Kansas-based Custom Cupboards is the first cabinetmaker in the nation to use robotics in conjunction with bar coding and RFID technology in the production process. Parts are stages in a queue to assemble into face frames, retrieved singly by the robot, then scanned and glue is applied. A second robot readies to place the stile into correct position. Once positioned, the first robot picks up a sponge and cleans the glue nozzle in preparation for the next frame. At full capacity, the robots should be able to build as many as 400 face frames a day.

Read Wood & Wood Products Editor-in-Chief Karen Koenig's related article.