If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission.
With the US Consumer Product Safety Commission inching closer towards requiring all table saws to feature active injury mitigation (AIM) safety technology, I have been thinking about what will this mean for SawStop.
SawStop’s key flesh-detection patents are due to expire in several years. If the safety requirements – originally petitioned for by SawStop’s founders – are finalized, the company would likely be compelled to release their patents to competitors under fair licensing conditions.
This means that, in the near future, SawStop is going to lose their exclusivity and face new competition.
What’s next for the table saw company?
You might find it interesting that SawStop has applied for a patent for PBS, with the branding “intended to cover the category of band saws.”
This suggests that a SawStop Professional Band Saw is in the works.
Some existing woodworking band saws already feature blade brakes. I wonder how a SawStop band saw might do things differently.
A reader (thank you, Jared!) shared a screenshot of a recent survey, where SawStop asks about what other types of tools their customers might be interested in.
SawStop also already offers a router table, as well as drop-in modules that work with their cabinet-style tables saws.
The PBS trademark, reinforced by the recent survey, suggest that SawStop is at least considering branching out into other woodworking power tool product categories.
Once you realize that SawStop is owned by the same company as Festool, tools like a drill/driver, dust extractor, or sander doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.
SawStop could – and should – be preparing for a time when theirs aren’t the only safety-featured table saws in the US market, whether this happens once key patents expire or the CPSC mandates it.
I think that a SawStop PBS band saw could be a smart move by the company.
