What should I do if a laser cutter stops, shows an error, or makes an unusual noise?

Question

Accepted Answer

For an ordinary stop, error, or strange noise, stop the job and read the message.

For an ordinary stop, error, or strange noise, stop the job and read the message. Write down the message, what the machine was doing, the material, and any smell, heat, smoke, leak, or noise. Report the malfunction right away to your supervisor or lab manager, and follow the manufacturer’s manual, not guesses. What you see or hear, and what to do: ordinary stop, flame, smoke, or a damage sign Four rows, each with a signal on the left and an action on the right. Amber, an ordinary stop, error message or strange noise: stop the job and read the message; write down the message, what the machine was doing, the material, and any smell, heat, smoke, leak or noise; report right away and follow the manual. Red, any flame: emergency stop or the trained switch, do not open the lid to look, move students away, follow the written fire and evacuation procedure. Red, smoke from anywhere other than the cut, or the building alarm sounds: evacuate, tell responders a laser cutter was running, never return. Red, grinding or a crash, electrical or burning-plastic smell, sparking or arcing, liquid near electrical parts, or a damaged housing or view port: stop, keep everyone back, do not touch the machine or repeat the fault, do not open covers, put it out of service and call qualified service. Ordinary stop, error message, strange noise Any flame Smoke from anywhere but the cut, or alarm Damage signs grinding or a crash electrical or burning-plastic smell sparking or arcing liquid near electrical parts damaged housing or view port Stop the job and read the message Write down the message, activity, material, and any smell, heat, smoke, leak or noise Report right away; follow the manual Emergency stop or the switch you were trained to use. Do not open the lid. Students away; follow the written fire procedure Evacuate and tell responders a laser cutter was running. Never return to the machine Stop. Keep everyone back. Do not touch it or try to repeat the fault. Do not open covers or probe inside. Put it out of service; call qualified service Match what you see or hear to a row, then do only that row’s actions. Only the first row is an ordinary stop; the others are not troubleshooting. Your school’s procedure may specify a different shutdown sequence for a flare-up. This page assumes an enclosed machine at Class 1 or Class 2 in the configuration you run. Open-frame, open-bed, pass-through or converted machines, machines at Class 3B or 4 in normal use, and machines of unknown class are not covered; a fault on one is reported to your laser safety officer before anyone restarts it, and without one the machine does not run yet. If there is any flame, stop the machine with the emergency stop or the switch you were trained to use, do not open the lid to look, move students away, and follow your school’s written fire and evacuation procedure. If there is smoke from anywhere other than the cut, or the building alarm sounds, evacuate, tell responders a laser cutter was running, and never return to the machine. MIT directs shutting off the cutter, air assist and filtration on a detected flare-up; your procedure may specify a different sequence. If you see or hear grinding or a crash, smell electrical or burning-plastic odor, see sparking, arcing, or liquid near electrical parts, or find a damaged housing or view port, stop, keep everyone back, and do not touch the machine or try to make it happen again. Do not open covers or probe the inside. Put it out of service and call qualified service. Class 3B and 4 lasers are maintained and serviced only by authorized personnel. If you can smell smoke or fumes in the room, the machine does not run again until someone resolves it.

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