Need help getting a used Mimaki UCJV300 running again

[HGdesign]

Greetings everyone. I am new here and posted this in the wrong forum yesterday and think this is where it should have been. Sorry for the duplicate.
Thank you all for such a great forum, I've already learned much from reading the other posts.
Just getting started with our first uv printer, a used Mimaki ucjv300. Previous owner only ran it occasionally, and stopped running it about 14-18 months ago. I want to be careful going about refurbishing it back to life and not cause damage due to potentially dried up ink within tubing and components, especially the heads if they can be saved. Looking for guidance on best course of action to begin. Want to have a logical game plan to sequentially go over all critical areas of the machine and get it cleaned out of any solidifed inks before trying to run it. Do you think ink would have hardened in critical components and the head beyond rescue in that much time, or do you guys have experience in reviving a machine that has been sitting that long.
I appreciate any help and guidance you can give to point me toward the best steps to accomplish this.
Thank you so much!

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Done this about 5 times so far, what's the condition? Stored for ## months/powered on/off, etc?

 

[HGdesign]

Done this about 5 times so far, what's the condition? Stored for ## months/powered on/off, etc?

Wow, thank you for such a quick response!
I will be a little slow responding for a couple of days as I work to move things and find a spot for it and will then be able to carefully go around and review and be able to give you accurate details in the next few days, hopefully. Physically good condition overall. There was an error on it which I will double check and report back. I have limited info from the previous owner as the operator familiar with it is no longer with the company. My understanding is that it was lightly used, and kept in the same warehouse since new, and stopped being used about 14-18 months ago. They believe it was well maintained, was powered on for at least part of that time. The inks on it expired early to mid 23. I'm not familiar enough to know if expired inks would have continued to purge and circulate if the machine was on, or if that stops once expired. I'm thinking worst case let's assume it was powered off for 14 to 18 months. There are also some areas where they should have cleaned ink overspray off the bed, and touching here, and there, so I would say not meticulously maintained.
Will be updating you with more. Wanted to reach out and start getting familiar with what I should be thinking and preparing as I get things setup.
Thank you !

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

As long as it wasn't exposed to sunlight or UV light, will probably have good heads. Might need new subtanks (2x, $120-ish each), probably going to have to get a couple of bottles of flush ($50/liter) and some other consumables. Ink isn't old enough to be a concern, and would probably just roll back clock to use it while getting the printer up and going. What was the ink type and color configuration? Most common I see is CMYKClearClearWW/LUS-170.

 

[HGdesign]

As long as it wasn't exposed to sunlight or UV light, will probably have good heads. Might need new subtanks (2x, $120-ish each), probably going to have to get a couple of bottles of flush ($50/liter) and some other consumables. Ink isn't old enough to be a concern, and would probably just roll back clock to use it while getting the printer up and going. What was the ink type and color configuration? Most common I see is CMYKClearClearWW/LUS-170.

I really hope that is the case! That would be quite a blessing. This one is setup with CMYKLcLmWW. I do want to have clear in there. Is it possible to swap out one of the whites with the clear? Or will I have to drop both LcLm and put in 2 of the clears?
And can that change even be made or are we limited to staying with the original ink setups.
As for the flushing and cleanout, should I get any specific Mimaki fluids, or should I consider some stronger cleaners, solvents to get any clogs that might have built up out.
And any recommendations for where to order supplies at good prices? I'd like to get the bottles of flush and wipes, swabs, etc. on hand to begin soon.
Thank you

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Swapping the Lc/Lm to clear is pretty simple. Make sure to get the proper UV flushing fluid for the printer, solvent or aqueous solutions a very bad idea. If near TX, Amcad isn't bad.

 

[HGdesign]

Swapping the Lc/Lm to clear is pretty simple. Make sure to get the proper UV flushing fluid for the printer, solvent or aqueous solutions a very bad idea. If near TX, Amcad isn't bad.

Do you know which is the correct flushing liquids for the UCJV300 series.
I noted the following 3 down but not sure if any of these are correct for this machine:
- ML007-Z-BA -- Flushing Liquid 07 in Liter size bottles
- ML015-Z-B1 ---Maintance liquid #15 (100ml bottles)
- ML016-Z-b2 -- Maintenance Liquid #16 (200ml bottles)

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Fluid 7 is flushing fluid for UV inks, sold in liters (and 2-liter bottles for bigger printers like the JFX500).

 

[HGdesign]

Thank you, I am ordering the fluid.
Here is a screenshot of the error on the printer. They said this happen recently when trying to power up and run a head test to sell the printer. Looking it up, points to powersupply. Have you ever had any experience with this error, and any thoughts now how bad it could be to diagnose and in repair costs.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Could be that, or the board might be damaged. Main voltage being off will get a voltage error for other systems as well.

 

[HGdesign]

Thank you for taking so much time to keep responding. I apologize for repeatedly asking more questions. Looking at the manual you sent, it looks like there are 3 steps noted for this error. Step 2 is testing the power supply, and then step 3 says replace all theree PCB's at once! That sounds pretty bad. When it says 1, 2, 3 ...etc. Does that mean you must do all of those steps to complete a repair, or does it mean it could be one or the other.
Curious if you've ever seen this error and if it's likely that all those boards failed and going to have to be replaced? Looking like that will add up significantly.
- Also, are there ways to source boards and parts like this at a reasonable price, or am I likely looking at full Mimaki prices on spare parts.
- And is it best to post each issue as a new post? For example the 1db error could involve many things, Should I post that as its own post so members see that as a specific issue, and then see various solutions that might work / have worked for different people.
Thank you

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Do the easy/cheap steps first. And make sure when disconnecting anything to document where it went carefully. Snap a photo or whatever. Plugging a cable into the wrong port can lead to a ton of troubleshooting hell. If the printer was running when it was turned off, likely to be something simple. Also, most boards have small fuses clipped or soldered into the board, make sure to check them all on each suspect board with a meter.

 

[HGdesign]

Do the easy/cheap steps first. And make sure when disconnecting anything to document where it went carefully. Snap a photo or whatever. Plugging a cable into the wrong port can lead to a ton of troubleshooting hell. If the printer was running when it was turned off, likely to be something simple. Also, most boards have small fuses clipped or soldered into the board, make sure to check them all on each suspect board with a meter.

While I am waiting for the flushing fluid #07 to arrive, are there any things I can begin doing related to cleaning?
- When I picked up the machine a few days ago, I removed the ink bottles from the top, and wiped and covered their tops with foil. The top tank ports where each ink bottle is mounted had a decent amount of ink at the bottom. I am referring to when an ink bottle is unlatched and lifted up, the ink that is still sitting deep inside the bottom of the well that the nose of the bottle sat in. I covered the entire bottle supply assembly area on the top left of the machine with black plastic bags to protect them from light. Should I leave it like that until my flushing liquid arrives, or reinstall all the ink bottles back on the machine until then.
- Will I be draining / flushing out all the lines first to clean out all the old ink from sitting so long.
- Will I be putting flushing liquid into the top tank ports and then draining it out from the head flush ports to clean out the supply lines to the heads?
Thank you

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

If you want to wipe down the capping station, wiper and head carriage, you can use isopropyl alcohol to tide you over. Ink inside the bottle station is pretty normal as it is a bit of a pain to remove. Hopefully the ink is still flowing fine. If you get a clog, I'll bet it will be in the black lines. Not sure why, but those are always the clogged one for me. As long as the ink isn't too chunky, should flow through the head during cleaning just fine. Those Gen5 heads are pretty dang durable thankfully.

 

[HGdesign]

Is the way to unlock the main printhead carriage so you can safely slide it away from the capping station while the machine is off?
I currently cannot fully boot up due to the 1db error.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

There is a latch on the right side of the print carriage, but you will need to remove the top right panel to gently push a long pointy thingy in to release the latch.

 

[HGdesign]

As I go thru the machine physical cleanup, is it safe to manually turn items like pumps, motors, etc. For example there is what looks like a shaft protruding to fit some tool on this pump. I want to check for anything that may be seized with cured ink, or possible points of leaks, etc.
- Can that shaft sticking out be used to rotate it.?
- Any concerns clockwise / counterclockwise?
Thank you

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Nope, this latch here holds the head.

 

[HGdesign]

Nope, this latch here holds the head.

The picture I posted was referring to the note posted with it about rotating the pumps, etc. safely. Did the text not show with the image?
Thank you for the latch info. I was able to locate that and have been able to slide the head over successfully.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Ahh, as for manually rotating the pumps, you can do it, not going to harm anything. Just beware of pinch points. Just the image showed on my phone.