On track to becoming the world’s No.1 CNC router company

Your core products are CNC (Computer Numerical Control) routers and equipment which provides automation at factory sites. One potential drawback is that these machines require highly skilled operators, which tends to increase the cost of operating them. How does your company ensure that your machines are easy to use and that the cost of hiring highly skilled operators is minimized?

We are currently working hard in our research and development department on software that will provide a user interface to our machinery which we call Shoda CNC Protocol. This will enable anybody to use our product easily and is based on the same integrated hardware and software model as Apple uses on its iPhones. Unlike Android, where the software and hardware are created by different companies, we want to be more like Apple, producing both the hardware and software by ourselves.

There is a trend in the automotive industry towards lighter materials such as resins and plastics in the production of EVs (electric vehicles) and hybrid cars. How is your company adapting to these changes?

We feel that we are actually trend setters in our industry, and society is now adopting values and practices which we have already been implementing. We started off as a company supplying machines for woodworking and the first manually operated router we created evolved into a CNC product in 1968 and that was the very first computer controlled router in Japan.

Although our initial target was woodworking, we shifted our focus to other materials such as plastics, aluminum, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic), ceramics and resin so when the trend in the industry moved towards materials lighter than iron we were already well prepared to have our routers be able to handle them.

One issue is that due to the processing having to occur in a dry environment, these lighter materials generate a lot of dust when being processed. Whilst wood also generated dust and residue, this was a lot less harmful to human beings than the dust

from these newer materials, which can not only pose a health hazard to humans but can also threaten the longevity of the machines. In response to this problem we created our Planet Blue CNC router that uses a dust-free environment, as well as another type of CNC router, Dust Reduction CNC router. So we’ve been both responding to industry trends as well as taking the lead in innovative changes in the CNC router industry.

With regard to heavy cutting, your company has created an angle head C axis function, which is a feature that allows 360 degree rotation of the axis within the machine process. Can you tell us a little bit more about this feature and how it allows your clients to engage in heavy cutting works?

This innovation makes the processing more flexible. As well as the conventional 3-axis configuration known as X, Y and Z, we have added a fourth axis, the C axis. With the original three axes you could only do vertical processing but by having this C axis you can do horizontal processing. In order to be able to introduce this level of flexibility we had to add a tool called an angle head, which is an optional feature of the machine. In Japan it is known as an angle head but in English it is more commonly known as an aggregated head and this is what allows circular cutting to happen.

As well as the assembled CNC routers, you also develop the tools that go inside the router, for example the circular saw you just mentioned and various other cutters and router bits optimized for various different materials. What are the advantages of being able to develop both the tools and the machines?

One of the strengths of our company is that we are able to provide machinery and CNC routers as well as the tools themselves. Different types of cutter are made for different types of material. With a conventional machining center, the end mill for ironwork is not suitable for cutting lighter weight metal or wood and plastic, or foam. What we are good at is making the machine as well as the cutter and other tools that are best suited for processing each of these types of material.

We pride ourselves on providing an integrated solution to our clients regarding the machinery and the tools. So let's say for example for plastic, a client might require a clean and smooth surface after cutting, together with a high degree of precision. To realize this, we would need to formulate a special treatment for the cutter.

In the CNC router market your company faces competition from larger firms such as HOMAG. How does your company compete against these larger groups and what would you say are the competitive advantages you have that allow you to perform?

Actually, many router companies are still concentrating on woodworking but we are more focused on ‘lighter than iron’ materials so we don’t have that much competition. We do have some clients that work with wood but they use modified versions of the CNC routers that we originally developed for working with plastic. Our ratio of woodworking clients is relatively low.

Your company offers an after sales service whereby you are able to visit your client factories, talk to them, listen to their technical needs, and help out with any problems. This also includes repair and maintenance work when needed. Can you tell us a little bit more about how you are able to provide that service, especially for your overseas clients?

Our system for after sales services in overseas markets is we sell our products through our dealers and the dealers that take care of the after sales service and if there is an issue that they cannot deal with then we either send our engineers from Japan or, more recently, we use a lot of zoom calls and via zoom we can see what the problem is and give instructions on how to fix the issue.

We are currently developing the next NC model which we hope to launch in June, and this model will have a spindle motor that can be swapped out easily because that is the part of the machine which is most vulnerable to failure and has the shortest longevity so being able to change it easily will ensure continued functionality. So our plan is to send the new spindle motors as stock to the dealers and once something happens we swap out the spindle and the old one is sent back to Japan so we can fix it.

This is what we call the ‘non-stop’ NC router and we've been doing R&D to realize this and it will be launched soon. It will be very easy to maintain by anybody and downtime will be significantly reduced.

Could you quickly run us through your mid-term strategy and what you would like to achieve within the next three to five years?

Our vision is to become the world No.1 CNC router company and become the Apple of the CNC router market.