[hackerspaces] [ SPAM 4.8 ] Re: Laser Cutter Fires?

[Pete Prodoehl]

At Milwaukee Makerspace we have air lines running through the building, 
and use air assist with our laser cutters, which can help avoid fires. I 
don't believe we've ever had a fire besides material burning a little 
too much when cutting. During training people are shown how to turn on 
the exhaust and the air assist, and as long as those things are done, 
and you don't do anything too stupid (and don't leave it unattended!) 
all has been good.


Pete


On 4/29/15 1:06 PM, Joshua Pritt wrote:
> No fires yet.  But one of the main safety rules with the laser is to 
> never leave it unattended.  You should be able to hit the emergency 
> stop button the moment you see a flame then extinguish it 
> immediately.  Also make sure there is a fire extinguisher right next 
> to the laser just in case.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 1:56 PM, Robert Davidson 
> <robert at dallasmakerspace.org <mailto:robert at dallasmakerspace.org>> wrote:
>
>     I wanted to know how many out there have had a fire on there CO2
>     Laser?
>
>     What was the root cause?
>
>     I define fire as leaving the confines of the machine.
>     Though if your machine was destroyed by a fire in the tray that
>     would count as well.
>
>
>     I can start out with Dallas Makerspace we had the High Voltage
>     line arc to the metal case and caused a fire in the laser tube
>     area. (It was quickly extinguished with a Fire Extinguisher)
>
>     Artifacture a local company in Dallas; there CO2 laser destroyed a
>     large part of there building from a fire that was not observed. 
>     Root Cause: (Guessing as it was absolute destruction was that the
>     material was left in the tray from acrylic that had fallen through
>     the tray)
>
>
>     Robert Davidson
>     Dallas Makerspace
>