First of all, the individual components are cut out of the raw boards with allowance, i.e. the side parts, carcase lids and shelves as well as shelves and furniture fronts. Pressure beam saws are usually used for cutting to size. For particularly high throughput rates, especially in series production, there are sawing centres based on the pressure beam saw principle; these enable several boards in a stack to be ripped simultaneously lengthwise and crosswise. In the case of manual production, however, other sawing machines such as sliding table saws or vertical panel saws can also be used for cutting the raw panels.
The individual workpieces are marked for later identification: A common method is a sticker with a barcode label. Pressure beam saws are usually equipped with an appropriate printer which produces the stickers. Alternatively, RFID tags can be used, which are embedded in the workpiece and remain there.
Pressure beam saw
Beamsaws or also pressure beam circular sawing machines or sawing centres are specially designed for rational panel dividing. The workpiece or several stacked workpieces are automatically positioned lying on a table. The so-called pressure beam holds them in position while the saw carriage carries out the cut. With a pressure beam saw only straight cuts are possible.
Vertical panel saw
Vertical panel saws (better: vertical panel circular saws) are machines specially designed for cutting panels. In contrast to the pressure beam saw, the workpiece is standing upright on a vertical panel saw. The advantage is the lower space requirement. However, it is not possible to cut stacks of panels.
The panels are placed on the machine by hand and the produced workpieces are removed by hand. The stops for the desired cutting dimensions must be adjusted manually. The saw carriage is also moved by hand, either in horizontal or vertical direction. With vertical panel circular saws, large-sized panels can be cut in a small space, i.e. the installation area required for the machine is comparatively small.
Sliding table saw
Sliding table saws are the classic all-purpose machines for cutting panels, mouldings, profiles etc. in longitudinal and transverse direction. They offer maximum flexibility. For the production of the individual components of furniture carcasses and furniture fronts, the boards are placed manually on a sliding carriage and fed past the saw blade by hand. With a sliding table saw, any angle cuts and even plunge cuts are possible.