Epilog Mini 24 stopped dead mid-job. Gantry off, Screen went dark. Any ideas?

[Oleg Mikhailik]

Hello folks!

As the post title suggests - I have a problem I can't seem to diagnose. We have an Epilog Mini 24, made in 2006, it's running a fresh 40W tube direct from Epilog. Absolute workhorse until today: We were running a raster engraving job - one of thousands that we've run over the years - and all of a sudden halfway through the cut the head stopped dead in its tracks, and the screen shut off. The cooling fans of the laser tube are still working but everything else is completely dead.

Cycling the power didn't yield any progress - you can move the gantry with your hand back and forth all you want as if it's completely shut off, the display is completely cold, and none of the buttons on the control panel do anything.

I took off the side panels suspecting it may be a mainboard issue and noticed that the mainboard (on the rear right side) has one red LED glowing at the top. No idea if that is of any indication.

Do you guys have any ideas what this could be or how to remedy it?
We have design shows starting in a few days, which we will be completely screwed for if we don't fix our machine in time.

Thank you all in advance!

Oleg Mikhailik

[Kev Williams]

Power supply--

I'm not all that knowledgeable about them, but with all the machines I have, I've lost several. Most of these machines have more than one power supply, and some power supplies have more than just one output; I know the one in my Gravograph LS900 has at least two. It could also be your main power switch, they're usually double-pole or even triple-pole switches, and after years of use they can have one pole go dead...

If you're handy with a volt meter, check the load-side of each leg for power when on; if all seems okay with the switch, check the power supply outputs, they should be marked as to their voltages and whether AC or DC--

You might also check everywhere you can for fuses, and check those...

[Oleg Mikhailik]

Kev,
Thanks for your response! I should have gotten back to you sooner. In the end it turned out to be the Mainboard giving up the ghost. I ordered it from Epilog.
My machine is from 2006, and it looks like over the years in-between they have made some improvements: the new mainboard comes with a 'daughterboard' which allegedly helps with regulating voltage.

69018132012__E6D56A1A-07EE-44F3-9B9D-A2F4A78815FC.jpg

The new one is on the left, with a smaller circuitboard on top. Fingers crossed that it works at least as long as the old one :D...