Cutting Problems with Epilog

[Mike Holbert]

Today was the first time I used our Epilog Laser to cut through 1/4 in plastic. My settings were 10 speed, 100 power at 5000 freq. That seemed to be the best setting. I tried a few before and it wasn't cutting all the way through. I am using Adobe Illustrator to design and set the image to .001. The piece I was cutting about about 23" X 4". The wording was " NEED A BOX?" It cut perfectly through the NEED A letters and then it was still cutting but not going all the way through the letters BOX? It definitely was still cut the plastic pretty deep but on the back side, you couldn't see where the laser went through at all. Is this a heat issue? I was kind of bummed, because the machine was probably running for a totaly of 7-8 minutes. The first part turned out amazing.

2013 Epilog Laser 30 watt Mini 24"

Thank you,
Mike

[Tim Bateson]

A 30w is a bit low for 1/4" anything, without multiple passes.

[Chuck Phillips]

Slow down to 7% speed.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I would also look at table and mirror alignment and make sure they are all good. There are some how-to's on Epilog site.

[Mike Null]

I would first suggest you check the focus on all areas of the job. I would also cut in two or three passes at a little higher speed.

[Joe Pelonio]

I cut 1/4" at speed 6, but mine is 45 watts. Still, if it cuts through at first but not at the end it sounds like a focus problem or bed not level. Using your manual focus gauge with the machine off, move the carriage all over the piece to see if it stays the same distance. Another common problem is warped acrylic, so it goes up at one end and is then out of focus.
That happens a lot with the stuff imported from Indonesia.

[Kev Williams]

Could be your laser's tube is losing a bit of power as it warms up while using it in full-blast vector mode. And it's 4 years old, plenty enough time for the heat sink fins to collect dust bunnies spidey webs, a shot of compressed air might help with that-

2 reasons for my theory: I had a computer freeze last night due to dust buildup in the processor heat sink, dust is gone, computer seems fine now-- and on my Triumph, when cutting 1/8" Rowmark, the water temp usually rises about 2°c before I'm done cutting a half sheet of labels, and the last few labels that cut always need to be popped off as they're not cut clear thru, while the early cuts just fall away...