Moulders
Wood moulders use profiled cutters to shape wood. Once done entirely by hand, moulders revolutionized the process making it more efficient and productive. Wood moulders feature one or more heads which cut the wood. Single headed moulders will only be able to make one cut in the wood, whereas multi head moulders will be able to make several cuts in the wood.
Single head moulders tend to be less expensive and more economical, especially for a smaller shop, however they also feed the pieces of wood through the machine slower. With the lower price of a single head moulder comes a slower production speed.
If your shop’s goal is to get pieces out quickly, or has a high volume of work, a multi head moulder that makes several cuts at once will quickly be worth the initial investment. Nearly all moulders are also able to function as planers as well.