Typical used Epilog failures or just bad luck?

[Brad Bernhart]

Hey,

I just bought a used 2003 Epilog Legend 32EX the other day. It was working when I made the purchase. It was working when I got it home and made a few samples. All good so far. I decided that since it was a new machine to me, that I would follow the instructions for cleaning the machine. I cleaned off the rails (x and y axes) then put the lightest coat of grease ever on them as detailed in the manual. Then I turn on the machine and jog the carriage around using the arrows next to the LCD to spread the grease. I own a CNC router and perform this an a pretty regular basis so I wasn't anticipating any problems. Everything is by the book so far. I admit that I didn't know about the encoder strips and their sensitivity to any foreign particles such as grease at the time of the cleaning, but I do now and confirmed that I did not hit the encoder strips with any grease.

During the jogging, I maxed out the carriage in the y-direction and at exactly that time, I heard a thud. That thud I assumed was just the carriage hitting the bumpers at the end of the axis. Maybe it was, but from that exact moment on... my LCD screen is white all the time with no text. Also, I don't get the beep or the small x/y adjustments on power up that I used to either.

I have talked with Epilog and in about 3 minutes of conversation I was in for a $995 motherboard. My motherboard still shows 4 red lights, but apparently it's somewhere else on the board. I just received the new MOBO today and installed. Now I get the beep and the initial axis movements, but the LCD is still white always.

Now, I totally understand that my machine is 10 years old and stuff needs to be replaced some times. I am fine replacing the mobo and whatever else if needed. It's the nature of buying a 10 year old machine, but it's troubling that the previous owner replaced the mobo a year ago though. The previous owner also replaced the LCD panel a year ago. Now both are on the fritz and I'm already in a grand because warranties on parts are not transferrable from one owner to another.

So...
a) did I do something wrong?
b) Is their something wrong with jogging to the max in the y-direction or was that just some fluke? My CNC has limit switches that don't allow the carriage to slam at the end of any axis.
c) are these machines actually this finicky?
d) when they do break, is it typical to throw money at them with new parts until they work, or are there ways to work on them?

Frustrated!

Answers to the above or experience with similar issues would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Craig Matheny]

Call epilog tech support they will still help you even if it was bought used they are great

[Dave Sheldrake]

but it's troubling that the previous owner replaced the mobo a year ago though. The previous owner also replaced the LCD panel a year ago.

That suggests an underlaying problem that caused the issue before.


a) did I do something wrong?

Impossible to say.


c) are these machines actually this finicky?

Older ones can be, Epilog have come a long way in reliability in 10 years but I've seen more than one old Epi turn into a black hole for money sadly :(


d) when they do break, is it typical to throw money at them with new parts until they work, or are there ways to work on them?

There's not much you can do on any laser really if the electronics fail in any way, apart from the outer case (steel sheet) and some mechanical parts like bearings (they will probably outlast you) the rest all tends to be electronic (read:expensive) stuff that has to be swapped out when it goes wrong. From experience, I'd say of the big western names Epilog tend to be the least reliable but still more reliable than the middle of the road Chinese stuff.

I've personally seen Epilogs last 10 years and still run fine, then again I've seen them last 2 years and be not much more than scrap.

best wishes

Dave

[Martin Boekers]

Some tech reps at Epilog are better than others, Brian or Ian seemed to be the best. If you can ask for one of them.

[Larry Bratton]

Do the online chat thing..you'll get Brian almost everytime and he is fantastic. The chat line is wayyyyy good for tech support.

Some tech reps at Epilog are better than others, Brian or Ian seemed to be the best. If you can ask for one of them.

[Steve Busey]

Have you checked to see if you knocked a cable loose to the LCD panel? Couldn't hurt to reseat all the connectors on a 10 yr old machine occasionally.

[Tim Bateson]

Have you checked to see if you knocked a cable loose to the LCD panel? Couldn't hurt to reseat all the connectors on a 10 yr old machine occasionally.

Ditto on this one. I've done this with my Mini & resolved a similar issue.

[Bill Cunningham]

Was just going to suggest that loose cable thought also.. I have had to replace the LCD, but not the motherboard. Occasionally if it's been a hour or so since the last run, I have been getting a print fail error, but a quick reboot seems to cure that.. My machine is also 10 years old, but has paid for itself over and over again. So I don't begrudge the occasional major failure (tube,lcd, or even a MB) It makes me money, and owes me nothing at this point. A new one is on the horizon in a year or so.

[Brad Bernhart]

Thanks for the input everyone. I did check all of the cables to make sure they were tight before calling epilog. I basically felt like I was trying to fix a computer issue on a new Porshe and all I knew how to do was jiggle the spark plug wires but anyways... I have talked with Epilog now and have replaced the mobo and the lcd panel. $1800 later, the machine is running like a champ. I can tell in one evening that this machine will pay for itself in no time, I was just a little surprised/bitter that I purchased the machine, used it one night, then BAM... $1800 bucks. I'm hoping for the best from here on out!

[Darren Wilson]

Hi Brad,

So 2 years on... How's the Epilog?

Daz