Controller overview
What the MakerOps controller is, what is on its front panel, and how it decides when a machine gets power.
- For
- Administrators, IT, installers
- Module
- Controllers
- Hardware
- MakerOps controller
Updated
The MakerOps controller mounts next to a machine, such as a laser, CNC router, table saw or 3D printer, and only lets it run for people who meet your training and access rules.
The display shows a QR code that changes regularly. A member scans it with the MakerOps mobile app, the platform checks their credentials and waivers, and the controller turns the machine on for the session. When the session ends, whether by timer, checkout or staff action, the machine turns off.
The controller talks to the MakerOps platform over Wi-Fi using encrypted MQTT/TLS. You configure it in the platform: which machine it belongs to, session rules, timers. Apart from its Wi-Fi details and an optional no-load reading taken at the machine, there is nothing to maintain on the device itself.
The front panel
The sealed membrane front panel (IP54) has a color display, four buttons, and a status light:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| GREEN | Confirm / start. Starts an armed session, answers prompts, selects admin-menu items. |
| RED (STOP) | Cancel / stop. A short press ends or cancels. Holding it about five seconds opens the admin menu from the idle screen. Most menu items need an admin to unlock them. |
| UP / DOWN | Move through checklists and menus; during a session they handle prompts such as silencing a warning. |
The display shows the machine’s name, the session QR code, the active member’s name and time remaining, and any prompts or fault messages. The status light turns red on faults and flashes red when a session’s time is up.
On firmware 0.9.59 and later, the clock and other times on the display follow your space’s time zone. Older firmware shows US Eastern time.
How it switches the machine
There are two ways a controller can control equipment, chosen at install time:
- Plug-through (direct mains): for benchtop and mid-size machines, the machine’s cord plugs into the controller and an internal 15 A continuous-rated relay switches the mains directly.
- Signal / interlock: for large equipment, two dry-contact signal relays wire into the machine’s interlock or enable input, or drive an external contactor. The controller decides when the machine may run, and your electrician’s wiring does the switching.
See Installation & wiring for details and ratings.
When the connection drops
If the controller loses its connection during a session that has no end time, it cuts the output after two minutes by default and shows OFFLINE / WIFI LOST - OUTPUT OFF. A session with an end time keeps running and ends on its own timer, because cutting power in the middle of a job is a hazard too.
While it’s offline, the controller can’t start new sessions from a QR scan. Members who are trained on the machine can still start it from the app’s Offline unlock screen, using passes their phone saved in the last 24 hours. See When the internet is down.
Access, not safety
The controller decides who may run a machine. It is not a safety interlock, light curtain or e-stop, and it must never be the only thing between a person and an injury. Guarding and emergency stops stay on the machine.
Sensor inputs are monitored, not acted on, and they never end a session. The one exception is the optional switch-left-on check on plug-through installs: right after power comes on, the controller measures the machine’s current and cuts power again if the machine’s own switch was already on. It’s a convenience, not a safety device.
What you need
- A MakerOps space with the Controllers module turned on. See the platform manual.
- The MakerOps mobile app (iOS or Android). Members use it to start sessions, and staff use it to set up controllers.
- A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network the controller can reach. WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise (campus 802.1X) networks are both supported.