Is this a initiation rite or something?
What happened?
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Man!
I started a cut, went inside to my pc to create 2 .gcode file on Estlcam, came back outā¦ The router was on fire. Sprayed the whole thingā¦ Not a big fire but stillā¦ Mixed feelings right now haha!
I assume the router skipped a beat, jammed in the plywood, spun into oblivion, fire startedā¦ the router holder cut on fire and the rest spread through the wiresā¦ I donāt knowā¦ !
But hey I learned how to cut proper interlocking joints today!
Nooooooooo! Glad that wasnāt worse.
I cut through my power wires one time doing the same thing.
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Well glad you are okay.
I think it goes without saying, you should NEVER leave your CNC when it is running.
3D printers too, but CNC is way more risky.
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Facts. I will have to have a fire protocol from now onā¦
Youāre not the only one to have something catch fire. I donāt recall the others getting to that point.
Thereās a thread somewhere with a post by me describing my use of Mt. Dew to put out some smoldering wood.
As others mentionedā¦ My CNC and Laser are the two machines I will not leave running if I need to leave the shop. The 3d printer Iāll leave going, but thatās only because I usually have a camera up on another monitor inside the house.
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Yeah, this is an object lesson. Safety monkey says: Never turn your back on the murder robots! Yes, itās put into a humorous phrase, but as you can see, itās not just the high-speed steel/carbide thatās a danger. Anything could have happened, the Z-axis could have derped and dropped the collet onto the stock, an apparently long Y-axis cut, perhaps something stopped the gantry, and with the bit not moving through the stock, it ended up just rubbing the already cut edges.
Regardless, the important issue was that the brains of the operation was out of the room when it all went to s**t, and they were lucky to return in time to prevent further loss of property and potential loss of life.
And no, a web-cam is not a solution. Nor is a smoke detector. At least, not a great solution. Odds are, you can hear and smell a buried collet/bit long before a smoke detector or web-cam can alert you to an issue.
All this being said, and even being a little preachy, weāre all very glad that nobody got hurt, and that the damage was limited to the router, z-axis, and nearby wiring. Also, as usual, your machines are yours, and your safety is completely your own business. But as conscientious member(s) of the community, I and the other safety monkeys have to point out best practices and basic safety warnings.
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Wow. Iām glad that wasnāt worse. That must have been pretty terrifying. Thank you for sharing. We need constant reminders.
The CNC spindle gives no feedback that it is overheating. Even a smaller trim router is capable of 600W. 3D printer heater cartridges are in the range of 50W and they have a temperature probe for feedback.
Even though heat isnāt the goal of a CNC, it is very capable of making heat.
I sure hope not. Although I have had close calls. Smoldering and smoke, but I never leave the machine, so it was just one ruined job, not a can of extinguisher. I think there have been two other incidents of full blown fire and both were with unattended machines.
You have to decide your own tolerance for risk. But I hope it involves finding a way to be in the room with the machine. I was literally installing a smoke alarm (which was active) above my machine when I smelled smoke and killed the job. The alarm didnāt go off.
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Do you have any idea what is salvageable once it is cleaned up? Do you have to go to LR3?
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Iāve had smoke from a collet rubbing material, no fires, but I donāt leave the room with a running CNC. That is on the other side of my risk tolerance.
The printer, Iām not going to babysit for a long print jobā¦ Iād never get anything done.
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Oh man, that is a huge bummer and very lucky you came back when you did. Yikes.
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Iām glad its only minor property damage and that everyone is okay! I know well the temptation to leave the router once everything is going well (but I resist, most of the time).
I feel like this and the other threads, if available, should be linked in the docs after the normal ādonāt leave the cnc unattendedā. Showing pictures of a fire of someone on the same forum as you, using the same machine as you, definitely hits home a little more. Assuming Lalonde doesnāt mind of course.
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Live and let learn. Also always make sure you have a plan of attack for emergencies in the shop. First aid, fire, carbon dioxide, etc.
For the printers I usually follow the, donāt leave the house rule. They have so many more safety featuresā¦ not to say nothing can never happen but definitely different can of worms. And yeah confined to a 10ft x10ft bedroom for 2, 5, 20 hoursā¦. Nothing would get done
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Glad everything is okā¦.well mostlyā¦ā¦
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Posting this one againā¦ 
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Yes.
I really underestimated the risk today. I will have to think about this way more than I thought.
There is a part of me who really want to cut a whole sheet thinking to myself everything is okay! but can Iā¦ time will tell!
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Thinking I wanted to start laser!
By the wayā¦ do you know any laser head mount that could cut 18mm plywood quite easily?
Yikes indeedā¦ live and learn I guess. So far learned so much from the build itās insane!
butā¦ man Iām pissed, disappointed in myselfā¦ anyways. Shall my failures teach some.
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I donāt mind. Itās a great picture hahaha!
A warning in the doc might be a good idea!
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