Laser Tube Failure?

[Stephen Maloney]

I was working on cutting some acrylic with my 60w Helix this evening, and when I looked up after a couple of minutes the laser had stopped firing half way through the job, and now won't fire at all.
I've browsed through many of the older posts, and it seems as though tubes typically fade before dying, although I read where one or two of you encountered a sudden death. As far as I recall, the beam strength hadn't been waning previously.

One of you mentioned the RF board, and a simple $2 fix?

1. Here's what I know: the red, yellow, and green lights on the laser tube are lit when the laser should be firing. (The green and yellow lights are off when the lid is up - ruling out a sensor - I think.)
2. Red dot works as normal, which I'm assuming means the mirrors and lenses are ok.
3. If I attempt to vector something (for awhile) the fan speed increases... meaning?
4. Everything else acts like normal so far as I can tell.

The laser has sat for extended periods of time from time time to time . . . I'm not surprised if it's a premmature death, I just hope it's not.

Assuming it is the tube, any advice? I'm guessing call up Epilog, but if there's an alternative I'd love to hear about it. I'm about a year outside of my warranty unless getting the 2 year extended warranty extends the laser tube one year beyond it's normal 2. If that's the case, I'm probably about a week outside my warranty. Lol.

[Nick Michalares]

I'd call Epilog right away, they will probably give you a grace on the couple days and they can tell you how to check it to make sure it is the tube.
Good Luck.

[John Noell]

Our tube just died. One day it worked perfectly al day. The next morning it was dead. We are now awaiting the replacement (which apparently is being sent to the wrong country due to an address error, sigh).

[Stephen Maloney]

Looks like my RF board got a bit toasty. Epilog is sending me a new laser tube. $1595. Mine was 3 years old. I suppose that's not too bad. It does come with a 2 year warranty. I'm pretty happy about that.

A few tips that most of you probably already know: Always run your laser on a dedicated circuit. Not just its own outlet, but it's own circuit too (breaker). If your laser supports 220v, use it! Since my laser sits right next to my electrical box I'm installing a 20amp 220v outlet for it. Epilog tossed in a free 220v cable for me, which saved me some money. If you don't feel comfortable wiring your own outlets, seek out an electrician!

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[Talley Boatwright]

$1595 for a new laser tube? 60 watts? Wow! My laser stop firing last month. Epilog told me it would be $4995 to replace the laser tube plus shipping. Thank goodness my background is in electronics and plenty experience in lasers. I troubleshoot everything up from the motherboard to the encoder. I found that my encoder flex-cable was rubbing inside the gantry and short out the encoder reader. It cost me $246 to replace the flex-cable, encoder strip and encoder reader. Sometimes I question where they are getting their prices?

Looks like my RF board got a bit toasty. Epilog is sending me a new laser tube. $1595. Mine was 3 years old. I suppose that's not too bad. It does come with a 2 year warranty. I'm pretty happy about that.

A few tips that most of you probably already know: Always run your laser on a dedicated circuit. Not just its own outlet, but it's own circuit too (breaker). If your laser supports 220v, use it! Since my laser sits right next to my electrical box I'm installing a 20amp 220v outlet for it. Epilog tossed in a free 220v cable for me, which saved me some money. If you don't feel comfortable wiring your own outlets, seek out an electrician!

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