http://www.woodreview.com.au 37TOOLS & EQUIPMENTAt the 2016 AWISA trade show in
Melbourne, WoodTech Group exhibited
a Griggio Unica Safe sliding table panel
saw with this technology but Griggio
went into receivership mid last year.
Another machine with similar
technology is the Bosch Reaxx
machine. There’s no aluminium block
and the saw stops naturally after
being dropped below the table. A test
done by an American tool review site
revealed a 25mm cut in the palm of
a human hand when slapped onto a
Reaxx machine blade protruding only
a few millimetres above the surface
of a piece of wood. The same test on
the SawStop machine produced only
a minor scratch. It’s worth noting that
both these technologies draw blood.
SawStop is now owned by Tooltechnic
Systems, a family of companies that
also includes Festool. Bosch ran into
copyright trouble from SawStop in
2015, even though there were some
differences in the two technologies.
One can understand SawStop’s
position but denying others developing
similar safety technology limits the
user’s choice of machine if they want
the new safety systems. Bosch has
discontinued the sales of their Reaxx
machine leaving SawStop as the only
machine currently available with skin
sensing technology.
Back to the future
Heavy industry usually drives change,
just look at all the technologies
we enjoy today as a result of the
development of technologies like the
Space Shuttle, for example. What will
drive the future of ‘sawstop’ technology
will be machines built for industrial
applications. Two such companies
are currently developing related
technologies and while Australia may
Main: Showing the
undercarriage of the
SawStop tablesaw
braking mechanism.
10” standard brake
cartridges sell for $130
however cartridges are
replaced free of charge
for for confirmed
‘finger saves’.
Photo: Todd Eckelman
Top: Showing the
fused SawStop blade
and brake mechanism
after triggering.
Photo: Philip Ashley
Above and left: On
the Altendorf machine
the light shines green
for normal operation.
Red light shows that
hand recognition has
been triggered by a
3D camera, causing
the blade to drop
below the table.
The blade is not
damaged and the
machine can be turned
on and run again.
Photos: Philip Ashley