First time use of the day laser doesn't fire immediately?

[Brent Franker]

Hey Guys!

I have an Epilog 36EXT with a 75 watt laser. I bought the machine used, had some issues, and ended up getting the laser tube refilled and all new mirrors/lenses so I knew I'd be starting "fresh" and like new. I used the machine a handful of times before installing the new tube and it seemed low on power but always "worked". With my new tube I have used the laser a handful of times as well (getting some products setup but it's a slow process for me LOL) and have noticed that the first time I use the laser for the day it doesn't fire right off the bat... takes about a second then it starts working. After that initial issue, it is fine for each job thereafter.

I'm not sure if it has done this EVERY time I have fired it up for the first time but will pay attention in the future. I also am fairly certain that if I turn the machine off and then back on it will work the first time after being back on. It seems to be an issue only if the machine sits for a few days.

I noticed this when I went to make some beer mugs the other day that the first one I made was missing the etching from the very start. I was kinda expecting this so was watching for it and sure enough... laser went back and forth for about a second but wasn't firing. A couple weeks ago I went to use it and the first thing I did was a vector circle in a piece of wood... it cut from like the 11 o'clock position to 12 o'clock position the first time (or vice versa.. forget which side didn't cut but there was a "gap") then was fine.

The work around is for me to keep some hunks of wood around and just burn a test circle before I start using the laser each day but that is a bit of a pain.

Have any of you heard of this and is there an easy fix or is it something to do with having my laser tube refilled and it may not have been done properly? Everything else seems to be OK... engraving seems good and I posted an example of some very fine glass etching I did for a Christmas gift the other day on a whiskey bottle which seemed to come out OK.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

[Scott Shepherd]

That's been normal on epilog lasers for a while now. I scrapped more stuff with that issue. Epilog said that is was normal. However the Universal lasers Fire first stroke every time.

It's just something you are going to have to learn to live with. There are adjustments called the tickle settings which can help slightly but I'm not aware of any way to stop it on that machine.

You will have to modify your work flow and make sure you never put anything critical in without dry running it first with nothing in the machine to make sure it is firing.

[Brent Franker]

Thank you much for the info, Scott! Funny thing is that while I didn't use the laser much prior to the redoing the tube, I don't recall it happening before???

At any rate, it is good to know there isn't something "wrong" with the machine. I'll just keep a piece of scrap wood handy and run a small job before I do any real jobs after the laser sits for a bit :)

Thank you!

[Glen Monaghan]

I have a mini 24 that I bought used (2 years old at the time) and it typically fired right after powering up (unless it sat over the weekend in a cold room and then it might take a few seconds before actually firing). However, it clearly lost substantial power over the years and recently was taking as long as a couple of minutes of operation (after sitting overnight in a 60 degree F room) before it would fire. I finally opted to replace the 35W Synrad tube with a 40W Epilog version.

Before doing the replacement, one of the techs told me there were "things" that could be done to reduce or eliminate that initial firing delay but that the new tube would probably take care of it. However, now I have to run a "scrap" job each morning because the new tube _always_ has a delay before firing during the first job after turning the machine on. The brand new tube usually take between 2 and 20 seconds (no obvious reason for the variation from day to day) before it starts firing during the first job after turning the machine on in the morning, but has taken up to a minute after sitting over the weekend. Both techs I have asked about it say that the delay is typical behavior and nothing can be done about it. It wasn't typical of the original tube until that one started going bad...

[Scott Shepherd]

Both techs I have asked about it say that the delay is typical behavior and nothing can be done about it. It wasn't typical of the original tube until that one started going bad...

If it were just at the first start up, I could have probably lived with it, but I would use the machine for a job in the morning, then come back after lunch, run another job, and it would do it again. Not every time, and totally unpredictable. It was SOOOOO frustrating to put the only piece of material you have in the machine, hit start, only to have it not fire until 10 strokes in, ruining the job when it's reverse engravable material.

The problem I have is that it doesn't happen on other manufacturers, so it's not that it's a "that's just the way it is with lasers" type thing, it's a "That's the way it is with Epilog" type of thing.

[Jeff Belany]

My 45W Helix does this also. I have heard you can fiddle with the 'tickle' setting to fix this. My solution is to just draw a vector shape, usually a long oval down the side and run it a couple times until you can see it firing on the table. No need to run it on a piece of scrap, you can clearly see when it starts to fire. Usually takes no more than 30-60 seconds. Easy way to make sure it's firing.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[John Noell]

At least on my 45 watt Mini, adjusting the tickle made a significant difference. However, it only shortens the time before it starts firing. I never had an issue with the delay unless the laser sat at least overnight. A few hours never brought the delay back. I must admit that I like that my Chinese Shenhui always fires instantly.

[Matt Turner (physics)]

Our Kern has one- to two-second delay after it's been off for a while. After learning this the hard way, I now fire a defocused test pulse until I see it burn the paper covering the honeycomb every time I turn it on.

[Jay Selway]

That's been normal on epilog lasers for a while now. I scrapped more stuff with that issue. Epilog said that is was normal. However the Universal lasers Fire first stroke every time.

It's just something you are going to have to learn to live with. There are adjustments called the tickle settings which can help slightly but I'm not aware of any way to stop it on that machine.

You will have to modify your work flow and make sure you never put anything critical in without dry running it first with nothing in the machine to make sure it is firing.

This is the truth. It's strange, but happens with mine as well.

I usually just run the job on a sheet of cardboard for a minute or two to get it warmed up.

[mike klein]

We have 2 Mini's and a new Fusion and 1 of the Mini's does it every day and so does the new Fusion machine. I just got into the habit of every day when I send the first job to the machines I leave the door open for about 5 seconds, press stop and reset the job, close the door and we are good to good for the entire day. Kinda strange as my other Mini fires first time every time.

[Brent Franker]

WOW!!!!

I guess I may have sounded like a bit of a jerk complaining about how mine might take a second to start firing when that seems very GOOD compared to most of you guys :)

Also, that is after it has set for maybe a week or even a month. I don't think I've used it two days in a row before so not sure about overnight. LOL But, either way, I've never had it do it when I've been using it off and on during the day... only the initial fire-up for the day. It does appear mine is actually better behaved than many of the other Epilogs out there in that I've not really seen this happen for longer than a second... but a second or a minute is irrelevant because whatever you were working on is ruined with either! hahaa

Thanks very much for the info and I most definitely won't spend time trying to "fix" this! Just weird it didn't start doing this until I replaced the tube. Oh well... a minor inconvenience that I'll learn to deal with :)

[John Noell]

Since it is definitely the tube, I'd adjust the tickle.

[Frank Corker]

A lot of them have the same issue. Mine can take a minute or two before the tube is ready to fire. In the settings in the manual, there is a laser tickle that can be activated, but I never looked further into it. I usually just start mine up before I'm ready to work and I leave it running for five minutes while I check through the file. The benefits are not having to wait for it to fire like you have minor issues with and secondly you can never check a file enough to make sure that it's working okay. Certainly nothing to be worried about.

[Brent Franker]

A lot of them have the same issue. Mine can take a minute or two before the tube is ready to fire. In the settings in the manual, there is a laser tickle that can be activated, but I never looked further into it. I usually just start mine up before I'm ready to work and I leave it running for five minutes while I check through the file. The benefits are not having to wait for it to fire like you have minor issues with and secondly you can never check a file enough to make sure that it's working okay. Certainly nothing to be worried about.

It sounds like you are saying yours does this if you turn it on and try to use it right away but if you just turn it on and wait 5 minutes then it is fine? Hmm... I'll have to try that. Sounds like Mike above is saying similar. While I thought this had to do with the first time the laser *attempted* to fire it sounds like some of you (at least yourself and Mike) just need the machine running for a bit and not necessarily the laser firing. I'll give this a shot and running for a bit with the lid open to see if that cures it for me as that is easier than running an actual job on a piece of scrap at the start of each day.

I'll also take a look at this tickle setting too.

Thanks much for all the info guys!

[Ed Maloney]

This just started to happen with mine as well and I do the scrap run every morning. The is my 3rd tube and the first 2 were fine. The one I have the "problem" with is a 40W replacement for my 35W. Don't know if that has anything to do with it. Maybe it's the more recent tubes?

[Joe Pelonio]

Some of the older ones like mine (2005) have no tickle feature. When I used to run it 8 hours a day I never had the problem, but now that it's 1-2 times a week engraving can take a while to start. I run a vector first and within 1-2" it fires.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

HOW I "FIXED" IT ON OUR EPILOG: Once the machine is on and ready, hit MAINT>[down button to] ALIGN LASER>GO. Move the laser head above a ruler or somewhere where it won't damage items in machine. Press the UP key as noted until you get a "spark"/flare whatever you want to call the resultant visual cue to let you know the tube is warmed up and ready. If you are ready good, sometimes you can hear it fire (I am 31 and my ears work well...it's a very high pitched fainted sound.)

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

My Epilog Mini has done the same thing since I bought it new in 2004. It didn't change with the new tube. Like Frank, I turn it on and let it warm up for about 1 minute before I start any kind of engraving. If I run the engraver for 8 hours, turn it off and then turn it back on, I will once-again have to let it warm up for about 1 minute before the laser will fire.