Handibot Smart Tool Now Available in Limited Release

Durham, NC – The Handibot^® Smart Power Tool Developer Edition, first introduced by ShopBot Tools in a 2013 Kickstarter campaign, is now available for purchase at the Handibot.com online store.

The Handibot Smart Power Tool Developer Edition is a portable, digitally-controlled power tool for cutting, drilling, carving, and many other machining operations. You can cut woods, plastics, composite materials and soft metals with the power and precision of larger CNC (computer-numerically-controlled) tools.

Unlike 'traditional' CNC tools that require you to place your material on the tool, you easily bring the Handibot to wherever your material or work is located — the floor, ceiling, walls, etc.

David Bryan, Handibot's Head of Development, said, "Last Fall we put 150 Kickstarter Handibots into the hands of makers, DIY'ers, educators, and small manufacturers who are at work on all kinds of projects. Now we're hugely excited to get the tool out into the larger world."

Ted Hall, President of ShopBot, noted, "Handibot is really two tools – at least conceptually: It's a small CNC tool that you can put to work right now on construction jobsites or DIY projects, and it's also a new kind of ‘Smart Tool’ that in the near future you'll be able to control with job-oriented apps."

Randy Johnson, ShopBot's Director of Education, added, "Because of its size, portability, and affordable price ($2,795) the Handibot is useful in classroom settings such as vocational, technical education and STEM programs. It allows for hands-on 'teaching by making' — without an investment in larger CNC tools." Ready-to-make classroom projects can be found at 100kSchools.org.

The Handibot Developer Edition ships with a user-friendly CAD/CAM software suite for PCs or tablets running Windows. This software enables you to go from idea to making tangible objects using your Handibot with relative ease.

The Handibot Team is working on creating a suite of task-specific apps that will allow the tool to be run from multiple platforms and devices such as tablets and smartphones. Learn more at handibot.com.

About ShopBot Tools, Inc. (www.shopbottools.com)
Founded in 1996, ShopBot's mission is to make the empowering technology of digital fabrication widely accessible and usable. ShopBot's subtractive digital fabrication tools, working across a range of sizes, deliver the power, precision, and reliability of digital tools traditionally costing thousands of dollars more.

With over 7000 tools at work around the world, ShopBot Tools, Inc., is one of the largest producers of digital fabrication equipment for small-to-midsized manufacturing, DIY, and education markets. ShopBots are designed and built in Durham, North Carolina, USA.