Many consumers today are faced with the question of what equipment is better to use for the manufacture of cabinet furniture. Based on the opinion of experts, we can conclude that a panel saw, which is also called a circular saw or a circular saw with a carriage, can act as an excellent acquisition. If you also decide that you need such a unit, then you can assemble it yourself.

Format-cutting machines are composed of the following elements:

  • bed;
  • movable additional table;
  • working fixed table;
  • carriage;
  • support frame;
  • separator;
  • trolley;
  • ruler;
  • saw knot.

The latter consists of guides and two saw blades.

Purpose

The panel saw is used for longitudinal and transverse cutting at a certain angle. This equipment can be used to work with panel blanks, to remove overhangs after cladding, in order to cut full-size slabs into individual elements. Today, the panel saw has found its wide distribution in the production of cabinet furniture. It can be used to produce high quality products.

The function of these devices is the ability to give basic parameters to parts for subsequent processing. Such machines can be used for batch or piece cutting. Homemade or factory models are able to work with different materials:

  • plywood;
  • wood;
  • composite sheet materials;
  • laminated paper sheets;
  • film materials;
  • melamine;
  • veneer.

The equipment is used for material that has precise geometric dimensions.

Machine manufacturing technology: tool preparation

You can easily make a panel saw yourself. The principle of its operation is quite simple, but factory models have an impressive cost. To carry out work, prepare:

  • metal channels;
  • pipes;
  • metal corners;
  • electric motors;
  • shafts from agricultural machinery;
  • scoring and saw blade;
  • fasteners;
  • welding machine;
  • metal working tools.

Work on blanks

If you decide to make a panel saw, then at the first stage you should make a steel bed, for which you need to use metal channels. The dimensions of the blanks for the base will be as follows: width - 2500 mm, length - in the range from 6500 to 6700 mm, height - from 800 to 1100 mm. The next step is to design the floor and main rails. Their fastening should be carried out on the bed.

For guides, a pipe is used, the dimensions of which will be equal to 60x5x6500 mm. When making a panel saw with your own hands, you should make a movable desktop that will move along the guides. This will ensure that the sheet is fed during cutting. The master should provide for the length of the cutting line, which will be a limit from 3000 to 3200 mm. If necessary, this parameter can be reduced or increased, for this the length of the guides is changed.

Carrying out assembly

When running a vertical panel saw, two saws should be hung on it, one of them will be the main one, while the other will be the scoring one. These elements must be located on the saw block and rotate towards each other. The movement will be provided by asynchronous motors. It is important to provide for the possibility of tilting the block at an angle of 45 °. The saw block is equipped with a rotary mechanism for this.

A good place where you can buy a panel saw quite inexpensively is Avito (ad site). However, if you want to save money on doing this equipment yourself, then you should choose the right engine. The efficiency of the saw movement will depend on this element. That is why the motor must have a power of 2.9 kW.

The engine will rotate the main saw at a speed of 5000 rpm, but as for the scoring saw, it will rotate at a speed of 8000 rpm. Saw blades should also be present in the design, their diameter will be 250 mm, which will make it possible to trim sheets and cut laminated particle boards.

Safety of use

In order for the use of the machine to be safe for health, it is necessary to provide exhaust ventilation so that wood dust particles are not ignited by a small spark that occurs when the engine is running.

As soon as the manufacture of the machine is completed, you can begin to process the material. For the reason that sheets usually have large sizes, before installing the canvas in the mechanism, it is necessary to mark up in those places where the cuts will be made. The size of the workpiece should be larger by about 8 mm on each side. As soon as a small stack is ready, you can start cutting.

The Filato panel saw will cost the consumer 230,000 rubles. If you do not have such an amount, then you can make the equipment yourself. To do this, make the main support frame on which the canvas is laid. Metal corners will go to it, which are sometimes replaced by a profile. A canvas with a cut for discs is laid on the frame. The surface of the blade must be smooth to ensure the sliding of the workpieces. At the next stage, you can start making a carriage from chipboard or any other similar material. With its help, it will be possible to fix the saws and move them along the guides. The sheets are interconnected at four corners by a conical shaft, the distance must be such that the shaft can move along the guides.

Quite often, craftsmen look at panel saws before manufacturing the described devices, 3200 is a value that indicates the length of the roller carriage. Such parameters are possessed by WoodTec equipment, which costs $4500. The device weighs 900 kg, and also has a large protective cap on the bracket. The main stop is complemented by a construction mechanism that ensures sawing accuracy and speed when setting up. If this price does not suit you, then you can start manufacturing such a unit yourself.

At the next stage, an automatic sawmill starter is installed in the upper part of the carriage. The first and second saw must be fixed under the carriage. In this case, the disks will be located frontally. They are covered with a screen, for which you can use any transparent material.

The guides will require two large diameter pipes. They are connected with a metal strip, while the surface should be smooth and free from defects. There will be a stop at the edge of the rack. In height, it must withstand a sheet or part. Nearby is a metal ruler, the zero level of which should be at the point of cutting the blade. This will determine the size on the sheet.

Perpendicular to the stop, you need to place the clamping mechanism. It is made of a metal profile and fixed with bolts. A corrugation is attached to the upper part of the screen of the carriage, the other end can be brought to the ventilation hatch. As soon as the automatic starter is installed under the hood, the machine can be put into action and cutting work can be carried out. Before turning on the equipment, it is necessary to connect the hood, which will keep the room clean.

Conclusion

You will need saws for panel saws if you plan to make the equipment yourself. For example, a circular saw with parameters 300x3.2 / 2.2x30 will cost the consumer 4800 rubles. But for a cutting saw 120x2.8 / 3.6x20 you will need to pay 2800 rubles. A circular saw from the manufacturer FREUD with parameters 300x3 / 2x30 will cost 3400 rubles.

Today we will consider a method for finishing cutting chipboard without using a panel saw. This method is great for small workshops and is successfully used by Sergey Novikov, who provided us with this photo report.

It will be about using cutting chipboard plunge-cut saw Festool TS 55 EBQ with bar (ruler). The saw has an intelligent filling that allows you to change the speed of rotation of the disk, depending on the load. the simplest tool: carpenter's square, tape measure, and for drawing lines - a thin marker and a clerical knife (for light and dark decors).

The tool has a fairly high accuracy (that is, the cut runs strictly parallel to the edge of the tire).

The cutting technique, in principle, is similar to the one I considered for mine. That is, sawing in two passes. First, not deeply (2-3 mm) we cut the top layer of the laminate, and then with the second pass we cut to the entire depth of the sheet.

In my saw, such cuts do not always come out perfectly clean. A special feature of Festool is the use of a replaceable splinter liner that complements the splinter protection tape on the tyre.

These anti-splinter elements are, like the discs, consumables. Only the frequency of their use is much less. Basically, they are disposable. Of course, the manufacturer recommends changing them after each use, but even here our Kulibins found ways to save money.
From the used anti-splinter tape (which is removed from the tire), pieces are cut off and molded onto double sided tape in place of the insert.

The cut is very clean. for example, dark-colored chipboard was specially taken, on which chips are clearly visible. Opening one sheet, when you fill your hand, takes 30-45 minutes, which, of course, is longer than with a formatter. But, in principle, not so long.

When considering what equipment is required for high-quality self-manufacturing of furniture, you should pay attention to the panel saw. Many experts say that if necessary, you can do it yourself. Consider all the features self-creation woodworking machine.

The purpose of the panel saw

The panel saw is used for cutting in the transverse or longitudinal direction with the ability to maintain a given angle, as well as trimming and cutting panel blanks.

The features of the use of a format-cutting machine include:

  1. When using it, you can get high quality finished products. This is due to the fact that cutting and other technological processes are carried out with high accuracy.
  2. The purpose of the machine lies in the task of the main parameters of the equipment, after which the part will be more prepared for further processing.
  3. Some models can carry out piece cutting, others are designed to process the whole package.

When considering the functionality, it is important to pay attention to what materials the panel saw can work with. The self-made and industrial version of the equipment in question is designed to work with:

  1. Chipboard, fiberboard, MDF;
  2. facing plastic and composite sheet materials;
  3. the type of solid wood does not determine the possibility of using the equipment;
  4. veneer and melamine blanks can also be processed on a panel saw;
  5. laminated and paper blanks.

A significant limitation on the scope can be called the fact that the workpiece must have exact geometric dimensions, that is, an array of wood or other material must undergo primary processing.

It is advisable to use a panel saw for small-scale production. Many small, medium and fairly large furniture factories install similar equipment with an automated processing system. For domestic use in more home-made version, as it will have a lower cost, and the process of adjustment and maintenance can be carried out independently. In the home workshop, many decide to install a home-made panel saw because it cuts blanks with high accuracy and quality. When using a conventional sawmill, there is a possibility of a violation of the correct geometry, and the end surface may also have other kinds of defects.

Design features

In order to make a cutting machine with your own hands, you should understand its design features. It should be noted that the standard design is represented by the following nodes:

  1. The bed is an element that serves as the basis for the entire structure. Also, the bed is designed to dampen part of the vibration.
  2. Working movable and fixed table.
  3. Saw unit, which consists of 2 saw blades, adjustable clamps.

The movable table has a rather complex structure, which consists of a trolley, a support frame, a ruler, a separator, and a carriage. Almost all nodes are made of metal.

saw knot

An important structural element can be called a saw unit. A self-made version is often represented by a welded structure, since a similar method of connecting elements allows you to effectively deal with the vibration that occurs during sawing. The main problem considered technological process is the formation of chips on the lining, which reduce the quality of the material obtained. That is why the saw unit has two saw blades, which eliminates the possibility of a problem.

The features of the saw unit include:

  1. The knot is one-piece, often it is cast from cast iron.
  2. Some models may have one electric motor, but often two are installed for each saw.
  3. The belt drive is used to drive the scoring disc. Note that the presence of a belt drive - required condition ensuring long-term operation of the electric motor, since this method of transferring force allows you to smooth out the load exerted on the output shaft of the electric motor.
  4. The diameter of saw blades can reach 120 millimeters. They are made from tool steel, as it is more resistant to abrasion.
  5. The electric motor through a belt drive with various pulleys must provide up to 8000 rpm. Note that the higher the index, the better the surface can be obtained. However, increasing the frequency leads to a decrease in the amount of feed and the appearance of structural problems due to the high load on the node.

It is important to note the point that a do-it-yourself vertical formatting machine can have a rotary saw unit. It is quite difficult to make it, it is necessary for cutting at an angle.

Main saw

When developing a format cutting machine at home with your own hands, drawings should be borne in mind that the rotation of the main saw should be at a frequency of 4-6 thousand revolutions per minute. With a decrease in the indicator, there is a possibility of damage to the edge. If a modern electric motor is used when creating a structure, then it is possible to adjust the purity of rotation according to the characteristics of the material being processed. The power of the electric motor should vary between 3 and 5 kW. With an increase in the power factor, the productivity increases significantly, but also the costs due to the consumption of more electricity. Adjustment can also be made by selecting belt drive pulleys, however, such a reconfiguration of the panel saw requires some time and calculations.

In most models, the cutting height and position of the saw is adjusted by moving the entire saw unit. In this case, such adjustment can be ensured by two main methods:

  1. along vertical guides;
  2. rolling around a horizontal axis.

Also, an important parameter can be called the height to which the saw rises relative to the table, since this indicator determines the maximum thickness of the cut.

In many cases, a roller carriage is used to move the workpiece. The trolley moves along steel guides, for which a separator with balls or rollers is included in the design. Compensators and regulators may look different, it all depends on the accuracy and quality achieved during processing.

Rolling Steel Features

Great difficulties arise when creating a movable table. This surface acts as a reference surface, so it must withstand the impact. The load is on the carriage itself and the connecting element.

Dimensional drawing of sizing machine and carriage

Because of design features at the point of contact of the balls and rollers there is a rather large load. That is why when creating your own panel saw, you should use special guides that do not create play during operation. This directly affects the accuracy of processing.

As guides can be used:

  1. rollers;
  2. balloons;
  3. combination of rollers and balls.

The most popular scheme is a combination of an aluminum carriage and steel guides on which linear bearings are mounted.

At self-manufacturing guidelines should take into account the following points:

  1. the guides themselves can be made in the form of steel strips;
  2. the embedding of the guides is carried out in such a way that it is possible to place the balls in two channels.

The scheme under consideration allows you to reveal the capabilities of the equipment in question, since the load can be effectively extinguished in any direction. In order for them to work for several years, you should choose a material for their manufacture, which has been subjected to heat treatment.

Recently, guides began to be made of plastic. To achieve the required accuracy of movement is possible only in the case of using an aluminum profile with a large number of internal ribs.

In conclusion, when considering the question of how to make a panel saw, we note that homemade options performance in terms of accuracy and functionality is significantly inferior to models of industrial production. This is due to the fact that due to the presence of a large number of moving elements, the rigidity of the structure is significantly reduced. It is quite difficult to create guides on your own that will ensure accurate basing of the workpiece.

You may also be interested in articles:

How to do planer on wood with your own hands How to make a zig machine with your own hands? How to make do-it-yourself wood trimming machines

Panel saws are one of the main types necessary equipment for making furniture. cutting chipboard boards, fiberboard and MDF and others sheet materials produced with the help of format-cutting machines.
One of the main properties of formatters is the cutting accuracy, since this parameter has big influence on the quality of manufactured furniture.
Without panel saw in furniture production there is nothing to do, but not everyone has the opportunity to start a business with a purchase good equipment. And here the invaluable experience of fellow furniture makers comes to the rescue, who are happy to share their best practices on the forum of furniture makers.

Consider the invention of the user DokaLe, this is NOT his first format machine, therefore, in this version, the experience of previous work on the machine is taken into account. The machine provides a fairly high cutting accuracy, 0.1 mm for straight-line processing along a length of 2750 mm, which is an excellent indicator for home-made equipment. The machine itself takes up less space than the "factory" samples, the length of the machine is 4.5 meters and fits in a garage measuring 6 m from wall to wall, while about 7 m is needed to accommodate the "factory" machine. higher rent.


Saw assembly with a box for collecting sawdust. Please note that the disks are spinning "on top of each other".


Remote Control.


Ruler, with restrictive clamp.


Clamps.


Bed.
Watch a video of this machine in action:

Before continuing the story about this machine, I want to show what the previous version looked like. It was very easy to manufacture and has a low cost. He worked for 10 years. The machine has cheap Chinese ATTACK discs, but they cut almost without chips. The carriage moves with the help of 12 bearing wheels from the Bulgarian magnetic media drive. A separate motor was installed on each saw blade.


Bed.




Carriage movement.




Shaft with belt drive.
So, back to the new model. The machine allows you to process parts with a cutting length of 2770mm, with a standard sheet length of 2750mm. If it is necessary to cut a sheet with a length of 3500 mm. then you need to first cut it into two parts.
The machine is provided with a riving knife, and this is no coincidence.


When running in a new machine, a piece (100x100mm) flew off along the main saw. After the experiments, it became clear that the cut was thrown up by the rear edge of the main saw and thrown forward onto the feeder. (there is a moment on the video without a riving knife and a body), after which they put the knife. This is its only function with this machine design.
The fact is that laminated chipboard sheets have internal stress. This is especially noticeable on stale parts or damp material. Such material, after being cut by the main disk, begins to compress the sawn gap. If the sheet is large, then the reverse motion of the disc may chip the right side of the material. If the part is small, then it can be thrown up. Therefore, a riving knife is necessary. The thickness of the knife should not be less than the width of the disc, i.e. approximately 4 mm.
Let us consider in more detail what the machine consists of and the main characteristics:
- main shaft motor - AIRE 80, 220V, 2800 rpm, 2.2 kW;
- scoring unit motor - AIRE 71, 220V, 2800 rpm, 1.1 kW;
– step speed of the carriage is provided by a 36V DC motor;
- the smallest worm gearbox of the series, the 28th, made in Italy, turned out to be cheaper than the Russian counterpart for some reason.
There are two pulleys on the gearbox on both sides, the carriage moves with the help of two three-millimeter braided cables. On the main shaft we get a rotation speed of 3500 rpm, a V-belt is installed. For trimming, a faster output is obtained - 5800 rpm, a V-ribbed belt for 8 streams is installed.
The main saw has a lift of 0-52mm, a scoring saw of 0-4mm. There is no angle saw. A calibrated 25mm rod 4.2 meters long acts as guides.


The carriage is made of 30mm textolite, size 750x500mm. All 8 carriage rollers are hardened, with two bearings each. They stand in pairs at different angles of inclination, because the contact of the rollers with the guide occurs at different points, this reduces the wear of the guides, and prevents the groove from being rolled. Limit switches are installed on both sides of the guide. On the return stroke, a redundant backup tip is installed, in case of failure of the main one, and a light alarm is installed to indicate a malfunction of the main tip.
For the control circuit of the machine, a Resant 500W stabilizer was installed in the power cabinet.
Tables are made of MDF 21mm and 32 (16+16)mm thick.
As clamps, ordinary furniture gas lifts of 5 kilograms are used.
The joystick is used homemade, the ratchet was taken from a car set of heads.
Low-noise German bearings closed on both sides were used everywhere.
dimensions machine - 4500x2800mm.
The machine was set up with a device (in everyday life it is called a tseshka) for closing with the help of two stretched strings. Trimming for the main saw was adjusted using spacer rings.
The setup process is as follows.












We pull two cables 1mm from the side and from above. Installed on the guide special device with two plates that stand in a vertical and horizontal plane. Its surfaces are touched with a cable (the photo shows the intended points of contact). The first output of the “shop” is connected to the cables, and the “OM” mode is set to the second guide. The guide and cables are isolated (no galvanic connection). We insert a sheet of paper between the upper cable and the upper plate, a clamp is screwed to the bottom of the profile (see photo), it has two bolts. We adjust to touch with a cable (we look at the device). After that, we remove the paper and insert it between the side cable and the side plate (the author has a pin). With the help of bolts, the closing height is adjusted (visible on the device). The procedure is repeated separately with each node, in the author's version, 25 on each guide.
Below are drawings of the carriage and shafts, as well as drawings of rollers and hinges.

Also of interest is the original design of plywood cable channels, the operation of which can be seen in the video. As you can see, the wires and hoses laid in them are not bent or pressed anywhere, which increases wear resistance and prolongs the life of the machine.






Guides made of high-strength steel 40X are calibrated in special workshops by drawing (drawing) through a hole of a certain diameter; there are such enterprises in any average city.
Adjustment of the table plane relative to the guide is carried out as follows:


An emphasis is glued to the table at an angle of 90 °.
Align the table parallel to the carriage travel (by eye). We fasten the table with one self-tapping screw to the base of the machine. We take a rectangular piece of chipboard 600x600 mm. We alternately cut off 3 mm from each edge (in this case, the part rotates strictly clockwise 4 times). After that, we turn the part clockwise for the fifth time and make a 15mm cut, take this segment, put it on the edge and break it in the middle. The resulting two parts are added together.

If the pieces do not match, we begin to move the tabletop in the right direction and repeat the procedure with sawing the laminate until we get the perfect result - an exact match in the height of the two parts. When the desired result is achieved, we fasten the tabletop tightly.
When working with the machine, the following points should be considered:
If you do not take the carriage back and put the part on the table, the carriage will return automatically, regardless of whether the working joystick is holding or not. At the same time, it will crash into the part with a divider if the worker does not have time to press the red emergency stop button. Nothing terrible will happen, the part will deteriorate at most, but in principle, with a little refinement, this problem can be solved.
If you need to saw off a corner from a part, it is a little inconvenient to aim, but this is easily solved by installing a laser strip where the saw moves.
Maximum length parts that can be driven 2800mm, this should be taken into account.
And so it turns out very reliable, convenient and compact sizing machine for small production. Now one of the users, dabasov, successfully repeats the author's experience and assembles the same apparatus for his workshop under construction.
You can follow the topic on the forum.
Do not forget to thank the author of the concept for the information provided. Special thanks to the user DokaLe from the "Blog of interesting ideas".


I have a small workshop, but I like to make big things, like wardrobes. To make the most of tight spaces. it is worth making an inexpensive one for rough cutting of sheet materials.

To make a formatting machine with your own hands, you need:

First of all, bolt the 600 mm long hinged stops on the lower ends of the posts with a section of 40x90 mm. At the bottom of the racks, make 12 mm holes in 200 mm increments for dowels that fix the adjustable stop blocks. At the top ends of the uprights and in the three wall brackets, drill 38mm holes for 1" steel pipe. Make holes for cotter pins at the ends of the pipe. The pipe is threaded into the holes of the brackets and racks, and then fixed with cotter pins.

To work, arrange the stands so as to provide support for the outer edges of the workpiece. If you need to cut a whole sheet across, place it end-to-end on the floor and press it with clamps to the posts above the cutting line so that the clamps do not interfere with the saw. For cutting a smaller piece, and also when you need to saw a whole sheet lengthwise, place it on stop blocks to position it at a convenient height, and fix it with clamps to the posts.

To precisely set the guide bar for circular saw, fasten the clamp at one end below the marking line and place one end of the guide on it, fixing the second end, go to the first and finally align it.


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