What are Planer Moulders?
Planer Moulders have the feature of applicable for woodworking engineering projects and industrial wood works factories, which includes the basic flat surface planer machine, thicknesser planer moulder, double sided planer machine, four sided planer machine, and profile moulder, etc.
Among of these woodworking planer machines, the 4 sided planer is the best choice for it can replace other woodwork planer machine function by just adjusting different combination of saw spindle work or not condition.
The 4 sided planer moulder is now turning more and more popular and becoming the star products in the woodworking planer industry for small, medium and large scale woodworking plants and factories.
ELASN Planer Moulders
Types of 4 Sided Planer Moulders
By Number of Cutter Heads:
Single-Head Moulder: Basic profiling; low output.
Double-Head: Simultaneous top/bottom shaping.
4-Head Moulder: Most common; processes all four sides in one pass.
5+ Head Industrial Moulders: Complex profiles (e.g., crown moulding).
By Automation Level:
Manual Feed: Budget-friendly; labor-intensive.
Power Feed: Automated rollers for consistent speed.
CNC Moulder: Precision programmable models.
By Purpose:
Roughing Moulders: Fast material removal.
Finishing Moulders: Smooth, ready-to-use output.
Advantages of Four Sided Planer Moulders
1. High efficiency
The four-sided planer concentrates the functions of multiple machine tools such as flat planer, pressure planer, and lower axis vertical milling machine in traditional processes, realizing one-pass processing, greatly improving production efficiency and shortening production cycle.
2. High precision
Through mechanical continuous forced pressing feed and multi-axis design, the four-sided planer can accurately plan the top and bottom and sides of the wood, ensuring the dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the product, and reducing the errors caused by multiple clamping of traditional machine tools.
3. Versatility
The four-sided planer can not only perform plane processing, but also complete complex processing such as tenoning, grooving, and profile forming. It is suitable for the production of a variety of wood products, such as furniture, decorative wood lines, wooden floors, etc.
4. Adaptability
The feeding speed can be adjusted according to the wood material and cutting amount, and it is suitable for processing wood of different types and sizes, including rare wood such as maple and oak.
5. Durability
The work surface is usually specially treated (such as hard chrome plating), the spindle is high in precision, the equipment structure is compact, durable, and suitable for long-term high-intensity production.
6. Intelligent
Modern four-sided planers are equipped with intelligent control systems, such as automatic knife axis positioning, touch-screen operation screen, etc., which improve the convenience of operation and processing flexibility, and are especially suitable for customized production needs.
Four Sided Planer Moulders Choosing Guide
| Model | Number & Layout of Cutter Heads | Processing Features | Processing Capacity (Workpiece Width/Thickness) | Applicable Scenarios & Advantages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 4-Axis (with Guard) | 2 horizontal + 2 vertical (upper horizontal/left vertical adjustable) | Basic four-side planing; guard enhances operational safety | 20-180mm | Small furniture factories; high-safety scenarios; suitable for short/regular square timber |
| Standard 4-Axis (Economy) | Same as above, no guard | Basic planing only; low cost but high safety risk | 20-180mm | Budget-limited workshops; low-complexity workpieces |
| 5-Axis Four-Side Planer | 4 base axes + 1 rotary cutter head (360ﾂｰ adjustable) | Added profile milling (grooving, molding); processes single-side profiles | 20-230mm | Medium furniture factories; combines flat surfaces & simple profiles (e.g., skirting boards) |
| 6-Axis Four-Side Planer | 5 axes + front lower horizontal cutter head (dual reference surface) | Dual lower horizontal heads ensure high-precision reference, reducing deformation errors | 20-230mm | High-precision components (flooring, door/window frames); grinding-free process requirements |
| 7-Axis Four-Side Planer | 6 axes + finishing cutter head (rotary/vertical) | Complex profile finishing (e.g., tenons, slots); supports scraper/sanding attachments | >200mm | Heavy building materials, decorative moldings; integrated multi-process (profiling + finishing) |
| Heavy-Duty Planer | 7-8 axes (incl. 2 rotary heads or sanding rollers) | Large-section heavy cutting; compatible with hydraulic/Powerlock tool systems | >200mm | Large-scale timber mills; hardwood processing (e.g., rosewood, oak); continuous high-intensity production |
| High-Speed Planer | 4-6 optimized axes (stepless speed + spiral cutters) | Feed speed ･30m/min; spiral heads reduce resistance; energy-saving & grinding-free | 20-230mm | Batch standardized production (e.g., crates, pallets); energy-efficiency scenarios |
How to choose the planing saw blade of Four sided planer moulders?
When choosing a tool for a four-sided planer, you need to consider multiple factors to ensure processing quality and efficiency. The following are key factors for choosing a tool:
Tool material:
Alloy material: Suitable for occasions that require high hardness and wear resistance, and can withstand rapid cutting with large margins.
Diamond material: Provides extremely high hardness and wear resistance, suitable for processing with high requirements for plate verticality.
High-speed steel material: Suitable for four-sided planers with ordinary knife shafts, with good toughness and cutting performance.
Tool type:
Flat knife: Suitable for basic plane processing, widely used in various knife shafts of four-sided planers.
Spiral knife: Suitable for four-sided planers with spiral knife shafts, providing better cutting results and surface quality.
Forming milling cutter: Used to process complex surfaces, such as decorative lines, etc.
Processing requirements:
Processing materials: Different wood materials require different tool selections. For example, hardwood requires harder tools, while softwood can use slightly softer tools.
Processing accuracy: High-precision processing requires the selection of tools with high stability and accuracy, such as hydraulic clamping tools or Powerlock tools.
Processing efficiency: For processing with high feed rates, choose tools that can maintain stable cutting at high speeds, such as Powerlock tools.
Equipment type:
Light four-sided planer: Usually uses four axes, and the tool selection should be suitable for its processing capabilities.
Medium four-sided planer: Usually uses five or six axes, and requires tools that can adapt to more processing needs.
Heavy four-sided planer: Usually uses more than seven axes, and requires tools with higher cutting capabilities and stability.
How to Remove the Planer Moulders Saw Blade Shaft?
Saw Blade is the heavy duty and high frequency used spare parts with its quality determines the woodworking moulders saw blade changing periods for the easy wear resistant. But If there is one situation that is forgetting to loosen the saw blade after a long periods for fewer month, that is the problem. But here is the solution to solve how to remove the saw blade on woodworking moulders no matter it is for long time whether it is rusted and stucked or not.
As is known to all that aluminum body spiral knife has a common phenomenon that is after use, it is prone to slight deformation, which increases the risk of rusting and jamming. Due to woodworking moulders saw blade general structural features below:
- The locking nuts of the knife shaft are mostly designed with fine-threaded specifications.
- There is a micrometer-level interference fit between the knife body and the knife shaft.
- The cable pad is a wear-prone part, and after long-term use, it is prone to metal adhesion.
The Standard disassembly process is as belows with several steps:
Step 1: Pre-treatment preparation
Prepare the standardization toolkit:
Penetrating rust remover (recommended to contain active enzyme components)
Anti-slip rubber hammer (head diameter ≥ 5cm)
Wooden auxiliary tools (recommending red pine or beech wood)
Fine sandpaper (200-300 mesh)
Lubricating grease (lithium-based grease NLGI 2 grade)
Anti-slip tape (width ≥ 2cm)
Step 2: Initial loosening treatment
Diagnosis of lock knife gasket condition:
Circular gasket for positioning the shaft of the knife spindle
Observation of rust characteristics:
Initial rust: The surface appears dark gray, and rust spots can be seen in the thread gap
Severe rusted fixation: The metal surface presents a crystalline rust layer, and the rotational resistance significantly increases
Foundation loosening operation:
Use a rubber hammer to lightly tap the gasket around with a force of 5N·m (tap at 8 evenly distributed points)
Spray rust remover into the gasket gap (single application amount is approximately 5ml, keep soaking for 10-15 minutes)
Step 3: Deep disassembly operation
Dynamic loosening technique:
While maintaining the continuous penetration of the rust remover:
Axial rotation: Every rotation interval is 2 seconds, applying a torque of ≤ 3 N·m
Radial tapping: Frequency is 1 time per second, with the force controlled within 2 N·m
Repeat the operation until the looseness of the gasket reaches 30% (visible gap of more than 0.5mm)
Method for removing the gasket:
Use a wooden tool to slowly pry it from the axial direction:
The contact surface needs to be wrapped with anti-slip tape (to prevent wood splinters from damaging the knife shaft)
The prying angle should be maintained at 15° ± 5°, and the operation should be carried out progressively in 3-5 steps
Step 4: Tool separation processing
Tool protection specification:
The lever principle should be used to pry the tool body open:
The point of application of force should be at least 3 cm away from the blade
The maximum prying force should be controlled within 5 N·m
If it is difficult to remove:
Use a wooden auxiliary tool to push the tool head (metal tools are prohibited from directly contacting)
Allow for a slight axial displacement (≤0.2mm) to assist in separation
Handling of abnormal situations:
When conventional methods fail:
Repeat rust removal → Light tapping → Rotation cycle (total number of times ≤ 3 times)
If necessary, local heating of the tool shaft surface (temperature ≤ 60℃, time ≤ 3 minutes) can be applied
Step 5: Subsequent maintenance standards
Blade shaft maintenance specification:
Internal surface treatment:
Use 200-300 mesh sandpaper to polish the rusted areas
Remove metal debris (suggested to use compressed air for blowing)
Lubrication operation:
Evenly apply lubricating grease (thickness 0.1mm ± 0.02mm)
Focus on applying to the threaded meshing area and the contact surface of the gasket
Tool inspection standard:
Blade integrity check (assisted by magnifying glass):
Front angle wear ≤ 0.1mm
Edge straightness error ≤ 0.05mm
Radial runout detection:
Measure using a dial indicator (tolerance ≤ 0.05mm)
