Controller overview
What the MakerOps machine controller is, what is on its front panel, and how it decides when a machine gets power.
The MakerOps machine controller mounts at a piece of shop equipment — a laser, CNC router, table saw, 3D printer — and puts the machine behind your training and access rules. It shows a rotating session QR code on its display; a member scans it with the MakerOps mobile app, the platform checks their credentials and waivers in real time, and the controller’s relay turns the machine on for the session. When the session ends — timer, checkout, or staff action — power follows.
The controller talks to the MakerOps platform over Wi-Fi using encrypted MQTT/TLS. Everything you configure about it — the machine it belongs to, session rules, timers — lives in the platform; the controller itself has no local settings to maintain beyond its Wi-Fi credentials.
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 tap ends or cancels; holding it about five seconds opens the admin menu from the idle screen. |
| UP / DOWN | Move through checklists and menus; during a session they handle prompts such as silencing a warning. |
The display carries the machine’s name, the session QR code, the active member’s name and time remaining, and any prompts or fault messages. The status LED turns red on faults and flashes red when a session has expired.
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 motor-rated (AC-3) relay switches the mains directly.
- Signal / interlock: for large equipment, two dry-contact signal relays wire into the machine’s existing interlock or e-stop loop, or drive an external contactor. The controller decides; your electrician’s wiring does the switching.
See Installation & wiring for details and ratings.
Fail-safe by design
The controller is deliberately conservative: if it loses Wi-Fi or its connection to the platform mid-session, it shows OFFLINE — WIFI LOST, OUTPUT OFF and drops the output rather than leaving a machine energized without supervision. Sensor inputs can only ever relax its behavior (for example, detecting the machine is running defers an idle check-in) — they never override an end-of-session.
The controller manages access, not safety. It is not a safety interlock, light curtain, or e-stop, and it must never be the thing standing between a person and an injury. Machine guarding and emergency stops remain the machine’s own.
What you need
- A MakerOps space with the Machine Access module enabled — see the platform manual.
- The MakerOps mobile app (iOS or Android) — it is both how members start sessions and how staff set controllers up.
- A Wi-Fi network the controller can reach. WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise (campus 802.1X) networks are both supported.