My journey to visit the Eberle duo takes me to the Allgäu region of Germany, specifically to Altusried. This report is a very special one, as I have never visited a joinery armed with a face mask and the usual precautions before. Nevertheless, the excitement is palpable, because not only do I finally get to breathe in the workshop air again, but exciting CNC technology paired with traditional craftsmanship also awaits me. The family joinery produces almost everything, from custom interior fittings and elaborate restorations to complex 3D free-form parts. The only thing the two master joiners have had enough of is window manufacturing, which is why they now buy in products for this segment.

Progress with Every Generation

The history of the Eberle joinery now spans four generations. We begin with today's senior partner, Andreas Eberle. Shortly after becoming a master craftsman, he went straight into self-employment. To do so, however, he first had to completely gut and renovate his father's aging workshop, bringing it back to life. "I want to feel comfortable in my workshop. That's why I designed it to be like a wellness oasis for me." In the years that followed, he always worked alone, only occasionally taking an apprentice under his wing. "By simply delivering high-quality work and positioning my quotes at the upper end of the price scale, I always earned good money on my own. The question of additional employees never even came up for me," he tells me during my visit in Altusried.

Today, things have changed a bit. His son, also named Andreas, is now on board, along with one other employee. Production takes place in a 500 m² workshop that was completed in 2008 and built next to the old one, also designed to be a "wellness oasis".

The fact that the son is now firmly established in the business is no coincidence. He decided early on to become a joiner and demonstrated a flair for the profession even during his apprenticeship. With his journeyman's examination, he even became the guild winner for Oberallgäu and the chamber winner for the district of Swabia. Shortly after finishing his master craftsman's college in Augsburg, it was clear to him: "We need a CNC machine in our workshop." When the two of them later went to look at a new spindle moulder at Miller Maschinen und Werkzeuge in Leutkirch, Franz Mendler, sales manager and by now a good acquaintance of the master joiners, also suggested they take a closer look at CNC technology. No sooner said than done, and the senior partner told the junior: "I'll pay for it, but you have to work with it. And in such a way that we continue to earn good money and the machine pays for itself. Besides, this is an investment in our future. If we're going to set ourselves up like this, we're going to do it right—so the machine really has to have everything, so we're prepared for any eventuality." After several informational discussions, including at the Felder headquarters in Hall, Austria, and at the Holz-Handwerk trade fair in Nuremberg, the inevitable happened at the Miller open house.

Better to Have More Than You Need

Following the credo "the machine should be able to do everything except manufacture windows," the two opted for the Format 4 H500 5-axis machining center from Felder, including a whole host of tools. For example, everything needed for professional entrance door production. "Since 2020, however, we've hardly made any entrance doors; there are too many other jobs that are simply more enjoyable. Still, it's good to have the equipment. Who knows, maybe we'll feel like doing it again someday," the two tell me in the light-flooded meeting room, while next door, and in direct line of sight, the CNC machine is busy making money. The Format 4 H500 5-axis CNC was installed in 2017 with its own Spänex dust extraction system, including discharge into the silo.

With a utilization rate of about 70%, the joinery produces custom interior fit-outs. This includes many "standard" furniture items such as wardrobes and kitchens, which mainly involve building carcasses. For visualization, the master joiners still rely on classic hand drawings with hatching; sometimes, 3D plans are printed out and hatched by hand. "That's perfectly sufficient for our customers, and they can easily imagine what we had in mind when designing the furniture."

The actual design work is then done either directly in the F4 Design carcass generator or with the CAD software Rhino. The files are then sent directly to Woodflash, the programming system developed in-house at Felder. Here, Andreas Eberle Jr. has created and stored programs directly at the terminal, which he can use variably for different projects. However, the 5-axis CNC machine offers far more possibilities than are required for manufacturing cabinet furniture. That's why the master joiners often add highlights to their designs. For example, a kitchen counter that looks like a wine barrel yet offers all the advantages of a kitchen base cabinet. For this and for projects involving the production of 3D free-forms, the workflow leading up to the machine is different.

Extraordinary 3D Free-Forms

Around 30% of their orders consist of sometimes very unusual projects for which 3D free-forms are created. For example, wooden torsos for use as mannequins and heads as stands for glasses and hats. Or for restoring old, hand-carved ornaments for a church, and for a huge, round ball pit for a kindergarten.

For these projects, CAD files are either created directly in Rhino and then loaded into the F4 Solid CAM software, or, as with the old church ornaments, a 3D scan is made, and its STL file is then loaded into F4 Solid without the detour through a CAD program. The CAM software has the advantage of being able to read and process any type of file.

Afterward, for larger projects, Andreas Eberle Jr. defines and saves certain presets. This means he only has to make fine adjustments later, such as cutter speed, etc. Then it's off to the machine, and the 5-axis machining center can get to work. A major advantage of the Format 4 H500 is its high gantry, which was particularly noticeable in the production of the ball pit. With a custom-made clamping device, workpieces up to about 500 mm in height can be secured.

The two master joiners purchased the F4 Solid CAM software specifically for the job where they restored church ornaments. To be sure that the software was a good fit, they were able to test it extensively beforehand at the Miller Maschinen und Werkzeuge open house. "The costs for the software and individual training paid for themselves immediately. The original plan was to have every single part hand-carved, which would have resulted in enormous costs," the senior partner explains.

Well-Equipped for the Future

In 2020, the joinery invested further in a new Tempora F800 edgebanding machine from Felder. And once again, they made sure it came with all the bells and whistles. The two master joiners are now very well-positioned for the future and are happy to offer their services as a supplier to colleagues, especially when it comes to complex 3D free-forms. So, if you're interested, feel free to get in touch!