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Thread: At first I thought encoder strips but now..

  1. #1
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    At first I thought encoder strips but now..

    I can't upload a video of it happening because of company policy, but sometimes when I start a job, it will run it normally for a bit, then suddenly take these really long pauses at each end. Sometimes all I have to do is stop/reset, but other times it makes me restart the whole machine to even get the laser to recognize that I'm giving it a command, just completely becomes unresponsive. Any ideas? I make sure encoder strips are clean each morning and initial startup is fine, so I'm a little confused here.
    Also sorry for poor explanation, if someone needs clarification please ask. TIA!
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

  2. #2
    Do these long pauses happen when you are raster engraving, or vector cutting? Is it still firing when it pauses?
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  3. #3
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    No, it is no longer firing when it is paused, and I have vector turned off in my driver since AI was giving me issues with it. Just Raster engraving.
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

  4. #4
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    Can you send me the file you are trying to run?

  5. #5
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    It's an illustrator file, will you be able to open it?
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

  6. #6
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    Hi Chase,
    Happens to me too, i was told that it could be an issue with buffering, and to pause the job, unplug the USB and plug it back in
    again then continue the job, it hasn't happened for months now, it is very random sometimes 2 or 3 days in a row
    then months before it happens again.
    Epilog Helix 50W, Epilog Fusion 40 75W, Tekcel Router, Taylor Hobson Model D & K
    Dalgren 2516i, Epilog Fusion Pro 120W

  7. #7
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    I have a Mac at work with Illy and can also try to import into Corel. If you can, save as a version 8.

  8. #8
    When the machine starts stalling out, what is your machine's display doing, if anything? Such as, if it's an LCD, does it lighten up and get hard to read? Other types of displays (color) might not be easy to tell...

    What I'm driving at, is if you've noticed anything that may indicate a low-voltage condition, which will affect the readouts...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by vic casware View Post
    Hi Chase,
    Happens to me too, i was told that it could be an issue with buffering, and to pause the job, unplug the USB and plug it back in
    again then continue the job, it hasn't happened for months now, it is very random sometimes 2 or 3 days in a row
    then months before it happens again.
    Ok thank you! I'll give it a shot.
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    When the machine starts stalling out, what is your machine's display doing, if anything? Such as, if it's an LCD, does it lighten up and get hard to read? Other types of displays (color) might not be easy to tell...

    What I'm driving at, is if you've noticed anything that may indicate a low-voltage condition, which will affect the readouts...
    It appears to do nothing abnormal. Now, however, I can't center engrave. Any time I try to the carriage goes all the way to the bottom right of the machine, farther than I can even put it with the joystick. What a way to start Wednesday.
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

  11. #11
    It's sounding like you may have a bad stepper/servo driver, assuming servo's have drivers similar to steppers (I don't really know)

    The reason I asked about the screen: Twice since I've owned the GCC, the last time about a month ago, the display seems to get lighter. This is followed by the machine growing a mind of its own, acts erratic, head goes where it's not supposed to go, then eventually it just does zip. First time it did this I volt tested every place I could volt test (I found a great circuit diagram for this machine online)- everything checked out perfectly...? I've mentioned in the past that 'electronics spray cleaner is your friend'... it is-- I unplugged the machine, grabbed my trusty can of CRC e-cleaner, and proceeded to unplug every plug and IC chip I COULD unplug, sprayed both connections and re-connected. Every last one... Plugged the machine in, and it worked perfectly. That cleaning lasted almost 2 years, and had to do it again last month. I have no clue which connection is the culprit, but I'm betting it's just one plug or chip that's carbon tracking for whatever reason and creating a voltage loss that shows up on my display, and obviously to the motherboard and/or the main controller.

    In the 37 years I've been running machines connected to computers, at least 98% of all the machine issues I've ever had was due to a faulty plug-in connection, usually fixed with electronics cleaner
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
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    Suwanee, Ga
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    It's sounding like you may have a bad stepper/servo driver, assuming servo's have drivers similar to steppers (I don't really know)

    The reason I asked about the screen: Twice since I've owned the GCC, the last time about a month ago, the display seems to get lighter. This is followed by the machine growing a mind of its own, acts erratic, head goes where it's not supposed to go, then eventually it just does zip. First time it did this I volt tested every place I could volt test (I found a great circuit diagram for this machine online)- everything checked out perfectly...? I've mentioned in the past that 'electronics spray cleaner is your friend'... it is-- I unplugged the machine, grabbed my trusty can of CRC e-cleaner, and proceeded to unplug every plug and IC chip I COULD unplug, sprayed both connections and re-connected. Every last one... Plugged the machine in, and it worked perfectly. That cleaning lasted almost 2 years, and had to do it again last month. I have no clue which connection is the culprit, but I'm betting it's just one plug or chip that's carbon tracking for whatever reason and creating a voltage loss that shows up on my display, and obviously to the motherboard and/or the main controller.

    In the 37 years I've been running machines connected to computers, at least 98% of all the machine issues I've ever had was due to a faulty plug-in connection, usually fixed with electronics cleaner
    Thank you for your suggestions! I had purchasing get me some of that cleaner you suggested and it's working just fine now.
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 Watt CO2 Laser

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