parts to the CNC router.
2. Automatically nest the job at the machine control accommodating whatever material is available.
3. Print nest diagrams and part labels at the machine control.
4. Trim and bar code scrap for later use.
5. Easily re-cut a damaged part or add it to the next job right at the machine.

This approach offers more throughput, smoother operation with less labor and less chance for operator error and implementing it is rather easy. You will keep your panel saw, since our software will work with virtually any panel saw optimizer. Replace your machining center with a CNC router. We will program your product line into our manufacturing software which will work directly with your existing cabinet sales software. That's it, you are ready to run.

This approach is especially attractive if you need to replace your existing machining center. Our large table, nested based CNC systems are about the same price as traditional machining centers but, are a lot more productive and offer better throughput.

We expect to officially release the extensive eCabinet Systems online training program by mid-May and are continuously adding sections up to that point.

A one year subscription to the eCabinet Systems Online Training program costs $950, and includes a hard copy of the 700 page Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems. After the first year, the training subscription can be extended for $350 per year.

About the Course:

We currently have 20 hours of tutorials available with the program, and more is being added everyday. The training course covers all subjects taught in Thermwood's week long eCabinet Systems Training Program without the travel and lodging costs.

This is an extensive, detailed course that will guide you through every function and capability of this extraordinary software. It is presented in clear, easy to understand language that will unleash the incredible power of eCabinet Systems.

To view more information or purchase the eCabinet Systems Online Training - Please Click Here

 

Dale, IN April 7, 2009: -- Thermwood Corporation, a leading supplier of CNC routers and founder of eCabinet Systems, the world's largest cooperative of custom cabinet shops, announced the availability of a ShopBot Link that will allow CNC output from its eCabinet Systems software to operate ShopBot CNC routers. The ShopBot Link software program, available from Thermwood, accepts a .twd output file from eCabinet Systems, nests the parts and creates properly formatted files for the ShopBot control.

The new program is the result of a joint effort between Thermwood and ShopBot to expand the use of CNC in the cabinet and custom furniture business. The availability of highly capable but free design software that can output to entry level CNC routers should speed the acceptance of this technology in the marketplace and should ultimately expand the market for everyone.

Thermwood has recently restructured the eCabinet Systems program and added free access to a large collection of cabinet, furniture, closet and carving libraries. These designs, including the carvings, can now be machined on ShopBot CNC routers. For additional information see http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/.

Dale, IN April 7, 2009: -- Thermwood Corporation, a leading supplier of CNC routers and founder of eCabinet Systems, the world's largest cooperative of custom cabinet shops, announced that it has restructured the eCabinet Systems program to broaden its appeal and make the software easier to learn.

In addition to continuing to offer the design software free to manufacturers and professional cabinet builders, a major new feature of the restructuring is free access to a collection of cabinet, furniture, closet and carving libraries. " These libraries mean that most users can just download and build without having to first learn the software and create their own libraries", says Thermwood's Vice President of Marketing Jason Susnjara. "We also offer a program to modify these libraries or create all new libraries for individual customers if they want".

For those that want an in-depth understanding of the software Thermwood has developed an extensive web based training program modeled after its successful week long software class. Access to the program is on a subscription basis and Thermwood plans a continuous program of additions and enhancements.

Another major departure from the past is the ability to output code to machines other than Thermwood. Two interface modules have been announced; one to ShopBot CNC routers and one that sends rectangular parts from a job to an optimized panel saw and sends cut-to-length parts to a TigerStop. Thermwood believes these two additions will expand the program by allowing smaller shops to begin using low cost CNC routers and supporting higher volume, panel saw production for larger shops. Thermwood has established an all new eCabinet Systems web site, http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/ to support the restructured program.

 

 

Check it out: