Gerber plotter drum

[Fred Weiss]

i just got off the phone with gerber 2 hrs ago ad thy said a new drum for my 15 year old gsx plus 15" plotter was going to be $395.let me know if you find a replacement cheeper or a new slip on cover and where to buy 1 ty&gl

$395 is about half the price it used to be and you have step by step instructions to install it in my post #10 in this thread.

 

[shakey0818]

ty fred i will print the instrustions and save them

 

[theplotterdoctor]

Welcome from PA.............................


We've done business with him three times. I can't say that I'm pleased with his work as of lately.

Our first plotter he repaired instead of replacing parts like he said he would do. Cost was still the same.

Second plotter he did replace the drum on our 30" and we have been happy since, until our most recent which was a 15" plotter.

He charged us to fix a problem and had a 90 day warranty and it gave out. We contacted him around 60 days that his repair work did not work. He diddled around until the 90 days was up and then he said we were over the warranty. Rather than get into a pissing contest, we just go without our 15" til this day and it cost us $1,200 plus shipping and insurance. It's a kinda sore subject with me.

Hello. I am Ron from The Plotter Doctor. I'm not sure what of what specifically happened with your repair, but we warranty all of our repairs for 6 months and we make sure our repaired plotters are tested and operating as good as new. We stand behind our repairs and have been doing this for 30 years.
Please contact us if you feel we have done a disservice to you and we can look into resolving any issues.

 

[theplotterdoctor]

My replacement rubber cover on drum has seams, resulting in uneven surface for cutting vinyl material. Not horrible but there are issues cutting intermediate vinyl. I have been looking into other companies that specialize in rubber tubing. I like to have something that can be slipped over drum like a platen on an old Underwood type writer.

If you have a seam and it's not cutting correctly, send it back to us and we will replace it. Our drums are all tested and cut as good or better than a new Gerber drum. Also, our drums will not melt and decompose like the factory drum. Our drums are guaranteed for 5 years.

We guarantee that our drums will cut as good or better than a factory drum. We have sold hundreds of these drums and people have been very happy with them. We also instruct people on how to replace the drums over the phone.

 

[Frozewizard]

Here's a step by step from memory. The memory is of Signmaker, Sprint and SuperSprint plotters so there may be some minor differences you will need to interpret with the HS-15. You will need a Phillips screwdriver and a set of Allen wrenches.:

1. Unplug the plotter from the electrical outlet.

2. Remove the Phillips screws that hold on the two end covers and remove the end covers. This may vary with the keypad on the front of the HS-15 and you may only want to remove the rear end cover.

3. Locate the motor that drives the X-axis drum. It is held in place by four Phillips screws. Make note of its approximate position, remove the four screws and remove the motor.

4. You are now looking at the gear that is driven by the motor. It is attached to a stainless steel drum support shaft that runs through the X-axis drum. It is held in place by a Allen screw collar clamp. The drum support shaft is held in place by a second collar clamp located just the other side of the chassis wall on the drum itself. Later, when you install the new drum you will want to adjust the side to side slop. So at this time, spin the drum an note the relative freedom with which it spins and how little if any side to side slop there is if you try to wiggle the drum from side to side.

DO NOT loosen the collar clamp on the gear, but DO loosen the Allen screw on the collar clamp on the drum.

5. Place one hand on the X-axis drum to prevent it from moving and with the other hand turn the drum drive gear while also pulling it straight out of the drum. The gear and the support shaft will come completely out of the plotter. Left behind are the drum, the collar clamp and one or two washers that ride on the shaft between the drum and the motor end roller bearing. Make note of the order of these washers. Also make note of which end of the drum has the sliding sprocket.

Optional step 5A. Inspect the drum support shaft for any significant wear at the two points that in was in contact with the two roller bearings. If wear is visible, loosen the collar clamp on the drive gear, remove the gear and clamp, reinstall on the other end of the shaft and tighten the collar clamp. Because the contact points are different, this is the next best thing to replacing the drum support shaft.

6. Remove the drum and washers from the plotter. Place the drum collar clamp on the new drum in the same orientation as on the old drum. Insert the drum support shaft slightly through the bearing on the motor end and place the washers on it in the same order as when removed.

7. Insert the new drum into the cavity and work the support shaft all the way through it and the roller bearing on the other end.

8. With your fingers on the sprocket and your thumb on the drum drive gear, gently but firmly squeeze together to remove any side to side slop and tighten the drum collar clamp. Check the drum for any side to side wiggle (there should be none) and that it spins freely as experienced in step 4.

9. Reinstall the motor. Note this is a slotted adjustment for how tightly the motor gear meshes with the drum drive gear. As with step 8, a gentle but firm squeeze is what is needed.

10. Plug in the plotter and slew the plotter left and right listening and looking for anything that doesn't sound or look right. If satisfied, unplug the plotter, reinstall the end covers, plug it back in and you're good to go.

Fred -
Thank you for these step by step instructions, I replaced our drum in our HS15 and had no complications. Take pictures when disassembling because if you get busy with other things you may forget where certain parts go! Runs great!

Thanks

 

[Arturo]

Thanks Fred.

Just got me GSX 15 working again. Thanks two your 10 steps! A lot easier than I would have ever imagined!