Well, it had to happen some time...

[Dan Hintz]

Looks like my tube is on the way out. During a job last week I noticed random lines not engraving in some wood thins I was working on. I was working at a low-low dpi (75?), and I didn't see it again when moving to 150dpi.

Tonight it resurfaced... and things went from bad to worse. Vector cuts looked like huge dashed lines, cutting for 1/2" and then skipping 1-2". It was a pretty regular pattern, which leads me to believe it's a failed cap.

<sigh> I really can't afford the time to tear it down, but it would be even worse for me to send it back. I estimate maybe a hundred hours on this tube in the last two years (most of it recently), and it's always in an environmentally-controlled area... so much for 10k hours :(

[Frank Corker]

Damn bad luck Dan, I know how you must be feeling because I went through the same when mine died.

[Dan Hintz]

I'm working on a small project for a member here, and despite my numerous attempts to get it to work, I couldn't get but a single unit made. Now I have to break the news to him... :(

[Dee Gallo]

Oh man, I don't even want to talk about this, Dan! I hate to hear about people with their laser dying.

Good luck with replacing it, dee

[Robert Walters]

It was a pretty regular pattern, which leads me to believe it's a failed cap.

If it is leaky cap(s), should be easy enough to spot.

[Mike Null]

Dan

What happens if you engrave at 400 or 500 dpi? When my tube went out it just gradually lost power.

It would be worth a call to tech support to get their input. If it is a capacitor we've had a few guys on SMC replace those themselves. That's likely beyond my capability but you could probably handle it.

[Dan Hintz]

Mike,

I put an email in to my local support guy to get info on shipping it back for repairs, just in case. In the meantime, I'll be popping the case open today and looking for failed components. The RF boards are ultra-simple, and I bet good money that's where the failed cap is.

[Ron Chapellaz]

I estimate maybe a hundred hours on this tube in the last two years (most of it recently), and it's always in an environmentally-controlled area... so much for 10k hours :(
That bites Dan! Wouldn't it be nice to have a running time clock when the laser is firing so we know how many hours of work they have actually done?
Hope you're not down for too long Dan!

[Jiten Patel]

100 hours, ouch. I really hope mine lives longer. Think i am coming up on at least 50 already.

[Mike Mackenzie]

Dan,

If this tube is under two years old it would be covered under warranty, I would be hesitant opening the case of the laser tube because that will void any warranty.

Before opening the case check with the factory to see if it is covered under warranty.

[Scott Shepherd]

One good thing about Universal is that I have never had the feeling they are like car dealers, where if it's 1 hour out of warranty, they won't honor it. I've always felt like they used good, rational judgement in their decisions regarding whether or not to cover something that may be out of warranty, but clearly was defective.

Just my opinion on them.

[Larry Bratton]

Pain and agony man. Hope they take care of you.

[Dan Hintz]

One good thing about Universal is that I have never had the feeling they are like car dealers, where if it's 1 hour out of warranty, they won't honor it. I've always felt like they used good, rational judgement in their decisions regarding whether or not to cover something that may be out of warranty, but clearly was defective.

Just my opinion on them.
<chuckle> Well, the tube is a mere 3 weeks out on the 2-yr warranty and at the moment I'm looking at about $1,400 shipped for a replacement cartridge. I have a request in to trim some of that price due to it only being 3 weeks, but I have not heard back yet. I do worry, however, that a tube with so few hours (most of them recent) died as it did, not to mention the refurb replacement only carries a 6-month warranty. That short of a tube life followed by such a short replacement warranty just screams roll-the-dice to me.

I'll see what ULS says on the cost...

[Martin Boekers]

<chuckle> Well, the tube is a mere 3 weeks out on the 2-yr warranty and at the moment I'm looking at about $1,400 shipped for a replacement cartridge. I have a request in to trim some of that price due to it only being 3 weeks, but I have not heard back yet. I do worry, however, that a tube with so few hours (most of them recent) died as it did, not to mention the refurb replacement only carries a 6-month warranty. That short of a tube life followed by such a short replacement warranty just screams roll-the-dice to me.

I'll see what ULS says on the cost...

Not much fun, I just replaced a tube on one my Epilogs, lucky for me it was within two months of the warranty. Got the new tube
installed and aligned in less than 24hrs. Had to change my settings as you could instantly tell the difference in engraving!

I thought ULS gave 2 yrs warranties on replacement tubes? at least your cost isn't astronomical as some have quoted in the past.

Dang a hundred hours in 2 years, I do that in less than a month.

Hope you find it's something easy and you get up running quickly.

Good Luck!


Marty

[Mike Mackenzie]

Dan,

Talk to Ed in the service department three weeks is nothing and they should cover it. Also FYI all laser tubes have shelf lives that means even if you do not use it they still will deplete.

We learned that lesson a long time ago when we had 50 systems sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold after a while we recorded a large number of these systems had tube failures. We contacted the MFG synrad at that time and this is what they told us.

It had something to do with the seals getting hot and cold and then cracking and the gasses just leaked out. Tubes produced today are much better but can still have similar failures.

I don't believe that your tube is gas related which makes me think that ULS would cover the tube under warranty. I can only speak for myself and cannot say what ULS will or will not do.

It is in my opinion to talk to Ed and tell him the circumstances.

[Dan Hintz]

Thanks, Mike, I'll do that tomorrow, as time permits. As I mentioned earlier, this is in my basement, which is one of the better controlled environments one could expect... no major temp swings, humidity is kept to a specific level via humidifier/dehumidifier on auto, etc. Other than some long stretches of non-use while I pursued other projects (and clients), the machine is kept in good condition (both maintenance-wise and environment-wise).

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Dan,
Sorry to hear about your situation. My Trotec has a timer on it that counts the time the machine is on and the time it is actually running. Unfortunately, I was told by Tech support, it zeros out when I update the firmware. I am still on my original, 2003 circa, Synrad 60watt tube and Thank God it is still running strong. Hope you get yours resolved quickly and with the minimal financial outlay or loss. But look on the bright side....Now you have more time to play with your CNC. :)

[Robert Walters]

Hey Dan,

Any progress determining what/where the problem is or some solution?

[Dan Hintz]

After some discussion with Ed, my machine has an old-style Y-axis driver card. This card has caused similar issues in the past due to a large amount of EMI radiating from the card... according to Ed, machines work fine for years, then all of the sudden it starts affecting the laser driver. So, Ed is sending me an updated card gratis. That's step one.

Second possibility is the Z-axis PCB along the right-hand side of the machine... all of the door sensors come back to this card, so a faulty cable, corroded contacts, etc. can make the machine think a door is open and shut off the laser. The intermittent contact is so short in duration it does not immediately end the job (I specifically asked about the lack of a job ending pulse). I do not believe this is the cause, however, as the on/off sequence was entirely too periodic. Still, for future debugging, something to mention.

Should the new Y-axis card not resolve the issue, I will be shipping my cartridge back for a checkup...

The card was shipped out yesterday, so I hope to have that installed by mid-week for further testing.

[Dan Hintz]

I installed the new Y-axis driver card early this week. I've done a few small projects lately, but so far I have not noticed any oddities in the engraving... rastering is clean, and vectoring is smooth and deep. I'm crossing my fingers this has resolved the issue as I have a big experiment I am planning on performing this weekend to test out some of my new marking compounds.

[Joe De Medeiros]

I installed the new Y-axis driver card early this week. I've done a few small projects lately, but so far I have not noticed any oddities in the engraving... rastering is clean, and vectoring is smooth and deep. I'm crossing my fingers this has resolved the issue as I have a big experiment I am planning on performing this weekend to test out some of my new marking compounds.

I'm glad it seems to be working, the experiment sounds interesting.