Red dot "splitting" on epilog mini.

[Wes Reeve]

Hey guys, I ran into an issue when I sat down to double check the alignment on my red dot and laser that I don't want to go messing with until I have some insight on it. I did a search and nothing really stood out in your archives, so here we are;

The red dot is splitting... I don't think the laser itself is being affected, but its very possible.

This picture was taken on the top right hand and side of the laser.
photo(1).jpg

[Dan Hintz]

Check all optics for junk. If there's no junk, I'd check the alignment to make sure the beam is not reflecting off of an edge somewhere.

[Ernie Martinez]

I saw the same thing when I aligned mine. Epilog support said it was normal, and not to worry.

[Wes Reeve]

Dan, I checked the mirrors and lenses, nothing there. I'll quadruple check to be sure, but I haven't seen anything thus far.
Whats odd is that the bigger of the two dots is perfectly aligned, so I'm guessing its splitting immediately out of the diode. I thought it might be hitting an edge at first too but it seems to be splitting either out of the orange box with the mirrors or the diode, but wouldn't it hitting something in the mirror box change my engraving as well, not just the red dot?

Ernie, thats good to hear, and makes sense... It hasn't affected my engraving in any negative way so far but I'm still curious as to what causes this, if only for peace of mind.

[Ernie Martinez]

Its a forth order optical diffraction artifact.........Just kidding, I have no idea what causes it , support said it's normal and I just accepted it.

[Chuck Stone]

I'm not a tech, but I'd think if it were 'normal' then more users here would have said so. If it were my machine, I'd be looking around for a cracked mirror or lens. (provided alignment is already ruled out) I'm sure the designers wouldn't let something like that go.. especially if the red dot and laser beam follow the same path. (they do on mine, not all are like that) A stray laser beam is nothing to take lightly, and if the red dot is split, it could be that the laser beam is also split.

[Nick Michalares]

It could be a bad laser pointer, too. Those things are not the most expensive piece in the machine. If it was under warranty or it bothers you enough to get another, tech support should be able to predict if that will cure it.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

It's a problem with just the red dot laser, ours does it too. This is completely independent of the laser tube. Don't sweat it.

[Glen Monaghan]

One of mine does that too, the other doesn't. It comes out of the periscope that way. Tech support says "it's normal" but I too was worried that, if the red dot is split, maybe the invisible CO2 beam was too. However, I couldn't detect any secondary CO2 beam using scorch tests at the exit of the periscope and finally quit worrying about it...

-Glen

[Greg Bednar]

FWIW - one single spider web between the origin of the red dot and the termination point will cause this too. They are hard to see also. Sounds strange, but the little buggers like some areas of the laser engravers.

[Joe Pelonio]

FWIW - one single spider web between the origin of the red dot and the termination point will cause this too. They are hard to see also. Sounds strange, but the little buggers like some areas of the laser engravers.

Might be fun to vector across a spider if he happened to cross the material at just the right time.

[Chuck Stone]

Maybe in this case 'normal' means 'we don't know so we're not gonna worry about it'
Seems strange for a company that specializes in getting light to a very specific place..

[Steve Clarkson]

Mine does it too........

[Dan Hintz]

I'm surprised to see so many who have this effect.

I can think of one possible explanation, but I'm not sure I really like it... if the combiner mirror passes most of the red pointer light on the first surface, and a small portion is re-reflected off of the second surface, the difference in glass thickness (at a 45 degree angle) may show up as a second reflection.

As I said, i don't like it as I would hope the coatings on the combiner are more efficient, but it's a possibility...

[Martin Boekers]

I have it on mine, EXT 36, It was pretty strong a few years back, to a point if I held the "laser fire" (maintenance)
it would slightly burn the tape. I have replaced mirror and a lens since the, it's there but not as strong. I keep an eye on it so
alignment doesn't throw it out of the circle area. Epilog said not to worry about it.

Not knowing exactly how the Red Dot is set up, not sure if the laser goes through the same lens as the red dot. The mirrors
shouldn't be an issue since they are front surface.