3 weeks by Jaime Acosta

The Shaper Router: Hand Tools with CNC…

The field of CNC has been experiencing a swift progression recently, predominantly within the entry-level sector. Regular individuals now have the capability to own 3D Printers, Laser Cutters, and CNC Mills in their personal garages. Even the Apollo Space Program didn’t possess the level of CNC accessibility that the common creator enjoys today. We’re far from navigating our way through this surge of innovation – there are numerous fresh developments yet to emerge. The captivating aspect of such an innovation surge is the unpredictability of where the next genius idea will arise from. This article focuses on the concept that a set of highly intelligent MIT students are developing hand tools which are essentially concealed CNC tools. Their establishment is branded as Shaper Tools, and their key product is the Shaper Origin. Using them is extremely simple, and they generate results that are, without a doubt, phenomenal – particularly for those who aspire to achieve similar outcomes without possessing this kind of tool or any CNC machine.

We covered this a few years ago while the gang were still at MIT:

The original prototype…

They’ve come a long way, and if all goes well, they hope to have the product out in 2016.

The idea behind it is deviously clever–the router is mounted on a sub-chassis whose position is adjusted via stepper motors.  The screen shows you the pattern you’re tracing.  As you guide it with your hands, a camera behind the screen is tracking patterns applied with tape to the workpiece.  The Shaper uses those patterns to determine the actual movement your hands make versus where you want to go on the pattern.  The stepper motors continuously adjust the true position of the cutter so that you’re precisely following the pattern.  No more shaky hands and botched attempts!

Here is a video of it in action cutting a gear:

[youtube width=”800″ height=”540″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQ_NH4bj9o[/youtube]

Cutting a gear with the Shaper Origin…

The video shows how the router itself is moving independently to compensate for errors the human hand makes while tracing, and even how it will retract the cutter suddenly if you get too far off course.  Hard to imagine cutting that gear out without something like Shaper to help.  The possibilities for a gadget like this in the hands of talented craftsmen are endless.  Here’s a very fancy bit of joinery done with the Shaper Origin:

Joint made with Shaper Origin based on a design by the C…Lab of the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, a project headed by Prof. Jochen Gros and Designer Friedrich Sulzer…