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The last 40 years have seen the industrial woodworking machine redefined. As late as the 1970s, most high-grade wood cutting machines were floor-standing models that operated through a combination of automated mechanics and human manipulation. Concerning the router, these machines (e.g. plunge router) are still in use today. But they are not the routers that most woodworkers prefer. Most woodworkers prefer Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) routers, whose cutter heads are operated by a programmable computer.

The Benefits of CNC Versions

In terms of performance, a CNC version offers at least four benefits that most standard models do not:

• Large cutting table that accommodates multiple pieces at once
  
• Potential to cut on five axes
  
• Excellent repeatability across large production runs
  
• Cutting capacity suitable for high-speed configurations

These benefits are responsible for the best-known characteristics of CNC machinery: remarkable cutting accuracy, impressive cutting speed, and the elimination of bad cuts. Better still, these benefits are achieved through a basic, four-part production process:

• Designing the piece that will be cut
  
• Incorporating the design into a solid CAD model
  
• Converting the model data into the machine's programming language
  
• Controlling machine operation as it produces the design

In terms of the machining process, a CNC router's computer-controlled cutter heads offer woodworking companies at least four advantages that standard versions do not:

• Considerable reduction of human error
  
• Shorter training time to reach expert user status
  
• More workspace (one CNC model can replace multiple standard ones)
  
• Ability to have one person monitor more than one CNC router

Combined with performance benefits, these benefits make a CNC model the most preferred industrial wood router. But it is not superior to a standard model in all categories, particularly cost.

The Benefits of Standard Versions

Standard industrial grade models lack the production capacity of their computer-controlled counterparts. But they do offer the following benefits that CNC routers do not:

• Considerably lower purchase price
  
• Lower repair cost and maintenance cost
  
• Considerably smaller footprint
  
• Never produce a run of faulty pieces due to a programming error

If your production demand doesn't require you to upgrade to a computer-controlled industrial wood router, using a standard one can be the best option. In addition eliminating the cost of buying a CNC model, it also spares you the cost of repairing and maintaining it. Over a period of several years, the cost difference between buying and operating a standard version, and buying and operating a CNC version could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Conclusion

In terms of technology, ease of operation, and production capacity, industrial CNC models are superior to standard industrial models. However, if a standard version meets your needs, buying a CNC model could be an ongoing waste of money. If you do require a CNC model, but its price exceeds your equipment budget, buying it as used woodworking machinery can result in 30% or more off the machine's new sticker price.

In my research on buying an industrial wood router, I studied the benefits of buying used woodworking machinery.

By Mike Barone
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Barone