How to Choose a 4x8 CNC Router that Best Suits You?

Based on years of production and sales experience, the 4x8 CNC router is the most popular CNC woodworking machine model around the world.

The number 4x8 refers to the effective processing size of the CNC router machine as 4ftx8ft, or about 1300x2500mm. Therefore, we also call the 4x8 CNC router the 1325 CNC router, 4ftx8ft CNC router, 4 x 8 wood CNC machine, etc. Among them, 1325 is also the model number marked on our machine body.

The 4x8 CNC machine actually comes in many different configurations and specifications although we call all machines 4x8. For example, it can run in 3-, 4- or 5-axis linkage way. You can add a tool magazine, automatic loading&unloading device or platform, drill bank, oscillating cutter, and other configurations to it.

This article will show you why our 4x8 CNC routers for woodworking are so popular. Besides, it also tells you how to choose a 1325 CNC router machine to conduct your 4x8 CNC router plans.

Why choose a 4x8 CNC router?

Among all models, why is the CNC router table 4x8 so popular? It must be because it can meet the processing needs of most people.

The 1300x2500mm machining area may not be enough for those with special or custom furniture needs. But it can handle the most common MDF, plywood, melamine, or other wood boards perfectly. Because the most common wood panel size is 1220x2440mm. So the 4x8ft size is the most cost-effective choice.
What's more, 4x8 CNC router for sale has advantages unmatched by various handheld or power tools.

The first one is automated machining, which is easy to learn.

Any handheld router, circular saw, or table saw is a handheld machining process. In addition, manual machining is a skilled job, and even a beautiful art form. But it is not suitable for mass production or products with very high consistency requirements. However, the 4x8 CNC router solves the problem of batch machining and consistency very well. With simple training, any operator can learn how to use the CNC router software and the machine. After setting the relevant parameters, all the work is done automatically by the machine.

Secondly, it is safer to use the wood CNC machine 4x8 than other tools. Operators no longer have close contact with running cutters or saw blades, preventing personal injury.

Furthermore, the CNC wood router 4x8 brings us incredible accuracy and repeatability. It eliminates human errors and also creates any number of products, ensuring that each one is exactly the same.

What can a 4 x 8 CNC router do for you?

The 4 x 8 CNC machine can cut and engrave a variety of non-metallic and soft metal materials. During our communication with customers, we learned that they use the wood CNC router to mainly process the following materials:

• Wood, MDF, plywood, chipboard, melamine boards, solid wood
• Acrylic, ACP, PVC expansion sheets, and other composite materials
• Aluminum, aluminum alloy

Among the above materials, cutting and engraving wood accounts for about 80%. Because the 4x8 CNC router machine has good performance in processing softwood, solid wood, and other types of derived wood panels. For example:

• Wood furniture, such as cabinets, wardrobes, shelves, beds, chairs, tables, stands, sewing machine table tops, racks, office tables, door frames
• Signs, billboards, two-colored signs
• Thermoforming dies
• Interior decoration, background wall, decorative panels, wave boards, exhibition halls
• Toys, artworks, gifts, etc.

The 1325 CNC router can easily cut sheets with a thickness of 25mm or more without burning materials. In addition, the 3D CNC router can engrave 360 ° to make a variety of exquisite wood statues, railings, columns, etc.

Plastic materials such as acrylic and plexiglass are the most popular materials in advertising, crafts, and other industries. Common applications are advertising signs, souvenirs, trophies, lamps, crafts, etc. The 4 x 8 CNC machine can cut acrylic over 1 inch thick without damaging the materials.

How to choose a 4x8 CNC router that meets your demands?

1. Make sure your machining needs based on your specific situation.

Nowadays, people like personalized and creative wood product ideas. Accordingly, there will be different processing requirements. Then you need to choose the machine configuration and specifications according to the main products you make.

For example, if you process door panels, you can choose an automatic tool change 4x8 CNC machine. Because door panels require many patterns. So the ATC machining center which carries over 10 tools can realize a variety of processes automatically and without stopping the machine. But if you only make cabinets or other simple styles of furniture, the four-spindle 4x8 CNC router can meet your daily needs.

2. Investigate and choose a reliable 4x8 CNC router manufacturer.

We always say that you must shop around when you buy something. Especially for such big machinery, you must not blindly pursue low 4x8 CNC router price. In addition, it is necessary to deeply understand the strength of CNC router manufacturers from multiple channels. If possible, we recommend going to the factory of CNC router manufacturers for on-site inspection. You can observe the whole process of production, assembly, inspection, and other procedures of the 4x8 wood CNC router.

What's more, be sure to clarify whether the manufacturer can provide you with training, after-sales services, and technical guidance. Complete and timely after-sales service is very important to the purchasing of any machine.

3. Focus on precision, operating speed, and other parameters.

From parts manufacturing, and bed welding, to parts assembly, every step is related to the accuracy and running speed of a 4x8 CNC router. This requires professional processing technology and meticulous measurement. Therefore, pay more attention to the drivers, motors, guide rails, and other accessories related to the accuracy of 4x8 CNC router.

Tips to choose the 4 x 8 CNC router kit

The wood CNC machine 4x8 has many different configurations corresponding to different processing techniques. So be sure to buy a CNC engraving machine according to your needs. Here are some tips for choosing a suitable 4 x 8 CNC router kit.

CNC router table

There are basically two types of 4x8 worktables, the common T-slot table, and the 4x8 vacuum table.

The T-slot worktable is made of high-quality aluminum material, which is resistant to high temperature, oxidation, and corrosion. This table is mainly for materials that are not easy to be adsorbed or hollowed out or thicker and thinner materials. Besides, the aluminum T-slot table of a 4x8 CNC router is quite cost-effective. But it requires many fixtures to fix the workpiece on the table to prevent it from shaking during processing.

The 4x8 vacuum table is made of rigid PVC, which is resistant to high temperature and corrosion. It does not need to fix the panel manually. So, it is more efficient than T-slot tables. In addition, the vacuum table can be divided into multiple zones. And the operator can switch from full-size processing to small-size processing. The vacuum zones can be easily closed through the control valve at the side of the 4x8 CNC router.

CNC router spindle

From the cooling method, you can choose air-cooled or water-cooled CNC router spindles. These two types of spindles have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The air-cooled spindle is easy to install, has low maintenance costs, and is less affected by environmental factors. In addition, it has a long life, large torque, high precision, and small rotation vibration. But it has a bit loud noise compared with the water-cooled spindles.

Water-cooled spindles are cheap, and have small noise but good cooling effects. It is suitable for high-temperature processing of hard solid wood, stone, and soft metals. However, water circulation maintenance is a bit expensive. And the service life of water-cooled spindles is shorter than that air-cooled ones. What's more, the environmental temperature has a big influence on the water.

The choice of spindle power depends on the material and material thickness. Usually, 3 axis 4x8 CNC routers generally choose 3.0-5.5kW manual tool-changing spindles or 9kW ATC spindles.

Manual or automatic tool change?

The common spindle adopts a manual tool changing method. You need to stop the machine, manually change the tool, and then restart the 4x8 CNC router.

However, you can also choose an ATC (automatic tool changing) spindle for your 4x8 CNC machine. It has an independent tool magazine, which can automatically change the required tools in one operation. This helps improve work efficiency and increase productivity by at least 50%.

Drill bank, saw spindle, horizontal spindle

When necessary, you can also add a drill bank, horizontal spindle, or saw spindle to your 4x8 CNC router. They can achieve multiple functions in one operation. We provide a variety of models of originally imported drill banks or aggregate heads. Equipped with different drill bits, it can realize different drilling and grooving needs.

The saw spindles we provide are specially used to make slots for invisible parts. For example, the two-in-one or three-in-one invisible connectors. The furniture using invisible parts is beautiful and easy to disassemble and is very popular in modern home improvement.

Motor and driver

The motor and driver of a 4x8 CNC router fall into stepper or servo types. Generally, our 4x8 CNC machine chooses stepper motors, which are cost-effective and saves electricity. But if you have higher processing requirements and enough budget, you can choose servo motors. Servo motors have all the advantages of stepper motors, and also make up for their shortcomings with higher precision.

It should be noted that the stepper motor can be used with different brands of drivers. But the servo motors can only use the matching drivers of the same brand.

Commonly used motor and driver brands include YASKAWA, Delta, Leadshine, Fuling, etc.

How deep can a 4x8 CNC router cut?

How thick can a CNC wood router 4x8 cut and what is the maximum running speed? These are the most frequently asked questions by customers when consulting. Our salesmen usually say that there is no standard answer to these two questions, and their answers are varied.

Generally speaking, there are 3 major factors affecting the cutting thickness and speed:

• Machine configuration, such as spindle power
• Material type, thickness, hardness
• CNC router tools type, quality, size

Wood panels of small thickness can be cut through with one tool pass. But if you want to cut or engrave thicker sheets, you should use multiple passes. For example, to cut a 30mm thick MDF board, you can set a step down of 10mm for one time. In such case, the machine can cut through a 30mm board after three times of cuts. This is also more conducive to extending the service life of the tool.

In addition, good quality 4x8 CNC routers for woodworking have higher rigidity, stability, and machinability. For instance, they allow faster feed speeds and greater pressure relief. For engraving and milling jobs, the RPM of the spindle should be set to the highest. But when cutting hard materials, we recommend low spindle speed and feed rate.

Also, CNC router tools with large shanks cut deeper than those with small shanks.

Therefore, you should choose the right tool for your material and set the appropriate step and feed rate. This is suitable for cutting wood panels of any thickness.

Best 4x8 CNC router recommendation

After talking about so many basics, let’s see the best 4x8 CNC routers for woodworking we have. We manufacture and export over 300 4x8 CNC routers for woodworking every year. The most popular specifications include the ATC spindle, saw spindle, drill bank, and rotary axis.

I recommend the following 4x8 CNC router based on accuracy, speed, software availability, ease of use, assembly, service life, etc.

Most popular 4 axis CNC router 4x8 vacuum table

There are many reasons that we regard this 4x8 CNC router machine as the most popular model. Many home users and workshops choose this machine to conduct their 3D woodworking business.

Compare with 3x3 and 4x4 CNC routers, the 4x8 CNC router requires stability during long X and Y-axis travel. So it adopts rack and pinion transmission instead of the ball screw, which brings both stability and precision.

Besides, the bed structure is made of large square steel pipes, which can maintain rigidity and stability.

In addition, its spindle can swing 180 degrees in total from left to right. So this 4x8 CNC router can realize 4 axis linkage movement. This allows it to process three sides (top, left, right) of a workpiece in one operation. To process the front and rear sides, you’ll need to stop the machine and rotate the workpiece manually.

If you need to carve cylinders, fortunately, it has a rotary device. This rotary axis holds the cylinder and rotates around the Y-axis. So it can realize 360 degrees of 3D workpiece carving.

Furthermore, the Z-axis travel reaches 400mm. This allows this 4x8 CNC router to carve high or thick workpieces.

The major parameters of this 4 x 8 CNC router are as shown in the table. All specifications of this router machine can be customized according to your processing needs. The following video shows the CNC machine engraving boards and making side slots.
 

Best-selling linear ATC 4x8 CNC router for sale

This is one of the most popular nesting CNC machines for panel furniture makers of various scales. It has a high performance-cost ratio due to its versatile functions.

Many customers who have purchased this machine can attest to the quality of this machine for us. And, many of them have been using this machine for more than 3 years.

The new bed structure of this 4 x 8 CNC machine is firm and durable and can carry large weight. This helps maintain stability and reduce deformation in continuous work.

Besides, it adopts the rack and pinion transmission system, which is also the first choice of most furniture makers.

The machine is equipped with a high-power ATC spindle with a linear tool magazine. It can process not only customized cabinets and wardrobes but also complex patterns of door panels.

It can achieve such functions as cutting, engraving, drilling, side milling, pocketing, etc.

In addition, this wood CNC machine uses a 4x8 vacuum table, which falls into 7 zones. And each zone is controlled by a valve, which enables you to process panels of any size.

Some basic parameters of this CNC wood router 4x8 are shown in the table below. This wood nesting machine adopts a linear tool magazine without any additional drill bank, saw spindle, etc. Even though, it can satisfy most demands of CNC cabinet makers.

With this 4x8 CNC machine, you can get 0.03mm accuracy and 0.03mm repeatability. This is more than enough for almost any woodworking job.

Let's watch the video below to see how this 4x8 CNC router machine works.

Automatic tool change 4x8 CNC machine with a saw spindle

This nesting CNC machine is an upgraded model of the above 4x8 CNC machine. It adds a saw spindle beside the ATC spindle. This saw spindle is specially designed for making slots of various invisible connectors of cabinets. It can rotate 90 degrees to make slots in two vertical directions.

Therefore, this 4x8 CNC router is suitable for the production of modern panel furniture. It can finish nesting, cutting, drilling, engraving, slotting, side milling, and other work in one operation.

The 4x8 vacuum table has a strong adsorption ability. It adopts pre-embedded parts, which is convenient for replacing the liner.

Both X and Y axes adopt famous Taiwan helical racks, while the Z axis adopts TBI ball screw with high precision and durable use.

The following table shows the major technical parameters of this wood nesting machine. The ATC function can significantly improve work efficiency if you conduct multiple-tool projects often.

Let's see how this saw spindle makes slots on a wood panel from the 48 seconds of the video. The CNC wood router 4x8 in the video also has an automatic labeling platform to help the board feed.

The cheapest 4x8 CNC router for woodworking

This 3 axis CNC router is one of our cheapest 4x8 CNC router machines to produce various non-metal products. It has a very high cost-performance ratio due to its multiple functions.

As an industrial wood CNC router, you can also use this wood CNC machine for mass production. The worktable adopts high-quality aluminum materials in T-slot shapes. This type of worktable is corrosion resistant and wear resistant and suitable for processing hard materials.

The built-in control cabinet saves more room space. So you can put the 4x8 CNC router in a garage, basement, tool room, or workshop.

Besides, the water-cooled spindle and tank worktable enable this CNC router to carve and engrave stone materials. The water-cooled spindle has a good cooling effect and the table can hold some water to help remove the heat.

What's more, the Mach3 control system is easy to operate, stable in performance, and economical. It supports many file formats, such as DXF, BMP, JPG, HPGL, etc.

Major parameters of this CNC router table 4x8: If you mainly process wood or other panels that are easily absorbed, we recommend upgrading the aluminum table to a vacuum table. This helps reduce clamping times and improve work efficiency.

The video below shows a 4x8 CNC router engraving patterns on chipboard. You can see from the video that the chipboard is clamped on the table by some fixtures.

Best 4x8 CNC router for panel furniture production with automatic loading and unloading

This is a high-end and versatile wood CNC machine 4x8 table for large quantity production. It has two automatic loading and unloading platforms to reduce the workload of manual feeding and discharging. The feeding device behind the gantry pulls the panel onto the worktable with two suction cups. Then a pushing device pushes the cut boards to the unloading platforms. Workers can pick up the boards while the machine is cutting the next panel without stopping the machine. So the platforms improve work efficiency greatly.

Besides, this powerful 4x8 CNC router can work three shifts a day, which means a whole day. It won't fatigue and can maintain the consistency of products to the most extent.

You can customize the worktable size according to your maximum cutting size. For example, 1.5x3m, 2x4m, 2x6m, etc. In addition, you can also decide on the other specifications.

The major specifications of this 4x8 router include: As you can see from the above table, this CNC wood router 4x8 also equips a saw spindle and an imported drill bank. Both of them contribute a lot to improved work efficiency. The saw spindle has the same functions as the second recommended machine. However, the drill bank can drill all vertical holes on the panel in one operation. So, you don't need to drill holes additionally after the panel is cut.

What's more, you can also add an automatic labeling device to this 4x8 CNC router for sale. The imported high-speed labeling machine can label the boards automatically, reducing human labor and improving efficiency.

This video shows the working process of this high-end ATC 4x8 CNC machine. Due to its complex specifications, this machine has the highest 4x8 CNC router price among these four CNC routers.

What do our customers do with ELE 4x8 CNC routers?

Most of our customers use the 4x8 CNC wood router to produce furniture, artwork, signs, etc. Every customer has different needs, so the machine configuration they choose also varies widely.

Below are some 4x8 CNC router projects undertaken by our customers all over the world. If you’re interested in any of the 4x8 CNC router plans, don't hesitate to contact us. We'll introduce to you more details.

Reliefs and columns by a Canadian customer

A customer from Canada made all these beautiful relief carvings and columns using an ELE 1325 rotary axis CNC router. He bought the machine and received the delivery in February 2020. Up to now, he has used this 4 x 8 CNC machine for almost two years and was satisfied with the processing. Adopts a manual tool changing spindle, customers have to stop the machine and change the tools by hand. This takes more time than the automatic tool changing but is more cost-effective.

Kid's furniture by a Latvian customer

A Latvian customer shared these pictures of the kid’s furniture with us. Our customer runs a furniture factory in his place and has constant furniture orders. With the help of the ATC 4x8 CNC router machine, his efficiency and production volume have increased by 30%.

The best thing about an ATC CNC router lies in changing tools automatically without stopping the machine. This reduces a lot of non-production time and improves work efficiency greatly.

Kitchen cabinets wardrobes by Greek customers

Our Greek customers did great work on processing kitchen cabinets, washroom cabinets, wardrobes, cupboards, etc. In addition, they also produce other indoor decoration products, such as background walls, TV cabinets, bookshelves, inside doors, etc.

They bought a CNC wood router with a 4x8 vacuum table in the first half year of 2021. Although it is a manual tool-changing machine, it can also produce good furniture projects.

Guitar by a USA customer

The USA customer who bought a 4 axis ELE 1325 CNC router in 2020 shared with us the first guitar body he made. As we can see from the pictures, the cutting and milling results are satisfying.

The thickness of a guitar body is about 10cm. So you may need a long bit and conduct several step downs to cut through a 10cm thick panel. As a 4 axis CNC, our customer also uses it to carve 3D workpieces.

Restaurant decoration by Indonesian customer

The first word when I saw these pictures of wood decoration made by our Indonesian customer is WOW. Besides, these wood products look more beautiful under the atmosphere lights. It is a huge CNC router project to make these cabinets, counters, and other decorations. But with the assistance of our ATC 4x8 CNC router with a saw spindle, all work is done easily.

As we mentioned before, the saw spindle is especially for making slots for various invisible connectors. So it reduces a lot of time for manual slotting.

Words in the end

The large work area of the 4 x 8 CNC machine provides the ability to work on complete-sized panels. This makes it the best CNC machine for making furniture. In addition, 4x8 CNC routers are widely used in interior decoration, advertising signage, acrylic cutting, foam modeling, stone cutting, plastic cutting, and other industries.

A 4x8 CNC machine can have many different configurations to meet the needs of different customers. For instance, home users or small workshops can choose a 4x8 CNC router with basic configurations. But customers doing complex processes and exquisite details can add some advanced or upgraded configurations.

So, you need to pay attention to many things to buy a suitable 4 x 8 CNC router. First of all, make sure whether the working size of 4x8ft can meet your needs. If not, consider custom size or commonly used 5x10ft, 6x10ft, etc.

Secondly, find a reliable 4x8 CNC router manufacturer. This step requires you to investigate the machines from many aspects, like websites, forums, customer comments, reviews, etc. Good machine quality is as important as complete after-sales services, and both are indispensable.

Thirdly, communicate with the CNC router manufacturer about the configuration. For instance, drive system, spindle, transmission system, worktable, control system, etc. It'd be better to write down all specifications in a contract to avoid any subsequent disputes. Furthermore, good manufacturers should provide at least 1-year warranty for the 4x8 CNC router. Being able to provide online training or support can also help a lot.

Blue Elephant has been committed to the production of CNC routers for more than 12 years. And we have exported 4x8 CNC routers to more than 180 countries. If you are considering buying a 4x8 CNC router, please consider Blue Elephant first.