Casework
Casework in CNC and millwork refers to built-in cabinet and enclosure assemblies fabricated from panel goods, including sides, tops, bottoms, backs, partitions, and internal supports. In production, it is a panel-processing workflow: sheet stock is nested, CNC-routed, drilled for shelf pins and hardware, labeled, and moved to assembly as carcass components.
On the shop floor, casework is treated as a sheet-good throughput problem. A CNC cell begins with panel optimization and nested cutting of MDF, melamine, plywood, or laminate-faced stock. The same program then drills hinge cups, shelf-pin arrays, dowel bores, and hardware pockets, often followed by edgebanding and barcoded part marking. Each panel carries machine-specific data through cutting, routing, and assembly to keep job routing paperless. The main manufacturing advantage is consistency: machine-generated hole patterns and panel dimensions reduce tolerance stack-up against cabinetry reveals and hardware alignment. In higher-volume runs, automated loading, vacuum handling, stacking, and shuttle tables maintain throughput across repeated cabinet families. In practice, the operator’s job is to verify reference edges and material thickness before cutting, then let the machine repeat the geometry, because the final fit-up depends on controlled, repeatable panel processing rather than hand fitting at installation.
Is casework the same as millwork?
No. Millwork is the broader category of shop-fabricated architectural woodwork; casework is the cabinet and carcass subset focused on box-like storage and enclosure components.
What CNC processes are most common for casework?
Nested routing, vertical and horizontal drilling, shelf-pin boring, dowel and confirmat drilling, hinge-cup machining, part marking, and panel profiling are the core operations in cabinet and casework production.
Why do casework shops care so much about tolerances?
Small errors accumulate across panels, hardware, and installation conditions. Even with tight machine capability, the real goal is controlled repeatability so doors, drawers, fillers, and fixed partitions assemble without force-fit errors.