CNC Routers are Ideal for Puzzle Manufacturing

Puzzle manufacturing has undergone several iteration over the years; Similar to changes in technology, engineering a puzzle in the present 21st Century is completely different from methods employed in 1760 by John Spilbury (a cartographer – meaning a person who made hand drawn maps) when probably the first puzzles were created. John Spilbury pasted his maps on thin pieces of cedar panels and cut them using a marquetry saw. Marquetry is the tool derived from the ancient art of inlay where a solid piece of material is cut out so as to receive another material to form a surface patterned finish.

Spilbury’s maps soon became popular and the art of puzzle making by the jigsaw (marquetry tool) method became widespread; with advances due to the Industrial revolution and new printing technologies the offset printed pictures soon found their way and glued onto cardboard as well wooden veneers and die-cut in various shapes. The market for puzzles reached its peak during World War 2 and thereafter as Jackson Pollock’s painting Convergence became a best-selling puzzle and enjoyed by thousands of Americans. Wooden puzzles are making a comeback after all these years primarily for affordable CNC laser routers that have allowed small custom wooden puzzle manufacturers to reinvent the art. Lasers can cut with precision, as it is a concentrated beam of light that does the cutting. The beam is very thin and the cut is also clean leaving no burrs. The term jigsaw puzzle is apt for laser cut puzzles as intricate shapes can dovetail into each other when finally assembled.

Sign making CNC routers such as the OMNI CNC 1318 model is also capable of puzzle cutting as well as 3 dimensional character cutting. A powerful spindle operating at 24000 rpm rated at 1.5kw and protected with digital spindle temperature monitor is the perfect tool for craftsmen to produce wooden based puzzles. The advantage of the vacuum combined T-slot enables proper material hold down and the linear guide on 3 axis is the perfect traverse system that can work 24 x 7. OMNI-CNC Routers are based in China and among the top suppliers of affordable CNC routers.