Universal Laser problem

[James Meagher]

it seem like it is skipping on me I have attached a photo hopefully someone will know what is happening and a quick fix.

[Mike Null]

James:

From the photo in your second post I believe your file is corrupted. If I am right, it could be that all you need do is re-send it (using scrap); if that doesn't work
1. disconnect and re-connect your printer cables;
2. re-create the artwork;
3. un-install and re-install your drivers (be sure to check your manual as un-installing does not remove all the files which need to be deleted.)

I had this happen occasionally on my ULS and one of the above always corrected my problem.

[Paul Cavallaro]

James:
I have been fighting with this same problem for over a year now. Once in a while my Versalaser VL-300 30 watt machine will do the same thing as your picture showed- the laser sems to jump to another place on the project and then continue as if nothing happened. I have ruined many projects like this.

Things I have tried to correct this are as follows:

1. Shut off all screensavers.
2. Set your hibernation or sleep settings to - NEVER.
3. Turn off all anti virus programs.
4. Hit "Control, Alt, Delete" keys to bring up the Windows Task Manager, click on the PROCESSES tab, find Versalaser on the list, right click and change the priority to HIGH.
5. Shut down any unused programs that may be running in the background.
6. On your laser, there are small allen head screws that hold the belt drive pulleys to the shafts, make sure these are tight. If these were to slip on the shafts, you would get an x-axis problem like you picture showed.

When it first happened , Universal sent me a new motherboard, a new USB board, and a new USB cable. I installed these, but it did not help.

They also stated that this could be a computer problem, or it may be a laser problem. But I can afford to run out and buy another computer to try right now.

Are you using a laptop? I am using Toshiba Pentium 4 laptop.
If you are, please note that the output of the USB ports on a laptop are very low in current. Get a powered USB hub from Staples (about $20), and plug your laser into that.

I am sorry this post is so long, but I wanted to explain that you are not alone with this problem. I hope that together, along with the great minds at Sawmill Creek, we can both fix our machines for good.

Happy New Year to All,
:)
Paul Cavallaro
American Laserworks, LLC

[Bob Keyes]

I don't have a Versalaser, but in general this kind of problem is caused by poor or lack of grounding. On most machines the laser and the computer should be connected together and then to an earth ground. If not, stray electrical pulses that should go to ground can be misinterpreted by the software as a command. Try grounding everything and see if that helps. It eliminated my problems completely. I drove a 4 foot copper rod in the ground and hooked everything to it. Haven't had a problem since.

Hope this helps.

[Todd Schwartz]

James,

Will be very interested in how this is resolved. Same thing has happened to me twice in the last month. Wrote if off to operator error - was running the job and also working on the next job, reading this forum, checking email and making my football picks, just figured I had too much going on. Figured if it happend again I would have to pare down my multitasking. Will follow Paul's advice as my next step.

Did your laser pause before it moved to the new spot? Mine paused, moved to the new spot and continued the two times that it has done this.

Keep this thread going. Curious if other ULS VL-300 owners are experiencing this as well.

How old is your VL-300? I did not have this issue until I replace the CPU board about a month ago. (completely different issue, covered under warranty and handled great by ULS). Not sure if one is related to the other, but interesting timing.

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Todd

[James Meagher]

Thanks for all the great advice I will have a look at these options tonight and let you know

[Paul Cavallaro]

Bob:
Your suggestion about grounding everything sounds good.

Where did you hook the ground to on your laser? Right to the metal case?
Also, I am using a laptop. Where would I hook the ground on the laptop, as it is mostly plastic?

Thanks,
Paul Cavallaro
American Laserworks, LLC

[John LeBlanc]

One thing that may be causing problems is having the computer and laser plugged into separate circuits if the neutral and "hot" sides are reversed in one of the receptacles. That's enough to cause enough trouble to affect the laser's ability to print to the material.

John

[Dave Fifield]

On my old Epilog (Mini 24), I had this problem once. I found it seemed to be due to loading too many jobs into memory. I found that I could load 32 jobs okay, any more and the jumping might occur - it didn't happen EVERY time though. I kept the number of jobs down below 30 and never saw the problem ever again. Seemed to me like it was some kind of memory management issue.

[Bob Keyes]

Paul,

I grounded to the case of the laser and to the case of the "Tower" computer. I would think that there would be something on the back of the laptop you could ground to. Is there anything that you could get an alligator clip on? A screw, rivot, etc.?

Wish I could be more help.


Bob:
Your suggestion about grounding everything sounds good.

Where did you hook the ground to on your laser? Right to the metal case?
Also, I am using a laptop. Where would I hook the ground on the laptop, as it is mostly plastic?

Thanks,
Paul Cavallaro
American Laserworks, LLC

[Mike Mackenzie]

The first and foremost thing to do is to get a powered USB hub as mentioned in an earlier post most if not all laptops have low current from there USB ports. Because the computer is feeding the information directly to the laser system if the Usb has any kind of hiccup it will do what you are stating. This can happen even with desktop computers and our platform systems using the USB cables.

This is 9 times out of 10 the cause for this issue on the Versa laser.

On the V460 I would check the connection of the Flex cable on the X axis.