Epilog Eclipse 1000/25a Any purpose left?

[Jessie Thomas]

Please everyone bare with me as I am in no way a woodworker or engraver! I recently aqquired an Epilog engraver while purchading equipment for my vinyl sign business. It is an older model but looks to be in good condition and complete with manual. I have power cords and it turns on and powers up the 4 fans and the blower motor. However i do not have a pc or program to truely test the machine. I am curious about what purpose these laser engravers may have in todays world. I may not find the machine useful to my business but someone might??

[Mike Troncalli]

STOP: Drop anything you are doing with that machine.. It is very dangerous to someone who doesn't know how to use it.. You need to pack it up right now and send it to me... I'll even pay the postage....

Kidding of course.

The laser machine you have is primarily used for engraving images or cutting out shapes in many different materials. Type laser engraving into a google search and you'll understand.. This machine uses a high intensity beam of light to do the job..

While I was kidding around in the first paragraph, I am not kidding when I say that any laser engraver when not used properly can be dangerous. I suggest you not do anything with it unless you read up on it more. Laser beams can blind or damage your eyes, and of course you never want to stick any body parts into the machine while it is running..

[Jessie Thomas]

Haha Mike thats almost worth doing! I honestly dont believe i'll go thru the process of setting up a pc and the programs to make it work myself. Its not really a task im looking to tackle as i dont think I would use it. Is it worth selling? As a whole unit? Parts? Just the co2 laser? Any information is greatly appreciated!

[Mike Troncalli]

Epilogs are considered on of the top laser engraving machines. Others here on the forum with more experience on those machines may be able to give you better answers, but I would suggest you contact Epilog and give them the serial number. They can tell you the year it was built, etc.. It's almost impossible to tell if the machine is working or not without setting it up and running a test on it.. You would get the most from selling it as a complete unit.. But unless you know if the tube is good it will be hard to get full value for it.. From my understanding Epilog tubes can be quite expensive to repair / replace.. (Once again hopefully one of the members with an Epilog can chime in here). You might see if there is an authorized laser service center near you and have a tech come out.. Might be worth it if everything checks out...

[Scott Shepherd]

Probably built in the early to mid 1990's. Not much worth doing there, in my opinion. Find someone that wants it and give it to them.

Even if you could get it going, a machine that old is just not worth messing with unless you want a new hobby.

[Jessie Thomas]

Thanks for your input Scott. And Mike, i just dont think its worth the trouble to get a tech out to the house or anything like that as i dont plan to use it. I ran some continuity test and dc voltage test with a voltmeter to check wiring and continuity to the laser and such and everything there seems to be in working order. Through research and the almighty google i see that these lasers refurbished are quite expensive. Is their any value in the laser itself? Not talking great value....just ANY value?

[Joe Pelonio]

At that age, if you found someone that really wanted it, and can demonstrate that it works, you might get as much as a thousand for it. I bought my laser for my sign business, and in addition to engraving, much of my work on it was cutting
acrylic letters, and making ADA signs. Very lucrative addition without having to send out those jobs to someone else.

[Scott Shepherd]

Is their any value in the laser itself? Not talking great value....just ANY value?

To someone? Maybe. To most people? Not much. The problem is the age. When laser tubes die and have to be recharged, they are expensive to recharge. You don't know the history of that tube. If it's old (and we have every reason to suspect it is), then once the tube goes, it's going to be $1,000 or more to have it recharged. It's 25w, if I understood you right, and that's at the lowest end of power available, which means it's use it limited. There would also be questions about it's compatibility with any modern day software or connections.

Put it on ebay "as is" and take a lot of photos and see what someone will give for it.

[Bill George]

It would either be Windows 3.1, I have not fond memories of that or MS-DOS. Other question, can the tube be recharged or is it to old?

[Jessie Thomas]

Wish i could tell you guys more info but im standing here looking at it and frankly have no idea. The laser and power control box to the laser do appear to be newer than the other components on the machine however it is all very clean hard to tell the difference in a new part or original part. The manual states using windows95 i believe and a program caled coraldraw if this helps at all

[Scott Shepherd]

Jessie, it's like having a wide format printer that was made in 1995. Can you print with it? Sure. Do printers today have longer lasting inks, and print 20 times faster? Yes. Is there value to someone out there that might want to tinker with it? Probably. Is it worth anything to a business? Not really. It's just too old to be of much use, is my opinion. Now, for a hobby, it might be quite fun to play with.

[Bert Kemp]

Jessie where R U located

[Jessie Thomas]

Bert, I am near Gainesville, Georgia. Just north of Atlanta

[Mike Lysov]

Haha Mike thats almost worth doing! I honestly dont believe i'll go thru the process of setting up a pc and the programs to make it work myself. Its not really a task im looking to tackle as i dont think I would use it. Is it worth selling? As a whole unit? Parts? Just the co2 laser? Any information is greatly appreciated!

If you work with vinyl cutters a laser is a good tool for it too. You can stick the vinyl to a piece of MDF, acrylic, scorch your design with a laser and then weed excessive vinyl from MDF/acrylic.
If the laser you have can cut through MDF/acrylic you can even make finished signs this way.

I have done it before this way but I use vinyl to create stenciled designs on a piece of wood.
After scorching it with a laser and weeding I spray it with a paint and after it dries I Just remove all vinyl leaving an excellent desing painted onto wood. Moreover it is a very fast process unless your design is complex and a lot of effort required in weeding.

And most lasers are faster in scorching than doing the same with vinyl cutters. At least my Spirit GX was doing it faster and more accurate than my Rolland solvent printer/cutter.

[Ross Moshinsky]

If you work with vinyl cutters a laser is a good tool for it too. You can stick the vinyl to a piece of MDF, acrylic, scorch your design with a laser and then weed excessive vinyl from MDF/acrylic.
If the laser you have can cut through MDF/acrylic you can even make finished signs this way.

I have done it before this way but I use vinyl to create stenciled designs on a piece of wood.
After scorching it with a laser and weeding I spray it with a paint and after it dries I Just remove all vinyl leaving an excellent desing painted onto wood. Moreover it is a very fast process unless your design is complex and a lot of effort required in weeding.

And most lasers are faster in scorching than doing the same with vinyl cutters. At least my Spirit GX was doing it faster and more accurate than my Rolland solvent printer/cutter.

I'm sorry, but this is bad advice. Cutting vinyl is a no-no on the laser. There are some laserable "vinyl" alternatives, but they aren't nearly as common or abundant.

What most people do is cut the shape, cut the vinyl, and then apply afterwards.

[Niklas Bjornestal]

Doesn't epilog have some diagnostic functiond to fire the laser without any computer? If so put a piece of wood infront of the laser and fire a short pulse and see if it works.

[Jessie Thomas]

Im not sure Niklas...if i knew of one i would surely give it a try. I am very knew to the world of laser engravers and am trying to gain all knowledge i can. If anyone knows of this diagnostic function please share!

[Jessie Thomas]

Thanks for all the help guys but i believe its just more than i wanna tackle so i listed it on ebay so maybe someone will give it a good home!! Thanks again!

[Chris DeGerolamo]

See if there is an align function in the menu/options. That should allow you to fire the tube. (We have the option on our 36EXT.)