Another lesson

This was on a Facebook post and I don’t feel it’s my place to name names, but I do feel the need to once again remind everyone to NOT leave their Glowforge unattended. The person left the room while cutting corrugated cardboard.

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It makes me sad that no matter how many times it is said, someone will leave it unattended with flammable material. I won’t even take my eyes off it when cutting cardboard!

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Never leave corrugated alone at all. Terrible material for fires.

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2 out of 2 Evanses agree.

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Yes…it makes me sad, too…but, I can’t help but wonder what they were thinking when they left the room…what the heck was SO important?

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DETD

The Double Evans Thumbs Down award. :-1::-1:

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Sad. When you are cutting with fire, stay alert.

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This is why manufacturers need to account for their product in the hands of incompetence. It’s why there is a fan guard obstructing the exhaust in our machines, even though it’s inside of an exhaust pipe.
An issue with making available to a broad market what was traditionally a specialty tech. It is an easy mistake, and a good reason to be a member of a community like this.

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This makes me feel better about my total and complete mistrust of corrugated cardboard… I’ve never cut it on a laser. Feel very bad for the person who made that mistake and walked away, always impressed how hot those fires get and yet stay fairly contained.

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Yikes! I was cutting some last night…it’s one of the few things I actually hover over while it’s going.

Sorry to see that.

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Haven’t touched cardboard yet and this just reaffirms the reasons that I won’t.

Get ya some chipboard. Crazy cheap, more versatile, and much safer.

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Done cardboard a number of times, including making one-use and multi-use jigs and templates. Requires a little care and not walking away. There are other materials I’d rather use. I don’t have to babysit stone or porcelain. I’m never worried putting corrugated in my glowforge, but I never turn my back to it for more than a second.

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I’ve also used cardboard many times…mostly for mock-ups to make sure my design will work out of more expensive stuff. I’ve not had any problems, so far…but, I not only do NOT leave the room, I actually watch it as it’s being cut.

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tbh I think it might be time for an updated sales video - just went to the main page and the movie you see is someone cutting a corrugated globe light. Doesn’t look scary at all.

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Maybe if they had been on the forum more and not on facebook they would have been more informed.

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I think about that often…about all the folks that post on Facebook. I wonder if they even know what they’re missing by not visiting here, too.

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this is a very true thing

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Since you understand the risk I think you are okay to try. It’s extremely handy for prototypes. I watch it like a hawk with a damp towel in hand with comfort of the fire extinguisher nearby though.

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People post links to the forum all the time in Facebook. They just don’t seem to get the hint. That kind of lax approach to finding things out probably wouldn’t be helpful here. I mean sure welcome all comers, but I think the sort of person who wants to search a forum isn’t the average Facebook-first internet user.

Hard to say but they definitely are missing out.

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It isn’t scary. But you do have to follow the instructions (which actually explicitly state not to leave it running unattended during a print. Obviously, materials that cannot burn, like stone and tile, don’t require as much attention, but the more flammable the material, the more attention needs to be paid.

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