Contributor
To me it will be a bigger deal when the more expensive industrial machines will have the choice of the technology. Now it only works on hobby level saws with 10" blades. Hobbiests have a choice but professional workers don't. Hopefully that will evolve. Dave
Contributor
No, inventors wish that was the case. A patent has a specific life and extending it is very difficult, if not impossible.Originally Posted by Pat Barry
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
Maybe Bosch will wait until then and re-release their blade stop flesh sensing saw. Even though their application was different than the SS version, the courts were swayed by the SS owners to force Bosch to cease marketing their own machine.
Contributor
Maybe, but I think a bigger potential "risk" is that people completely lose the ability to make things for themselves. I'm still a fairly young guy (35) and see a lot of people my age and younger, not only uninterested in building things themselves, but in some cases actually looking at building certain things as a magical process that can only be done by "professionals". At least as things stand now, I have a lot more in common in terms of the hobby of woodworking with someone that makes all their stuff on a CNC (even though I do my stuff with power tools that are human directed) than with someone who has zero interest in building things and just wants to spend their free time golfing or whatever. Basically, even if the feeding of materials is turned over to robots, there will still be a lot of room for creativity in what you build, which I think is the most important part of this hobby.With all the talk from inventors and this new generation of tech kids. Flying cars smart homes robots etc. I'm thinking the days of handfed machines are numbered. Esp tablesaws soon the furniture machine where you stick wood in one end and out pops your piece that's assembled in your house.
The satisfied home owner proudly shares his ability to make what he wants. And declares himself a woodworker.
Contributor
It's already been done.
woodworking machine 1.jpg
Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night
Member
That's neat. Where can I buy me one?
Hopefully I can get a bigger version. LOL
Member
Not sure what you mean by professional workers don't have a choice. Many cabinet shops now have the ICS saws and a lot of businesses with employees are using SawStop to prevent legal suits in case of accidents.
If you are talking about SS in a large saw, Google to find a video that shows the SS being tested in a huge sawing machine.
Simon
Contributor
A different technology is used in the meat industry. Practically all meat is cut on a bandsaw these days. The workers wear blue gloves and there are multiple cameras pointed at the work area of the bandsaw. If a camera detects that a hand is going into the saw, the mechanism stops the saw immediately.
I can imagine that before that technology was developed there were a lot of meat cutters who had lost fingers.
At least that's my understanding of how it works. If someone is more knowledgeable, please post a correction.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
Let the market decide and i hope the tech doesn't get mandated by govt regulation. Besides the personal ownership issues, it would stifle innovation and increase cost waiting on govt approval. Look at other industries that are mandated, its not just the model, but color variations and any minor update has to go through the approval process over again.
I do know of other patents that were influential to the selling of there product were able get it trademarked.
Contributor
Simon, SS ICS is a good saw but not built to the same standards as true commercial machines. It is used in many shops because of the technology but I've heard mixed opinions on how well it stands up to hard industrial use. My comment was the hope that larger heavier saws will also receive the technology. I've also hoped for a true sliding SS that could handle the 12-16" blades and give Martin, Altendorf, SCMI and others some competition. Maybe that will happen as competition increases. Dave
Contributor
Patents and trademarks are very different things. A trademark is just what it says - it's a logo or sign that identifies the product. A trademark can last forever. A patent has a limited lifetime.
The whole rational for patent law is that the inventor "teaches" how to do the patented process and the government gives him or her the right to restrict others from doing the process for a limited period of time. After that time, the invention is "public domain" and open for any one to use without restriction.
And just as a side note, if you invent something and do not apply for a patent, but disclose the invention publically, after a fairly short time you lose the right to patent your invention and any one can use it without restriction.
Mike
Last edited by Mike Henderson; 02-22-2018 at 5:57 PM.
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
In what way was he unethical?
Contributor
SawStops have always had to be priced as completely as possible. It's not like they ever had a monopoly on the table saw market. I seriously doubt they were ever free to set their prices free of market forces, so I can't see how anyone else is going to be able to build similar products for much less.
Member
I'd much rather have a Mini Max cu 410 than a sawstop. A sawstop is a great saw for the price.
Member
They have to be charging a higher premium now for the safety feature than they would if they had competition. I could see jobsite saws with his safety feature going for around $1000 on the low end but not a whole lot less. The Bosch was about the same price as the SS jobsite saw, wasnt it?
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