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Software has taken on a growing role in the wood products business as a sales tool. How so? Since applications have the ability to run CNC machines, it was only a matter of time before that same information was translated into graphics that guide the operator in project parts production. Finished jobs are also visualized by rendering those same production files in 3D.

Now suppliers have taken it a step further, developing the ability to make photo-realistic renderings from those same files, even developing interactive screens that allow customers to play "what if" with colors, wood species and other design elements. Exhibitors at IWF will be showing the latest developing in such software. One example is Cabinet Pro's cabinet design software now features hyper-real graphics, which the company says can make the difference between a successful proposal and one that doesn't go so well.