Hands-on With The Shaper Origin – Exclusive Review

The Shaper Origin seems to be like a router however acts like a CNC.

So far, CNCs have been giant, heavy, difficult instruments that take up a whole lot of area in a store. The Shaper Origin is one thing fairly totally different. It’s a hand-held, straightforward-to-use CNC that you simply take to your work as an alternative of the opposite method round. I had the chance to attempt one of many prototypes in 2016 and, now that the Origin is able to go, it’s time for a assessment.

Details: Worth $2,399 – however you could possibly preorder for $2,199. The package features a Festool developed spindle, a Festool system case, three bits, two rolls of ShaperTape and a yr’s subscription to AutoDesk Fusion 360. You should purchase further one hundred fifty’ rolls of ShaperTape for $18 every.

Good patterns make good elements. For an upcoming Well-liked Woodworking article on building the Greene and Greene Blacker Entry Mirror, I used the Origin to make patterns. Utilizing the Illustrator drawings I made for the mirror virtually 20 years in the past, I milled patterns out of half″ MDF. I cut in 2 passes and with somewhat sanding to clean them out, they have been prepared for use for shaping remaining mirror elements.

It’s totally different

The Shaper Origin appears and seems like a standard router however acts like a CNC. A 5” shade display on prime is used to put designs, comply with their path and set parameters. Whereas shifting alongside the trail, the CNC managed spindle makes minor actions to right our imperfect human makes an attempt to maintain to the road. You solely have to return kinda shut — a few quarter of an inch, which is simpler to do than it sounds. You simply comply with the road on a magnified display. The Origin will persist with it with close to perfection.

How does it work?

All CNCs have to know their exact location inside the area they work in. Typical CNCs — with rails, gantries and drive methods, work in precision workspaces, continuously measuring modifications in place. The Origin takes a special strategy. On the entrance of the machine is a excessive-decision digital camera that scans for domino-like place markers printed on a particular paper tape the consumer lays out each three”-four” in entrance of the machine. This provides the Origin the power to be a CNC you"ll be able to take to your work as an alternative of the opposite means round.

Simply comply with the path on the 5″ shade display on prime of the Origin, It can do the remaining. The magnified view makes it straightforward. You’ve obtained a 1/four″ on both aspect of the trail to work with. The Origin strikes the spindle to right minor actions and retains you in line.

Setup screens are easy. Select the kind of cut, inside, outdoors, on-line or pocket.

Select depth of cut and another particulars you’d like in increments of .001″.

Ease of use is a key function

The Origin brings greater than portability to the get together. The firm places a serious emphasis on ease of use. Screens are straightforward to know and establishing a cut is straightforward because of a well-designed interface. When you scan for markers, place your design, set slicing parameters and set up chopping depth with a spark off, you’re good to go. Activate the spindle and comply with the trail on the display. It truly is that straightforward.

Shaper Tools takes ease of use a step additional with a curated assortment of tasks at their Shaper Hub. Choose a venture in your pc or smartphone and the Origin — with constructed-in wifi, your selection is downloaded proper into the machine. You can too create your personal designs and import them by way of a USB flash drive. The Origin makes use of SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) format information that may be created in Illustrator, Corel Draw and Inkscape — a free drawing program, Fusion360, Rhino3D v6 or any program that may export SVG information. In the event you use different CAD software program, certainly one of above packages can do the conversion for you.

Testing the Origin

In testing the Origin, I targeted on 4 issues: ease of use, accuracy, repeatability, and smoothness of cut. In use, I discovered that it’s straightforward to comply with a design’s path on the display. Auto mode helps velocity you thru fiddly areas. Should you do get offline, the Origin instantly lifts up the spindle to maintain your work from being broken.

In conditions with tight tolerances, like joinery the place .001” issues, the Origin does fairly well. Measured accuracy from 12” to 36” is .02”-.05”, from four’ to six’, .08”-.18”. Repeatability — necessary in actual-world CNC use, is about .01”.

For greatest outcomes, a number of passes adopted by a cleanup cross are wanted. Even then, Origin cuts aren’t fairly as clean alongside the sides as a well-tuned, typical CNC who"ve some great benefits of a inflexible body and outlined workspace. However, after somewhat sanding, they’re good to go. Consumer expertise helps a bit, however via tuning, Shaper Tools ought to be capable of enhance smoothing and accuracy over time.

Strategies for fulfillment

At first look, the Origin’s give attention to flat supplies might appear to be a limitation to a woodworker who works in strong wood. Not at all is that the case. Like many woodworking challenges, it’s how you employ your instruments and mix their attributes to ship the most effective outcome. For instance, utilizing the Origin to generate patterns for furnishings and undertaking elements is a wonderful use of the machine. Armed with a router desk or shaper and a superb shaping jig, you may create and tweak patterns on the Origin and form as many elements as you want at full-depth a lot quicker than doing a number of passes with the hand-held CNC. I’ve made hundreds of furnishings elements utilizing CNC made patterns with that strategy. Or, when you have, say, a 2-1/2” thick half to make, use the Origin to cut the design a part of the best way and a standard router or router desk with a flush trim bearing bit to finish the cut.

One other method is to make use of the Origin for particulars and use them for different instruments to make use of. Obtained an extended straight cut for a desk prime that has nook or finish particulars you"d usually add latter? Make element cuts with the Origin first, then join the strains with a monitor noticed.

To get the most effective outcomes from the Origin, a measured strategy is so as. As a result of the spindle is a small trim router it’s higher to take a number of passes at 1/eight” or 1/four” at a time. Don’t make deep cuts. Subsequent, depart somewhat offset (additional materials) — .01-.02” or so will do. After an almost full depth offset cross, make a ultimate cross with the offset set to zero for the smoothest outcomes.

Be sure to have a spoil board beneath your work to permit for by means of cuts. A half” piece of MDF works well. Use double-sided tape to carry the board your chopping right down to the spoil board. And, put tape beneath the areas the place elements can be freed to carry them in place throughout chopping.

That tape is the Origin’s information. ShaperTape has domino-like markers that the Origin makes use of to seek out its place inside the workspace. Lay down strips of tape each three″-four″. Chill out, you don’t need to be good in your placement.

Is the Shaper Origin best for you?

Evaluating the Origin to a hard and fast CNC in its worth vary is troublesome as a result of the machines are so totally different. A comparable small typical CNC works by itself with larger precision and may cut and carve in 3D whereas the Origin’s workspace limits are greatest measured by the size of an extension twine. It really works solely in 2D and is consumer-pushed. Although they will do comparable work, it’s their variations that recommend totally different prospects.

Understand that the Origin, with its small footprint, must relaxation on a large flat floor. At first look, that makes it higher fitted to slicing plywood, MDF, and so on. than thick, strong wood boards of random widths and lengths. However, mix the Origin with sensible use of different instruments and a few new strategies and methods, you"ll be able to work previous most of the limitations. I’ll get extra into extra element with future Fashionable Woodworking weblog posts.

Conclusion

As with all CNCs, understand that actual limits usually are not a lot about hardware, however your capacity to design. For a lot of customers, plans are necessary. That is the world the place the expansion of high quality tasks at ShaperHub, different web sites, and digital publications will drive using sensible woodworking instruments. So, how well does the Shaper Origin match inside a hobbyist or woodworking skilled’s store? With its simplicity, distinctive ease of use, small footprint and limitless workspace, for a lot of — notably people who see a CNC as a digital software to help different woodworking strategies, it could possibly be an excellent match.

— Tim Celeski

Further Assets