Zach Kaplan, CEO of Inventables tells me he sees the day coming when the world will go from perhaps 2,000 major manufactures to 2 million. Actually, the whole idea of “major manufacturer” will change completely. Instead of just a few big players dominating the world of consumer goods, we’ll have a nearly endless variety of them, each with its own fan base.
This revolution in manufacturing is already underway, driven by digital manufacturing technologies, including 3D printers (for manufacturing parts out of extruded plastic) and affordable computer numerical control (CNC) mills (for making parts out of wood and other materials) like the Inventables Shapeoco 2 shown here.
“The manufacturers need to start thinking of themselves more like rock bands as opposed to manufacturers,” Kaplan says. “The reason that people are buying from these new manufacturers is because they’re fans of them. They’re fans of the kinds of work that they’re doing. It’s more about building a community than building a product. The product is an outlet for the community. And that’s really the world that we’re moving into.”
The potential already exists for people with ordinary means and a good idea for a product to take charge of their own means of production and to reach consumers directly. It’s even possible for a maker to earn more as a manufacturing entrepreneur in a garage or spare room than as a worker for a traditional manufacturer.
This could change everything as the manufacturing pyramid turns upside down and local manufacturers pop up in communities around the world. The shift will also empower consumers (or, to use Kaplan’s term, fans) as they develop a personal connection with the people who make the things they buy and have a direct influence on product designs.
Kaplan is helping to lead the charge with Inventables. As of today, the company’s newest product, the Shapeoko 2 CNC mill, has 447 preorders, for a planned ship date of December 21. That’s up 30 orders from when I checked yesterday. Its popularity, even before shipping to customers, is partly due to its low cost: $649 for the full kit, including electronics and cutting tools. The competing ShopBot Desktop goes for $5,798.95, including tools.
In answer to what Kaplan says is one of the two most-asked questions from prospective buyers (along with “When does it ship?”): Yes, it does aluminum.
Unfortunately that is not a mill and he is doing a disservice to mills by referring to it as such. It’s a CNC router or engraver. There is no rigidity whatsoever and you won’t be doing any actual milling of metal in the traditional sense. The dremel knock-off tool used as a head can hold small routing and engraving bits that run at high speeds.
He does produce the caveat in the FAQ: “Will the machine cut metal?
*The Shapeoko is capable of cutting soft non ferrous metals such as aluminum and brass. To cut these metals effectively we strongly recommend a slow feed rate. While technically it is possible to cut soft metals with a rotary tool you will have much better results if you use a more capable spindle.”
Small, actual desktop CNC mills that can actually do significant milling operations with standard endmill bits start at about $5K. such as http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3501&category=1241045623 That price point for an actual CNC mill is impressive in and of itself based on what was available just 10 years ago.
The machine in the link above weighs 184 lbs. That’s the kind of meat you need to work an a real endmill bit against metal, and even then at that size you’re taking fairly light cuts compared to a full size bridgeport.
Again I have no beef with the machine itself, there are a number of engravers very similar to the one offered and his price point is good and the construction looks sound for what it is, but it should not be called a milling machine by any stretch of the imagination. It is a router or an engraver.
ShopBot is a CNC wood router and is an entirely different class of machine. It contains a significantly more powerful spindle, bigger motors, bigger table, sturdier guide rails and bearings and thus higher price. You can not compare the Shapeoko to a ShopBot on price anymore than you can compare a gocart to a Hummer.
I just looked up the “desktop” version of ShopBot, didn’t realize they had a scaled down one. It is not as big as the original ShopBot and is certainly overpriced considering it doesn’t even come with the router! It still looks sturdier than a Shapeoko, but nowhere near justifying $5K.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments and feedback on the machine. We have successfully milled aluminum on the stock Shapeoko2. The link below offers some pictures of the end product, the process, and the files we used. Very shortly we’ll be uploading some video of the process. We used the generic rotary tool that comes with it.
https://www.inventables.com/projects/bottle-opener-in-wood-and-aluminum
The Shapeoko2 is an open source machine and the cutting tool can be replaced with a proper spindle like this: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00HBcTfDbqYZgi/Mini-Spindle-Motor-for-CNC-800W.jpg
You make an interesting argument on whether the Shapeoko is a mill or a router. I’m confident that it is not accurately called an engraver because those machines have a very small Z-Axis and are not designed to cut through material.
With regards to what constitutes a mill vs. a router the lines have been blurred. Historically machines like the Bridgeport were considered mills and routers were tools like the Bosch Colt used by carpenters for fine profile and joinery wood working.
I looked up the definition of milling on Wikipedia:
“Milling is the machining process of using rotary cutters to remove material[1] from a workpiece advancing (or feeding) in a direction at an angle with the axis of the tool.[2][3] It covers a wide variety of different operations and machines, on scales from small individual parts to large, heavy-duty gang milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used processes in industry and machine shops today for machining parts to precise sizes and shapes.”
It would seem that the Shapeoko falls under this definition.
As a practical mater we have moved away from referring to it as a router because people get confused. Some people think we are talking about an internet router like the ones sold by Cisco while others think we are talking about the hand held routers sold for doing trim work. Router bits are different from milling bits and most users of the Shapeoko are using 2 flute, 4 flue, or ball end mills which are traditionally used in milling applications.
In summary I think you make some excellent points. I think what we are observing is the proper definitions of these tools evolving as new technologies are brought to market and blurring the distinctions.
Hi Zach thanks for the reply. Technically you can call it a mill with the extended Z-axis, it’s more of a general perception thing, and what’s happening here is the phrase ‘milling machine’ is gaining scope as new market sectors are unveiled.
When I see the Shapeko I reflexively think of laser engravers and router engravers that look very similar to it. Yours is a sort of new cross over. For a visual example of the confusion, go to google images, and GIS “milling machine” and then GIS “CNC engraver” and compare pictures to what you have.
I think the main point that it’s illustrating here is also the difference in perceptions and terminology in the maker crowd vs. traditional machine shop crowd. I’m a little of both as I learned machine shop skills from a traditional machinist and in my home shop I have larger manual tools that deal mostly with precision machining of metal. But I grew up in Silicon Valley with a very strong computer background and a finger in the alternative art scene that overlaps so much with the Makers. I visit makerfaires on occasion and keep up with that side of things.
I think the consternation over the naming reflects my my desire for makers and people new to machining to understand the limits of what they are getting, and learn about things like rigidity, speeds and feeds, etc. A milling machine to me implies something that has a reasonably rigid and heavy cast base and head, etc. I’ve seen people buy small desktop machines thinking they are going to hog a big 3D art piece out of a solid hunk of aluminum or steel, and people buy makerbots thinking that they will get something with accurate and smooth surfacing ability. My original post stemmed out of a possible confusion for people looking for a ‘milling machine’ and being presented with a very broad spectrum of stuff.
In reality, the number of makers doing traditional and substantial metal machining is very small, so there is probably not a lot of confusion for them in and of themselves.
Cheers,
-Mike
Great discussion! I am considering the purchase of a Shapeoko for the purposes of making small wooden frames, i.e. similar to picture frames, but not exactly. A family member is big into arts and crafts types of products and we are wondering if this is an investment that could deliver the high quality detail and finished surfaces (all on wood) we are looking to accomplish.
Would appreciate any input.
Hi Jeffery,
The machine can be tuned to 0.003″. Technically it can cut out the project you described. That being said it is a kit that will take you about a weekend to put together. For the Shapeoko 2 you need to be someone that wants to roll up their sleeves, build the machine, and learn through experience how to mill. You should not expect to open the box and be cutting out your frame in 5 minutes.
I love this conversation about the finer technical details and terminology of digital manufacturing technology.
It seems to me that we’re in a time analogous to the early 1980s in personal computing, when regular people were just starting to become familiar with technology that had been the exclusive domain of experts.
Who the hell knew what bits, bytes, hard drives and monitors were besides specialists and early adopters when the first Kaypros and Apples IIs were coming out? Same thing with routers and mills and engravers today.