The only "out of the box" system to do this is the Thermwood system from the USA. And there are very few Thermwoods in the UK so where you get this rosy picture of loads of yards with their own Thermwood CNC I really don't know.kevinr":2ohn027q said:
From someone who used to run a firm doing CNC machining: a fact of life about woodmachining and in particular about CNC router work - in order to cut any profile you need a set of knives or sets of knives which combine to make-up the profile you are looking for. In other words CNC machining centres are dependent on exactly the same cutter technology used on through-feed moulders, pin routers or spindles. You can achieve the same effect as the CNC by simply employing a multi-pass approach on a spindle moulder, pin router, etc. Very few yards I know of have invested in CNC router technology in any shape or form other than through-feed moulders - there simply isn't enough call to justify that sort of investment (£70k or upwards for a decent toolchanger CNC). However from a purely technical point of view there are problems machining a bolection moulding on a conventional CNC bed. The workpiece would have to be held clear of the bed on a jig and clamped so that it won't move under circa 50kgf of thrust from the cutters - and then machined using multiple passes of off the shelf cutters in a vertical spindle. This would cost a lot in terms of making up a jig. So in order to circumvent the need for a special holding jig the machining probably needs to be done using right angle aggregate head with conventional hold-downs so that the top face can be machined. Do that and you'll lose the tool changing facility - the aggregate with a permanently-mounted tool is the tool in effect. It is the toolchanging facility which makes the Thermwood (and similar) systems work.kevinr":2ohn027q said:
It os worth bearing in mind that whilst there is less machining time on a CNC, that time is much more expensive and the set-up time is also going to be greater (with CNC shops looking for £60 to £90 per hour for CNC machining and set-up plus the cost of any special tooling). In pure cost terms using existing knives or grinding a custom cutter set is normally the cheapest option unless you are also looking for drilling, special slotting, etc at which CNC machines excel.
This is not being defensive, it's just that within the timber trades the understanding of how CNC technology works and can be applied is poor enough - outside I feel it sometimes seems to go off into fairy land at times......
Scrit
Its amazing what he does with so few passes, it must be the skill lies in assesing how to creatively use the available tools to get the profile with the fewest passe's? I've never done any with power tool's but have madejust a few simple profiles with plough plane, limited set of round and hollow's, & block planes. 
