I’ve had this saved in my amazon wishlist for years. Just found it again and thought it would make a nice addition to the Glowforge. I see a lot of comments about pushing the button and thought this might be useful for some people. I suppose you can get it to turn on the glowforge too. It works with an app. So you can set a specific time to activate. or use IFTTT commands and Alexa to do things such as activate the button when I pull up into my driveway. I personally don’t have this item but I might get one later. My computer to glowforge distance is only 15 ft. Oh! I just thought of something. what if you have a long job. I generally can only run the glowforge from 10pm to 2am. So If I have a job that takes 2 hrs. I can setup the button to activate the switch and turn off the machine in 2hrs and a few minutes. So its not running all night and you can wake up to a finished project. Which, appeals to me personally. Dang it. I might have to buy one sooner than later.
Also I check the forums daily and have never contributed anything. But I appreciate the knowledge base and everyone on here. I’ve had mine since December and Its pretty much on every night. I hope this is useful for someone on here.
That’s easily solved, you just rig up a second one to press the emergency stop button and a third one to hold the trigger on the fire extinguisher, while pushers four through six call 911.
For most jobs I have run on the machine, there was zero chance of any fire occurring. I think it’s a bit silly to be sitting there watching an engrave on acrylic for 2+ hours.
Sure if you are cutting paper or cardboard, or some other material that flares up easily, then be nearby to avert disaster.
The machine is so loud, that I can’t stand to be next to it for long jobs. My machine is in a room of it’s own, and I mostly start the jobs going then leave the room until it’s done.
@stupidindenver thanks for sharing this gadget, I think I might get a few. Maybe not for my GlowForge, but other things around the house. However, I might just put one on my Glowforge, along with a camera for remote monitoring from the other room.
In all seriousness, it’s a very bad idea guys. Use the kewl button pressing robot to turn on your stereo or washing machine if you have to use one to press a button somewhere.
And if you want to leave the room while using the Glowie, make sure you:
Have a monitor on it,
Are watching the monitor and not sleeping, or fiddling in the kitchen,
Are close enough to come running in to save your machine, (and the house), if something happens.
If you can burn it with a laser, you can set it on and burn your house down. (You can find examples on this forum of people here who thought like you do, who have set fire to acrylic, foam, papers, cardboard - everything but stone and metal. They were not all set with the Glowforge, generally they were from other lasers, but they are there. There’s no way to make a laser completely fool-proof. Even this one, although it has more controls and safety measures than other lasers.)
Please, monitor it closely while burning anything other than minerals (stone) and metal. It only takes one hiccup to become an example for everyone else.
Don’t be that guy.
This has been a general Public Service Announcement about laser safety. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
The Fire Marshal’s Office say the fire caused minor damage to the structure and heavily damaged a laser engraver that was being used to cut an acrylic sheet.
I think it’s cool, and I’ve had one in my wishlist, too. Not that I can’t walk the dozen feet from my computer to the Glowforge on the other side of the room, but it’d be nifty to not have to.
The one in the original post ($49 one) has more capability/features. It can switch more types of buttons/switches and it has a timer built in. It also uses a mechanism that means it can turn on and off old style light switches.
They also have free software so you can use a Raspberry Pi as a hub (instead of buying their hub).
Not attempting to change your minds on this issue @reltham & @stupidindenver , but for anyone else thinking about this approach, I’d like to point out that deliberately bypassing this safeguard will almost certainly result in a disallowed claim by both GF and your homeowner’s /business insurance carrier If things go -shaped. Be smart, be safe, friends.
So, all you doom and gloomers stand/sit at your glowforge and watch it the entire time it’s doing any job? Even if it’s a 2+ hour engrave? Seriously?
I can’t afford to waste time like that. Nor could I bare to be in the room with the machine for that long while it’s running, it’s so loud. Yeah I could get some earplugs, but ugh. I’ll just leave the room.
I check on the machine periodically when it’s running. It’s in the room across the hall from my office room. If I am cutting paper or cardboard I do stay there and monitor it, but those jobs are always super short.
I’m working on setting up a monitoring camera in the room so that I can keep an eye on the machine from my office. It would be nice if the GF could transmit the lid camera feed out all the time (even if it required a separate wifi module and connection (esp8266 are super cheap)).
The room has a smoke detector and that’s connected to my Smartthings hub so I will get a notification on my phone immediately along with the blaring siren alarm from the thing. I also have a fire extinguisher handy there too. So really the worst case for me is damage to the GF.
Thanks for posting this. Mines downstairs to cut down on noise, and I’m running a c920 Logitech camera on a laptop with YAWCAM to stream video from the laser inside my network. I was JUST thinking about this over my weekend.
Yes it’s within saving distance from within the house (centrally located).
Yes I have a $200 5lb Halotron fire extinguisher right next to it.
Yes a brand new dual method fire detector is right above it.
Yes the breaker box is labeled.
Yes, very tempted to solve the problem of running up and down stairs. I currently do a lot of low power test runs to confirm alignment (since GF wasn’t bothered with absolute referencing, instead going with relative, and GF could be bothered with letting us use coordinates for positioning, and because the camera lies about where the cut is going to be)
Thanks for all the safeguard thoughts. Noise seems to be a big issue, so the camera solves that for me. It will be in a room with a door, and I’ll get a smoke detector and CO detector before UPS delivers.
As usual the voice of reason. Honestly sometimes even Proofgrade will flame up. Plus after hundreds of times I still get a little thrill every time I press that big blue glowing beauty.
and burn your house down. (You can find examples on this forum of people here who thought like you do, who have set fire to acrylic, foam, papers, cardboard - everything but stone and metal. They were not all set with the Glowforge, generally they were from other lasers, but they are there. There’s no way to make a laser completely fool-proof. Even this one, although it has more controls and safety measures than other lasers.)
-shaped. Be smart, be safe, friends.
