Brand New Epilog 40w 24 Mini firing Issues ?

[chris szlachetka]

Hi All,
We have a brand new machine 40w Epilog Mini 24 and are having issues with the laser firing. We've tried the suggested TM & TI setting Epilog recommended, but nothing is working. Actually made it kinda worse, to the point we ran the machine for almost 8mins with no fire. All files are setup correctly, magnetic window safety latch/switch has good contact, laser beam is inline & clean.

Here's what's going on - On every job the laser misses the first 1-2 secs of engraving/cutting. So we hit stop and go again to engrave/cut what was skipped. For engraving the letters/graphic ends up being darker on that part or cuts all the way thru being cut in 2 passes. This machine was an addition to our CNC shop and is very disappointing... I spent more time trying to get the machine to work vs cutting the parts I need with the very little time I have.

Is this normal ?
Are you guys running a warm-up program before you actually "run" the machine ?

[Henri Sallinen]

Hi Chris,

I've only encountered this kind of need of a warmup when I run the machine for the first time in the morning. One time it got a bit worse and we had to change the TM & TI settings according to these settings: "Please change the TM to a 3 and TI to a 2. After changing the setting please hit the GO key to save the setting." This cut the need of warming to just on the first run of the morning. Before that we had to make a small warm up almost every time we started using the machine (even though it was not shut down between runs).

We usually do our warm up by pressing the "maint" key, then up arrow and when you see the "align laser", press go. After that there should read "upkey fire laser" and when you press the up key with the windows closed, your laser should fire. For us the machine now fires almost instantly. To get out of this maint setting, just press stop a few times.

If you have allready set your TM & TI settings to somewhat same as these, there could be something else wrong with the machine. Best of luck to you!

- Henri

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Hi Chris,
Before that we had to make a small warm up almost every time we started using the machine (even though it was not shut down between runs).
- Henri

^^This all the way. Part of my SOP when using the laser.^^

[chris szlachetka]

Thanks for the response guys ! I've tried all TM & TI settings, no go. Even between jobs of 30 secs, the first 1-2 were missed. Another thing I've noticed was cutting 1/8" (.123 roughly) wood, took more than what the sheet recommends. They recommended 40/100/500 and I only saw a nice clean cut at 24/100/950. I also checked the encoder, super clean no dust bunnies, soot, etc... I emailed Epilog again about the issue, hoping to get this fix soon. Has anyone here replaced a Epilog laser before (any special equipment needed) ? How long does it take or do they send someone to do the work ?

[Scott Shepherd]

Your laser has a problem. Epilog tech support needs to fix the issue.

[chris szlachetka]

Yes, it was the laser... The super awesome Epilog "overnighted" us a replacement. My only stink is the laser has a made in May 2014 vs September stamp. Aligning the optics was much harder than I thought, but after time I got. Anyone attempting this, make sure the laser is dead center on the focusing assembly before you start testing each corner of the table. I'd also label your mirrors, many times I went back and realized I was adjusting the wrong mirror. Lol. Thanks for the response everyone !