Question about rotary cutter

[Kimmy Armstrong]

I borrowed a rotary cutter from my local distributor for my Epilog Mini, to cut cardboard tubes that I ordered the wrong length (bad business decision). Anyway the rotary cutter is really nice and cuts the tubes perfectly. My question: Is there anyway in the dashboard to stop the thing from reversing itself once it has finished cutting? It's taking twice as long as it should by waiting for it to reverse and go back to the starting point. These are pretty big tubes, ~20" in diameter.
Thanks in advance!







Epilog Mini 50W

[Glen Monaghan]

What happens if you hit Stop, then Reset when it tries to reverse?

[Kimmy Armstrong]

I've tried that. It stops in place, and with reset it continues reversing until it gets back to the start position before releasing the arm. The only thing that has worked is turning the laser on & off, which I don't want to do & takes almost as much time in the end. I think it's just going back to the set home position, but I would like it to just end & release at the end of the cut.

[Chuck Stone]

Is there an option in the print setup to have it go back to
Home? I know some lasers have that, and some can be
set to continue from where it left off, start from center etc.

[Kimmy Armstrong]

If there is, I have not found it. We are starting from top left corner.

[Peter Meacham]

Kimmy

Two questions please -

What is a rotary cutter; do you mean a rotary (used for engraving round objects like wine glasses)?

And, how in the world do you get a 20" diameter tube in a mini engraver

Inquiring minds want to know:)

Thanks, Pete

[Chuck Stone]

Guess I'm a bit confused, too. I don't know the Epilog rotary
Not just the diameter (I assumed length!) but if it cuts 360°, why would it need to
reverse at all? The end and beginning position would be the same, no?
And if vector cutting, wouldn't the time to go around be about the same as the
time to remove the tube and re-install another one? (you could open the lid
and remove the tube while the rotary is reversing, correct?)

[Kimmy Armstrong]

First question- Yes, that is what I mean- for engraving round objects.

Second question- LOL!!! Actually, with the bed lowered all the way, the focus point is spot on. I don't think anything bigger would fit though. It just fits perfect.

[Ron Fairbanks]

I've not tested this and I'm assuming it would take the same time but may be easier on the user. On the dashboard, use the start at bottom button. I would think it will rotate around to the end but at the end of the cut there is less waiting. Mental trick?

[Mark Sipes]

The machine has to go to a "home" position somewhere. Not familiar with the Epilog rotary but don't understand why it takes the same time to return as it does to cut. Mine flies back to home after the job.

[Kimmy Armstrong]

Thanks, I'll try this out tonight.

[Kimmy Armstrong]

I wish it would fly. Just regular cutting or engraving it flies back to home. But with this thing it rotates back to home as slow as the speed is set to cut. Maybe it's just the way this thing is set up. To me anyway, it's a flaw, just like not having a light in the cabinet.

[Joe Hillmann]

Is it possoble, once the the cut is finished, to open the lid, take the part out and put the new part in when the rotary is going back to it's home position? That way by the time it gets back to home the new part is already in?

[Kimmy Armstrong]

Tried that- the part is too big and I can't get it out between the arm and the cabinet.

[Neil Pabia]

Is the tube 20 inches in diameter or circumference?
The Epilog rotary seems to be made so that when you are finished cutting/engraving it automatically goes back to the starting point, so basically there is no way around the lag. The rotary isn't made to move quickly, just acurately.

[Joe Hillmann]

I guess if you can't pull them out with it running I would either cut them with a hand saw or stay late one night and watch a movie on the computer well you are cutting them.

[Mark Sipes]

How fast does your head slew after a job is finished when returning to home. Sounds like a snails pace.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Are you standing by the machine waiting? Would it work if you drew your cut line multiple times in a row? To clarify, could you not stack the lines and make an extremely tall page and stop the laser after each tube was cut? (go-stop-remove and replace tube-go-stop etc).

[Kim Vellore]

Mine flys back home too after cutting or engraving, no matter what speed it was engraving, it takes a couple of seconds at the most to go back.

Kim

[Neil Pabia]

I don't think it is the matter of the head getting back to home, but more of a matter of the rotary attachment turning back to its starting point. This has always been a pain for me as well, have you tried using the center engraving feature, this may speed it up a little but I'm not positive.

[Kim Vellore]

Actually I meant the rotary winding back, it goes at max speed to the starting point. I have a legend 45TT, I know that for sure because I built some electronics between the motor and the connector for my own rotary and wished it would wind back slower to keep up with the fast pulses.

Kim