Epilog Mini Alignment Problem

[Tim Bateson]

I have a problem that's driving me crazy. My laser doesn't print to the same alignment I've setup in Corel. Corel and the Print Driver both have the same page size. However when printing (lasering) to the upper left it starts 1/8 below the top and 1/4 from the left. Placing images further to the left and top of the box in Corel will work, but it's hard to work efficiently this way.
Manually resetting the X/Y to the upper left corner doesn’t work either. How do I reset my X/Y to the true home?
Epilog Mini 24 - 35Watt

[Frank Corker]

Tim, this subject has been discussed in previous threads, not having had the issue myself I'm afraid it will be down to getting advice from someone who has.

That said, have you tried uploading the new drivers and firmware for your Epilog from their website? It does clear the flash in the memory and restart the whole system, usually any problems like that are flushed out straight away. Have a look here http://www.epiloglaser.com/downloads.htm

[Tim Bateson]

Thanks Frank. Yes I did try the new drivers - same problem. Now that I've had a decent night's sleep I'll continue researching this issue.

[Scott Shepherd]

Tim, be careful or you'll end up like I did. The zero drifts off over a period of time.You adjust for it in Corel because it's so small, then when you figure out the zero has moved, all your previous work is somewhat a problem. You can't open up an old file and use the layout, or it'll be off.

Trust me, I got nailed by this. Thought the zero was the zero and that it was pretty stable. So two months later, I'll pulling up files, running them, and installing the items with previously engraved items and nothing is matching up. I had to realign the zero and then start over again, throwing all my old stuff out. Happened to me several times. Not sure why it moves, but on the machine we owned, it moved weekly.

Cost me quite a bit of money. One thing that added to my unhappiness with that machine.

[Ryan Sprole]

Tim,

Try the masking tape technique to reset the rulers. In some cases an operator will move the rulers accidentally when putting a heavy object into the upper left hand corner.

[Ed Maloney]

..and that technique is what?

[Ryan Sprole]

take some masking tape and put it both alog the ruler and on the table. then vector cut along the left side of the page and the top. When the tape is cut pull back the tape thats on the ruler. You will see if the rulers fade.. loosen the screws and place the rulers along the tape.

[Peck Sidara]

Tim,

Home position will not/should not change over time and here's why: We use magnetic sensors to determine home in both x and y. The magnets that trigger these sensors are in fixed location. There is some tolerance but nothing substantial.

To reset your home position, I recommend leaving the rulers alone and adjust the parameters for x and y home thru the LCD display.

Start by creating a small (1/2" X1/2") black filled box in a new Corel page. Position this box 1" from the top and 1" from the left. Run the job on some scrap material and measure to see exactly how much it's off by.

The parameters are adjustable in .001" increments. Example: if you're off left to right (x-axis) by 1/4", you'll need to adjust the x-axis home position by a value of 250 (1/4" or .25").

You do the same thing for the y-axis. Key points to follow:


Adjust one direction at a time, do not try to do both at once.
You need to save the parameters once changed and resend the job to the laser for the new settings to take place.
Moving the parameter towards the positive side will move your box further to the left in the x-axis and up in the y-axis ( I think???)Once you get it dialed in, it should be repeatable to +/-.005" or so.

Accessing the home position parameters can be found in section 11 of the owners manual, machine calibration/maintenance.

And of course, our tech team can be contacted at 303.215.9171 if you'd like some assistance over the phone.

HTH,

[Brian Robison]

Hi Tim,
Here's what I do. I use a piece of acrylic and cut a 1 inch square box in the upper left corner. I make the box 1.5 inches to the center from the 0,0 point. This way I can use calipers to measure. I measure the size of the box that's cut out and the size of the hole to figure my " kerf ". This usually leaves me with a wall thickness of about .498".
Make sure that you follow the XY instructions but in the place where it says push go and then go again, wait in between those times and make sure to send the job again. I used to push go twice like in the instructions and the laser would start running the job again without changing the 0,0 point. Drove me crazy.Uh, crazier.

[Tim Bateson]

Thanks for the suggestions. The solution I used was to move the rulers as far down and to the right as possible and move the X left through the LCD from -600 to -100. That's a lot of movement, but I can now place a vector along both X and Y rulers.

[Steven DeBusk]

I am trying to find the calibration settings for my Legend 24EX 75W, lost the X axis setting, used machine would like to compare all. Steve

[AL Ursich]

This is a old but good thread. I was wondering if a Set Screw could be loose on a belt drive and after zero it moves? Been gone a while. Buying a used Mini 18 30 so I am refreshing my memory.