A wood CNC Router is similar to a metal CNC mill with the following differences:

• The wood router typically spins faster — 18,000 RPM
• It typically uses smaller tools — max shank size 20 or at most 25mm.
• It typically uses smaller toolholders iso-30 or the tools just get bolted on.

Some wood routers have multiple separate heads that can come down simultaneously or not. This design is generally not as easy as a toolchanger with iso-30, though it is easier to maintain. The wood router typically has 6"-10" air ducts to suck up the wood chips/dust created. They can be piped to a stand-alone or full shop system.

Some wood routers are specialized for cabinetry and have many drills that can be programed to come down separately or together.

The wood router typically holds wood with suction through the table or pods that raise the work above the table. Sometimes CNC programmers make special jigs or "cull sheets" to hold a thin work piece very close to the edge. Raised Pods are nice when one wants to profile the edge.

Finally, wood routers are generally much bigger than their metal shop counterparts. 5'x5', 4'x8', and 5'x10' are typical sizes for wood routers.

A wood router is controlled in the same way as a metal mill, but there is a lot of CAM software specifically for wood routers. Wood with different grain must be approached with unique strategies, and wood CAM software is less likely to need to have hog-out strategies than the metal ones.