Let’s be honest, watching a cnc machine work away can be pretty boring — especially when it is a cut that is going to take a long while finish. Rather than stand (or sit) in the shop wearing ear protection and dust mask I would leave the shop and go in the house where I could be doing something better with my time. However, I found myself making a trip to the shop every ten minutes or so to check on how things were progressing. Who needs that kind of exercise?
I decided to hire a spy who would keep an eye on what was going on while I was out of the shop and who I could check with to see how things were going. Of course, the spy had to stay out the way, speak only when spoken to, and be pretty much of a low maintenance type.
My spy is a wireless camera system I found at my local Sam’s Club store. The video camera transmits over my home wireless network to a touch-screen receiver that came in the package or the camera can be viewed and controlled by my iPhone if I’m not near the receiver.
I mounted the camera about 7’ off the floor and, although it can pan 360º and scan up and down about 180º, I have it pre-set to zoom in and focus on my cnc. In the photo below you can see the view from the touch screen and how the camera is mounted.
Now I can set up my cnc job, make sure it starts okay, and then leave the shop and check on the progress from the house far removed from the noise of the machine. Oh yeah, if I really want to hear the machine I can enable the speaker on the remote viewer and listen to it through the camera. My spy works well and I no longer wear a path to the shop checking on a job’s progress. Lazy life is good.
I decided to hire a spy who would keep an eye on what was going on while I was out of the shop and who I could check with to see how things were going. Of course, the spy had to stay out the way, speak only when spoken to, and be pretty much of a low maintenance type.
My spy is a wireless camera system I found at my local Sam’s Club store. The video camera transmits over my home wireless network to a touch-screen receiver that came in the package or the camera can be viewed and controlled by my iPhone if I’m not near the receiver.
I mounted the camera about 7’ off the floor and, although it can pan 360º and scan up and down about 180º, I have it pre-set to zoom in and focus on my cnc. In the photo below you can see the view from the touch screen and how the camera is mounted.
Now I can set up my cnc job, make sure it starts okay, and then leave the shop and check on the progress from the house far removed from the noise of the machine. Oh yeah, if I really want to hear the machine I can enable the speaker on the remote viewer and listen to it through the camera. My spy works well and I no longer wear a path to the shop checking on a job’s progress. Lazy life is good.
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