Application of CNC Engraving Machine in wood production.

The CNC carving technology is produced by the combination of traditional carving technology and modern CNC technology. And the application of CNC Engraving Machine is very wide. The CNC carving technology covers a variety of advanced technologies, including computer-aided design (CAD) technology, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology, numerical control (NC) technology, precision manufacturing technology. It is a new and unique processing CNC engraving machine technology.

Compared with traditional processing technology, CNC engraving machine has the advantages of high processing material efficiency, high speed, good surface quality, and high-cost performance. The traditional engraving process is difficult to engrave complex workpieces, and it is also time-consuming.

The emergence of CNC engraving technology allows the computer to directly control the knives, making it easier to carve, engrave, drill, and groove wood products, and realize the mechanization and automation of wood engraving. Starting from the CNC engraving machine structure, this article briefly describes path programming and processing operations in the engraving process. Combined with the example of solid wood composite doors engraving, it takes you to understand the application of CNC engraving machine in the production of wooden doors in detail.

1.The structure of CNC engraving machine.

The electric control cabinet, the control computer, and the engraving CNC controller constitute the CNC engraving machine. The CNC engraving machine is the structure of the machine, composed of a workbench base, a fixed workbench, a movable gantry and a spindle. The spindle cutter moves in the X and Z-axis directions, while the gantry moves in the Y-axis direction. This constitutes a three-axis and three-axis linkage structure. In terms of function, the CNC engraving system consists of two parts.

①CNC Engraving CAD/CAM software.

The function of CNC engraving software CAD/CAM is to design graphics and text, shape and output processing path data of engraved products. The output data is a G code that can be recognized and interpreted by the CNC engraving machine. In this way, the CNC engraving machine can smoothly realize the processing.

②CNC engraving equipment.

That is the CNC engraving machine mentioned above. The engraving machine executes the G code output by the CAD/CAM software, completes various complex processing actions, makes the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis move accurately, and finally completes the engraving of the workpiece smoothly.

2.Operation principle of CNC engraving machine processing.

The commonly used graphic design software for CNC engraving machine is CAD design, and the commonly used programming software for CNC engraving machine is TYPE3, Vectric Aspire, Artcam, etc. This article takes the ABS-1325-V-ZK series woodworking CNC engraving machine developed and produced by BuyCNC in Jinan, China (the machine adopts Mach3 CNC controller). It introduces three details of engraving graphics processing, path programming and processing operations.

①Design engraving drawings and determine the processing technology.

First of all, you need to draw CAD design according to the processing requirements carefully. Analyze which parts to be processed need to be engraved. It is also necessary to know whether the carved part is a Yin carving or a Yang carving. Then, delete or draw an accurate tool path on the original CAD design and your drawings. As a reminder, there should be no extra lines and points on the CAD design. If you really need to delete or re-edit the lines, it is best to edit the broken or scattered lines as a whole polyline. In this way, the plane graphics surface becomes a whole graphics, and it is more convenient to edit the tool path in the software. If there are extra lines or points in your CAD design, deviation of the path or repeated tooling may occur in software programming, resulting in processing errors.

②Edit the path of the CNC engraving machine.

The CNC engraving machine relies on the computer to control the machine’s execution parts to complete the processing work. Mechanical engineers use design software such as Vectric Aspire to draw accurate engraving graphics from the designed engraving drawings. The engraving processing graphics is the basis for controlling the command generation of the engraving machine. Therefore, mastering the engraving machine drawing software’s marking commands is a prerequisite for smooth engraving and processing graphics.

The machine tool path is a processing program used to control how the CNC engraving machine uses the knife, determines the cutting amount and the way of the knife during the machining process. As mentioned above, the machine tool path is calculated by the CNC engraving software based on the design data graphics. In layman’s terms, the tool path can control the tool centre’s running track during the machining process according to the engraving instructions. Therefore, the key to the machine tool path lies in the tool path’s correct calculation, according to the engraving software’s planning. The following are the six major steps to generate a path:

③Choose a tool for engraving.

Before the CNC engraving machine is started, a person needs to perform operations such as loading processing programs, selecting loading and unloading tools, clamping processing materials, and setting cutting parameters. The CNC engraving machine then performs cutting processing according to the machine tool path calculated by the engraving software. The processing process is completely mechanized and automated. In the process of processing, manual intervention is not required.

3.Application of CNC engraving machine of solid wood composite doors.

①Processing wooden door pressure line.

Many solid wood composite doors are pressing lines are arc-shaped or special-shaped, making it difficult to process and waste materials. Using the cutting line method on the CNC engraving machine will save material and easy to operate. The specific operation of the cutting line method is as follows. First, make the CAD design according to the required size, import them into the CNC system through CNC controller programming, and then process them. Since the workpiece is generally clamped at the edge position when processing the pressing line, it is necessary to pay attention to measuring and calculating whether the fixture installation position is on the machine tool’s path. If the workpiece is clamped on the machine tool’s path, there may be a collision between the tool and the fixture. This will cause the pre-set workpiece origin to shift and process waste.

The collision between the tool and the fixture may damage the tool and the machine, thereby affecting the machining accuracy. In processing, if the fixture does not fix each processing part of the plate’s centre, when the processing is to be completed, the tool speed may be too high, and the workpiece may collapse. This situation is more dangerous. Therefore, before processing, pay attention to reserve a certain amount of processing allowance in the thickness direction to ensure that the processed parts are connected to the plate more and prevent the appearance of appeals.

②Decorative patterns on the surface of processed wooden doors.

Before processing the decorative patterns on the wooden door’s surface, it is necessary to check the engraving machine and clean the machine table. Besides, it is necessary to correctly clamp the wooden door, install the tool, and set the workpiece’s origin on the machine. Automatic processing is performed according to the pre-designed and edited processing program. When processing, pay attention to whether the engraved size is consistent with the design size.

Because the origin of the workpiece is set by visual inspection, there will be a certain error between the processed product and the design size. The spindle speed and feed rate of the engraving machine should also be set, so as not to guarantee the accuracy and surface roughness of the processed product. The decorative pattern on the wooden door’s surface generally uses a 6mm round-bottomed knife, and the appropriate carving depth is 3mm. The CNC engraving machine’s parameter setting is: the spindle speed is 20000r/min, and the feed speed should be 20%~30% of the machine setting value.

③Processing solid wood composite doors inner-frame.

To process the solid wood composite door’s inner frame, it is necessary to cut out the frame for panelling and glass on the door and then nail the line to install the panel and glass. Panelled doors and glass-inlaid doors require high machining accuracy. BuyCNC’s ABS-1325-V-ZK series woodworking CNC engraving machine can guarantee such machining accuracy. In processing, straight cutters with a tool diameter of 12mm and a blade height greater than 40mm are generally used for processing. Besides, stepping cutters must be divided during processing, and it is necessary to ensure that each feed does not exceed 10mm.

The spindle speed of the CNC engraving machine is generally 20000r/min, and the feed speed should be about 20% of the set value according to the hardness of the wood and the sharpness of the tool. The feed speed value must be controlled well, because too fast speed will cause wave marks to affect the surface roughness, and too slow speed will cause the workpiece to burn. Generally, the feed speed is slightly faster when the solid wood layer is processed. This is because the solid wood layer is easier to process. If the feed speed is too slow, the spindle speed is too fast, and the workpiece will smoke and catch fire, which may cause a fire.

④Processing keyhole of the wooden door.

Before processing the keyhole, the engraving machine needs to be inspected, and the machine’s work surface cleaned. After the wooden door is correctly clamped on the engraving machine, the tool is installed, and the workpiece’s origin is set. The engraving machine is debugged according to the pre-designed and edited keyhole processing program. When the tool moves to a predetermined position, keep the X and Y axes in place, manually operate the machine tool to move along the Z-axis, and the keyhole can be machined on the surface of the wooden door.

⑤Machining the tongue-and-groove of double door or son-mother door.

Before processing the tongue and groove of the double door or son-mother door, you need to check the machine tool and clean the machine table. Correctly clamp the wood on the machine tool, install the tool, set the workpiece’s origin to be processed, and debug the CNC engraving machine according to the designed processing program. When the tool moves to a predetermined position, keep the X and Z axes motionless so that the machine tool moves in the direction of the Y-axis to machine tongues and grooves on the edge of the wooden door. When processing wooden doors with a CNC engraving machine, it has the advantages of high processing precision and smooth surface. According to the actual measurement, the accuracy of the CNC engraving machine processing tongue and tongue can reach 0.01mm.

⑥Template for processing arc or special-shaped parts.

In the processing of wooden doors, many panels are arc-shaped or special-shaped. The traditional processing method is complicated and dangerous. It is necessary to make a template and perform profiling after clamping. Using a CNC engraving machine to process arc parts and special-shaped parts is easy to operate and has a very high machining accuracy. You only need to design accurate drawings in CAD and programmatically import them for automatic processing.

⑦Other applications.

The CNC engraving machine is a router with computer CNC controller functions. The installed tools are shank milling cutters like the router. Therefore, the engraving machine can achieve perfect cutting process on a router.

BuyCNC’s ABS-1325-V-ZK series woodworking engraving machine is a CNC equipment with a high degree of automation and a wide range of applications. The frame welded by thick steel pipes has higher stability and service life. Simultaneously, this woodworking CNC engraving machine from BuyCNC has high processing accuracy, and the CNC vacuum table can better fix the materials, which is your first choice for wood processing.

Application of CNC Engraving Machine in Woodworking Production