The Woodfast PS Panel Saw Range: A Buyer's Guide

If you're kitting out a cabinet shop, furniture workshop, or sign-making business and you're looking at Woodfast's PS-series panel saws, you've got three main models to weigh up — the PS315B, the PS400B, and the PS400C — plus a brand-new safety-focused model, the PS400C-S SafeCut, launched in 2025. This guide walks through what each one offers, how they differ, and which is likely the right fit for your shop.

Why a panel saw in the first place

A panel saw is built for one job above all: breaking down full sheets of plywood, MDF, chipboard, or laminate into accurate, clean-edged sections. Compared with a standard table saw, a sliding-table panel saw gives you a stable, supported platform for handling large, heavy sheet material single-handedly, with far better repeatable accuracy on long rip and cross cuts. For any shop doing volume cabinet or furniture work, it's usually the machine that determines how fast — and how precisely — the rest of the job comes together.

Woodfast has been building woodworking machinery since 1941, and the PS range represents their heavy-duty, sliding-table panel saws aimed at professional cabinet shops and furniture manufacturers.

The range at a glance

Prices vary by dealer and typically exclude delivery, so treat these as a starting point for comparison rather than a firm quote.

PS315B — the entry point

The PS315B is the smallest and most affordable saw in the range, built around a 315mm blade. It's aimed at smaller shops and serious enthusiasts who don't need the bulk output of a full industrial line but still want proper panel-saw accuracy. Despite the smaller footprint, it doesn't skimp on the fundamentals: a heavy-gauge steel chassis, cast-iron table, and a genuine panel-saw trunnion for stability. The rip fence runs on a 150mm bar for reliable, repeatable rips, and the sliding table rides on ball bearings along tempered, ground prismatic guides — the same basic sliding mechanism you'd expect on a larger machine, just scaled down. It also features power rise, fall, and tilt of the blade, with digital readouts on the fence and stops adding precision without pushing the price into industrial territory.

Best for: smaller workshops, joinery businesses stepping up from a table saw, or shops where floor space is at a premium.

PS400B — the mid-range workhorse

Step up to the PS400B and you get a larger 400mm blade, a 7.5HP motor, and full electric rise, fall, and tilt of the blade — a meaningful upgrade in both cutting capacity and day-to-day convenience. The cast-iron saw unit and dual vertical shaft mounting are designed to keep vibration down and movement smooth, and you still get digital readouts on the rip fence and both crosscut stops for accurate repeat cuts. A reversible sawing fence folds up out of the way when you need both hands free to handle a large board.

It's supplied with a 3.2m sliding table as standard, with a 3.8m upgrade available for shops regularly breaking down oversized sheets.

Best for: medium-sized furniture or cabinet shops that need more power and capacity than the PS315B but don't need PLC-driven automation.

PS400C — the automated flagship

The PS400C is where things get genuinely industrial. It keeps the 400mm blade and 7.5HP motor of the PS400B but adds a full-colour touchscreen and a PLC-controlled rip fence driven by ball-and-screw movement for fast, accurate, repeatable positioning — a big time-saver on runs with frequent fence changes. Three crosscut stops with digital readouts, an overhead blade guard for visibility and protection, and a one-piece cast-iron movement with 30mm linear guides round out the spec. Worth noting: the standard PS400C uses a non-bearing linear guide system, which some dealers flag as higher-maintenance than the ball-bearing setup on the smaller models.

Best for: production furniture manufacturers where cut accuracy, repeatability, and throughput justify the roughly £6,000+ jump over the PS400B.

PS400C-S SafeCut — the new safety-first model

Launched at LIGNA 2025 in Hannover, the PS400C-S SafeCut is Woodfast's answer to rising demand for safer panel-saw operation, particularly in shared or training environments. Its headline feature is blade-sensing safety technology that reacts in milliseconds if it detects contact, alongside a precision-ground sliding table, high-rigidity construction, and ergonomic controls aimed at making the saw easier — and safer — to operate confidently.

Best for: schools, training workshops, and production facilities where operator safety is a top procurement priority alongside performance.

How to choose

• Budget-conscious or lower-volume shop: PS315B gets you genuine panel-saw performance without the industrial price tag.
• Growing shop needing more power and table capacity: PS400B is the natural step up, with electric rise/fall/tilt as the key upgrade.
• High-volume production, fence changes all day: the PLC-driven PS400C pays for itself in setup time.
• Safety is the deciding factor (schools, training centres, multi-operator shops): the PS400C-S SafeCut is purpose-built for that priority.

A few things to check before you buy

• Table length: all the larger models offer a 3.8m sliding table upgrade over the standard 3.2m — worth it if you regularly break down full 8x4 (or larger) sheets.
• Maintenance requirements: the PS400C's non-bearing linear guides are noted by some sellers as higher-maintenance than the ball-bearing guides on the PS315B/PS400B — with good maintenance and dust extraction, this doesn't cause issues, but it's worth factoring ongoing upkeep into your decision, not just the upfront price.
• Power supply: most of the range runs on 400–415V three-phase; the PS315B alone is available in a 240V single-phase version, which matters if your workshop isn't wired for three-phase.
• Finance options: several dealers offer leasing or hire-purchase arrangements, which can make the PS400C or SafeCut more accessible for smaller businesses.

As always with industrial machinery, get a current quote from an authorised Woodfast dealer before buying — pricing and specifications (particularly on the newly launched SafeCut) are subject to change.