Has anyone seen or implemented a flame detection circuit on their DIY printer? I’m thinking it’d control the power into the unit, have a detector that is little ways back from the unit so it can ‘see’ everything (not just the build plate). If it had a couple alarm output pins it could be made to do all kinds of helpful things in the event of a fire.
Just not crazy about letting a new machine run unattended in my garage for hours on end. I’m expecting to run prints that take many hours and can’t be there 24/7.
Does Octoprint have options in this regard? (Or any other similar print controller)
in my experience of 6 years of building 3D printers, I have Never had a single one get so hot it was even capable of making a flame, even if there was a sensor Malfunction, it has NEVER resulted in fire.
does that mean it could never happen? No, not at all.
most 3D printers while capable of becoming very hot, they are usually not capable of emitting open sparks or anything more likely to actually start a fire.
I cannot say the same of printer power supplies. (caveat emptor !)
Well it can be a simple smokedetektor in a boxed printer that informs you or you can build yourself a CO2 exstinguisher? Not a damn problem to build that. Just takes some money, time and thinking. Why dont you try?
@Nathan_Walkner your correct, it COULD.
but that would also mean that inferior gauge wire was used in the build. or that other objects may have caused a short circuit.
and of course the higher voltage you use to operate the machine, the more likely these events could occur. of the 25-30 printers I have built for myself and others, this has never been an issue.
Quality parts. make more reliable printers.
+Peter van der Walt that’s exactly what I was looking for.
I agree that it’s unlikely that a printer would start a fire but it’s not impossible. Quality parts will go along ways (but let’s not forget 99% of all printer components we buy come from Asia, where cheap price is king) also a qualified builder is probably more important. While I’ve built CNC equipment before, I DO NOT see myself as ‘qualified’. It’s a bit ironic that I’d build a system like this, to watch another system I built… Do I need something to watch the watcher to make sure it’s safe? Lol
Now all I need is to find a parts list and plans/schematics or a kit…
@Nathan_Walkner I have Had this happen.
had a supply spool fall off it’s carriage, fall into the print area of the printer, snap off the hot end off the carriage and right smack into the middle of the stepper drivers on a Ramps 1.4…
it killed the board, but not before cooking it’s way threw the IC on top of the Stepper driver.
If there was ever going to be a fire, that’s when it could have / would have occurred.
But that was not the case, Oh sure there was smoke… and the house smelled like electronic death… but nothing more severe than that.
@Nathan_Walkner i never refuted that. But red hot glowing cables are like what 20A? Should fuse everything before taking atempts on fire exstinguishing ^^
Safety is a good area to invest. Not because failure is likely but because it’s possible and some people worry. I have added some safety features to the new Printrbot Simple but there’s more to do!
There’s a principle in industrial safety analysis called the “incident pyramid.” For every 1 fatality, there are 10 serious accidents. For every 10 serious accidents, there are 100 minor accidents. Then 1,000 near-misses. Then 10,000 unsafe situations.
The relative ratios might change from situation to situation, but there is ALWAYS a relationship between the rates of different levels of risks. Every time you have a heater run away, there was a chance for it to light your printer on fire. Every time you blow up electronics, there was a chance for it to burn your house down.
The fact that all this dangerous shit happens with 3D printers “and it just smelled bad” or “but it didn’t ignite anything” or whatever does not mean 3D printers aren’t dangerous. It means you were LUCKY. You were in the 90% or 99% or 99.9% where the incident did not escalate.
Your printer uses code and parts designed by hobbyist amateurs to melt a flammable substance at high temperatures. A spool of ABS or PLA has about as much combustion energy as a liter of gasoline. It is very, very wise to be concerned about fire hazards.