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09/10/2014 |
Last week I found out that I am presenting a talk at Maker Faire 2014 in New York City on Sept 20-21 entitled: "How One Small Company is Using Maker Technology to Stay Competitive in an Old World Industry".
What my talk is about is how we have been automating our Foley Saw filing machine to allow us to do some operations automatically and also enable some very complex filings that an all mechanical Foley filer can't do. The reason I find this subject so interesting and why I wanted to give the talk is I think that for the past ten years the Maker Revolution has been building infrastructure so inexpensive that anyone can make pretty complex robots, CNC stuff, and general gadgets. At Maker Faire 2013 we saw a lot of cool stuff and then when we decided that we needed to add some automation to some of our processes it made a lot more sense for us to go the Maker route instead of the substantially more expensive, and much harder to implement, industrial machinery route.
While my specific professional interest is in tool manufacture the revolution in personal automation will (and maybe has started to) effect woodworkers all over the country. But don't think that the job of being a cabinetmaker will be any easier. Good construction is good construction, whether or not you use a hand saw, a giant factory saw, a table saw, a CNC router, or a fancy Altendorf. The difference is really in the amount of capital the maker has and the volume that is produced. As CNC equipment becomes less expensive and easier to use some cabinetmakers will find ways of lowering their costs without compromising the type of quality they are interested in offering. Some cabinetmakers will come up with whole new ideas in design and assembly that weren't possible before. It's mostly all good. Low cost automation might give a small shop a way to compete with factories. And the traditional factory will lose lots of their advantages.
 I already know a fair number of shops that have CNC routers, laser cutters and some of them are doing some very interesting stuff. But don't jump down my throat. I like early American furniture. I love lots of early, sometimes very decorative forms. The big sin of furniture makers over the past generation has been simplifying and simplifying forms until most of the stuff I see in stores is pretty boring. I don't expect any machine to be able to grind out a colonial highboy - ever. And I would hate that anyway. I don't want dumbed down designs. What I want to happen, and I think it might, is that with new machinery will come new techniques and new designs. Hopefully furniture makers of the 21st century will produce stuff as new and exciting as say Chippendale furniture was to the customers of the mid-18th century.
Here is the link to Maker Faire NYC . It's an awesome show. And every year I am truly overwhelmed at what folks are making. Bring your kids!! you will all have a great time. If you don't live anywhere near NYC there are Maker Faires all over the country and the world. Even Mini-maker faires for smaller venues that are just starting up.
NB: The snapshot of the most excellent Rhode Island furniture is from the renovated rooms at the American Wing of the Met. OMG. I was rushing en-route to another exhibit and I drolled only a little. I will return for a proper look.
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I also have a complete Foley system with carriers, bars, setter etc. I dabble with it from time to time on saws I rehab, but am really interested in learning more about what you have automated on it. Will you be able to post a video of your talk? I am unable to attend the Makerfaire. I enjoy your blog.
Mike