Shaper Origin.. again.

[Jeremy Nako]

I've posted on this subject before, but...

I'm considering purchasing one of these units.

What I'd really like is a proper - ideally hands-on - demo.

I've been in touch with the company in Germany and whilst very helpful they're not doing any roadshows and they don't have any dealers (they sell direct) so there's nowhere to try one.

They do offer a 30 day money back guarantee, but I'm loathe to part with nearly £4k before making a decision.. more so now because I'd have to pay the VAT and import duty on the purchase which I'd not be able to reclaim (easily...) should I decide to return it.

So.. is there anyone within about an hours drive or so of Twickenham that owns one and who'd be kind enough to spend an hour or so showing it to me in action and answering my questions ?

 

[baldkev]

I dont have one and havent seen one in person, in fact, ive only seen the promo vid ages ago!
What do you think you will use it for? Are you a trade user?

 

[Jeremy Nako]

No not trade.. just a keen enthusiast with increasing time to spend on my hobby.

I have a load of ideas as to what I might use it for - the practicalities or suitability may however be questionable, hence the request

 

[baldkev]

Ive been interested by the idea but in terms of value, as a trade user, i wouod need to think up some unique things i could offer with it

 

[Jeremy Nako]

I've had a very kind offer of a demo from a member of this forum which I'm very much looking forward to.

 

[recipio]

Are they available in 230 volt /50 hertz for the European market ?

 

[Foggybummer]

Input power 220-240 V~, 50 Hz/60 Hz

 

[clogs]

Jeremy
I'd say for 1/2 that money u could buy a nice old Wadkin with a power'd pusher...
and then sell it for more than u paid in 10 or 20 years time......
Modern stuff does not last and devalues very quickly...

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

I'd say for 1/2 that money u could buy a nice old Wadkin with a power'd pusher...

How would that do the same things?

 

[Jeremy Nako]

I'm not familiar with the Wadkins, but my workshop is tiny and I haven't seen anything that does a similar job.

As a professional photographer I'm more than aware of how the technology ages badly (I have an office full of state-of-the-art cameras that are no longer fit for purpose). :-(

 

[Jacob]

I've posted on this subject before, but...

I'm considering purchasing one of these units.

.....

One of what units? I see nothing on your page. Is it just me or what?

 

[Jeremy Nako]

One of the units in the title of this posting ?

 

[Jacob]

One of the units in the title of this posting ?

OK got it! Silly me! I thought you were asking about the origin of a shaper. I'll have a look.

Had a look. No idea myself but I seem to recall a general thumbs down when a hand held CNC machine featured in another thread. Might be worth searching.
It does seem a contradiction in terms though.

 

[Jacob]

Had another look. It looks insane to me, especially at that price. I expect it would do some very particular jobs well but be generally useless for almost everything.

 

[Jeremy Nako]

There's no doubt that it's a specialised bit of kit, but for me it would be very useful and do things that I'm unlikely to be ever capable of.

Add that to the fact that my workshop is tiny (I don't have space for even the smallest of CNC machines) then it's something for me to consider. I haven't made the decision to buy yet - hence this request for help.

The price is an issue of course, but if it pays its way...

 

[baldkev]

I guess the other point is, 4k or whatever, would pay for a lot of cnc items.... especially if you do your own cad

 

[Padster]

I'm just an interested observer here as I will never have that much disposable income to afford one (or even if I need one, but you can never have too many tools right LOL) but with these things is it not just the machine but knowing how to use the software to drive it, and what software is included and is it fit for purpose?
You say you are a pro photographer so I'll make the assumption you know what I mean as it could come with MS photo editor (or whatever windows uses these days!) and really require fully blown Photoshop as an example.

Out of date state of the art cameras.... is there such a thing? I still have and use a trusty Sony A700 that I love with plenty of expensive 'glass' that remains my goto for 'special' pictures (I'm just a hobbyist though!) - That said I also have an iPhone 13 Pro and it's ridiculous! (in a positive unbelievable sense of what it can do).

Regards

Padster

 

[Jeremy Nako]

We sometimes work in indoor Equestrian venues during the winter in which, even 5 years ago, the cameras couldn't get a saleable image.. but the modern generation can. And that's why I invest in the latest camera gear. The older cameras still have their uses though.

Yes you're right about the software side of the Origin. I'm pretty tech savvy, and most of the design work I have in mind would be done externally using programmes that I'm familiar with, then uploaded to the Origin which, from what I've researched isn't difficult. But of course there will also be a learning curve.

Hence why I'm after some real world, hands-on time with one, which has kindly been offered to me.

 

[rixarena]

Would love to see your thoughts on it, have considered one a while a go as small space near Guildford. Someone did make an interesting point that if you know what you want to do with it you could outsource it to start with then saw its viability first

 

[KT_NorCal]

Having looked into these in depth as part of a potential Venture investment in the company early on, I said no, because the use case seemed extremely esoteric. If you have any shop space a CNC makes much more sense from a capability and flexibility standpoint. The only use case that I could come up with that made sense was for highly custom on-site (i.e. job site) work and given the words "highly custom" and "big market" don't really co-exist in the same universe it didn't really make it a high growth potential product in my mind.

It is very cool... don't get me wrong, and given your clear desire to buy it and small shop space it might make sense for your use case, but I would go one step further and get in contact with people who are using it for what your use would be (or something close) and find out if it was an investment that paid off for them... 4k is a lot for something that can't even be used for an assembly table if it doesn't work out...