Sliding Table Panel Saws
Application of Sliding Table Panel Saw.
This panel processing machine is used to cut boards or saw panels like plywood, particleboard, MDF etc. The boards can be raw or laminated. The laminated board includes one side or single side laminate OSL, both side or double side laminated boards BSL, lumber or timber for a panel for solid wood joinery and also advanced materials like plastic polyamide sheets. This is one of the key machines in any woodworking factory. The quality and accuracy of the cut will decide the quality of the furniture. The higher the volume of cuts, the higher the sq foot per shift means higher revenue and gross margin for the company.
How to choose a sliding table panel saw machine and which is the best panel saw on the market?
Sliding Table
Sliding table panel saw machines come in various sizes but the most common size of the sliding table is 3200 mm. The width of the table can be 360mm to 400mm.
If the length of the table is 3000 mm and if you mount a pneumatic clamp then you will be restricted to using a maximum of 2700mm 9’ boards.
Sliding Table on the panel saw should be running on a steel strip that is not screwed or glued but inserted and crimped. The steel strip if machined with a C shape will reduce the single ballpoint contact and increase the life of the sliding table for more than 10 years.
The length of the support of the outrigger table on the sliding table is important for the stability of the board while doing crosscuts. 1800mm is good support to hold the panels on the swinging arm of the panel saw.
The sliding table of the panel saw machine is made of aluminium extrusion and is anodized to increase the life of the table.
Multiple flip stops on the out trigger table are used to reduce the set-up time of the rectangular boards.
Main saw
The main saw blade diameter decides the height of the cut. Eg: To cut 125 mm the diameter of the blade needs to be 400mm.
Dado cutting is a good option to cut up to 19mm of groove cuts in a single pass.
The main saw should be minted on a cast-iron carriage to reduce the vibrations of the saw.
The main saw carriage should have the rise, fall and tilt option. The rise and fall will be easy if mounted on the ball screw with gears.
The rise, fall and tilt of the panel saw operation should be from the front of the saw to avoid the set-up time.
Higher motor power on the panel saw is important to cut the high-density materials like timber, plywood and plastics like polyamide sheets.
Energy transmission from the motor to the main saw is through high-efficiency belts.
Variable speed of the blade is required to optimise the speed depending on the material density and the tool.
The control panel can be on the bottom or at the eye level of the operator.
Scoring Saw
A scoring blade is required to avoid chipping on the double side laminated boards. Memory setting on the scoring will help reduce the set-up time.
The scoring saw should be on a separate motor to take the load of the laminate and plywood scoring.
Rip Fence
Rip fence on the panel saw should be more than 1200mm and preferably with a fine feed to save the set-up time.
Other options
A manual clamp is required to hold the job piece.
A mitre fence is a must to offer mitre cuts. A memory pin option on the mitre saw is a welcome feature to reduce the set-up time.
Digital ReadOut (DRO) on the crosscut fence and rip fence will help to increase the accuracy from the minimum least count of 1mm on the analogue scale to 0.1 mm on the DRO.
The weight of the machine is important to reduce the vibration level on the panel saw.
Dust collection is the key to keeping the dust under control.
Team Caple has been selling the best sliding table panel saws in India since 2005 and has been trained by the experience of selling, installing and servicing thousands of panel saws to date.
Automatic Panel Saw can be with motorised rip fence, motorised rise, fall and tilt of the main saw. This should have a programmable memory feature to recall the program to save the set-up time.