Double Check Everything

[gamanet]

today someone was cutting slots in a piece of 12 ga sst, the programmer put in the wrong y axis into the laser cutter and the swing arm crashed into the chambers wall bending the head of the 5 kw laser burning a hole through the chambers wall then hit the water cooling system, as the ram head of the laser still pushing twords the dimension, there was water leaking onto the floor super charged with electricity. ran over to the laser cutter and the power cut off switch is near the consol by the cooling system where i couldnt get to. so he ran to the other end of the shop and cut the power. and if anyone knows gas lasers they dont just shut down like any piece of equipment, and it remained powerd for another 10 mins causeing fires internaly costing the corp thousands. what im trying to get at is alway check the programs code before you run it, people make mistakes and i swear it could cost you your life.

[Candidquality]

Glad to hear you made it out ok. We have similar problems on the waterjet machine. (though it's a lot less likely to cause fires) . Automation can really save a lot of time, and can really dismember you faster. Hope everything turns out ok. You going back to work monday? And if so, are you applying for a job change? I've been involved in one fire where a co-worker lost their life and since that time, I've carefully selected my jobs where that situation cannot occur to the same extreme.

[Marc]

"To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer."
-Author unknown

[Ten Hammers]

There will be times when you are up against the wall for production. This is in the personal shop at home. You may be running the plasma and pattern cutting work for a production customer.

I have a 32" fan that I built a floor stand to allow the fan to be at ground level. Opening the shop door allows the fan to blow under the cutting table as well as over at the same time I cut. This blows the nasties out the large sliding door and away from me ( like you would with a MIG or Stick setup for a welding table ). Cutting in winter is obviously done first thing in the morning before heat is in the shop. My shop is small and somewhat cluttered. I do practice safety issues. I ( yesterday ) heard something hitting the fan blade occasionally. Kinda solid sounding. Thought something might be wedged behind the fan and pushing the cage into the fan a bit. You know the sound. Hard to get over to the fan while I'm cutting. You also know the issues. Ger er dun. I heard this sound 2-3 times with no apparent reasoning ( like something shifting behind the fan and pushing the fan cage harder ). I then walked around the table, out the door and came around to the fan. The 10 ga ground wire for the plasma had a small loop in it and had been sticking through the fan housing striking the fan blade a few times. This is a new location for the new plasma ( away from the chopsaw dust that killed the last plasma after 9 years ). Ground needs to be hooked up to the table each time you cut ( so you won't walk on the ground cable ). I had planned to go overhead with the ground but put it off. I have no live cables around the fan or any fan for that matter and none on the deck or in harms way. This will show you that these things can happen in a cumulitive way ( putting things off and making do ). Thinking things through to the " N " th power is always the way to go but we sometimes don't get that done. That is why we have accidents. Not everything can be thought of each time. Very glad that you weren't hurt on the laser deal. Assume someone will move the "E "stop to a more accessable location so next time you will have a better way of handling situation. I KNOW you want no next time and there probobly won't be one. Staff Sargeant Murphy, however, still is alive and well. My situation just allowed me ( with God's Grace ) to get through mine well. Actually, you got through yours well also considering the potential outcome. Train wrecks with machinery can be just that. Disaster. No human injuries should be counted as a blessing.