Those of you who cut plywood or melamine-coated panels are all too familiar with this situation: the finished cut looks beautiful… but right at the point where the cutter makes contact with the panel, the edge chips. Many workshops have tried everything: reducing cutting speed, using an angled cutter, adjusting spindle speed… but the results are usually only slightly better, not completely eliminated. The reason is simple: edge chipping isn't due to incorrect cutter movement, but to the nature of the material. The moment the cutter “penetrates” the panel surface, the cutting force is almost impact, making melamine and veneer very fragile. Woodsoft takes a different approach. Instead of trying to cut through the panel without chipping (which is almost impossible), Woodsoft accepts that chipping will occur — but doesn't allow the chipping to remain on the finished piece. The new mechanism works as follows:
- The cutting tool does not descend directly onto the workpiece profile. The point of impact is positioned a safe distance from the workpiece edge. If chipping occurs, the chipped area is outside the usable zone.
- Then the knife moves diagonally along the contour.
- The final cut is made slowly to finish the edge and prevent splashing.
Results: The finished workpiece will have virtually no chipping at the starting point — even with difficult-to-cut plywood and melamine. This feature applies to both internal and external cutting. How to use: On the Woodsoft Optimizers web browser or Woodsoft Plugin, select “Cut the tool down in the middle of the edge (Anti-chipping)”. Then enter the distance from the cut point to the edge of the workpiece. Depending on how much chipping usually occurs on your machine, adjust this distance accordingly. Watch the video below for more details:
