Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1073397
JANUARY 2019 I FLEX007 MAGAZINE 75 power tool industry is not one that I would call particularly technologically complex or really in the 21st century. There are lots of great products out there, but are they truly taking advantage of recent technological advances to make incredible things? We felt that technol- ogy could be applied to help address a hole in the marketplace where people want products like this, both with hobbyists—where people want more accessible tools—and professionals who want more powerful tools that let them do things faster. It's just like Altium—electrical engineers want better tools from Altium so they have a way to make better circuit boards. Woodwork- ers and professionals want better woodworking tools to help them make better products, furni- ture, and other goods, and we saw a way that we could use our technology to meet that need. Feinberg: When you look at some of the things that you've made and what the technology is capable of doing, it's amazing. Blum: It goes back to the question you asked me earlier about why I'm here. Part of the rea- son why I'm here is because we used Altium to design the electronics in Shaper Origin. The other reason why I'm here is that engineers love making stuff! The people who are at this conference are here because they like making things. Their day job might be designing things in Altium, but I bet a lot of them want to be more hands-on in other parts of their lives. They want to do repairs around their house or build their own furniture, toys, gifts, etc. These people tend to overlap heavily with engineers in general, such as electrical engineers who are designing circuit boards, because these people have a creative energy that sometimes needs the right tools. I think your point is good. It's interesting to see a bunch of woodworking at an electrical engineering conference—basi- cally, a PCB design conference—but it reso- nates with the types of people who are here. Matties: In your presentation, you showed some of the products that inspired you, includ- ing the Mac Plus, which enabled my entire business career. I knew nothing about publish- ing when I first started, but it was that tool that allowed me to do this. Your tool is one that enables people to do things that they're other- wise completely incapable of doing. Blum: It's about increasing accessibility to cre- ativity. A lot of people want to express them- selves, but they don't have a good way to do it. We want to give them the tools that enable them to express themselves creatively. Matties: The tool is the limiter or the skill to use the tool. Blum: There is something to be said for hold- ing a tool in your hands and being involved in the process of making something. It com- pletely changes your emotional connection to what comes out at the other end. I'm not a skilled woodworker by any means. I know a lot more about it now than I used to because it is a necessity for my job. Now, I make fur- niture, gifts, and complete projects around my house with Shaper Origin. There's something to be said about how you can make a gift with this product, hand someone a gift, and say, "I worked on this. I held the machine, thought about the design, implemented it, and made it happen." That's an important feeling for a lot of people. Shaper Origin interface.