Home Position Alert

[Peter Meacham]

We need a load audiable indicator or visual indicator to alert us when a laser head has returned to a home position.

We get busy in another location of the shop and need to know when to change the material for another laser engrave.

Does anyone have such an indicator or have any ideas on how to devise one?

I don't need any reminders about how it is unsafe to not be watching while the engraver is operating - we know the risks.

Thanks,

Pete

[Glen Monaghan]

How is your exhaust set up? My engraver controls the exhaust fan automatically so, while the fan is outside, I can still hear it enough to know when a job is finished...

-Glen

[Randy Digby]

In the Trotec Job Control screen, go to:
Settings
Options
General
Sounds

Select "engraving finished" from the pull down menu.

Select the sound wave you want or make one yourself, apply it and crank up the volume.

[Peter Meacham]

Thanks for the replies - well, I should have indicated that we need this alert for two Epilog engravers (not shown in my profile as they belong to my partner).

We would need a remote indicator in a noisy wood shop. So, I was thinking of an infra-red sensor that could trigger a remote audible or visual sensor - something from Radio Shack for example - I will work on that angle.

Randy, thanks for that hint on my Trotec.

Still looking for any other inputs please.

[Richard DiMaggio]

Radio Shaft is probably your best bet. Just about any thru beam or reflective beam sensor would work here, wired up to a sonalert or a simple one shot relay to a beeper. I bet they have everything you need there. You could just put on a small piece of reflective tape on your movable head and position the detector so when the head assembly arrives at your home position, it fires off the audible device. Let me know if you want a schematic or wiring diagram of something that works...

rjd@robotmaker.biz

rj

[Peter Meacham]

Richard - if you have something already drawn up, that would be great.

What search terms would I use if I was looking for a ready-made kit on the net?

[Gary Hair]

How about using a Hall Effect switch? Put a magnet on the head and the switch on the cabinet. They are easy to wire up and simple to use, plus you don't have to worry about dust or anything covering up your reflective tape and going off randomly.

Gary

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Peter,
Around 15+ years ago I had a system that hooked up to my phone and it triggered a strobe light to flash or a loud beep or combo, so I could see it in the shop when running the CNC. Sound is not always the best because if you have it so loud to hear over the machinery it can be deafening or REALLY annoying :eek: when the machines are not running. A flashing light can always be seen. A proximity sensor or limit switch can probably be adapted to a doorbell ringer system that can probably be found at radio shack or Grainger.

I just use my "engraving finished" from the pull down menu like Randy posted above and use the Ta daaaaa sound.

[Paul Grothouse]

I would do what Randy says with the sounds and plug one of these into your audio port:

http://www.amazon.com/Midland-18-STR-Strobe-Weather-Hazards/dp/B0002UB2K0

[Mark Ross]

Peter,

We have an EPilog 36 EXT and we have a bright blue LED light that lights when the unit sits Idle. We have a noisy shop and the standard end of job beep is nowhere near loud enough. We have a small hall effect switch pair (magnet and sensor) that we mounted on the machine. The magnet is on the carriage and the sensor is mounted up at the home position. So when the job is done and the carriage moves to the home position the blue light is lit constantly so people working can see it is time to load more material. Epilog may have a suggestion on how to do it. They might have a tech bulletin on it, I would suggest checking with them. Another option is a web cam tied into a 80 inch tv, that you can mount, and the bonus with that one, is if a fire does start, you will see it :)