Unattended Laser Cutter

FabLab
1

It has been brought to my attention that one of the laser cutters was left unattended while it was engraving a piece for as long as 45 minutes yesterday.

This is not at all acceptable. For one, there is a fire safety concern and for another, if something goes wrong as is not stopped, the machine could be seriously damaged.

It is clearly stated in the wiki that the laser cutter is not to be left unattended while it is powered up (let alone if it is actually cutting). http://makeict.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter

I’m sure this is also being covered in the safety class.

This is a big enough deal that if you see the laser cutter running unattended, I think it would be correct for you to shut the machine down (or watch it yourself if you are feeling generous).

If you know that this was you, please acknowledge that you understand (feel free to send me a private message). Otherwise we will look at the access logs and make sure the user understands the rules.

Thank you.

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2

Just to follow up. The party that was responsible for this error has been contacted and has acknowledged the mistake. There was an extenuating circumstance, but the member realizes that a mistake was made.

So, please let this event serve as a reminder to everyone to follow safety procedures.

Thanks.

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I let everyone know in my classes that leaving the laser unattended while it’s running is a ban-able offense. We also talk about pausing the job, as there is a slide in the presentation about it.

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