This is the Epilog Mini and Helix Control Panel which allows you to control various aspects of your laser right from the machine. You will see either the icon-only keypad or the US text version depending on your model.
Go Button
The first button on the control panel is the green Go key. Pressing this button starts or resumes a job. Once the job starts, the display changes to show a job timer and the engraving resolution. The timer is a useful production tool that displays the elapsed time of engraving.
Pause Button
This is the pause button that pauses the lens carriage and the laser beam during a job. If the key is pressed during raster engraving, the lens carriage will stop on either the far left or right of the engraving line that is in process. In vector mode, the lens carriage will stop at the end of line segment or the next line node location.
Reset Button
Pressing the reset button will move the carriage back to its home position. It won’t erase the job from the laser system’s memory; rather it will stop the engraving job in process and send the carriage back to its home position.
Set Home Button
This is the set home button. Pressing the Set Home key will set this new position as your temporary home position. This temporary home now becomes your new upper left corner of your page, or if you are using Center Engraving, your center position.
X/Y Off Button
The X/Y Off key disables the X and Y motors and allows you to move the carriage by hand to any location on the table. After pressing X/Y Off, press the Go button to disable the axis or the pause button to cancel the operation. Moving the carriage by hand lets you perform several functions, including manually focusing anywhere on the table, setting a temporary home position, and accurately determining the X and Y axis location. When you disable the axes and move the carriage by hand, the X and Y coordinates display on the LCD panel.
Red Dot Pointer
The Red Dot Pointer is a toggle switch that turns the laser system’s red dot pointer on or off. This is used for a visual representation of where the laser will fire or setting a custom home position. When active, the light will turn green.
Focus Button
Pressing the focus button allows you to raise or lower the table by pressing the up or down arrow keys. When in focus mode, the LCD displays a digital readout of the relative location of the table.
Job Save Button
The Job Save button will save the job shown on the display into permanent memory. You can save ten jobs of 1 MB or less, or five jobs of 2 MB or less.
Job Delete Button
The Job Delete button will delete the job that is shown on the display, and will delete both permanent and temporary jobs at the machine.
Jobs Button
Pressing the jobs button displays the file name of the last job stored in memory. After pressing the job key, press the up or down arrows to scroll through all jobs in the system.
Power Button
The power button displays the power of the job sent to the laser. In raster mode you can adjust the power of the job by selecting the power button then pressing the up or down arrow. This can be performed on the fly as the laser runs, and is helpful when testing settings on a new material.
Speed Button
The speed button works identically to the power button. In raster mode you can adjust the speed of the job by selecting the speed button, then pressing the up or down arrow. This can be performed as the laser runs.
Configuration Button
The Config Button accesses many of the machine’s settings, including X home, Y home, rotary home, and much more. Scroll through these by pressing the right arrow key.
Maintenance Button
The Maintenance button provides two menu options – Restore Home and Align laser to be used when realigning the laser tube.
Data Light
The data light will illuminate when a job is being received at the laser. Once the job has fully arrived at the laser, the light will turn off.
This was a quick walkthrough of the many functions available with Epilog Mini and Helix laser systems.
