Remote alert

[jwelin]

Any suggestions as to how to set up some sort of remote alert for the end of a job or a driver fault?
Our shopbot resides in a room away from where we work and it would be helpful to be warned when the shopbot needs our attention.
I am thinking of wall mounted light or a pager system. End of job would be easy with a call to an output switch, but a driver fault or limit switch trip seems trickier.

[scott_smith]

Maybe one of those cheep intercom systems that are marketed as baby monitors. Just think, a ShopBot with volume control.

[dvanr]

Excellent idea! You can even tell if the bit breaks by the change in sound.

If you want you can even watch your Botbaby.
http://www.netkidswear.com/24ghzinvibam.html

You might want to put a smoke detector in the room ...just to be safe.

DvanR

[bleeth]

For limit switch you can set up another set of contacts on the opposite rails to go straight to a low voltage buzzer or bell.

[jseiler]

http://www.smarthome.com/7855.html

A mobile version.

A way to go would be a watchdog timer. You could reset the timer periodically in your sbp code and have the timer page you if it doesn't get reset in some particular amount of time. If the machine were to freeze, you'd get notified.

Baby monitors are turned to mid frequency so they amplify a baby's scream while squelching room noise. One could filter so that router noise is what is amplified. I suspect a baby scream and router noise are pretty close in frequency.

John

[edcoleman]

John:

While it isn't an "alert" system, what I have used is a wireless security camera. It is a two part setup consisting of a camera/transmitter and a small (approx 5 inch) black and white monitor/receiver. I have the camera placed above my shopbot and the monitor in the other building (approx 75 feet away). With this I can keep an eye on the progress of the shopbot. I usually keep the monitor volume just loud enough to hear the router motor running, and when it stops I know the job is done.

It has the benifit of allowing me to see the progress (and any trouble) without having to run between the office and the shop.

I got the system on sale at Radio Shack for about $80.

-Ed

[mikejohn]

Ed
How fast can you do the 75 feet if something goes wrong


.................................Mike

[fleinbach]

Just run the wires from the kill switch and hit it from there.

[edcoleman]

Mike.

I generally don't run a file "remotely" on the first try. Thankfully I haven't had any emergencies to test my speed.

-Ed

[bjenkins]

I've programmed in custom alarm "sounds" using the methods I got from this forum. So my programs have one sound when the machine starts, one for tool changes, and one for program end. Another option is to use the output lines in the control box. You can program in a line of code that sets one of the outputs to drive a bell or light. None of these help you run any faster to get to the E-stop!

[jwelin]

Thanks for the multitude of good solutions. Does anyone know of a technique to activate one of the output switches when the shopbot pauses with a driver fault message?
John S.'s watchdog timer is an interesting work around. Would all the timer programming be done within a shopbot file?

[jseiler]

Maybe it could be done in software, but since I'm a hardware geek, I'd wire up a resettable timer with radio shack hardware and "ping" the output through shopbot code every so often by controlling one of the unused control box outputs. After thinking about this some more, I think it might be interesting to monitor the router to make sure it is continually in motion, either moving in x, y or z, essentially checking for freezes.

John S.

[ron brown]

John,

I have setup relays to shutdown the ShopBot if a vacuum hose clogged up, if the router shut down, if I lost a vacuum hold-down motor and I am sure over the years, other things. It would be simple to use one of those relays to trip a warning. It all depends on how much time you want to spend on controls and/or how inventive you are.

Ron

[gerald_d]

When things go seriously wrong in our router room, it is normally related to an overload of the router. A current sensor could be useful....

We don't use the "hold-down" rollers and when things go seriously wrong the y-car lifts off the gantry. A limit switch held closed by the proximity of the car_to_rail could also be useful....

Before we put a couple of "kill" switches around the workshop and in the office, we were toying with using a keyring remote control (garage door opener style). But we are not the type to carry keys/cellphones around the workshop and realised that this wouldn't work for us. But it may work for others....