JV3 Triangle Ink Bulk System - Air in lines

[DunnSignsVa]

Ok from what I am seeing I have air in the lines from the bulk 6 color ink system to the heads. Out of all the other problems I have had I have finally resolved most and am stuck on this one.

From what I can see the bulk ink runs off gravity to feed it to the heads, so I am assuming that the ink has to be first drawn to the heads somehow maybe with a syringe or manual pump. I pulled the machine apart and noticed that the owner before me has had the standard ink cartridges on the back bypassed and capped off. The new system goes as follows...

Bulk Ink system>lines>to head.


The old system from what I see is

Cartridges>inklines>pump> to head

Appreciate any feedback or help on this one,

Thanks

 

[Cmind335]

The new system goes as follows...

Bulk Ink system>lines>to head.

That sound about right. The cartridges are left on for the sensors that tell the machine that the cartridge is installed. I've worked on two JV3 Machines with that system and it works pretty nice. Gravity. That's it. If you have air in the lines, what probably happened is that, at some point, the dampeners were disconnected from the print head or the big cartridge ran out of ink and refilled without a proper bleeding procedure. Removing the dampener from the Printer and pulling ink with a syringe to remove all the air should take care of that problem.

 

[GTSTech_1]

Not sure what the question was but I can let you know "the old style" should read.....

Carts, inkline, damper, head, captop, then pump.


With the bulk it will be the same

Bulk Tanks, inkline, damper, head, captop, then pump.


My .02

GTSTech_1

 

[DunnSignsVa]

Awesome appreciate it CMind

As far as the actual question GTS it was How do I get the air out of the ink lines.

Thanks guys

 

[particleman]

A properly working machine will be able to pull ink out of the cartridge and fill the lines in 4 ink fill ups. I know this from experience, we've run ours out of ink before. If you are changing a head for example you can use a syringe to prime the lines by removing the damper. If you have an air leak you'll need to fix that first then do the ink fill ups.

 

[DunnSignsVa]

Alrighty thanks for the info everyone.

 

[artbot]

couple other hints. after pulling the ink all the way purging the air from the line. quickly put the damper on the line. set the same syringe at the bottom of the damper and pull a vacuum on it (careful not to stress the thin polyester membrane). tilt the damper back (top end downward) as the ink comes into the damper. that will allow for a full damper as the air is further pulled out by the syringe. also later on i'd add a set of valves and tubes to get mechanical and visual access to your capping station/pump operation. it is an invaluable modification that allows you to quickly pull a vacuum at a certain head. monitor pump vacuum. hold fluid at the caps during repairs. diagnose pump leaks, etc.

attached is a pick of the two way valves and the "t" lures that allow vacuum both above and below the valve.

 

[DunnSignsVa]

Awesome thanks for the advice guys it really has helped a ton.

- Art, thanks I think I will invest in that clever little mod you have there, seems like a good head ache reducer. That is until I get my new Roland or Mimaki Printer after thi

 

[artbot]

no problem. i've got tons of little mods on my printer. my new endeavor is to put a konica/minolta style automatic head cleaning system on the printer. turn one knob and you are immediately running a custody wash while keeping the ink in the lines and dampers still hooked up.

as far as the gravity. the printer does not run on gravity. the ink is syphoned to the heads. the capping station when refreshing and doing routine cleans keeps the vacuum in the lines. unhook a damper and watch gravity drag the ink back to the supply. if you alter the gravity by tilting the printer horizontally or raise a cartridge too high you will see that gravity allow the ink to just start dripping from the head.