Epilog Rotary attachment

[Mark Sadowski]

Any help will be appreciated. I am so frustrated now that I can hardly type.

If anyone has experience with an Epilog Laser Rotary attachment please send me a PM. I have one and CANNOT get consistent results, over rotation under rotation there is no rhyme or reason. I have checked everything, downloaded new driver, firmware, you name it I've done it. Anyone with a similar experience?

I have a call into Epilog but any help from the community would be great.

Thanks.

Bruno

[Shaddy Dedmore]

Could it be slipping on the rollers?

I put a series of lines on the page when i was testing, just to make sure the lines were consistant around it, and to make sure the last line was close enough to the first one.

Shaddy

[Dave Fifield]

I agree with Shaddy - it's most likely to be slipping on the rollers. I have one for my 45W Epilog Mini 24 and it works perfectly. I've never had any issue like this.

What material and shape are you trying to laser onto Mark?

:Dave F.

[Mark Sadowski]

Dave and Shaddy,

Thanks for the response. I don’t think it is slippage. If it was slipping I would expect to see consistent under rotation and not the overlap I am seeing some of the time.

I am trying to engrave the head of a Maglite flashlight with 7 Ford logos for a friend who just finished restoring a Mustang.

As a test I created some 1 inch boxes and engraved on the flashlight with 1 layer of masking tape. When measured the 1 inch box will either be short or long depending on the time of day, tides, weather????

I have checked the drive wheels on the rotary attachment and they are clean and tacky just as they should be.

I have attached my file, it is based on the download offered from Epilog.

Thanks.

Mark

[Wil Lambert]

I had the same problem when I received the rotary. It was always slippage. I unded up getting some silicone o-rings and the problem has been solved. Silicone is way stickier than rubber.

Wil

[Frank Corker]

I had the same problem, I was advised by an Epilog dealer to rough it up with some wet and dry. Did the trick but I always wrap masking tape around the area where the wheels touch, that does the trick usually

[David Fairfield]

I also have occasional issues which have always been due to slippage. Seems to depend on several factors which you can watch and compensate for to eliminate the problem.

One thing is some items will do better if they are resting against the plastic bumper between the drive wheels, it holds them steady. Other things should not touch the bumper as it will cause enough friction to slow the turn rate of the object. You learn from experience. I keep the bumper slick by lightly rubbing a bar of soap on it.

Another thing is when you have the blower going, you may be drawing humidity from outside, which can condense on the drive wheels and cause slippage. When this happens, swtich off a while, and run a dehumidifyer in the room, or if possible wait for dry weather.

Also make sure to orient the item so the heavier end is resting on the drive wheels.

Finally, there is a clamp attachment for the rotary, although it was not mentioned in any instruction sheet I got. Its a black rubber wheel, on a spring clamp. It screws into the drive wheel bracket and is meant to grab a glass from the interior side and hold it firm against the drive wheels. So far it hasn't worked on properly on any of my applications, it causes wobble. So I don't use it, but it may work for yours.

A few more notes-- I've found the first few shots on the rotary end up needing adjustment, so a glass or two ends up being sacrificed for every project. Sort out a defective item for the first job! The glasses I order come in large batches and there's always a chipped or deformed one.

When you have a set up that works for a particular object, take very accurate measurements of the various positions of the adjustable parts (a digital caliper is ideal) and record them for the next time. Save a headache.

I like the Epilog rotary design because its adjustable to accomodate a very wide variety of cylindrical objects.

HTH
Sincerely
Dave

[Mark Sadowski]

Thanks everybody for your help. While I will check everything mentioned it still does not address the over rotation I have experienced. Any slippage would make the last and first images engraved further apart and not overlap or touch. Since I have experienced both problems with the same item (Maglite flash light with 3 D batteries) and the same graphic, the only conclusion that I can come to is that the stepper motor or gearing is defective.

Not to change the subject but if anyone has a supplier for Maglites I would appreciate a heads up.

Once again thanks to everyone for taking time to help me.

Mark

[David Fairfield]

Hi Mark

If its an extreme problem, it may well be the motor. If its under warranty, no problem.

Slight over rotation can also also result from slippage as I have experienced. Another factor you may want to check are the dimensions, especially if there is a taper. If you're off by a bit, its another variable that can really throw a monkey wrench into the diagnosis of the problem.

But the most important thing is, stay calm! ;)

Dave

[Mitchell Andrus]

Over rotation....

1. Slippage, yes. When the wheels stop turning and the flashlight keeps moving due to momentum, that's slippage. Can you get the rate of rotation adjusted downwards?

2. No slippage, but... are you sure you've gotten the circumference figured correctly?

Mitch

[Michael McDuffie]

My Epilog rotary has a few problems also.

A 1" box will be 1" along the axis but longer around the circumference every time.

If I vector a line that matches the circumference, the ends will meet only if the piece is at least 10" long. As the piece gets shorter, the ends of the line will begin to offset so that at 4" in length, it is off by .1"

I noticed the other day that the o-rings are beginning to craze so I might go the silicone route myself. I will be carful to match diameter and size as it could throw it even farther out.

Michael

[Mitchell Andrus]

Aha! I suspect that the drive wheels are not up to specs. If the rubber is shrinking or swelling, their circumference will decrease or increase causing...

Y'know what?.... NASA-like tolerances just aren't going to happen with a jig like this. Rubber wheels, friction drive, one handed load/unload, etc...

I think the next gen of driver software should include an adjustment to allow for out-of-spec jigs and fixtures.

Til then, can't you just adjust the file by X percent so the ends meet?

Mitch

[James Rambo]

I had a problem similar to your with wine glasses i solved the problem be useing strips of lead around the stem to put more weight on the rollers and the problem went away.

[Michael McDuffie]

I do small aluminum tubes that slip on the rollers and have a stripped down AAA mini Mag that fits just right inside to give them enough weight to spin properly.

Michael

[Wil Lambert]

My Epilog rotary has a few problems also.

A 1" box will be 1" along the axis but longer around the circumference every time.

If I vector a line that matches the circumference, the ends will meet only if the piece is at least 10" long. As the piece gets shorter, the ends of the line will begin to offset so that at 4" in length, it is off by .1"

I noticed the other day that the o-rings are beginning to craze so I might go the silicone route myself. I will be carful to match diameter and size as it could throw it even farther out.

Michael

Another thing I have found is the need to accurately measure the circumference of the part on the rotary. I use a set of machinist caliper to measure the diameter then times that by PI to get the circumference for Corel. this has been a good method so far.

Wil

[David Linahan]

I too had problems with the object slipping on the rollers...In my case I was engraving some glass beer mugs that had a heavy handle on one side.All went well for the first few but after a while they started to slip. I didn't notice until one was obviously not right...I tried masking tape around the top edge of the glass that rests on the driven wheels...that worked ok. Then I tried slipping a couple of wide rubber/elastic bands around the top..I still use this method as it is a good "grippy" surface.
One query I have about the epilog rotary thing is...are there smaller idler wheels available or has any one tried making some?.The reason is, I've tried engraving a beer mug with a large heavy base that is a lot larger diameter than the top..the adjustment on the carrier doesn't allow the glass to be lowered enough to get the surface horizontal. When I tried moving the wheels to a "thinner area of the mug...the handle fouled the wheels..

thanks...Dave

[Graham Parsons]

We have a short length of metal rod which we place inside of light objects like flashlights to act as a weight. It also took us a while to realize that any cylindrical object vastly different in diameter to the rotary drive wheels, needs to have the artwork expanded or contracted to compensate for the difference - i.e. one rotation of the drive wheels is not necessarily one rotation of the object.

[Darryl Hazen]

How accurately did you measure the circumference of the flashlight, and did you transfer that dimension into the page size in Corel? The dimensions of the page in Corel dictate the revolution of the rotary attachment. there may be nothing wrong with the rotary.