Shaper’s Original thinking empowers furniture and joinery manufacturers

Based in San Francisco with offices in Stuttgart, Germany, Shaper was founded in 2012 with a mission of developing a revolutionary line of computer-augmented power tools, beginning first with a handheld CNC router called Origin. Today, Shaper supports thousands of woodworkers and craftspeople around the globe with the simple approach of developing tools to meet users’ needs, rather than expecting users to conform to the tools.

Being close to the customer is a fundamental idea of Shaper’s company philosophy. In the EU, the company mainly sells products directly via its own online store and can regularly be found at trade shows. This offers the advantage that customers and interested parties can contact the company’s own support team directly and receive advice from experienced specialists.

Since 2022, Axminster has been a dealer for Shaper products in the UK, making it even easier to try out and purchase all Shaper Products locally.

The goal of every product and every further development should be to make advanced technologies usable in a simple and economical way. True to the motto: ‘precision cutting simplified’, Shaper is aimed specifically at the woodworking trade and wants to open up a new way of routing, combining the advantages of traditional hand tools and familiar processes with the modern possibilities of digital support and CNC technology.

The heart of the system

The Shaper System is an integrated system that brings intuitive precision to any cutting operation. At its heart is Origin, the world’s first hand-held CNC router. It resembles a traditional router, but is also equipped with a camera and a touch display. The tool uses computer vision to understand its location relative to a work piece. Its precision motors fine-tune the router spindle’s position in real time using sophisticated sensing and control algorithms that keep the user accurate of your intended path. If you leave the correction area of Origin, the spindle, and with it the router bit, automatically retracts and protects the work piece. Think of Origin as an auto-corrector for your hands.

Origin is designed specifically for woodworkers with a familiar hands-on form factor and slots seamlessly into a traditional workshop. It brings CNC accuracy and efficiency to all cutting operations with an easy-to-use interface. This offers a wide range of possible applications such as fine woodworking, carpentry, flooring, even boat building, sign making and more. The advantage is that Origin can be used anytime and anywhere, without a lot of preparation, setting up the workplace or CAD knowledge.

After applying ShaperTape to the work piece, it can be scanned with Origin to create a digital image. The user can set a customised zero point, define a grid and thus place a cutting file with absolute precision. Then enter all the necessary cutting parameters and you are ready to go. Simple shapes such as a circle or rectangle with defined dimensions can be created directly ontool, or you just import your own SVG files.

The handy Origin can not only used in the workshop, but is also mobile and therefore ideal for any precision work at the customer’s site.

“With Origin, every job is done to the millimetre,” says Maximilian Messner, Engineer for Interior

Design, who did an incredible detailed medallion inlay in a narrow staircase. “I can use it to cut shapes in any size and level of detail.”

Origin is ideal for solid wood projects and bespoke furniture with sophisticated elements and hand-crafted details such as individual cutouts, perfect hardware fittings or intricate joints like box joints or dovetails. From fine engravings to large scale work and unique inlays, everything is possible.

Carpenter Gary Banks has been convinced of the possibilities of Origin since the beginning and is pleased that, thanks to the flexibility and precision, he can produce bespoke furniture –even in his small workshop. “A lot of people might think Origin is only for small jobs, details or sight lines. However, we often use Origin to make large scale parts or templates, with curves and radii.”

As well as being a way for woodshops to easily streamline their workflow and take a step into the world of digital manufacturing, Origin is also popular in the education sector. In trade schools, universities or training centres, students can learn how to use computer-aided manufacturing and CNC technology in a safe and intuitive way. Origin helps them work independently and develop an understanding of processes. They can build their own prototypes, use it for specific projects, or use Origin to build their journeyman or masterpiece.

“Origin highlights the skills that we’re trying to develop in our students to get them ready for post-secondary life, and to work with industry standards from companies looking to hire.”

— Brian Reed, coordinator of STEM and digital learning for the Rockwood School District

A complete system

Of course, the complete system consists of more than just Origin. Not to be underestimated are the key elements Workstation and Plate. Workstation is an adaptable and efficient fixturing solution for a huge variety of project types. With its durable ShaperTape surface, a clamping face with t-slots and an adjustable shelf, it can be used to reliably fixture vertical work, index and align unwieldy work pieces and secure small, delicate materials. Combined with Origin it’s perfect for accurate mortise and tenon joinery, as well as box joints and more repetitive cutting operations.

With Plate, the universal template for Origin, it is even easier to install hardware to virtually any work piece, make slab repairs, route System 32 holes, and much more with minimal setup time and maximal adaptability. With multiple Flags, a fence and a reticle, Plate can be easily placed exactly where you want it on your work piece. The build in ShaperTape surface can be scanned with Origin so that multiple digital workspaces can be created and saved for different applications. This allows you to quickly load your pre-designed workspace to install hardware like a connector or door hinge.

The best thing is: Plate combines with the ShaperHub hardware catalogue – a collection of fully annotated and Shaper-approved digital hardware templates from leading manufacturers which can be downloaded for free.

For all those who would like to convert their own idea into a ready to cut design, but do not want to go through the hassle of drawing with CAD software, there is a solution too. With Studio, Shaper has brought out an intuitive, browserbased 2D design tool, with which even more complex designs can be created effortlessly. You can use it on your PC, smartphone or tablet, which means it can be operated anytime and anywhere. It impresses with easy-to-use design and layout tools and allows you to combine basic shapes to create complex designs, add text, and scale using real-world units.

To round off the product portfolio, the range of own bits and other workshop accessories is also constantly growing. This means that users are ideally equipped if, for example, they are looking for suitable roughing bits or speciality bits like T-Slot or Dovetail.

Improvements and expansion

A lot has happened at Shaper in the last few years. The expansion of the portfolio and the constant improvements have not gone unnoticed in the community. In addition to exciting new innovations, users can always rely on regular free software updates for any Origin. This is an absolute advantage, as it guarantees that the tool’s software will always improve and remain up to date. Who can say that about their other power tools?

Shaper Tools – the name stands not only for innovative products and technologies. It also stands for a highly committed team of carpenters and woodworkers, CAD experts and CNC specialists who will provide you with competent advice and support. To learn more about the product variety and application possibilities, those interested are welcome to join the frequent live sessions from the Shaper Studio in San Francisco or Stuttgart. There are also lots of videos on the YouTube channel and plenty of content on Instagram.

The company provides a list of upcoming events in Europe where people can test the products. An overview of dealers who offer Shaper products can be found on the website at shapertools.com/findus.

www.shapertools.com