CNC cutting system manufacturer MultiCam Inc. offers 8000 Series Five-Axis Router. This new line is for high-speed, heavy-duty routing in the woodworking, plastics, non-ferrous metals and composites industries.

"Five-axis CNC machining opens up a world of new capabilities for MultiCam," said Director of Sales and Marketing John Harris. "Applications include edge trimming of molded wood, plastic and composite parts, deep-cavity mold making and machining of spiral staircase components."

In addition to the standard X, Y and Z axes, the end of the Z axis features a 440-degree rotational axis and a 150-degree swing axis. Visualize a hemispherical work envelope (the lower half of a basketball) on the end of the Z axis. MultiCam can put the tool at any point on this surface under full CNC program control.

The operator may program all five axes to move simultaneously. Or program the fourth and fifth axes separately or locked in the vertical position to run the 8000 Series as a standard three-axis machine. Using all five axes of movement isn't always necessary. Five-axis machines are extremely flexible with the ability to expand a shop's capabilities for future business.