Very Interesting Looking Handheld CNC Router Product - Shaper Origin

[Ben Rivel]

Ran into this at the Maker Faire this year in the Bay Area and kept forgetting to post it here. Thought some of you might find it interesting. I think its always cool to see where technology might take us. Who knows if this type of product/device will ever take off, but it sure is an interesting concept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQ_NH4bj9o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoSYjWN2CJ0

[Bruce Page]

That is innovative. It looks like they still don't have a release date for it.

[Ben Rivel]

Nope, and they have been showing it off for years now. No idea what the hold up is but they have been working at it for a very long time. Too long for how far along the products appears to have come.

[mark mcfarlane]

Nope, and they have been showing it off for years now. No idea what the hold up is but they have been working at it for a very long time. Too long for how far along the products appears to have come.

From the few videos I watched plus yours, I never saw them cutting anything more than 1/4", which makes some sense since if you go 'off-line' it has to pull the bit out of the wood before it cuts were you don't want to. An interesting concept and might be very cool for making a few small parts.

[Wayne Lomman]

One has to ask why? If you want cnc, there are plenty where you don't have to hold the power source in your hand and they don't wander off line in the first place and they aren't that expensive. It's a prime example of pointless gadgetry. Cheers

[Ben Rivel]

One has to ask why? If you want cnc, there are plenty where you don't have to hold the power source in your hand and they don't wander off line in the first place and they aren't that expensive. It's a prime example of pointless gadgetry. Cheers
People always ask the "why" question when new technology comes out. Remember when the iPad came out and no one could figure out why we needed a larger iPhone? Guess what, everyone has a tablet of some kind now and the entire industry was changed just because it was released. A lot of time people dont know what they "need" or want even until they have something or something is made available.

One thing I can think about this particular product is I believe it was around $1000 give or take a couple hundred. Thats cheaper than even a basic, small bed, non-spindle based CNC router from say Rockler or something which start at twice that. Dust collection on this would be better. You can use your existing handheld router. You can work on any sized board. Stuff along those lines were what struck me off the top of my head, Im sure there will be more once people start getting them in their hands.

[Art Mann]

As I understand it, you can build a Shapeoko CNC router for something like $600. Based on what I am seeing, it is far more useful than this thing. Not every new design turns out to be an innovation. Some just turn out to be funny.

[Bruce Page]

I could see an application for this on large aluminum sheet metal pieces where an odd cutout was needed in the middle of a large sheet. This would be a lot easier than jigging up a template.

[Wayne Lomman]

Simple fact is, I don't need it. May be some guys think they do. I think they would be wasting money. Jig making for me is a simple task. But then, I don't need an ipad, my Range Rover has a manual transmission, I light a fire with wood to keep warm and grow our own vegetables and livestock. Cheers

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

As I understand it, you can build a Shapeoko CNC router for something like $600.

The current model is $1100, but is far more useful than this thing.

[Biff Phillips]

As I understand it, you can build a Shapeoko CNC router for something like $600. Based on what I am seeing, it is far more useful than this thing. Not every new design turns out to be an innovation. Some just turn out to be funny.

But if this works as it is supposed to.. your "table size" is basically unlimited. Small CNCs are often limited to cutting something like 2' x 2' or even smaller.

[William Adams]

Many CNC machines allow one to feed stock through incrementally for indexed cuts

[Art Mann]

The device is designed so that the operator must reach all the way over the material. The size of the material is significantly limited by that. Can you cut part way on an intricate design, lift and re position the router in some arbitrary way and then resume cutting? I rather doubt it.


But if this works as it is supposed to.. your "table size" is basically unlimited. Small CNCs are often limited to cutting something like 2' x 2' or even smaller.

[Jerome Stanek]

But if this works as it is supposed to.. your "table size" is basically unlimited. Small CNCs are often limited to cutting something like 2' x 2' or even smaller.

The Shopbot Handibot is one that you could index bigger than a 4x8 sheet if needed and it will do 3D

[Biff Phillips]

Many CNC machines allow one to feed stock through incrementally for indexed cuts

But you are limited by the length of the gantry. That was the point I was trying to make.
If your CNC Table size is 18" x 18", you aren't going to be able to put a 2' X 2' sheet on it.. Now, you are right, you could do an 18" x 4' piece.
Obviously, there are things that a real CNC will do better than this, but this device has a lot of potential if it actually works, and there's a decent way to reference off an edge (not sure if that is possible or not). The fact that is portable and easy to store is a big plus too. Not saying it is better than a real CNC in every way, but the potential is there to do some neat stuff with it.


The Shopbot Handibot is one that you could index bigger than a 4x8 sheet if needed and it will do 3D

And it also takes up a ton of floor space that many hobbyist don't have.

[Mark AJ Allen]

Not sure how anyone can compare this to a CNC machine:

1. This is portable, so I can take the tool to the work. That's a significant advantage for some kinds of activities.
2. It appears to be an add-on to a router, which most people already have
3. I suspect this can be packed up and stored away
4. The size of this machine is not dependent on the size of the piece you want to work on

I guess this could be all moot anyways if it's not possible to purchase one yet. Regardless, I can think of many reasons this would be preferable to people over a CNC machine.

[Michael Mayo]

342831

Well it does sport quite a rich set of features that seem to me to at least be very appealing. Available September 2017 at an introductory price of $1499 currently. If it lives up to all of the hype that would be much more bang for your buck then the Festool offerings. By the way Festool is a partner.

[Biff Phillips]

Looks like they have a way to register where you are, so you can change bits, etc



Pick up where you left off. Origin automatically recognizes the unique fingerprint created when you lay ShaperTape on your workpiece, allowing you to start and stop without losing the alignment of your digital templates.


plates.

[Frederick Skelly]

Ive never been interested in CNC. But I found this intriguing - might or might not want to buy one, but it's intriguing. I'd really have to see one, try one and think about uses. Still, it is an interesting tool and Im glad you showed it to me Ben. Thank you.

[Andrew Hughes]

I've already predicted that we will be headed in this direction.
Eventually anyone will be called a woodworker because they will have a machine that they shove wood in one side and it poops out furniture from the other end.
All of our silly machines that take forever to make something will be laughed at.
Let the record show I saw this in a dream or nightmare.:eek:
Aj

[Martin Wasner]

I've already predicted that we will be headed in this direction.
Eventually anyone will be called a woodworker because they will have a machine that they shove wood in one side and it poops out furniture from the other end.
All of our silly machines that take forever to make something will be laughed at.
Let the record show I saw this in a dream or nightmare.:eek:
Aj

I could only dream of such a reality.

[Wes Harville]

YOu can pre order it now and it will ship september 2017

[Wes Harville]

$1300 if you pre order and 2000 retail when it is released

[Wes Harville]

You actually can lift and reposition.

[Jerome Stanek]

YOu can pre order it now and it will ship september 2017

Sounds like another Glowforge

[Ben Rivel]

Interesting, looks like The Woodwhisperer posted about this this morning too. And another thread in this forum was created about it. I find that odd and surprising considering how long this device has been out in development. Years. All of a sudden theres action.

[mreza Salav]

I had seen links to this product long time ago (many months).

[William Adams]

The thing which is strange to me is that Fesstool is one of the sponsors, but they used a Dewalt DWP611 for initial testing, and it now seems as if a rebadged Makita (MLCS Rocky 30) is going to be used for production.

[Bruce Whitaker]

I've already predicted that we will be headed in this direction.
Eventually anyone will be called a woodworker because they will have a machine that they shove wood in one side and it poops out furniture from the other end.
All of our silly machines that take forever to make something will be laughed at.
Let the record show I saw this in a dream or nightmare.:eek:
Aj

And this is already the case in bakeries. Put the ingredients in one end and a loaves of bread or cakes come out the other.

[Rod Sheridan]

Very interesting Ben, thanks for posting that.

If appeals to me because it wouldn't take up any shop space, and could handle any size work piece you can reach to the middle of, and after that any work piece you could sit or lie on.

If it works as well as indicated, it will revolutionize the wood working hobby as well as custom work profession...........regards, Rod.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

If it works as well as indicated, it will revolutionize the wood working hobby


Not at $2000.

[Bruce Page]

Not at $2000.
People used to say the same about the $1,500 Kapex. It's in a lot of shops today.

[mreza Salav]

What I envision is something like that mounted on something like a Roomba, basically a CNC module that doesn't need a lot of space and will move along like a robot and cut the piece.
I expect somebody will come up with this idea and that saving of floor space will really change things substantially. You draw your plan, upload to the robot thingi with this router below it and it will
move along and cut it for you. The possibilities will be endless with that.

[ian knight]

Well, I took the plunge and pre-ordered one. I guess they offer refunds up until the moment of shipping, so I'll keep studying this until that happens. For now this seems to fill my need to be able to shape/surface/engrave large surfaces.
Cheers,

- Ian

[Brad Shipton]

$2k is somewhere between 10 - 20 hours of CNC time if you provide them the CAD file. Even more if you hire someone with a machine less than $100k. It seems too slow to produce anything much other than gadgets. I suppose I could buy one and it put it beside the useless 3D printer we have.

If Festool is indeed involved I doubt the price will stay below $2k. I like Festool tools, but they are never cheap. I suppose the consumables could be a big part of the business plan.

A future review will be interesting.

[mreza Salav]

I just watched the videos and it is different than the earlier versions I had seen videos of; much better and improved. I suspect it will be a huge game changer and successful.

[Mick Enzie]

Surprised to see the negative responses here. I've been a carpenter for over 25 years, and this looks like the most innovative tool to come along in my lifetime, or maybe just behind the advent of the cordless drill. Basically it seems to be an infinitely large table CNC machine that takes slightly more room than a router, and is priced cheaper than all but the smallest toy sized cnc machines.

I'm retired now, and can't justify the purchase price until they fall below $1k, but a few years ago I'd have snapped one up in a heartbeat. It got me excited enough to make an acct here to talk about it instead of just lurking. I've got so many projects that I could see using this on, and am looking forward to seeing what the guys here do with it.

[Biff Phillips]

You could probably figure out a way to make this thing cut dominos pretty easily too. In some cases, this might be an easier way to cut dominos than the actual domino itself.
A domino machine alone is now 970. This machine at preorder price is not that much more and is more versatile. (I am assuming it works as well as the demo shows)

[Ben Rivel]

And another video up: LINK (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JAMzARLiNw)

Looks like the are estimated to ship Sept of 2017.

And the best video Ive seen yet explaining how it actually works: LINK (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo0CiJjTGJE)

[Chris Padilla]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfmrvxB154w

Here is a cool video using this product. As far as I can tell, this isn't a direct advertisement for the product.

[Dan Hollis]

Looks like they sent some beta units to people to test, and they've been posting videos showing it in use. These are great examples of average joes using it for real world projects.

DiResta The Origin from Shaper Test Drive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3ahfDFHo3g

Handheld CNC router repairs old CNC machine (milling aluminum)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8GFpSCK6Jk

Shaper Origin Stool by Dylan Fairbanks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33njjw498fI

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33njjw498fI)Tested: Hands-On with Shaper Origin Handheld CNC Router!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_wk3q8jWcs

Also looks like rockler has been working with these shaper origin people for the past 4 years... not sure if that is a good or bad thing. But it does make sense considering rockler's target market.
http://www.rockler.com/shaper-origin

I suspect the maker/hacker community will take care of the fiduciary tape in short order.

Yeah, i'm convinced. I voted with my wallet and preordered one.

Anyone who wants to preorder one can get $100 off by using my referral link :D
https://preorder.shapertools.com/ref/W35BYAGCD

[Pat Barry]

Thats very cool - thanks for posting. This might be the sort of liberating technology that few understand the true potential of but that sets a new standard. I think it would be termed disruptive technology. Thinking outside the standard box.

[John Donofrio]

Received a Rockler email several weeks ago and sat on it so I missed out on the first level of pre-order pricing. :( Got in on the second level though. :) Should be a neat tool to enter into the CNC world without the space requirements and expense of a larger unit. Looking forward to 9/2017!

Forgot... just in case someone feels compelled to use it, this link will save you (and me :cool:) a hundred bucks.
https://preorder.shapertools.com/ref/H91V8PBUM

[Piet Houtenbos]

Just got one on pre order. Will be great for template making for making solid wood furniture. I figure I can wait till the tech matures or I can just start using it now! They have a great referral program, both the referrer and the referee get 100 bucks off and they add up till your tool is free! Use this link and well both get $100 off!

https://preorder.shapertools.com/ref/3HN2HQ5FT

Hop on and see you in the future!

[Dan Hollis]

shaper will be at west coast craft on november 12 & 13 if anyone wants to see the origin for themselves.

http://westcoastcraft.com/