Cleaned my encoder strip

[WCSign]

If you havent done it.. DO IT!! I cant say enough positive things about this. It took 15 minutes total, I took the covers off, blew out the area with compressed air, wiped it all down with a lint free cloth, then used some alcohol on a couple of cleaning swabs down both sides of the strip itself, working away from the print carriage side.

Definate improvement.. id like to know the technical job of the strip that a little dust, etc. makes such a difference.

anyone care to enlighten me?

Thanks to all of you who have posted answering and asking questions about this in the past.. it gave me the knowledge and confidence to go ahead and do it.

 

[Techman]

the encoder strip is what tells the computer where the head is in relation to point zero,
IF the computer tells the head to move 509 units and fired the cyan for 5 units,, That is where the encoder strip plays its part. IF the computer does not know where the head is it cannot tell it to fire..

 

[WCSign]

So the strip is essentially a ruler with an infinite number of points?

 

[Biker Scout]

No, there are definitely a number of points on the strip. If you can shine a light through the backside of an encoder strip, you can see they are like thin bar codes. The more lines, the more resolution you can conceivably place into a space. There is a relation to picoliters vs dots per inch, and the encoder strip is basically the linear actuation of such printhead firings.

There is also a round disc encoder strip mounted to the feed roller on most printers. Don't forget to clean that one too.

 

[GAC05]

Definate improvement.. id like to know the technical job of the strip that a little dust, etc. makes such a difference.

anyone care to enlighten me?

To get technical; it is like a bikini wax.
Once you get rid of all the hairs, lint & particulates things are made clear and projects run smooth and clean with fewer errors......

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Gene@mpls]

Also good to know that they will fail... and if they do and you don't have a replacement you can remove it and turn the downside to the upside (requires punching a new
hole usually) and it will function again.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Adding my .02. The two most common errors seen when an encoder strip is dirty or damaged is stepping in your print/defects that only happen in one area of the printer and/or scan motor errors. Never clean the encoder with solvent cleaning solution. Also, on Mimaki JV3s if your encoder sensor is broken or dirty it can cause the printer to act like you blew a fuse. Always check the sensor before going deeper in the machine.