16 Difference Between Shaper And Planer (With Pictures)

A shaper is a type of machine that uses linear relative motion between the work-piece and a single-point cutting tool to machine a linear toolpath. Shapers acan be categorized as standard, draw-cut, horizontal, universal, vertical, geared, crank, hydraulic, contour and travelling head. In most cases, a shaper has a horizontal arrangement. In a standard shaper for example, cutting of material takes place during the forward stroke of the ram, the backward stroke remains idle.

In a shaper, a single cutting tool is rigidly held in the tool holder, which is mounted on the ram. The work piece is rigidly held in a vice or clamped directly on the table. The table may be supported at the outer end. The ram reciprocates and thus cutting tool held in tool holder moves forward and backwards over work piece.

A planer is a type of metalworking machine tool that uses linear relative motion between the workpiece and a single-point cutting tool to cut the workpiece. The term planer can refer to several types of carpentry tools, woodworking machines or metalworking machine tools. A planer is similar to a shaper, however it is large and with moving workpiece while in a shaper the cutting tool moves.

 Key Difference

• A planer is a larger machine and can accommodate heavier and larger jobs. Jobs as large as 7 meter wide and twice as long can be machined on a planer, whereas a shaper is traditionally a small machine and preferred for smaller jobs.
• In a planer machine, the tool is stationary and work piece travels back and forth under the tool. On the other hand, in a shaper, machine work is held stationary and the cutting tool on the ram is moved back and forth across the work.
• It is possible for a planer to make heavier cuts and coarse feed whereas it is possible for a shaper to make light cuts and finer feed.
• Planer requires less floor space whereas shaper requires a large floor space.
• A planer is driven by gear or hydraulic arrangement whereas shaper uses quick return mechanism to drive the ram. In modern shaper machines, hydraulic drive is also used.
• In a planer, Workpiece (bed) imparts feed motion while cutting tool gives cutting motion. On the other hand, on a Shaper, Workpiece (table) imparts cutting motion, while cutting tool gives feed motion.
• Tools used in planer are heavier, stronger and larger whereas tools used in shaper are lighter and smaller.
• Planer has longer stroke length and can take heavy cuts, therefore, MRR is high and the operation is productive. On the contrary, shaper provides low MRR, thus shaping is less productive.
• Planer has a comparatively high machining accuracy when compared to shaper.
• Planer has facility to accommodate multiple tools and simultaneously use all of them. In contrast, shaper has only one cutting tool that can be used at a time.
• Planer is usually not suitable for machining small and medium-size work, one or few at a time. On the other hand, shaper not suitable for machining small and medium-size work, one or few at a time.
• Planer has a high rate of power consumption whereas shaper has a lower rate of power consumption.
• In planer machine, cutting and return speeds are uniform throughout the strokes whereas in shaper machine, cutting and return speeds vary throughout the strokes.
• In a planer machine, multiple tooling permits machining of more than one surface at a time whereas only one tool is used on a shaper.
• In planer machine, work setting requires specialized skill and more time whereas in shaper machine, work setting requires less skill and less time.
• Planer is very robust and rigid in construction whereas shaper is simple in construction and less rigid.

Also Read: Difference Between Climb Milling And Conventional Milling

Difference Between Shaper And Planer In Tabular Form

Also Read: Difference Between Orthogonal (2D Cutting) And Oblique-Cutting (3D Cutting)