Wood milling with vhf milling machines and vhf tools

Wood processing will be a piece of cake for you with vhf’s state-of-the-art milling machines! They will help you obtain excellent results even if you have no prior technical expertise. Wood milling offers many advantages vs. conventional drilling and sawing, such as high cutting accuracy and the possibility to produce subtle details and inner contours.

In wood milling, it’s mainly board material that is machined on a CNC mill – in other words, solid wood, multiplex, MDF, chipboard or glued boards. It is therefore recommended to opt for a milling machine with the greatest possible working area. This is very easy for vhf machines, which can be individually configured even in XXL format while offering an excellent price-performance ratio especially when using large-size machines. In contrast to smaller wood processing machines, the high degree of stability of vhf machines offers more manufacturing accuracy and speed. In addition, milling machines by vhf also deliver precision, easy handling, and cost effectiveness.

Our CNC mills are capable of milling complex shapes such as bevels, curves or subtle engravings of letterings or patterns in wood. On this page you’ll find some wood processing examples which were created on vhf CNC milling machines.

CNC milling of wood – discover the possibilities!

Wood processing made easy: our tips for you

Please consider the following points for perfect CNC wood milling results:

Wood is always milled without a cooling lubricant
Use high speeds for wood milling
The feed rate and milling depth must be selected so that no burn marks are produced on the surfaces
Use sharp milling cutters and dry wood
Rely the vhf machine’s extraction system to ensure working safety and protection from fine dust

Wood milling with CNC equipment by vhf – it pays!

Investing in vhf’s modern CNC equipment pays off: Produce large-size boards or intricately designed pieces of wooden furniture or components. Milling equipment by vhf allows for an efficient and accurate manufacturing process. The state-of-the-art, powerful drive units, sophisticated controls, and well-engineered software offers almost unlimited wood milling possibilities.

X

Perfect for machining of wooden boards of up to 2 x 3 meters. X is a high-end milling machine which stands out by virtue of powerful drives and comfortable features: innovation and high tech in its purest form. Thanks to the well-engineered technology and host of useful features, the X offers exceptional comfort for a smooth production process.

Details of the X

Premium

For all who wish to process wood industrially. Because what you get with vhf Premium is a machine with a very strong structure which you can configure in a variety of ways. The vhf Premium is at home in the industrial environment: robust, precise and dependable – a perfect CNC milling machine for wood processing.

Details of the Premium

Active Pro

The all-rounder in wood board processing: individually configurable, available in many different sizes. The ideal milling machine for large or very large wooden workpieces – a genuine all-rounder with a great price-performance ratio and lots of flexibility. The ideal milling machine for wooden workpieces regardless of format.

Details of the Active Pro

We will be happy to advise you!

Phone
+49 7032 97097 700
Email
sales@vhf.de

FAQ wood processing

What should be kept in mind with regard to the milling strategy?

Cooling and extraction – yes or no?

Wood should always be worked without using a coolant. A coolant would damage the wood, soak it, and leave stains. Rely on the cooling effect of our efficient extraction system instead. The rapid chip removal and the air flow provide the desired cooling effect and ensure an outstanding extraction performance. This means a greatly reduced cleaning effort.

Should you include a finishing step?

When using a suitable and sharp tool, the right milling strategy and especially after a finishing step, workpieces typically have such a good edge quality that finishing is not always necessary. Depending on the type of wood or where a product has exposed edges, a finishing step may be advisable though, because it optimizes edge quality. In most cases, excellent results will be achieved with a removal rate of approx. 0.1 – 0.2 mm.

What milling parameters make the most sense?

The choice of feed rate, speed and material removal depends on different factors. Some parameters are dictated by the machine and the milling spindle that you use. The material, material thickness, and tool diameter have an impact, too. Therefore, we won’t give any statistical values here. Instead, we offer tool consultation services through our competent tool sales department – quick and individual.

Chamfering and/or deburring: yes or no?

When using a suitable and sharp tool, the right milling strategy and especially after a finishing step, the workpieces typically have such a good edge quality that chamfering/deburring is not necessary. If there are any sharp edges or if you want to enhance the appearance of the workpiece, you can deburr it. The best approach is to decide individually on a case-by-case basis.

How to best fix wood boards?

The most efficient way is to clamp down wood boards with the vhf vacuum table. This fixes the wood board tension-free to the milling machine with the help of vhf’s vacuum technology. Wood boards can be warped. However, the vhf vacuum table is capable of compensating even high degrees of warping. It also allows you to mill perforations and outline contours without any problems, with very little set-up work to be done.

Which tools are best suited for wood processing?

Benefit from our individual tool consulting service, including parameter guidance.

Phone
+49 7032 97097 430
Email
tools@vhf.de

Or get a first overview here:

Single or multi-tooth milling cutter?

Single-tooth cutters are a reasonable choice for many wood processing applications. Thanks to the large flute, chips can be removed much more easily and quickly than would be possible with the significantly narrower flutes of a multi-tooth cutter. Two-tooth cutters are also available, offering a geometry specifically designed for wood processing which makes them an attractive option. That’s because this cutter, beside the durability advantage, offers additional processing benefits thanks to its double tooth: the straight grooving ensures that the upper edges don’t fray.

Coated tools – yes or no?

The advantage of coated tools lies in the substantially longer service life. Coated tools are the reasonable choice especially for serial production and/or long operating times.

Which tools are suitable for chamfering/deburring?

Different tools are at your disposal for chamfering your wooden workpiece, depending on the desired angle on the workpiece. A 45° chamfer is desired in many cases. This can be achieved with a 90° tool. For this, you can use router bits which offer important advantages in wood processing, e.g., the V-slot cutter: perfect for creating (decorative) grooves, chamfering, and engraving.

Special applications: counterbores and engravings

vhf develops and manufactures its own tools – meaning they are perfectly suited to do the job they are designed for, e.g. plastics machining. We have the right tool for wood processing or engraving for any application:

Counterbores
Counterbores can be produced with vhf machines even with a single-tooth milling cutter, if the right milling strategy is used. Alternatively, you can use our router bits, such as the V-slot cutter.
Engravings
With engraving widths from 0.1 to 1.0 mm and top angles from 15° to 90°, vhf engraving cutters offer a wealth of different tools. Depending on whether you want a fine, subtle engraving or a deep, high-visibility engraving. Ornamental inlays, too, can be fashioned very easily.

The right tools for wood processing

vhf’s wood milling cutters deliver perfect milling results – because the tool is the key interface between the workpiece and the machine. Our broad range of CNC tools designed and manufactured by vhf holds the right solution for you! And we’ll be happy to consult you, in true vhf fashion.

For processing of solid wood, MDF, chipboards, and multiplex, we recommend:

Material	Application	vhf tool
Solid wood, MDF, chipboards, multiplex	Milling	Single tooth cutters Varius – STRATUM DLC Double tooth cutters for wood Router bits
	Engraving	Gravers

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