How difficult is the actual changing of the heads on a Roland SP-540v? I know my machine pretty well and am pretty handy with it but have not dared to attempt the heads. It cost me a fortune to get a tech in the door because closest one is 4/5 hours away. Roughly $1,000 just to get them here and then parts and labor on top of that. I have always loaded it up and carried it to them to save my thousand bucks but I don't really want to do that again. Any suggestions?
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Question Changing Heads SP-540v
- Thread starter K2
- Start date
strypguy
New Member
I'm going to attempt this myself soon. Get a copy of the service manual and look it over to see if you think you can do it. The actual removal and install of the head looks pretty easy but then you need to do all the adjustments to get it to work correctly. There is a great video on YouTube of someone doing the head replacement but it doesn't show them doing the adjustments in detail. John
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
The tech manual makes it look more complicated than it really is. Just take your time and don't force anything you aren't sure about. Make sure you turn your machine off and unplug it and wait 10 minutes before working on it and you will be fine. A long, magnetized screw driver helps a lot. You will need a 1.5mm Allen wrench to do the alignments. Be careful when taking out the spring as it can go flying and it's really hard to find once it's out of sight.
Robert M
New Member
Check out www.solventinkjet.com, free next day shipping from Denver Colorado and two free dampers.
strypguy
New Member
Buy from Robert. I know the last time a tech was here it cost me $1600 to have one head replaced and to do calibrations. UGH. That's why I'm determined to do this myself. I've replaced alot of the other parts myself and am comfortable taking the printer apart. I just need to find the time to do it. John
phototec
New Member
I was in the same mindset as you, no local tech and they change $150 p/h including travel time plus an inflated price for the new DX4 head.
Just a few weeks ago I purchased the new head from solventinkjet.com for $735 including overnight shipping and two dampers with O-rings and they sent me the service manual. And yes the new print head came with head rank numbers, you have to enter the new head rank numbers before you start the procedure.
Like others have said, the manual makes it sound difficult, however, if you read over the head replacement section several times and watch a video on youtube, and take your time and make sure not to drop ink on the circuit boards when removing the dampers, it will go pretty easy. I took my time and placed a plastic bag and a paper towel over the print head circuit board (to prevent any ink drips), removed the print head cable ends and marked which was which just in case I forgot where they went. You need to be VERY CAREFUL and pull straight up when removing the old dampers if you move side to side you could break the manifold nipple which would be an added expense to replace.
Remove the and replace the print head following the instructions, then when done just follow the alignment instructions in the service manual (mot hard, just takes some time. It took me a half a day but I'll bet I could do it in less than 2 hours next time.
Here is the ink to the video:
I had NEVER changed a print head before, but now I will never pay a tech to do it.
Just a few weeks ago I purchased the new head from solventinkjet.com for $735 including overnight shipping and two dampers with O-rings and they sent me the service manual. And yes the new print head came with head rank numbers, you have to enter the new head rank numbers before you start the procedure.
Like others have said, the manual makes it sound difficult, however, if you read over the head replacement section several times and watch a video on youtube, and take your time and make sure not to drop ink on the circuit boards when removing the dampers, it will go pretty easy. I took my time and placed a plastic bag and a paper towel over the print head circuit board (to prevent any ink drips), removed the print head cable ends and marked which was which just in case I forgot where they went. You need to be VERY CAREFUL and pull straight up when removing the old dampers if you move side to side you could break the manifold nipple which would be an added expense to replace.
Remove the and replace the print head following the instructions, then when done just follow the alignment instructions in the service manual (mot hard, just takes some time. It took me a half a day but I'll bet I could do it in less than 2 hours next time.
Here is the ink to the video:
I had NEVER changed a print head before, but now I will never pay a tech to do it.