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Accessory New Case Building tool?
- Thread starter Kmpkt
- Start date
Looks cool, but isn't a normal cnc better? Especially since it appears that is uses those checkered strips as a guide. The only advantage would be on extra large cutting surfaces or non-removable surfaces.
I think the beauty of this unit is there is no constraint in bed size and it seems to be quite quick. Also the ability of it to do some work on the Z-axis (ie. Engraving) is pretty sweet. Nothing on price yet, but I think it'll need to be a fair bit cheaper than a hobby CNC to gain market traction.
Additionally, you don't need a lot of space when not using it. You could put a sacrificial board on your dining table and screw the board to route from to that if there's not other way.
Also, rapid prototyping and low-volume production. Wouldn't use it for higher volumes, that seems tedious.
Also, rapid prototyping and low-volume production. Wouldn't use it for higher volumes, that seems tedious.
Here's a video with some more information on how the Shaper works (skip to 3:21 for the Shaper itself, but the whole video is interesting):
Not having room for a full size CNC machine, the Shaper is pretty attractive to get a large working area without a permanent footprint.
Not having room for a full size CNC machine, the Shaper is pretty attractive to get a large working area without a permanent footprint.
It looks decent for small workshop work , but I can't see it replacing CNC work for multiple/complex pieces.
That's not to say it's bad, I find it intriguing as long as the price is right.
That's not to say it's bad, I find it intriguing as long as the price is right.
I think this could be an amazing tool for modders to get scratchbuilds done quicker, and I'd certainly use it to cut out sidepanels for my case. Even as an indie case designer, imagine the possibilities you have for one-off customisations! You could offer loads of custom vent options that normally would cost loads because of additional setup costs, and you can offer cases at a much lower quantity for a relatively feasible price. If your case is so niche that it only sells 10 times, it won't cost 500 bucks because all flat parts can just be routed out by yourself. That makes it possible to lower the minimum funding goal on a crowdfunding platform quite significantly. (At least in theory, you'd have to buy the router first and it has to amortise)
Do we know how much it will cost yet?
Do we know how much it will cost yet?
Its a very manual/labour intensive process though, you can't just press go and forget like you can on a normal CNC Router. But I can see where it would have other advantages over a standard CNC machine.
That is certainly true. I do think that this can actually be an advantage, thoug. It's a much more hands-on experience, and I loved that about modding my PC-Q12. It looked like shit afterwards, though, so having something like this where I'm actually working directly on the piece without having to worry whether it will actually look good later is close to the perfect mid-point between designing and making for me.
Yeah its a great idea for 1 off projects, experimenting and bespoke customization, but I can't see it being very good for production runs.
While the traditional CNC's are more set and forget I think that's a reasonable trade-off for this tool's portability. Have an ad-hoc work area plus also be able to change your plans on the fly. I find it more comparable to a hand router than a CNC in that regard.
