A couple things I’d like to know regarding safety:
Is there a feature whereby if the lid is open the laser will disengage and, say, return to 0,0? I certainly hope there’s not a (just a) software kill. I’d hate to send that signal through the internet.
Is there any fire detection? If I’m, say, testing power/speed settings on $CanCatchFire, and it catches fire, is there any protection?
Thanks!
Hopefully GF staff will weigh in, but to the best of my understanding:
Yes, there will be a safety interlock that will kill the power to the laser if the lid is opened, and
No, it is up to the user to monitor the process. Not sure how fire detection would work (but this could be my lack of knowledge/imagination) – many materials will generate particulates, so a traditional smoke detector circuit wouldn’t work, and there’s a certain amount of flaming as well, so how would it detemine what constitues “too much?”
Again, this is to the best of my knowledge and should not be taken as a definitive answer. Great question, though…
Oddly enough, i was just reading about that this afternoon, and I hadn’t seen it before…the laser stops automatically if the lid is opened, or it can be paused if the big button is pressed, and then resumed.
Still…good idea to have a fire extinguisher on hand. Most folks are going with a small halotron for the non-foaming aspect, which would be a booger to clean up. But they ain’t cheap.
Yeah, I wasn’t thinking smoke/particle detector, but some way a camera could detect and say “Hey, wait a sec… that’s a FLAME!”
I’m not only worried about operator injury, but unit injury as well. Which is why I was thinking the laser head (is that the term?) could return to 0,0 so as not to get destroyed by said fire.
d’accord…
Spray bottle of water — 
Damp rag —
Halotron extinguisher —
Just received my $83 halotron bottle this week 
Like other Navy vets, I have a healthy respect of fire and the correct method of extinguishing them! One prime example – the dreaded Class D fire: burning metal, self-oxidizing. Only method for putting one out is massive amounts of water, say 1,000 feet. 
You know, I was wondering if a fire smothering blanket wouldn’t be a good idea to have on hand as well, just to put on top of the flaming material. (Really don’t want to hit it with water.) Think a damp rag would do it? I might just keep one of those on hand.
I never heard of halotron before. So I guess it’s a clean way to extinguish a fire? Generally doesn’t damage electronics?
I hadn’t heard of it until i got involved on this group either - it’s a gas. Cuts the oxygen and smothers the fire without putting powder everywhere.
I managed to set fire to a bunch of herbs and flowers that I had hanging from a drying rack above my stove (not a good idea by the way, don’t do it) and we used a regular extinguisher on it. That powder was everywhere, up to and including the cracks in our backsides!
I decided to try the halotron for the forge. 
Dang… A hundred bucks at Amazon for 1.4lb! Pricey stuff. But I guess it beats replacing my GF!
Check the alternate prices for it…they have one with Prime for (i think) $83. For some reason, it’s not the one that comes up first.
Where’d you get yours if you don’t mind?
Halon 1301, now banned, was the agent of choice in electronic bays onboard ships. PKP powder in ABC bottles is corrosive to electronics, so frowned upon. CO2 in a closed compartment will asphyxiate you. You can breathe Halon for a short time and it’s fairly benign to electronics. Halton is the modern replacement.
Hmm… CO2 shouldn’t leave any residue. Might it have been a standard ABC dry chemical bottle – they make a terrible mess!
Yeah, I just changed that. (Thinking one thing and typing another.) 
Im sort of a worrier, but it might not be a bad idea to treat the fabric, carpets, etc, that are near the glowforge with a fire retardant spray. I don’t know if they’re all the same, but the two I’m familiar with are for porous wood surfaces/paper (leaves a slightly residue) and for fabric (no residue). And they’re nontoxic and don’t smell weird or anything.
Just in case you’re venting out a window and your glowforge goes up in flames, the curtains won’t, followed by your house. I’d assume most (all? Hopefully all) curtains and carpets are made to be flame retardant, but just in case there are some awesome handmade curtains out there in the world, belonging to someone who can sew straighter than I.
Only marginally related and random idea, but someone with the pro glowforge should make lasercut blinds.
Yeah, I’m gonna need to take the curtains down. The forge is going to be right up against them.
(Not particularly fond of them anyway, so no great loss.)
Ordered my halotron a few weeks back…looks like they are a bit on backorder…wonder why 
LOL! If you still want curtains, look up “welding blanket” not very stylish, but could be used to smother the GF if all else fails, fortune forbid. Most are made of fiberglass, but the wool ones are more flexible and will drape nicer. 
Chuckle! Didn’t know they had wool ones…just picked up a fiberglass one at Amazon for $13.
IDK…Ive been lasering for 15 some years and never had a full on fire…a few small flare ups before installing the air assist. Most go out when you lift the lid…although I dont cut cardboard which is much more prone to fire…