Pinnacle M-Series / Laserpro Mercury Issue

[David Wardlow]

New to the scene and after 4 hours searching the threads I haven't found anything related YET. I have only had my Laserpro Mercury for a few monthes but I like to think I'm quickly getting the hang of it. My new issue is a repeated laser burn at both the begining and the end of each pass. Hard to explain but i can simulate:

1 12345 1
/ ABCDE /

It would appear that whichever "dot" is intended to start a pass:
* is made prematurely appx. 1" in to the left
* is made accurately
*and is repeated appx. 1" to the right

My first thought was a mechanical problem within the X-axis but everything SEEMS to be in working order. Then I considered the X motor or X motor control board but no idea how to check either. Finally, I am considering the possibility of a software/driver issue. I have experimented with different modes, dpi, ppi and even corel X5 vs. Engravelab 8. The only factor that seems to affect it was speed. Appx 1" seperation at 100%s, 1/2" at 50%s, and none at 10% speed.

Anybody with any experience on this would be greatly appreciated. Doing business at 10% speed is killing me.

(Mr. Huffman - hint hint, wink wink, say no more)

[Alan Young]

Check you graphic for hidden objects using wire-frame view or invert the picture. I have had white backgrounds give me problems at times. Also you might check to see if ramping is set to on. I have had problems with it so I turn it off. Does vector cutting work?

Alan

[David Wardlow]

All other functions seem to be working fine. No problems with vectoring and rastered images are clear as a bell. Only defect is the extra pixelations at the ends of the lines and they mimic the pixels from the beginning of the line. As far as a background there is nothing there, it was also tested on engravelab 8 with a transparent background and strictly text to be engraved on lasermax brass. Same result. Issue is most noticeable on acrylic for obvious reasons.

[Rodne Gold]

The "tickle" voltage is wrong , ask the agent how to reduce it , a matter of changing jumpers on the main board.

[David Wardlow]

Thanks, I have a call into Jorlink now and should hear something in a couple hours. Also I am giving a photo of the issue because I feel it was so hard to explain. Maybe I'm a little OCD, but lets be thorough.

[Rodne Gold]

Thats tickle/trickle voltage for sure (tho I could be wrong) - the laser is always acutally 'firing" or pre firing before engraving to keep the tube energised - kinda like a warm up - this can change over time and is now too strong - giving rise to the "shadow" engraving you see , most evident on thin capped substrates like flexibrass or on acrylic. I have had this issue before with my Mercury's (pinacle/whatever) when I had them

[David Wardlow]

Thanks alot for your help, I found another post that contains instructions on adjusting this and am in the process now. I will definately update you guys as soon as the results are in.

P.S. Never been one to invest cash dollars into a forum but after this experience sawmillcreek could very well be my first.

[David Wardlow]

Also while I have your attention, My machine is actually a Laserpro Mercury 30w. Could you direct me to a post with information on latest firmware and drivers. I want to be running windows 7 with my corel X5 but my current driver does some screwy things with the upgrade.

Thanks again

[David Wardlow]

Adjusting my trickle/tickle charge did the trick. We are getting nice crisp engraveings and everything looks good. Special thanks to Allan and Rodney for all your help and I hope to return the favor.

[Albert Nix]

Is kevin even still with us...Have not seen a post from him in a while.

[David Wardlow]

I heard that there was a problem with his employer but don't know the details. However, when I emailed Sign Warehouse with this issue he was the one who responded.

[Al Bray]

Also while I have your attention, My machine is actually a Laserpro Mercury 30w. Could you direct me to a post with information on latest firmware and drivers. I want to be running windows 7 with my corel X5 but my current driver does some screwy things with the upgrade.

Thanks again

Hi David,

As to Drivers, here is a previous thread on a discussion of drivers for the Laser Pro Mercury and Mercury II. There are some subtle differences between the two models and they do have different drivers/firmware.

You can usually identify which model is which by the control panel...the post shows the differences.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1334546#poststop

With that said, I have found the following site to have the most recent drivers for both the original Mercury and Mercury II.

http://www.litografa.lt/index.php?aid=150

I have a Mercury II and have found the 3.65 driver for the Mercury II on 32-Bit Windows 7, and the 3.01 on 64-Bit Windows 7 to work without issue.

- Al