Thank you for the links.
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Nah! A carefully aimed blast might just lobotomize the beetle.
Wasn’t there a fire a while back from someone getting (wrong) settings from the forum? I seem to recall something like that.
I don’t recall a thread like that, but I believe it.
Warning: opinion masquerading as fact follows, but it’s backed up by having a fire in my GF, so I figure it’s not all wild speculation.
With cardboard, as referenced above, often exactly what shape you’re cutting matters as much as the settings when it comes to fires. Complicated designs with lots of little jaggies (say a downloaded high res vector map of the US or something) will cause the laser to “hang out” in one area for too long. It’s fire city if you do that. I have no problems with cutting rectangles and circles, but I keep my shapes fairly large .5" (15mm) and fairly simple (smooth lines not too close together). Ergo, no living hinges unless they are far apart, no really small features, no highly detailed “jaggy” lines.
Use extra caution when cutting an svg that you didn’t make into cardboard. Downloaded paths (even fonts) are notorious for weird path artifacts, double paths, and overall jankiness. Use clean paths and watch it closely.
I love cardboard for simple alignment jigs. Beyond that I almost never use it, and do my prototyping in cheap baltic birch.
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I recall someone claiming that was the cause but I don’t believe it was proven. Nor would it be likely when you consider the number of people here posting settings and the number of others using them - the search for settings makes Godot look like a hanger-on uncle.
It’s possible that it did occur from bad settings but the settings came from some post on FB or other equally reliable source 
i had a small flareup with cardboard because of a settings typo. but i’m anal about how closely i watch things like cardboard, so i had the fire out before it was much bigger than a candle flame.
some materials you just need to be around to casually pay attention to (think: tile). others you need to really watch carefully, especially at start up (like cardboard).
This was my recent post about a post on Facebook. It specifically mentions cutting cardboard as the cause (that, mixed with inattention to the Glowforge)
Ouch!
How did you put out the fire? Do you just open the lid and blow it out or hit it with a CO2 fire extinguisher? I am curious and clueless because I still haven’t touched a glowforge.
it was candle flame size. i tapped it out w/a paper towel. i also have a spray bottle of water nearby and a halotron extinguisher. so far i’ve never gone beyond the paper towel.
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I enjoyed some awesome advice from this group that led to multiple layers of fire safety:
- NEVER leave your Glowforge while it’s cutting, scoring, engraving.
- Know the material you’re using and it’s tendency to flame up. e.g. cardboard should be watched carefully.
- Have a moist towel ready to drop on small flare ups.
- Have a spray bottle of water to spritz if those flames grow a bit.
- Use a HALON fire extinguisher to put out larger fires. CO2 extinguishers can damage the Glowforge. I have one.
- Someone recommended having the AFO Fire Ball for fires that get out of control. I have one that I can throw from the door into the room if needed.
The Halon extinguisher and AFO Fire Ball add up to about $160, which is rather cheap security.
I haven’t needed anything beyond #1 yet, but I keep all of the steps in mind. I’m less intense in my scrutiny for PG materials and their settings, but not oblivious.
Hope that this helps.
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I don’t know who created that file but THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
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