The APS3000 Software

Links on this page:


About the Software

The design program has been designed purely from a shapers perspective, as though he was in his room shaping. Our goal has been to capture the “character/style” of the shaper…Not just copy an original surfboard numerically.The APS3000 is very user friendly. You do not have to be too computer literate to use this program or operate the machine, however, to design, you really do need to be a competent shaper as you must have a good understanding of the correlation between dimensions and curves.

The APS3000 is the simplest program and CNC machine available that enables the shaper to design and shape better surfboards than he could actually Hand Shape. It's a Big call, but believe us, it is true right now.

The software runs on every major operating system (Windows, MAC OS X, GNU Linux, etc) and comes with purchase of the machine. Updates are free of charge and available through the web.

The full version of the software is freely available so everybody can create board files which can be machined on the APS3000.

The machine purchase package also includes the Controller Software which displays the tool path as well as the surfboard position on the machine. This greatly reduces the risk of mistakes and helps in controlling the machine operation.

Other Software Related Stuff

Currently the software is being discussed on swaylocks.com. This a good place to discuss surfboard design. You can do a search for APS3000 in the search field. Miki and Jimmy write posts.

A useful instruction for measuring a surfboard to aid the design of an existing surfboard when using the APS3000 Software.
Scanning Surfboards and Blanks:
Scanning.pdf
Designing Slices Tutorial (a good read for those interested in rail design):
Slices.pdf

APS3000 Software Features:

  • Freely Available
  • Image Import - import a digital image of an existing to compare.
  • PDF Printout - Export all the vital information about your surfboard to a pdf file to printout.
  • Ghost Board - compares the working board with another saved board.
  • Import/Export of Outlines, Slices and Profiles
  • Sliding Info - at the given position gives board dimensions.
  • Undo/Redo Buttons
  • Board Positioning in Blank
  • 1:1 Function - ability to see the board in life size when using a projector.
  • Zoom Function
  • Intermediate Slices - ability to view any slice anywhere along the board.
  • Units - ft and in, cm and mm.
  • Fin Positioning
  • Surfboard Volume in Beers
  • Guide Points - markers from real measurements to aid the design when trying to duplicate features from an existing real board.
  • Life Size Slice Zooming - ability to see a slice of your surfboard in life size, depending on the size of your screen.

Trouble Shooting:

  • Trouble with Windows XP and using Java:
    Go to -> control panel -> java applets -> advanced and look for Java 1.4.1 or higher
    Press apply and it should be fine.


  • Exception in the Java console:
    We've had one known problem with this error:
    Exception in the Java console reading JNLPException[catagory:Download Error: Exception Java.Net.UnknownHostException:WWW.aps3000.com:LaunchDesc:null]

    This was due to the Norton Antivirus software being set at a very secure setting which doesn't permit Java Webstart from doing it's thing. So if you have Norton go to NIS3004 and then Personal Firewall and then play with the settings from there.
    A good test, if you're getting exceptions similar to the one above, is to go to James Gosling's site. Then click on the first link that says "here" (it's for the Juicy News Network) under the description section. If you get a similar error, then it's very likely that it is because the settings on your machine.


    • Machine Owners Login Here.
squid