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Thread: Video of an Unattended CNC Router

  1. #1
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    Video of an Unattended CNC Router

    The reason you shouldn't leave your CNC running without you there. This popped up on a FB group and I see Gary Campbell commented.

    CNC Fire Video - YouTube

  2. #2
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    Especially if you have it setup to rout too deep and don’t secure the workpiece.

  3. #3
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    One of ours (old job) went up. I don't remember what got it going in the first place, but the dust collection hose burned a fair distance, fanned by the dust collector of course. Nothing but coiled wire for a few feet. We had to repaint the walls and replace several ceiling tiles. That was after we managed to get the stink out of the building.

    The Firemen looked at the tiles and said if it had gotten through there we would have been completely screwed, that there was no way we could have contained it. "If you have anything burning, call us. That's what we're for".

    My old office mate was the operator at the time. I later saw a fire truck heading right by the building one morning as I was going in. Took the opportunity to rib him about it. He was a good sport though. Good thing, as he was 6-4 and 220 lbs ;-)

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce King View Post
    Especially if you have it setup to rout too deep and don’t secure the workpiece.
    I've had things come loose despite checking that they were "cranked down" more than once before cutting..."stuff happens". And that's why it's rare I ever step out of my shop when my machine is cutting. If I do need to bail for awhile, I've learned how to stop the cut and resume it a few dozen lines of code before where I stopped it. I try to plan other work to do on other tools during cutting time, but sometimes it's forum hopping or shopping.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
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    Why would you just have a video cam set up to record the cut? Especially from such a poor angle. If it's supposed to be a video monitor, you would think that someone would have been watching it ... Could have lost a lot of stuff.
    Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

  6. #6
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    There is another video that shows a fire that started by a shop vac that was being used with a CNC Router. The shop vac was under the table so the fire spread to the spoil board and the router was severely damaged. Worst of all the router was in an attached garage so the house was at risk. I can't remember if it was someone here or elsewhere.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Westfall View Post
    Why would you just have a video cam set up to record the cut? Especially from such a poor angle. If it's supposed to be a video monitor, you would think that someone would have been watching it ... Could have lost a lot of stuff.
    Because....people are easily distracted or ambivalent... "It will never happen to me"...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    part if new owner trainibg should be cnc and fire danger. I use to leave cnc unattended in hours long 3d cuts but after seeing few cnc and fire videos. not anymore.

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    Quote Originally Posted by eugene thomas View Post
    part if new owner trainibg should be cnc and fire danger. I use to leave cnc unattended in hours long 3d cuts but after seeing few cnc and fire videos. not anymore.
    It was included in the training I took...both the formal "classroom" event as well as the more informal orientation training done remotely by the technician. The former was actually taught by Gary at the time so it shouldn't be surprising that it was in the curriculum.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    in garys class he told use insurance compsnys hate to pay when operator was not around cnc when fire started.

  11. #11
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    Insurance companies are always going to ascertain if negligence is involved..."it's what they do". . The individual on Camheads who recently lost a big machine to a fire started during unsupervised cutting didn't have insurance which hurt even more!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    A company that i worked for turned the router on just before we left work, and it would still be running in the morning when we came in.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I've had things come loose despite checking that they were "cranked down" more than once before cutting..."stuff happens". And that's why it's rare I ever step out of my shop when my machine is cutting. If I do need to bail for awhile, I've learned how to stop the cut and resume it a few dozen lines of code before where I stopped it. I try to plan other work to do on other tools during cutting time, but sometimes it's forum hopping or shopping.
    Exactly Jim. In my limited experience to date I've saw a cut that was a deeper 3D cut release stresses in the wood. It was tight on the table and now it's not. I can see easily how something could shift after you been routing on it for a while. I was under the impression the camera was set up to monitor the machine remotely. Much like a baby monitor.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Hennebury View Post
    A company that i worked for turned the router on just before we left work, and it would still be running in the morning when we came in.

    I did that on a regular basis for the molds I was doing. And stop by AM and PM on weekends to clean it off and start another pass.

    But ...

    That machine was in a shipping container in the back parking lot. They didn't have room in the building for it, and were planning on moving to a larger building in the near future. The idea was this could be unplugged, trailered over to the new place, leveled up on blocks, plugged in and back to work.

    The other one was going to have to be disassembled just to get it out of the room it was built in. But probably the only way to move an Avid anyway ... unless it's bolted to the floor of a shipping container ;-)

  15. #15
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    I posted this in another CNC thread but IMO it'll become an insurance mandate for businesses to have some sort of FLIR technology monitoring a CNC machine. It'll have an automated shut off if the sensor sees a temp above normal but below the point at which a fire can start. Also a fire suppression system directly above the CNC. With the rise in the number of these in the commercial market and the length of time some off these cuts can take fires are just going to become more and more prevalent.

    As for the homeowner, if it gets bad enough it'll become a rider that you will need to get depending on the insurance company. Just like some insurers will not cover a fire if started by torches in your garage unless you have specific coverage for them. With the cost of building supplies going through the roof and insurers not wanting to pay out money it's going to happen.

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