As I read this story some important questions remain unanswered in regards to the contracted engineer Mike Rickard.
Doesn’t Australia have professional standards?
How does this look in regards to professional ethics?
It would be interesting to dig deeper and find out his past dealings as well as the companies he has interacted with.
Isn’t there an institution which overseas this?
I think the U.S. has clear guidelines for contractors and contracted companies.
Scary stuff………
I just want to goof around on the APS3000 software. Couldn’t access www.aps3000.com today to get it. To top it off I’m on a Mac, so I didn’t even get to try shape3D.
Just checked and the aps3000 domain is working fine for me. Might have just been a glitch. Try it again cpk.
SDPads,
Interesting issues raised.
Doesnt Australia have Professional Standards? – Yes we do, but it all comes down to one’s goal. That goal can be either to advance and achieve the best or that goal can be to destroy, in this case, I will let you make your mind up which goal was chosen.
How does this look in regards to professional ethics? – Ethics? This is a word that we can “only” give to the “future” of APS3000 under Miki and not the recent past.
It would be interesting to dig deeper and find out his past dealings as well as the companies he has interacted with. – I think a very large shovel would be needed.
Isn’t there an institution which overseas this? The surfing institution will oversee the outcome of this I think, there are institutions that oversee the other stuff as well. Miki is now having the machines built by a professional organization so I hear. No more games.
I think the U.S. has clear guidelines for contractors and contracted companies. – Yep, a lot of countries do but some people choose not to adhear to the rules.
Scott
As I read this story some important questions remain unanswered in regards to the contracted engineer Mike Rickard.
Doesn’t Australia have professional standards?
How does this look in regards to professional ethics?
It would be interesting to dig deeper and find out his past dealings as well as the companies he has interacted with.
Isn’t there an institution which overseas this?
I think the U.S. has clear guidelines for contractors and contracted companies.
Scary stuff………
I’m way out of the loop but it sure seems to me that if they have “irreconcilable differences” with the inventor and patent holder for the machine, and no longer want to work with the guy most people praise for his expertise, that wouldn’t it be better to get busy inventing and patenting their own damn machine? I think Jimmy needs to post more of a statement than the one on page 1.
Best of luck to Miki!
I could not agree more MaraboutSlim, but what is it that made them act the way they did?
Now that the dust settles and we all can see a bit clearer, I want to thank all my friends and supporters. This was not an easy time but I gained so much strength through the people who trusted me.
It all has developped to the better, the situation enabled me to rearrange my business in a way never thought possible before. I will have more time for my customers, I will be less dependant and we all still have the free version of the APS3000 program available. The Swaylockers showed their computer skills, they showed how to secure the program on your computers and they showed smart thinking too.
A big thank you to all my friends and supporters, it was overwhelming to see how the surfers and shapers like and support what I invented and created.
In the future I will sell the APS3000 with Shape 3D as the supporting software and as it imports the APS3000 files, for most of you nothing needs changing.
I will have to make some announcements and clarifications but I will do that in the Industry Forum, the place that stuff belongs to.
thanks to all miki
Miki,
Great to hear from you, I think you have more friends and supporters out in the world than you think, at least we know we can trust you to do the right thing for the surfing community, after all, based on the low pricing of your machines (which you could ask lots more for them and still sell them), it is evident that it is not the profit you are after, but rather the ability for shapers to achieve the results they want at an affordable price.
I hope for your sake Miki the dust has settled, it is great to hear that you can now move on and that the APS3000 project is still strong and has the right man behind it still.
Regards
Scott
Happy birthday small Kraut/troublemaker for this Feb 29th you did not have again!
Stay inspired - we are all watching!
The profiler was the shaper’s first friend, after the outline template!
The APS3000 might enjoy the same status one day?
MF
Hi,
did anyone figure out where the files are actually run from? I had to use the info in the files of the link to download them, but hey, that works too…
regards,
Håvard
With Shape 3D? Cool. I’d love to see my shapes in 3D where I can spin it and change lighting so I can understand the shape better.
When? How much?
I know you said announcements are forthcoming but I had to ask.
Ryan,
I switched to Shape3d a few weeks ago. Free for 30 days; Euro150 for a 1 year license or more for a full license (check the site). I like the 3d representations and they have helped me pick up on a few weird things already (flow transition between slices where strange things can happen, especially towards the nose and tail). The light works just like the one in the shaping bay so you can check smoothness of flow along the rails.
I also like a function that tells you whether curves match properly. You can tweak nose, tail and center point to get smooth connection of the outline that is impossible to pick visually.
I’ve moved most of my files from aps3000 to shape3d and it’s been fine. Just remember that your slices must have rail points or the import will lose info.
Condition_red,
Perfect. Those are exactly the kinds of things I’d like to get from that software, but 150 euro? Yikes! That’s about $200 for me and for just one year. Unless the new collaboration comes out freeware or maybe just a partial Shape 3D so it keeps cost down, I’ll be using my APS freeware by it’s self.
Doesn’t Shape 3D work on a lot of different machines? Not so good for the APS guys.
Thanks for the feedback though.
Doesn’t Shape 3D work on a lot of different machines? Not so good for the APS guys.
As far as I know shape 3D works on many different machines, so long as they are set up to use it.
But have you seen a cut board off the APS? The quality of the finish is the best I have seen. It would seem that this would only be a good thing for APS guys. If I understand all this correctly, any file created in the past on any other system will be able to be cut on aps3000 machines. Thats huge considering the quality of the cuts…Gives shapers more choices, especially when a considerable amount of time and money has been spent in the past creating the files for other machines. And we all love choices…
If that’s true it’s cool. I was thinking that guys designing in APS would take it to guys with machines that run Shape 3D to be cut. If it works both ways, like you say, options are good.
Thanks to the moderator/s for letting this thread run! The effort to relieve Miki of ownership of his creation should concern us all.
Custom surfboard building is a grass roots, cottage industry, one on one pastime.
Sure there will be multi nationals who will try and control, buy image and manipulate the juvenile or novice surf psyche.
There is a huge push to legitimise ‘pop outs’ now, based on low product cost and large advertising budget. The ‘pop out’ promoters are hoping their product will become the norm - their advertising budgets are swinging traditional surf culture media who are now corporate owned.
In the past ‘pop outs’ were approximately half the price of hands hapes, purely due to material plus labour costs.
If you don’t want to feel 100% negative about Chinese products, you might consider that their very cheap, hand shaped, traditional materials, entry level surfboards go head to head with what are really overpriced ‘pop outs’.
If the Chinese succeed in catering to first timers then there is a chance the first timers will progress to a custom, or at least a hand shape off the rack.
Miki’s APS3000 is specifically designed to assist the smaller builders/shapers/surfers who want to design one offs for custom buyers.
Surfboard design is a restless animal with so many variables that the design/shape possibilities are infinite.
You might say that Miki’s APS3000 machine flys in the face of ‘hand shape’ purism, but it takes a hand and an eye to create the lines that will be cut.
The great thing is that you can make just one design and one shape. One shape that looks and feels like no other one.
Get it glassed and it still costs less than a ‘pop out’.
The shaping center is running smooth, Dave, not a problem. Had to work a lot last week to get things rolling and finally got my website up. Had to learn how to do this and thanks a lot to the people who helped me. Its actually a lot of fun too.
Miki, does this mean the end to your involment at your old factory cutting centre? will the website for aps3000 needs some updating too?
Funny, he story link on the old www.aps3000.com site is suddenly dead… “Looks like we didn’t fix everything we thought we had!”
regards,
Håvard
Miki,
Nice website!! It is good to see that you are not only back on your feet, but screaming ahead too. I like the personal touch to your site, it shows that there are “REAL” people behind the “REAL” APS3000 project. It is rare to smile as you are looking through a web site but the fantastic photos up on your web site would bring a smile to everyone 
(except for the people who are trying to ST%@L your design - maybe they frown 
).
Good on you MIKI
Scott
Found this on google a few weeks back and it works every time to launch the program without any problems. Just click the link or enter it into the web browser and the download starts, it doesn’t even have that little box you have to check off for the licensing agreement. I’m not really sure what that means legally, but hey it’s on google so it must be fine and it’s been working.
http://www.aps3000.com/software/program/aps3000.jnlp
or you can google it, just enter “aps3000 jnlp” .
It always seems to be the third choice down on the results.
I downloaded the zone alarm firewall as earlier mentioned in this thread. I would always get a series of three internet access requests when I would start the program. After a bit of playing the following sequence will allow the program to launch but will stop any automatic updates. I’m actually interested in any updates, but will let someone else test them out first, I like the program as is.
I feel much better giving my computer permission to do something anyway, makes me think I’m still in control of it…
Allow internet access for Java ™ Web Start Launcher
Deny internet access for Java ™ 2 Platform Standard Edition
Deny internet access for Java ™ 2 Platform Standard Edition
There certainly is a bit of contrast in price between APS3000 software and Shape3D. Add to the fact that you can’t run Shape3D on OS X and it kind of pales in comparison if you ask me.