I just learned that Altendorf has recently come out with their HandGuard technology on select sliding table saws - 2 cameras detect the presence of hands near the blade and drop the blade to remove the danger. They claim to be faster than SawStop, there is no cartridge so the blade can simply be raised to resume work, and because it isn’t detecting electrical conductivity any material can be cut. After the discussion about the Powermatic in the committee meeting last week, I thought this was an interesting idea. They have lots of good YouTube videos.
I have two major concerns:
What if the cameras get covered in saw dust? I’m sure they’ve solved for this somehow, but it seems like a possible problem.
Will their cameras detect non-white hands? Soap/sanitizer dispensers often don’t, so I’m concerned that this might have the same issue. They say their software compares what the cameras see to a library of hands to determine if action is required - I suppose if their library contains sufficient diversity it could be fine, but otherwise a significant portion of users may simply not be protected by this solution.
My hands are white as the driven snow, and I still don’t possess the proper Jedi powers to fire soap/sanitizer dispensers, get faucets to turn on, or get any hand-drying (paper towels or forced air). Every trip to a modern WC makes me look like Obi-Wan caught in a spider web.
Nice looking tool! And looks really expensive! This would need to be vetted for floor space/footprint in new (expansion) woodshop floor plan, including perimeter for access and safety considerations.
Marshall, next time you are out here for a visit, we can walk down to a cabinet shop a few doors down and you can see what the footprint of one of these amazing saws is like in real time (his does not have the cameras).
Looks like the Patents began expiring in 2021 and will be mostly expired by 2026.
SawStop’s various patents began to expire in 2021, actually. However, that is not the same as saying that competitors can now design their own version of the safety system. It holds around 100 patents at this time, although quite a few are continuation patents, as described earlier. This is why we took the time to explain a little bit of patent law.
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Consequently, the answer to the primary question of patent expiration could extend as far ahead as 2026. Solid business practices have been at play with the filing of continuation patent claims that will give SawStop a few extra years beyond the original 20 they enjoyed with filing the parent application.