The shaping industry's adoption of Aku Shaper is changing the way surfboards are made, from idea inception to final product. The researchers behind this product are dedicated to the production of custom surfboards.
Yes I did look at both the AKU and APS300 and went with the AKU. There are so many things wrong with the aps and miki that I needed only 1 hour with him to make up my mind. I can make a list if you like but it all start at the software, as for the machines and how they are built the AKU is way better in all aspects, On how the blank is held and where the blank is mounted to the machine, Spindal motors which spin both ways, the machine frame and vribration, self oiler, the software as shape3d still has some major problem with curves, AKU has a rack for the X drive not a belt and the list goes on. I still have my old 3dm machine but have not used it since I got the AKU. It still works fine but I find the AKU much easier to run. Call into the factory when you are next in Aussie HAve a look at the nipper board I did on the AKU web site. Peter
Recently Aku Shaper was featured in Midweek Newspaper, which is a local newspaper on Oahu.
http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/entrepreneurs_article/reshaping_the_surfboard_business/
A related article was featured in CareerKokua.com which is a Hawaii State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Website.
All of our machines (12' standard, 13' Extended or larger custom) can cut boards up to 12' and 13' respectively, 33" wide and 6" thick. We've had requests for machines that can make boards up to 18' long which is something we can easily accommodate.
The advanced technology of our machine makes cutting Stand Up Paddle boards flawless and saves a huge amount of time relative to any other machine on the market and of course doing them by hand. This is same for both EPS and PU.
We use cutters with varying degrees of roughness and our reverse spindle technology eliminates burning, leaves rails perfectly symmetrical and completely balances the cutting forces.
The Stand Up Paddle board market is growing very rapidly, oceans, lakes, everywhere.
Let us know if you have any questions about making these types of boards.
Our friend Peter Hosking on the Gold Coast of Australia recent these nipper boards.
They came out really well.

Machine has been cutting good customized balsa boards.
Recently we were interviewed by Chris Mauro at Surfer Magazine talking about our machine and software. The article is in the latest issue, the Feburary issue. The article is on page 146.
Here's a couple shots of a recent cut of EPS and XTR foam on the same board. Our spindle gives the cutting head the ability to spin both clockwise and counterclockwise which leaves a very smooth finish on all types of foam, including the difficult to machine XTR Foam.
We've got a couple of YouTube videos of the machine.
We offer a couple tips and a few questions to ask.
Significant improvements have been made to our new generation machine
- Elimination of the "angel wings" pic
- Auto oiling of the machine - no more getting dusty before you cut your first board
- Raised machine - no more back bending when loading and unloading
- High tensile tungsten cutter with diamonds grown on surface
- Even smoother stringer cut, especially near nose pic
See the Machine Features page and pics of cut boards for more info.
Last night the Discovery Science Channel did a show called "How do they do it", which talked about the science of designing and machining surfboards. It featured Matt Ambrose's APS3000 machine in northern California and went into detail about how the machine cuts blanks and how the software design process is carried out. Grant Washburn talked about the importance of having quality accurate boards especially at heavier spots like Mavericks. It was a good show.