Any movement with the Epilog Zing?
No movement, no. We’re basically at full capacity with current development requirements, so it’s going to be a while.
I have two Epilog Helix (50/60) and have been wanting to break away from having a Windows based workflow. I am a sr software engineer who also has quite a bit of electronics/embedded system experience. I am about to take early retirement and would love to donate my time to make your product compatible with Epilog. I think talking to a Zing would pretty much be the same as a helix.
Ready to help…
James
Hi James,
The standard response for the past year has been:
LightBurn does not support Epilog machines at this time. This is something that has been requested a fair bit and we are considering it, however these are quite expensive machines and reverse engineering takes time and we will need physical access to a machine, so it wouldn’t be quick.
To provide you with some more specifics:
Oz was supposed to get his hands on one about 8 months ago, but that didn’t pan out and I don’t believe there has been any progress since. Reverse engineering communications protocols to support a machine is very much a “by feel” process that needs to be done hands on, remote is really not an option.
Interestingly, despite the number of people that have expressed interest in seeing Epilog support, no one has entered it on our feature suggestion site yet. I’d recommend doing so, as that is how we prioritize development.
Thank you for your offer to help though. Also, I’ve edited your post to remove your email address from public view.
Yes, I do understand what you are saying. I have the skills to do the work, but probably need them to just give me a few hints to get started. However, it might be better use of my time just to get/build another laser. Helix only has 24x18 bed. I have built 2 OpenBuilds CNC (12x12, 40x40) and am considering just building my own and making sure the controller is open source. I have tolerated closed source with Epilog for too long. I am getting too many tools and each requires its own software. What a pain.
Crazy Story…
Epiog are expensive, but they are worth it. Why do I have two? The 60 watt was in a building fire caused by another laser (trotec) and the fireman threw the 60 watt helix out the door on one a pile of burnt garbage. I rescued it and rebuilt it. Works perfectly.
Anyway, it would be interesting to replace the electronics with a generic controller. But the helix uses servos with encoders vs steppers, so I am not sure how much that would complicate things. Also, the x-axis uses an encoding strip.
I am considering this build and have purchased the plans, parts list, cad pkg from this guy from New Zealand. Pretty cool build. Seriously considering it.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ72zDm2feverqV7qAbNH7Q
Cheers
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