Epilog Tubes

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi All,

The list of problems continues for me, my laser is out of warranty by a few months, even though I would guess it has only worked for about 6-7 Months, has anyone had a free charge or replacement of their tube from Epilog, I have complained for months about the lack of power, now they want $3550 US from me to fix it, am holding back on posting the whole list of replaced items on this Laser since I've had it, am really hoping Epilog have today or last night put a tube on an Aircraft to me, have so much work on at the moment and its all vector cutting, have to use 4% speed on 6mm MDF, cutting 2 times, my arguement is if I pay to fix the tube will I be paying the same again after another 6 Months of use. Lastly, new lens and mirror in place, all set, no other problems other than power giving me this grief.

Cheers

Nigel

[Joe Pelonio]

I had a free tube replacement but it was still on warranty. When it went out the second time it was $2,300 for the replacement after the warranty had expired. Sounds like the Helix 45 watt is more expensive then the Legend.

[James Stokes]

I bought my Epilog used. Before I took possesion of it, Epilog returned it to the factory under the previous owners warrentee,( which was up in 3 days) went through it and replaced any worn parts. I think they allso replaced the tube in it. This was at no cost to me. They are rather secretive about any parts replaced on a machine under warrentee so they would not tell me what all they replaced. I feel sure Epilog will take care of you.

[Nigel Morgan]

Epilog are not looking after me this time, am trying to change my lease over for a Universal, have found a few others who wish to do the same. ULS are offering an extra 20W of power free at the moment due to the launch of their new Laser.

[Rob Bosworth]

Nigel, give me a call when you go to throw out that Helix.:cool:

I am sorry to hear about your disappointment with your Helix. If there is anything that I can do to assist you, please feel free to contact me. I probably won't be able to do anything to help you with your discussion with Epilog, but maybe another prospective might help. Where are you located?

Good luck.

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi Rob,

I like the comment, understand it now as you sell second hand Lasers, you have a lot of Epilog's on you site, I presume you recondition them your self, do you get a discount on parts?, this is what I pay for a lens and mirror. The invoice that came with the X motor was for around $850.00, which bloody frightened me. This amount was credited back onto my account when they received the old one back, but still it seems al ot of money, cosidering they don't seem to last long.


TT009 Mirror 0.75 x 0.120 $ 85 each
260558 2” Lens $ 270 each

[Rodne Gold]

$850 for an X motor sounds very very wrong to me.
Do epilog make their own tubes or outsource?
Just about all my failures on my machines are tube related , either Coherent Deos or Synrad. I have NEVER had a tube (and I have owned 12 lasers in total) from either maker that has lasted a full year!!!! - 20 000 hours tube life - what rubbish!!

[Nancy Laird]

I don't know how many hours we have on our laser, as we haven't kept track. BUT, we have a ULS 20W machine that we purchased used, and it was built in 1996, and it still has the original tube, and still going strong. I certainly can't complain, especially as when it goes--and it will, eventually--a new 25W tube will cost only $850.00!

Nancy

[Rob Bosworth]

Actually Nigel, $ 85 for a corner mirror and $ 270 for a mounted 2" fl lens seems to be fairly good prices, with or without a discount. I have been buying coated optics for CO2 lasers since 1981, and the prices seem to be about the same or less than what we were paying for coated optics back in the early 80's.

So did Epilog send you an X axis motor and charge you $ 850 for the motor, or was that a core charge? I am not sure I understand the $ 850 you said you were charged for it, but then you stated that you were credited for the money. Or was the $ 850 charge for two corner mirrors, a 2" fl lens and an X axis motor? I am just trying to understand.

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi Rob,

The charge was for the X motor, from the reseller here in NZ, but when the old motor was returned the invoice was cancelled. This is the concern for me, that after another 6 Months use, I'll have to pay for an I beam, X motor, belt, lens and a core charge, this does not make the Laser viable. Can't afford the core charge now, probably will pull the plug on everything.

Cheers

Nigel

[Joe Pelonio]

Nigel,

Perhaps it's different being in another country, but I have been able to work it out with Epilog to avoid core charges by shipping the old part back to them prior to them sending the new one, once they could see the tracking number they went ahead and sent the new one out. It may mean a day delay but saves all that core deposit money.

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi Joe,

The boss there has just confirmed they will not help and I have to pay to fix the tube, I wished they would just send the replacement and when I change it over I will return the old one, I need it daily at the moment, if I'm only engraving "Made in New Zealand" on the back of something.

Cheers

Nigel

[Mike Dean]

Nigel,

I’m sorry that you’re having trouble resolving this quickly, but I’m hopeful that the following will resolve whatever misunderstandings that are keeping us from moving forward.

The machine was sold in November 2005 with a one year warranty, so it has been out of warranty for quite a while now.

The quote to repair your 45 watt laser tube was $1,195 USD. There are no additional costs to you. The only requirement is that you first forward the tube to Epilog or our distributor in NZ. The quote also provides a second option in the amount of $1,395. This amount requires a deposit of $3,550, but does not require you to forward a tube to us first. The deposit is not charged to your credit card. It is held in reserve until the tube is returned to Epilog and then it is removed from the records. This amount doesn’t even show on your bill as a charge and no money changes hands unless the tube is not returned.

In October of last year we did send a replacement laser tube to you, but you refused delivery after you determined that a replacement optic resolved your low power issue. Subsequently, our records do not show any contact from you between that time and May of this year – a period of over six months.

Again, I apologize for not being able to resolve this quickly. If there is anything I can do to expedite the process, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Mike Dean
Epilog Laser

[Nigel Morgan]

Mike,

This could be the resolve to the problem, I took possesion of the Laser in early 2006, so who had it before me?
In October of last year I was working in Australia, so no one contacted me. The new lens certainly improved the engraving.
You offered to replace the tube about 5 weeks ago but I was up to my eyeballs on the Router, laser was ticking away doing simple engraving, I presumed AMT would hold the tube, when we finally fixed all the other problem I asked to have the tube sent down but AMT had returned it.
I am stuck and have no choice but to fix this problem, am busy trying to borrow the money to sort this out, will need the advanced replacement.

Nigel

[James Stokes]

From what I see I think Epilog has been trying to fix the problem. It also looks like the distributer was the original owner of the laser. Once they bought it, the laser was showing on the records as being sold in 2005

[Nigel Morgan]

Yes they have assisted, its my time actually replacing and fixing all these items, emailing photos etc...as I have stated in another post the belt on a complete new I beam is all ready showing signs of wear. Someone has said to me the fact that a Laser is not bing used can effect the tubes, they must be "excited" on a regular basis to prolong the life, would like to know some more on this matter.

[James Stokes]

From everything I have read and been told you should run the laser for at least 15 or 20 minutes a month minumum.

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi James,

Thanks for the advice.

[James Stokes]

I have 2 lasers, the Epilog and one with a Universal tube, The universal tube lasted 6 years and was still working great. I bought the epilog and let the Universal sit for about 3 months. When I tried to use it the tube was all most dead. I feel like if I had run it some instead of letting it sit I would not had to have the tube recharged.

[Rodne Gold]

Firing up the machine every now and then wont save the tube. The time between when the tube was manufactured to when it appears in your laser can be a year or more and the time between producing your machine to when it actually gets to you and starts working can be significant as well. If that thinking holds , it means the tubes would have to be fired up many times prior to their normal duty cycles.
The tubes are just flaky devices in my experience , one day it works and like your puter , for no apparent reason , it gives trouble.
As I have said before , I have yet to have a tube last more than a year (Im a heavy duty user) regardless of whether its a Synrad or a Deos and this is my experience over at least 5 years and many many lasers.
It cost pennies to fix most tubes , we blew an RF board and Synrad gave us a parts list and instructions on how to fix , parts came in at under $20.
However we couldnt effect the repair as it required some specialised oscilliscope and a power controller for the tube to tune the RF boards.
I think the tube repairs are a rip off somewhere along the line , I cannot possibly see , apart from test equipment , what can be so expensive , even a regas shouldnt cost an arm and a leg. We have opened a tube to see what blew and its not a particularily complex device , the simplest cell phone is 10x more complicated!!!
I really hope the chinese give the established and IMHO monopolistic players in the tube market a wake up call!!!
My next machine is probably gonna be one of the cheapys where it costs less then $200 to replace the whole tube

[Keith Outten]

Does anyone have an owners manual that prescribes running your laser a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes a week?

Any action that is considered preventative maintenance should be in the owners manual.

.

[James Stokes]

I do not have an owners manual that says it, but I was told that by Universal tech support. I have also seen several differant discussions where lasers set for a long time then would not fire because the tube was dead.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

I sometimes don't fire mine up for a few weeks to a month or so. I have the same laser that came with it and thank God I have not had any problems with it. I do notice a little loss of power but it was rated at over 70 watts when I bought it so maybe it is firing at 60 watts now 5 years later. But that is a good question.

Dean, what do you know about this for Trotec?

I hear you have to do that with Dye sub and some ink jets also.

Have a great and safe 4rth everyone,(1028)

[Nigel Morgan]

Thanks for all the advice