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1989 Super Sprint Drum Roll Alignment
- Thread starter Perks
- Start date
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
The drum has a case hardened stainless steel shaft that it clamps to which then rides on roller bearings mounted in the chassis of the plotter. That gives you three possibilities:
1. The roller bearings are worn. Chance of that is slim to none.
2. The shaft is worn or bent. Good chance that this might be the case ... especially if its the original shaft.
3. The drum itself is out of round. Considering your "new skin" comment, that seems to me to be the most likely cause of the problem. Having developed the Scrappy™ Friction Feed Adapter, I can tell you that we used the same company who produced the rubber coating on the Gerber drums to make our rollers. It is a very precise process of molding the rubber on the drum and then grinding it to a perfect thickness and roundness.
To check the shaft, you need to pull the drum out of the plotter. this is done by loosening the collar clamp on the drum shaft just inside the plotter wall at the drive gear end of the drum. You then can pull the drive gear and the shaft out of the drum. While out you can also inspect the roller bearings. If you need a new drum, brace yourself for a serious financial hit. For what they run you can pretty much buy yourself a new, name brand 24" plotter.
Replacing the drum shaft is relatively cheap and you can get any local machine shop to cut a matching shaft for you.
1. The roller bearings are worn. Chance of that is slim to none.
2. The shaft is worn or bent. Good chance that this might be the case ... especially if its the original shaft.
3. The drum itself is out of round. Considering your "new skin" comment, that seems to me to be the most likely cause of the problem. Having developed the Scrappy™ Friction Feed Adapter, I can tell you that we used the same company who produced the rubber coating on the Gerber drums to make our rollers. It is a very precise process of molding the rubber on the drum and then grinding it to a perfect thickness and roundness.
To check the shaft, you need to pull the drum out of the plotter. this is done by loosening the collar clamp on the drum shaft just inside the plotter wall at the drive gear end of the drum. You then can pull the drive gear and the shaft out of the drum. While out you can also inspect the roller bearings. If you need a new drum, brace yourself for a serious financial hit. For what they run you can pretty much buy yourself a new, name brand 24" plotter.
Replacing the drum shaft is relatively cheap and you can get any local machine shop to cut a matching shaft for you.
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Timing in the Cut
The rubber coating that was replaced on the drum has seams resulting in uneven spots. Tried to rub them down. Each of the slightly worn drum ends for the axle rod may not be flush and true either. Rod rolls without wobbling. Not much can be done, although wrapping a drum with Saran Wrap came to mind. It is what it is.
The plotter speed had been 100%, but by slowing down in device settings to 25 or even 16% the blade cuts in the intermediate vinyl are going thru to the carrier alot better. Some horizontal cuts are going all the way through
The 24" plotter you mention Fred, is it the Tempo 600 friction plotter? Any good? Seen one for about $1800 with Omega CS.
How does your friction adapter work?
Perks
The rubber coating that was replaced on the drum has seams resulting in uneven spots. Tried to rub them down. Each of the slightly worn drum ends for the axle rod may not be flush and true either. Rod rolls without wobbling. Not much can be done, although wrapping a drum with Saran Wrap came to mind. It is what it is.
The plotter speed had been 100%, but by slowing down in device settings to 25 or even 16% the blade cuts in the intermediate vinyl are going thru to the carrier alot better. Some horizontal cuts are going all the way through
The 24" plotter you mention Fred, is it the Tempo 600 friction plotter? Any good? Seen one for about $1800 with Omega CS.
How does your friction adapter work?
Perks
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
The rubber coating that was replaced on the drum has seams resulting in uneven spots. Tried to rub them down. Each of the slightly worn drum ends for the axle rod may not be flush and true either. Rod rolls without wobbling. Not much can be done, although wrapping a drum with Saran Wrap came to mind. It is what it is.
You're right about that. Your only option, IMO, is to purchase a replacement drum or forget about using the SuperSprint for cutting.
The plotter speed had been 100%, but by slowing down in device settings to 25 or even 16% the blade cuts in the intermediate vinyl are going thru to the carrier alot better. Some horizontal cuts are going all the way through
Slowing the plotter down will not result in changing the fact that you are attempting to cut evenly on an uneven surface.
The 24" plotter you mention Fred, is it the Tempo 600 friction plotter? Any good? Seen one for about $1800 with Omega CS.
I was referencing the typical cost for any name brand 24" plotter such as a Gerber, Summa, Roland or Graphtec. The last time I heard a price for a Gerber 15" drum was about ten years ago and it was in the $800 to $900 range. My guess is that at this point it is well over $1,000 and is approaching the cost of the brands mentioned for an entire new plotter.
How does your friction adapter work?
It worked by adding two silicon rubber rollers to replace the one bail roller and the ability to add a downward force on them sufficient to make full contact with the vinyl. The last manufacture of a Scrappy™ was in 1992 and the last unit was sold in 1994.
You're right about that. Your only option, IMO, is to purchase a replacement drum or forget about using the SuperSprint for cutting.
The plotter speed had been 100%, but by slowing down in device settings to 25 or even 16% the blade cuts in the intermediate vinyl are going thru to the carrier alot better. Some horizontal cuts are going all the way through
Slowing the plotter down will not result in changing the fact that you are attempting to cut evenly on an uneven surface.
The 24" plotter you mention Fred, is it the Tempo 600 friction plotter? Any good? Seen one for about $1800 with Omega CS.
I was referencing the typical cost for any name brand 24" plotter such as a Gerber, Summa, Roland or Graphtec. The last time I heard a price for a Gerber 15" drum was about ten years ago and it was in the $800 to $900 range. My guess is that at this point it is well over $1,000 and is approaching the cost of the brands mentioned for an entire new plotter.
How does your friction adapter work?
It worked by adding two silicon rubber rollers to replace the one bail roller and the ability to add a downward force on them sufficient to make full contact with the vinyl. The last manufacture of a Scrappy™ was in 1992 and the last unit was sold in 1994.