billp
03-26-2001, 09:49 PM
I just got back this morning from the Las Vegas sign show.It is one of the largest shows of it's kind, and this year was very well attended by a truly international contingent.In fact Chris Burns had to dust off his Spanish a little to handle the interest from a substantial number of sign makers in Central/South America. I suspect there will be a lot of new pins in the Shopbot map before very long..
Since we were all pretty busy at the booth I couldn't get around to see everything on the show floor, so I'm hoping a few others will chime in and add to my report. There were the usual plastics, vinyls, and LED exhibits since the industry has come to rely on that technology so heavily over the last few years. But there was a large showing of software and CNC machines as well.Luckily for everyone the Shopbot booth was not located in the area which became known as the 'CNC ghetto". Some companies had 4-5 machines on display, and with few exceptions they seemed to be the same machines with added bells, whistles, ( and dollar signs..). People would enter the show, get the high powered sales pitch in that area, and then come over to the Shopbot booth to sit down, and speak with people about using CNC technology in their businesses. I can't confirm this but there was a buzz that a few people even went back to some of the 'big guys'and got their deposits back after seeing the Shopbot in action.The only two really interesting machines I saw in that area were a full 4 x 8 ft CNC laser table by Multi Cam, and a 70 degree vertical tilt model by the same company. If I heard them right the laser table ran about 60 grand, but I didn't get a price on the vertical rig.
The most common comment we heard was "why are their machines so expensive , while yours is priced so reasonably?". Johm Forney coined the response of "well you'd have to ask THEM that....".
We were cutting files in precision board, plastics, etc., and we had samples of Corian lithopanes, and 3-D carvings by Fred Coyle and myself on hand.People were able to see the machine in action, and the guys from Profilelab gave demos on creating cutting files for our use as well.As you can imagine there are a few signs in Las Vegas, ( they even have a few sign museums there..), so this was a very knowledgeable audience.They were all impressed wth the newer PRT model, and it's straight forward design. The idea that they could also use the software they were already familiar with scored more than a few points as well.
A number of software manufacturers spent time at the booth, and rumor has it that "soon", there "might'be some new drivers for Shopbot appearing within the major packages being marketed..
Speaking of software I didn't really see anything new and revolutionary at the show, but we were so busy at the booth I could easily have missed something. All of the regular players were showing their latest versions ( Signlab 6, Modelmill/Enroute, etc.), but after one of these shows there seems to be a 'migration'of features from one company to the next..Modelmill WILL be phased out, and incorporated into Enroute shortly, and I suspect that the 3-D market will add a few new entries by the next major show as well.
The Shopbot crew of Chris Burns, Gordon Bergfors, Donna Bell, Fred Coyle, John and Reneé Forney and yours truly had our hands full fielding some pretty good questions thrown at us by a pretty knowledgeable audience.There were even a few local Shopbot owners who attended the show, who were pressed into duty to answer responses about how they liked the machine also. Most people wanted a way to expand their business into CNC cutting, and they all recognized that the Shopbot was a viable way to do so.
In short Shopbot 'showed the flag'very well, and now when you explain to people in the industry that you own a Shopbot, they'll understand...
Since we were all pretty busy at the booth I couldn't get around to see everything on the show floor, so I'm hoping a few others will chime in and add to my report. There were the usual plastics, vinyls, and LED exhibits since the industry has come to rely on that technology so heavily over the last few years. But there was a large showing of software and CNC machines as well.Luckily for everyone the Shopbot booth was not located in the area which became known as the 'CNC ghetto". Some companies had 4-5 machines on display, and with few exceptions they seemed to be the same machines with added bells, whistles, ( and dollar signs..). People would enter the show, get the high powered sales pitch in that area, and then come over to the Shopbot booth to sit down, and speak with people about using CNC technology in their businesses. I can't confirm this but there was a buzz that a few people even went back to some of the 'big guys'and got their deposits back after seeing the Shopbot in action.The only two really interesting machines I saw in that area were a full 4 x 8 ft CNC laser table by Multi Cam, and a 70 degree vertical tilt model by the same company. If I heard them right the laser table ran about 60 grand, but I didn't get a price on the vertical rig.
The most common comment we heard was "why are their machines so expensive , while yours is priced so reasonably?". Johm Forney coined the response of "well you'd have to ask THEM that....".
We were cutting files in precision board, plastics, etc., and we had samples of Corian lithopanes, and 3-D carvings by Fred Coyle and myself on hand.People were able to see the machine in action, and the guys from Profilelab gave demos on creating cutting files for our use as well.As you can imagine there are a few signs in Las Vegas, ( they even have a few sign museums there..), so this was a very knowledgeable audience.They were all impressed wth the newer PRT model, and it's straight forward design. The idea that they could also use the software they were already familiar with scored more than a few points as well.
A number of software manufacturers spent time at the booth, and rumor has it that "soon", there "might'be some new drivers for Shopbot appearing within the major packages being marketed..
Speaking of software I didn't really see anything new and revolutionary at the show, but we were so busy at the booth I could easily have missed something. All of the regular players were showing their latest versions ( Signlab 6, Modelmill/Enroute, etc.), but after one of these shows there seems to be a 'migration'of features from one company to the next..Modelmill WILL be phased out, and incorporated into Enroute shortly, and I suspect that the 3-D market will add a few new entries by the next major show as well.
The Shopbot crew of Chris Burns, Gordon Bergfors, Donna Bell, Fred Coyle, John and Reneé Forney and yours truly had our hands full fielding some pretty good questions thrown at us by a pretty knowledgeable audience.There were even a few local Shopbot owners who attended the show, who were pressed into duty to answer responses about how they liked the machine also. Most people wanted a way to expand their business into CNC cutting, and they all recognized that the Shopbot was a viable way to do so.
In short Shopbot 'showed the flag'very well, and now when you explain to people in the industry that you own a Shopbot, they'll understand...