Re: Digest Number 221

Message: 2
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 15:18:14 EDT
From: PTENGIN@...
Subject: Re: Re: What do we want?

In a message dated 10/19/1999 9:09:11 PM Hawaiian Standard Time,
clintbach@... writes:

<< I once had a unique problem with a
recycled piece of plywood I was engraving a sign on. I noticed the
cutter was sparking. This is the only time I actually caught the work
piece on fire while machining it! In retrospect if I had been using the
vacuum system this could have been way too exciting! A fire in the
vacuum system could be devastating. >>

Hello all,
My day job machine did catch fire once. When you plunge cut materials, you
often get a small disk of same on the end of the bit. If this doesn't fly
off, it gets dragged around in the cut. The friction ignited the particle
board top. This Thermwood machine draws vacuum right through the particle
board. (It's 40 Hp vacumm pump!!) The fire spread fast. Lucky someone was
watching. We usually run lightly tended. You must put a fire extinguisher
close by....
Peter

[Yow- "Thermwood" is a good name for it! Recently, I was trying to cut
some wood with a 4-flute cutter, and I guess it didn't get the material out
of the way fast enough- I noticed some charring on the surface. This could
easily have started a fire, with all the sawdust that piled up in the cut.
(Switching to a 2-flute cutter solved the problem.) If these machines are
running unattended, this could be a significant hazard. Perhaps we should
give some thought to an automatic fire detection and extinguishment system
to go along with our automated cutting equipment. Would a smoke detector
work to trigger the thing, or would it be fooled by a haze of sawdust? Any
other ideas?]

Andrew Werby

Andrew Werby - United Artworks
Sculpture, Jewelry, and Other Art Stuff
http://unitedartworks.com