Is a Panel Saw Right for You?

Why pick a panel saw?

Panel saws are used to cut various sized sheets of material into defined pieces such as doors, cabinetry parts, and much more. Panel saws come in a wide range of sizes and formats, depending on your needs you may require a special saw to accommodate your space and production requirements. Whether you are in a specialized woodcraft shop or a larger production facility, panel saws make a great alternative to a table saw due to their safety advantages as well as space-saving and accurate cutting ability.

A major benefit of choosing a panel saw is that panel saws can be operated by one person no matter the size. Projects start to look a lot easier when you aren’t having to manage large pieces of material during operations or wrangle two separate pieces back down to the ground. Using a panel saw can save you time, manpower, space, and back pain.

Table Saw vs Vertical Panel Saw

Table Saws are more versatile but less convenient or accurate than panel saws. If you aren’t having to break down plywood sheets every day and need more complicated operations such as bevel cuts you may want to go with a table saw over a panel saw.

Panel Saws can easily and safely handle wood panels but typically are designed for less complex operations than table saws. If you are processing a lot of sheet goods with repetitive operations it can save you a considerable amount of time, personnel, and money to go with a panel saw.

Vertical Panel Saw vs Horizontal Beam Saws

Vertical panel saws take up less floor space, are simpler to operate/maintain, and are much more affordable.

Horizontal panel saws are generally better for larger shops with material handling equipment such as conveyors or vacuum lifts. They are also a lot more automated and far more expensive.

Benefits of a Vertical Panel Saw

Vertical panel saws offer an intelligent alternative to horizontal beam saws. Table saws and horizontal beam saws require a tremendous amount of floor space. The Putsch® SVP Series is “the best way to cut” through a design that offers customer safety, ergonomic operation, precision cutting, grooving, and a tremendously space-efficient footprint.

Safe: Once the material is loaded onto the cutting table, the panel remains stationary as the saw assembly itself is moved. This means no hands feeding panels toward an active blade, no need for push sticks, and no parts that could kick back into the operator.

Ergonomic: Panels are completely supported during cutting which considerably reduces operator back, neck, and other muscle strain, thus greatly reducing the risk of a work injury.

Precise: The heart of the machine is a fully welded monolithic steel frame that doesn’t twist or torque. The saw assembly moves on calibrated guides or linear guide rails for a cut tolerance of .004th of an inch for better quality parts and less rework.

Space-saving: Vertical panel saws require less than half the operating area of a sliding table saw. Sliding panel saws require almost 200 sq. ft. to process a 4 ft. x 8 ft. sheet (when considering the machine footprint and work area). For comparison, the Putsch® SVP 320 only requires approximately 75 sq. ft. for safe operation!