How do you process decorative panels?
How do you process decorative wooden panelling such as melamine, HPL (laminate) or decorative MDF? Discover our processing tips for sawing, milling, edging or drilling Unilin Panels products here.
Recommended Tools & Machining Guidelines from Leitz and Leuco
For cutting, milling, and drilling, selecting the right tools is essential.
Our recommendations are backed by Leitz and Leuco, two of the most renowned tool manufacturers in the industry.
How to saw decorative panelling?
Set the protrusion (the distance between the upper tooth and panel surface) between 15 and 25 mm, depending on the diameter of the saw blade and the number of teeth.
Use preferably:
- a combination of a main saw and a pre-scoring saw.
- trapezoidal teeth, possibly in combination with flat teeth.
- teeth made of polycrystalline diamond diamond for long durability.
Take into account the age of the saw blade specified by the manufacturer. Sharpen or replace the blade in time. Cut the panels with a feed rate of 10 to 30 m/min and with the decorative side upwards. Avoid vibrations by exerting sufficient pressure on the panels while sawing.
How to mill decorative panelling?
Work with a milling machine, CNC milling table, or CNC machine to obtain optimum results.
Use preferably:
- a diamond-tipped cutterhead with a cutting angle between 30° and 70°.
- diamond-tipped compact hoggers.
- diamond-tipped routers.
Ensure that the cutting pressure of the cutting blades/teeth is always directed towards the panel:
- Point the cutting blades/teeth downwards to cut the upper side.
- Point the cutting blades/teeth upwards to cut the underside.
How to edge decorative panelling?
Our recommendations on milling also apply when using an edge banding machine.
- Use diamond-mounted cutting blades/teeth and adjust the milling unit according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Ensure that the thickness of the joint trimming unit matches that of the edge tape.
- Allow for 5 mm extra edge tape width on top of the panel thickness for a clean finish (e.g., 18 mm panel thickness, 23 mm edge tape). After gluing, the excess will be cut off.
Dexterous drilling
- Preferably use a carbide drill bit or one with a carbide tip.
- Select a type of drill that is appropriate for the work to be carried out (e.g., dowel drill, through-hole drill, hinge drill, etc.).
