CNC Routers

A CNC router is a gantry machine that moves a high-speed spindle over a large, flat table. It is built for sheet and panel materials: wood and wood-based panels, plastics, composites, foam and aluminium sheet. The work is held by vacuum through the table or by pods and clamps. Industrial routers add automatic tool changers, drilling blocks and, on five-axis machines, a tilting head for trimming moulded and formed parts.

Compared with a vertical machining center, a router trades rigidity for area and speed. It covers a full sheet in one setup and moves fast, with a lighter structure that suits light cuts in softer materials more than heavy cuts in steel. Nesting machines cut many parts from one sheet and are often loaded and unloaded automatically. For cutting metal sheet and plate, look at laser, plasma and waterjet machines.

Table size comes first: it should match the sheet formats in use. Then Z travel and gantry clearance, which limit part height, and the spindle's power and speed. Compare the tool changer capacity, the vacuum system and how the table is zoned. On five-axis routers, check the range of the two head axes.