In the engraving industry, the commonly used CNC router are mainly 3 axis machine tools. The 3 axis CNC engraving machine can manufacture many complex and practical shapes to meet the basic processing needs. This type of normal CNC machine is particularly widely used in the woodworking industry. However, sometimes the designed feature physically cannot be manufactured by a 3-axis machine, or the feature might be more economically viable to machine with a 4 axis CNC machine. So what is the difference between the 4 axis and the normal 3 axis cnc router?
 
3-axis milling evolved from the practice of rotary filing, and is a milling process that operated on two axes, the X & Y axis. In three axis machining, the workpiece remains still while the cutting tool moves along the 3 axes to mill the part. 3-axis machining still one of the most widely used techniques to create mechanical parts, and can be used for automatic/interactive operation, milling slots, drilling holes, and cutting sharp edges. Because 3-axis machining only operates on the 3 axes, it’s relatively simple and allows material to be removed in these 3 axes represented by back to front, side to side and up and down.
 
Many complex and practical shapes can be manufactured by 3 axis CNC engraving machine. While it is a more basic machining process, 3-axis machining may be ideal for your machining project depending on the size of your production run, the workpiece requirements, accuracy and finish constraints, materials used and your holding capabilities.
 
The 4-axis CNC router has all the same axes of a 3-axis CNC machine plus the additional A-axis that rotates the spindle around the X-axis up to 180 degrees during the cutting process. This rotational axis allows cuts to be executed on multiple sides of the workpiece without resetting, while a 3-axis router can only perform cuts to one side of the same piece at a time. 4-axis CNC routers are the preferred method for advanced, intricate cuts and carvings like those often seen in furniture, musical instruments, cabinetry, and more.
 
A 4 axis CNC machine has a lot of advantages. Here are the top five advantages that make a 4 axis CNC machine the first choice for various industries:
1. Increased Effectiveness of Production: One can program the 4 axis CNC machine to lower human interference in a particular manufacturing process. This helps reduce production time, thus ensuring increased production effectiveness.
2. Simplifies work: The processes that an operator performs manually with a conventional machine take a lot of time and efforts. These processes can be programmed using a 4 axis CNC machine, thus, simplifying the work for the operator.
3. High Precision: A 4 axis CNC machine is capable of producing precise work pieces consistently. Once the programming controls are confirmed, the 4 axis CNC machine produces thousands of pieces, in a short period of time.
4. Flexible Processing: As the processes are programmed, a 4 axis CNC machine is flexible. You can run a key program for one piece, save it, and then recall it again when the piece is required to be cloned.
5. Easy to Set-up: A 4 axis CNC machine is easy to setup. This helps you save time, and allows you to meet deadlines efficiently.
 
Acctek 4 axis CNC router is specially for large 3d sculpture. The spindle can be rotated 180 degrees, which can carry out special-shaped engraving, and the price is cheap. The work efficiency and the types of processing shapes that can be achieved are higher than the three-axis cnc router. If you have engraving needs, you can contact us online at any time.