Anyone have or had an Epilog Summit ?

[Allen Scott]

I used to own a trophy/award store for about 10 years. Been out of the business for a few years now. But I kept my Epilog Summit laser engraver in storage.

I pulled it out the other day to see if it still works and was going to try and do a few little things for some friends. Believe it or not, it actually works great!! Everything except the X belt is original. I cannot believe that the laser tube is still good after 12 years!!! And it actually seems pretty strong. I was able to engrave some wood items and vector cut some plastic name badges.

I took the top off and cleaned it really well. It looks almost brand new again. I even lightly sanded down the table and it looks new. One of the 2 lenses has some scratches, but the other side is perfect! All the mirrors look great too.

But here is my problem.... the bearings! I think it needs a new set of bearings. I have to run it at a speed of 35 to get the raster engraving to not jump/skip around and engrave clear. which isnt all that bad, heck it works... So I called Epilog and they no longer support this machine and sell bearings or any spare parts.

Does anyone know of a 3rd party company or anyone that sells these bearings?

[Mike Christen]

Hi Allen

I have a epilog summit also, still running strong.

Have you tried to lubricate them? It may be that is all they need. I would suggest you remove them one by one and lubricate, if they are off the machine its easier to lubricate and tell if they are actually bad. If you do find some are bad you should be able to match up replacement bearings at any local bearing shop.

The bearings on my summit are called cam followers, it seems they had 2 configurations over the life of the summit so i'm not sure what yours are.

If I can help let me know

[Mike Null]

Bearings are a purchased part (rather than manufactured in house). Epilog should be able to tell you who the supplier is. They definitely have that info along with the suppliers part numbers in their archives.

When you remove them see if any look like these. http://www.emerson-ept.com/eptroot/public/prod/dynamic_frame.asp?strMain=http%3A//www.emerson-ept.com/EPTroot/public/prod/McGCamFl/McGCamF.htm

[Dan Hintz]

If the bearings are packed with grease, try to remove the old grease before repacking with new. If it's only metal parts (no rubber), dunk the bearing in some gas and swish it around for a minute or two. Blow it out with an airgun and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to dry fully. Repack.

[mickey cassiba]

Alan
If you will measure the bearings inner and outer diameters, and the length(thickness) you should be able to find replacements through an industrial supply outlet. Around here it's Purvis Industries. Very few bearings are designed for a specific machine, rather most machinery is engineered around available bearings. Also note whether or not they are shielded, and what type of shield is used(metal or rubber.
I have to do this frequently as I maintain a lot of older/obsolete machinery.
Good luck
Mickey

[Allen Scott]

I did in fact take them off and clean them up the best I could. I didnt actually take the bearings apart though. Just removed them from the carrage.

I squirted a little WD40 on them, but I didnt use any grease. I did use some silicone spray and lubricated the rail. Should I try some actual grease of some kind?

As far as knowing they are bad or not, when I removed them, they all seemed to spin freely and good. But when I reconnect them to the carrage/rail. I can actually put my finger on one bearing and turn it, and the entire carrage will move along the rail... but on another, just the bearing will sping and not move the carrage. That is what Epilog's tech told me how you know if they are bad.

btw, mine look just like the one in that attached picture.

[Peck Sidara]

Allen,

The Summit is indeed a work horse. We still have customers running them in production today!

I wouldn't jump the gun on replacing the cam followers just yet. I have an email to tech support for instructions on adjusting the cam followers and a list of manufactured parts for the Summit. Hopefully both are available. I'll send you a PM when I get the docs.

For lubricating the bearings/round rails, we recommended using Tri-Flo lube or equivalent.

Adjusting the x-axis belts and tightening up the cam followers will typically do the trick. (As for tightening, it's actually adjusting/tightening the brackets which the cam followers go into to make a tighter seal between the rails and cam followers).

Mike's link appears to be a good place for replacements, get the dims and most importantly make sure the thread matches.

HTH,

[Allen Scott]

Wow, I feel like an idiot. When I previously removed the bearings and cleaned them, I didnt even see the little tension screw for the brackets.

I just went out and checked, there are 8 bearings on the x axis, 6 up front and the 2 in the rear. Only half of them were actually making contact with the round rail. So I tightened up the tension brackets and ALL 8 are making solid contact now. Ran a quick test job on flexi brass plastic at 10pt font size at 100% speed and it looks PERFECT!! This is unreal to me that this thing still works so great.

I did notice when I reached over to the Y axis bearings they werent making good contact, so Im gonna have to take that lid off again and see if I can find how to tighten them up as well.

Thanks to all of you guys!!! And Id love to see those documents when you get them.

btw, Im gonna go get some lubricant. Should I just put it all over the rail and bearings? Is there a specific way to apply it?

[Mike Null]

Allen

Glad to have you with us on SMC.

There's nothing like SMC to get you on the right track.

Kudos to Peck for the fast response.

[Allen Scott]

thanks again to everyone. I adjusted the Y bearings now and all 16 bearings are making solid contact!

I know now, that when it is time to buy a new machine, Im going Epilog for sure! The Zing 24 looks interesting....

[Mike Christen]

Hi Tim

On the cam follower bearings u will notice a very small gap near the outside edge, i just put a couple drops of 3in1 oil in the gap and move the axis back and forth a few times to work it in. I wouldn't put oil on the outside surface, bearing are made to roll not slide

Hi Peck

I sure would appreciate any information I could get my hands on for my summit. Would always be good to have down the road, especially since epilog is no longer supporting it.

Thanks

[AL Ursich]

Peck,

Can you info me too on the Summit Info as I have one too.

Still looking for a board to run my Summit on XP rather than Win 95 if someone has a used one available.

I have the oldest firmware and is limited to Win 95.

AL

[Jim Wilkerson]

Peck and others,
I also would like to get any maintenance information ( or any other information) that anyone is willing to share for the Summit. I bought one after a trophy shop went out of business. I am doing mostly hobby projects and family and friend gifts now but would like to find some money making projects. Rob Bosworth was able to supply a mirror that I needed to get my machine running and has some parts available for the Summit. I am running Windows '98 and Corel 9.

Thanks,
Jim

[Peck Sidara]

Mike, Al, Jim and all interested parties,

Please send me a PM with your email address and I'll forward any/all available technical notes on the Summit.

It should be noted that although "Support" on the Summit is very limited, we still offer free technical advice on all laser systems. This means the notes I'll be forwarding can be obtained by contacting our tech support group directly at tech at epiloglaser dot com or 303.215.9171.

They will also assist in making adjustments to your machine if needed, i.e. Allen Scott's inquiry on adjusting cam followers.

Thx guys.

[AL Ursich]

I pulled up this 2009 Laser Thread as I have a related Question. I am looking to sell my unused Summit Laser and dusted it off today. Didn't have a clue as to how to make it fire... It has the very oldest V3.0 Firmware and never had a working Win95 computer to load the drivers. My search turned up this old post that I had seen years ago.

Finally I broke down and called Epilog... I know from HERE that the Tech Support has been very helpful in the past... Right on Cue... Joe from Tech Support had me button pushing... I confused him as I have the Orange Bypass Firing Device for my Profile that I got from them years ago. The Summit just needed to hold down 3 buttons and power up to get Alignment mode.

I was shocked, as soon as I told it Laser ON after being off for 5 or more years I saw a burn on the edge of my board in the home position. Then nothing.... Tried many things and no luck... Put paper over the Laser port in back and no luck.... Joe spent time with me but it was a loosing battle... In closing he suggested wait a few hours and try again.... I did.... SAME.... 10 seconds of Laser that burned a hole through a post it note I had hanging over the board the size of a period... So it was focused....

Later in the day I talked to Photo Vac and found that the laser is most likely repairable for a price... With my Profile still working, I need the floor space... So it will most likely go. I listed it in buy sell a few weeks ago.

SO the Question based on the burn for 10 seconds.... Electronics or just needs re gas?

My Orange Bypass Device has 2 settings, Alignment and Power test. I believe the Alignment Test is at something like 15 % power, is the Summit the same? or full power?

Any other tests I can run?

Opinions?

Thanks,

AL

Edit: Went back in my Saved email from 9/15/2009 and Peck had send me the 23 PDF Files on the Summit.... THANKS BUDDY !!!!