Fluting is one of the fastest-growing design trends in the stone industry. From waterfall islands and oven range hoods to feature walls, it adds texture, depth, and a high-end look that stands out in today’s market.
The challenge is production. Without an efficient way to cut and finish fluting, it can be difficult to turn the trend into profitable work. Manual methods take time, require significant labor, and can make it harder to maintain consistency from piece to piece. With the right CNC setup, shops can produce fluting more efficiently, improve consistency, and turn the trend into a profitable upsell.
What is Fluting?
Fluting is a series of concave grooves cut into the surface of the stone to create a linear, dimensional texture. It is commonly used on island faces, vanity details, furniture pieces, wall panels, and other areas where fabricators want to add visual impact.
Fluting is often confused with reeding, but the difference is simple. Fluting cuts inward to create recessed grooves. Reeding creates raised, convex ridges.
In stone fabrication, fluting is often a strong fit for CNC cutting and profiling workflows because the repeated groove pattern benefits from accuracy, consistency, and controlled machine movement.
Why CNC Matters for Fluting
Fluting can be a valuable upsell for fabricators, but it is not always easy to produce efficiently by hand. As the amount of shaping, smoothing, and polishing increases, so do labor demands and the opportunity for inconsistency.
CNC equipment gives fabricators a more repeatable way to produce fluted stonework while reducing the amount of manual labor required. A router, saw, or sawjet can help shops create consistent flute patterns, improve efficiency, and expand design capabilities.
The best machine for fluting depends on the finish you want to achieve, the material being processed, and the equipment already in your shop.
Fluting with a CNC Router
A CNC router offers the most automated path for fluting. With the right tooling and programming, a router can take the part from roughing through full polish on the machine. That reduces hand finishing and helps deliver a cleaner, more consistent result.
With the TITAN® CNC Router, fluted surfaces can be taken from roughing through full polish in a single CNC process. In Park Industries’ Cut This, Polish That episode, the TITAN is shown producing fluted stonework efficiently while highlighting how CNC automation can help make a traditionally labor-intensive process more scalable.
Watch CNC Router Fluting in Action
A CNC router also gives shops more freedom in design. In addition to straight fluting, it can support more custom looks, including flowing or wavy patterns, depending on the tooling and programming approach.
CNC Router Fluting Resources
Fluting with a CNC Saw or Sawjet
CNC saws and sawjets offer another effective way to produce fluting. In this workflow, the blade roughs out the shape of the flute, and side sweeping is used to smooth and refine the profile.
This approach can be very effective for shaping, but it typically still requires polishing after cutting. There are also special blades you can put onto saws to speed up the fluting process, plus CNC saws have the option of using tooling with their incremental router.
Watch CNC Saw Fluting in Action
This approach works well for shops already running CNC saws or sawjets and looking to expand into fluting without adding new equipment.
CNC Saw & sawjet Fluting Resources
Bringing Fluted Stonework Into Production
Fluting is more than a design trend. It is a way for fabricators to offer higher-value, custom stonework on islands, vanities, feature walls, furniture pieces, and other applications.
Whether your shop uses a CNC router, CNC saw, or sawjet, the goal is the same: create a more repeatable process for producing fluted stonework efficiently and consistently. With the right machines, training, and support, fabricators can take advantage of this growing trend and turn fluting into a profitable upsell.
Explore Park Industries® CNC routers, saws, and sawjets to find the right fluting equipment for your shop.
