Network Attached Storage devices & Wifi Print Servers

[Mike vonBuelow]

Hesitant to ask the question because of THIS THREAD, I'm interested in getting a Network Attached Storage device, so that I can do work from any computer in the house, and then send it to the laser (which is in the garage, and often too hot to work in) via Wifi Print Server.

Any good stories to tell?

[Craig Matheny]

Well My only felling is a laser in a too hot to work in environment and a laser that burns stuff running unattended. Both of those are issues for disaster.

[Mike vonBuelow]

Agreed, but for a guy who has no other place to put it, and living in Okla-freekin-homa, I'm very limited on options except to design inside and only go outside during run times.

- except to work during the two weeks each of Fall & Spring

After I'm eligible for retirement in 2 years, a move to cooler coastal California is in order!

[Jim Reinhard]

I live in florida and have my laser in the garage.I Insulated the garage door and got an ac unit that sits on the floor.They have them at HD and lowes.just 1 vent that goes ot the wall .I did buy a print server but have not gotten around to setting it up yet.I do the work on my laptop while the garage is cooling down then take it out there when I am ready to work.

[Craig Matheny]

Mike this is what I did for here because the unit is outside in the heat this is very effecient and keeps the unit 85 deg or less the tube is 4" garden drain line with 1 1/2" holes over the air intakes on the laser so the cold air blows right into the fans and cools

[Rodne Gold]

Well, it would be simpler to send the files via wifi to a dedicated el cheapo puter attached to the laser and then go to the laser and print directly from there. You could easily monitor the laser via a cheap wifi enabled security camera, but as others say , I wouldn't leave a laser unattended. You really dont need a NAS setup unless you have AV or other needs for it. I have a NAS at home , but its used to stream music to various home locations and its used to store HD video and stream it via a HDMI cable to a HDTV. It is also the backup server for all our home puters.

[Lee DeRaud]

It sounds like you're not planning on running the laser unattended, which is a good thing. In that situation, rather than spend the money for a WiFi printer server that may not work with your laser anyway, I'd be tempted to pick up a cheap laptop or netbook to keep in the garage. All it has to be able to do is run Corel well enough to load the file over the network from your main computer and print it.

It comes down to this: any solution that doesn't put display and file selection capability in the same room with the laser will eventually force enough running back and forth to eliminate whatever convenience you think the print server will gain.

(And Rodne beat me to the same answer while I was typing with my elbows...)

[Doug Fennell]

These are cool and work great -

Aside from that, if you'd rather use wireless, pickup a netgear wireless access point. Why? Because wireless print servers are kludgey and don't pass all of the network traffic, a wireless access point creates a wireless "bridge" and physically joins your pre-existing wireless network, simply extending it. It passes all of the print information, or any information for that matter, that a laser, cnc mill, computer, NAS, whatever needs. They only have 1 port, so if you need more ports, just get a 4 port hub.

My solution was a bit more complex but does the same thing - I have a netgear wrt-54g wireless router that I put custom firmware on (dd-wrt) and it produces a wireless bridge (among other things). But for what you want to do, just get a netgear wireless access point - it bridges the connection to your current wireless network, does it painlessly, and runs the laser as well. I used this setup for 4 years without a hiccup. A print server on an Epilog is an exercise in futility and will not work properly.

[Joe Pelonio]

You can get a small window AC unit for $99, less than the price for the wi-fi setup. Even the free standing hose version is only $299. That seems the better option to me. You and the laser will be a lot more comfortable. We've had only 3-4 days over 80 this summer, but when running the laser I keep the shop at 68.

[Mike vonBuelow]

Thanks all for the recommendations!

The a/c unit is really not an option - with a 3 car garage to cool, with a doggy door, and living in OKC (where, by the way, we just hit 50 days of 100F+ temps), the costs involved to run it is what would hurt me in the pocketbook. Hence the need for minimum time in the garage, and a network solution.

I was finally able to get a USB wireless adapter to work so that my garage desktop can get internet - so I was hoping to link up the 1TB external hard drive I have as a workaround for the "USB thumbdrive shuffle" I usually do to move files from one computer to another. So far my networking attempts are fruitless - I'm not sure if my XP computer can link with my Media Edition computer. That would solve my problem, unless the wife is on the main home desktop.

[Jim Coffee]

I use NAS. Convenient.
And I extended my Ethernet to my shop via my house wiring. You buy adapters that plug into the house wiring. They have been absolutely bullet proof. The laser is not run unattended.

Hesitant to ask the question because of THIS THREAD, I'm interested in getting a Network Attached Storage device, so that I can do work from any computer in the house, and then send it to the laser (which is in the garage, and often too hot to work in) via Wifi Print Server.

Any good stories to tell?

[Bruce Clumpner]

I too run a wireless connection from an old laptop and laser in the garage to a NAS on the house network. I store everything in a common folder, easily accessable from any system in the house. But having a PC system close to the laser allows you to tweak jobs much easier if there's an issue. I have no issue with the speed of the wireless connection, since most corel files are fairly small. Just make sure the fonts match between the two systems.

As for the A/C unit, I don't think you need to cool the entire garage, ( but I'm sure it would be nice) Craig has the right idea, just force the cold air into the pick-up for the laser fans and it will just focus on cooling the laser. I've been having trouble with overheating with my unit, and am planning for a similar system.

[Martin Boekers]

I just got a NAS set up. I'm hoping it will serve well. There are 3 of us working so I wanted something that I hope is better than it
was saving and researching files & jobs that previously had to be saved to one network computer. That was slow and mostly
a PITA.

What I would consider is getting a small storage shed from a Lowes or equvilent. That would be relatively cheap and easy to air condition.
Plus it may save you some on insurance as it would be a seperate building and if a fire did occur, it would olny damage the stand alone.

There have been photos of fire damaged lasers posted here. It happens in an instant.

I'm for the idea of a seperate computer or notebook for you engraving area. work instide if you want then save to a flash drive and head for the heat!

[Mike vonBuelow]

Ok, I think I got a "warm fuzzy" on the whole NAS - so that'll be my next purchase.

Thanks all - truly appreciate the help !!!


Oh, forogt to ask, is there a subscription fee for NAS's? Or just as long as your home power is on and modem connected, you're good to go?

[Craig Matheny]

No fee it is just a file server the only time there is a fee is if you want to access it online away from the house then you need a Ip address from someone like TZO and allot more info. I bought one of the P media smart servers 3-4 yrs ago I access any file from any where that I have an internet connection plus have access to my computers but it is a windows server setup for dummies but love it.