Epilog 24 TT in trouble still

[Pete Thomas(UK)]

Hi all,
Thanks to all who responded to the last post of mine. This forum is really so good. Unfortunatly I still have the same problem.

This is a follow up to a post a couple of weeks ago. My 24TT is still playing up. The laser seems not to fire for several passes when rastering work. Vectoring has never been problem. Been through just about everything I can think off. Inter lock switches OK, Using Corel 11 to drive the laser via crossover cable. Some times the machine works fine then out of the blue it goes wrong when doing a new job. I have made sure the data is fully spooled to the laser, checked to see it on the LCD screen then started the job. Misses bits in different places each time it is tried. Then it will be OK for a while. Laser head follows the path it should but does not fire. I am using all the standard settings from the manual. Getting really hacked of now. Spending a lot of time trying to find a solution. So far help from Epilog service has not come up with a solution.

To me, new to lasering, it seems to be a data problem. The image on the LCD screen is OK but bits are missed when lasering. Any one had this before? Checked the motion on the x/y axis and the encoder strip is clean.

Can some one please tell me what bumper to bumper warrenty is on a used laser?

Looking forward to any comments,

Thanks,

Pete Thomas

[Larry Bratton]

Pete:
I reckon I am stupid..but what is a "crossover cable"?

[Mike Null]

I would disconnect and re-connect the cable form the pc to the laser. If that doesn't work I'd replace the cable.

Are you sure you should be using a crossover cable?

[mike wallis]

Pete, to me this sounds like a classic "ribbon cable" issue. This is a very common issue for Epilogs. It's the cable that connects from the head of the optics to the X beam. If you haven't already tried it, try replacing the cable or reversing the ends. I'm not sure if reversing it on the TT is Possible but may be a option.

If you have already tried it then please disreguard.

Hope it works out...

[Joe Pelonio]

Pete, to me this sounds like a classic "ribbon cable" issue. This is a very common issue for Epilogs. It's the cable that connects from the head of the optics to the X beam. If you haven't already tried it, try replacing the cable or reversing the ends. I'm not sure if reversing it on the TT is Possible but may be a option.

If you have already tried it then please disreguard.

Hope it works out...

It is, Mike, I did it on mine to confirm that I needed a new cable. It only uses a few of the wires so reversing makes it use new ones.

[Frank Tralongo]

Pete,
Xover cable is correct for use on the ethernet port.
I'd check the cable end pins inside the connector. If you have another cable swap it cause it sounds like it may be bad causing you to drop data to the laser.
Did you build the cable? If so it could be a bad crimp at the wire end going into the connector.




Here's the specs:

The cross-over cable can be made using the same steps as the straight-through cable. The only difference is the order in which the wires are put into the second connector. On the straight-through cable you use the exact same order of wires. On a cross-over cable you use a different order on each end.
The first end uses the same color scheme as a straight-through cable:


W
H
I
T
E
O
R
A
N
G
E
O
R
A
N
G
E
W
H
I
T
E
G
R
E
E
N
B
L
U
E
W
H
I
T
E
B
L
U
E
G
R
E
E
N
W
H
I
T
E
B
R
O
W
N
B
R
O
W
N


The second end uses the following color scheme:
W
H
I
T
E
G
R
E
E
N
G
R
E
E
N
W
H
I
T
E
O
R
A
N
G
E
B
L
U
E
W
H
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E
B
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E
O
R
A
N
G
E
W
H
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E
B
R
O
W
N
B
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O
W
N

If you take a close look and compare the two ends, you'll notice how the green and the orange pair trade places, which makes it a cross-over cable.
Note: When you make a cross-over cable, mark it to distinguish it from your straight-through cables. You can put colored tape on it, use a marker, use a different color cable, whatever works for you. If you don't, eventually you'll get it mixed in with your other cables and lose your mind trying to figure out why your connection to the network is hosed.
Test It
Once your cable is finished, you should test it to make sure it works. For $20-30 you can purchase a cable tester. Insert the two ends of the cable into the jacks on the tester and watch the lights. If they all light up, you have a good connection for each wire and the cable checks out.

[Frank Tralongo]

Ooops the pinout did not paste so lets try this again:

Ethernet 10BaseT or 100BaseT Crossover Cable
Purchase your crossover cable direct from GCC.
Here are instructions for building an Ethernet 10BaseT or 100BaseT crossover cable.
The pinouts for an Ethernet crossover cable are as follows:
Connector 1
Pinout Connector 2
Pinout
1 3
2 6
3 1
4 OPEN
5 OPEN
6 2
7 OPEN
8 OPEN

pin 1 -> pin 3,
pin 2 -> pin 6,
pin 3 -> pin 1, and
pin 6 -> pin 2.

All of the other pins are left open.
These instructions can also be used to purchase an Ethernet crossover cable to network your computer and printer together. Don't just buy any RJ-45 cable; the internal pinout for a crossover cable is different from the pinout of an RJ-45 cable normally used in Ethernet. Make sure the packaging is clearly labeled "crossover cable", or have someone create the cable for you

[Pete Thomas(UK)]

Thanks all for the good advice.

I have checked the crossover cable and tried a different one so its not that.

Mike and Joe thanks for the pointer to the ribbon cable. Is it a straight forward job to end for end it. What is required, I havent really looked closely at the cable ends?

At the moment it seems to working again OK.

Any thoughts on the following. When i am changing the name on glasses in corel should I have to save it each time to file before i send the data to the laser?

Many thanks to all your help.

Pete

[Larry Bratton]

Oh I remember now, that's one of the cables used for networking. Just sounds like their is some data being dropped somewhere between the computer and the machine. I send my data via a wireless network from a laptop, but the laser is connected to the main computer via USB cable.

The only advantage I would know of for saving as a new file would be not to get confused and run the wrong file a second time. You can also put your additional names on other pages (layers) in Corel and print the selections. Be sure you have "selected" checked in the driver before you send. That way you can use the layout multiple times and maintain one file if that is helpful to do so.
Good luck!

[Joe Pelonio]

I'll answer the last question first, no need to save before sending to the laser.

The ribbon cable connectors are identical on each end. The only issue is being gentle when removing it, part is stuck down to the metal. I often suggest taking a photo before removing anything so you can see how it was before but this one is pretty simple.

[Pat Kearney]

I was having similar problems with my Epilog Helix and I traced it to a bad home-made patch cord from my switch/hub/router (people call it different names depending on what they have) to the Epilog. I changed it with a new one I bought and it's worked fine. Note if you are going from the switch/hub/router to the Epilog you require a straight through cable. You only need a cross-over if going direct from the computer's ethernet port direct to the Epilog.

[Richard Rumancik]

Pete, does your Ethernet cable plug into the motherboard or an Ethernet card? Either way, you might want to get a new Ethernet card and make sure it is not a communications problem on the card. They are not expensive.

Pat mentions a switch/hub/router. You may not have one, but my recommendation to anyone is to try to avoid anything possible between the Ethernet connector on the PC and the laser. It just eliminates a lot of possible sources of problems especially when troubleshooting. If you need a network get it to work 100% before connecting a network.

Is Ethernet the only option for I/O on your unit? I did a quick search and it seems some TTs have serial and parallel ports. If you have a choice, then I would say try the alternative interface. Then you would be able to isolate the problem more accurately to PC side or laser side. I might even be inclined to try this first. Serial might slow down data transfer, but as a test it may still prove something. You really need to determine if this is a PC/data problem or a laser problem.

P.S. There might be a serial or parallel port conector on the mainboard even if it is not brought out to the bulkhead. An adapter cable from Epilog might allow you to jury rig a test.

Addition: I just noticed that Epilog permits use of a USB to parallel converter. I would ask them for the brand they have tested and consider trying this, if you don't have a parallel port on your computer.

[Larry Bratton]

Richard:
Definitely a good idea to get a USB to serial or parallel adapter. I have one for USB to serial, as I have a laptop with neither port and a Vision engraving machine with both but no USB port. That might solve Pete's problem, especially if Epilog can recommend the one have tested. The tech at Vision said "he doubted it would work" but he was wrong. It works very well with that device. If I was Pete, I would give it a try,their not expensive.

[Richard Rumancik]

Pete, one more thing comes to mind . . .what kind of laser tube do you have on the TT? Regardless, there has to be a cable running from the mainboard to the laser tube. For Synrad tubes I think the cable is a BNC cable. You could try to check your cable or just replace it with a new one. This cable sends the commands from the mainboard to the laser tube to "fire" and if it is flakey, it is possible some commands could be missed or corrupted.

Did you ever try to repeat a failed job from the control panel as Peck suggested way back? (Can you duplicate a "failed" job?) If it fails the same way a second time it would point to a bad file (communication problem = corrupt file) as Peck suggested. If it is random/not repeatible, then I'd more likely suspect the mainboard/laser tube/cable between.

If it does not fail twice the same way with a file already in memory, then the interface is probably not the place to be looking.

Synrad tubes have a DB9 connector on them from which you might be able to pull some diagnostic info.

[Peck Sidara]

Pete,

2nd & 3rd opinions are great when you're not making any headway with the solution. However, I think too many opinions can muddy up the problem at hand.

Some problems are straight forward whether mechanical or electrical. The difficult ones are the intermittent, come and go issues. Yours is in the latter category.

Ian's a great tech and I have 100% faith in his ability to find the solution to your woes but you need to stay in close contact with him and only him; provide detailed answers to his specific questions; provide pictures if requested; follow his instructions and testing methods to the T.

Tech support should be your go to guy at this point. I recommend putting your efforts and time in working directly with Ian.