Roland VC - print heads became uncapped over the weekend?

I don't have a ton of experience with that printer but I know for sure it wipes the heads when it does periodic cleanings. If the wiper didn't get out of the way and the heads hit it, that would cause the machine to either error out and/or just freeze to protect the heads. I would look at the wiper mechanism and clean any ink off and possible grease it to make sure it moves properly.

 

The Mimakis do it too but their wiper mechanism is designed in a way that if the head hits the wiper it can slide by without jamming. The only way too turn it off would be to turn auto cleanings off. Not sure if that is possible on that model though.

 

Which model is it? VersaCamm is a series and there are quite a few models in that series. With different wiper systems. You don't want to turn off your your auto cleanings. This isn't a common situation in my experience. I would make sure that your wiper system is clean and consumable parts are fresh.
If this is a one off experience, it could just be the shop gremlin stopped by (my explanation for the unexplainable) . If it happens more frequently than once a year, and isn't giving any error codes (It seems that you would have gotten a wiper error if the wiper was the cause or a scan motor error if the wiper stopped the carriage) you probably have an electrical issue. How old is the printer? Is the printer plugged into a surge protector or battery backup? Is power to your shop generally reliable?
If you have any more details, I'm happy to guess some more, but the items above would point to where I would go first in order to prevent future issues like this.

Good Luck

 

Versa-Cam can be a SP-540v, SP-540i, VP-540, VP-540i, VS-540, but if it's about 4 years old, I would guess that it's a VS-540i.
If so, when were the wiper(#25), felt(324) and wiper scraper(#26) last replaced? The wiper scraper tends to get neglected when doing the weekly cleaning. Also, I've seen customers put the wiper and/or felt in the incorrect position in the holders (#11). This can cause errors as well.


I hope this helps.

Good Luck