Roland XR-640 Take up Reel - Tips Please !! Too much buckling

[miltondavis]

Does someone have a good technique that allows them to utilize the take up reel for an entire roll of media without buckling and getting off track?

From various banner medias, and adhesive vinyls I can honestly say I have never had luck printing super long prints without
media buckling and causing head strikes.

I have taken extra special care to load the back of machine to the front of machine to front take up reel with extreme precision and it doesnt matter how hard i try
media always begins to walk ever so slightly to one side and the pinch wheels holding the media begin to create buckles.
Ive adjusting heat settings, and tried running extra media to waste forward then taping to reel then reseting media after its all under tension it always eventually gets off track.
Luckily the media edge guards are a savior and I pull tension to the side if buckling starts again. This occurs on any speed of print mode-fast or slow. Problems begin usually between 10 to 15 feet into a job.

Please enlighten me everyone if you have a better technique, Ive been thru various digital printers over the years and feel the most unconfident with this take up reel system.

Thanks

 

[Ragnabrok]

Oh boy, my nemesis. Irregular vinyl feed is usually the case here.

First off, how good of a hold do the arms that hold the media on the back have? if those can slide at all, they will, one end will sag and now the media is no longer straight.
Same goes for the front, the arm for the take up tube should not be able to move or wiggle, same thing will happen.
The dancer bar (aluminum tube on the swing arms) is adjustable, and if it is much tighter against the vinyl on one side vs the other, it can pull the vinyl sideways.
Vacuum bed. If this is 54" media, there is 10" of open vacuum bed, killing any chance at decent suction. An 8.5x11 piece of paper covers the open spot almost perfectly, and if you sheet cut it by accident, its just paper.

And the big one, the stand itself. Either by the install itself, or vibration or impact, the stand might not be square with the printer. On 4 xr's i've taken it off the stand, got it down to individual pieces again, and reassembled, either eliminating, or at least reducing the effect.

Best of luck

 

[miltondavis]

Oh boy, my nemesis. Irregular vinyl feed is usually the case here.

First off, how good of a hold do the arms that hold the media on the back have? if those can slide at all, they will, one end will sag and now the media is no longer straight.
Same goes for the front, the arm for the take up tube should not be able to move or wiggle, same thing will happen.
The dancer bar (aluminum tube on the swing arms) is adjustable, and if it is much tighter against the vinyl on one side vs the other, it can pull the vinyl sideways.
Vacuum bed. If this is 54" media, there is 10" of open vacuum bed, killing any chance at decent suction. An 8.5x11 piece of paper covers the open spot almost perfectly, and if you sheet cut it by accident, its just paper.

And the big one, the stand itself. Either by the install itself, or vibration or impact, the stand might not be square with the printer. On 4 xr's i've taken it off the stand, got it down to individual pieces again, and reassembled, either eliminating, or at least reducing the effect.

Best of luck

Thanks Ragnabrok for your feedback much appreciated and will review to see if i need to disassemble and reassemble likely!

 

[Solventinkjet]

I'm not sure how those take ups work on the Roland but on the Mutoh take ups, I usually have to adjust them for proper balance. On the left side of the machine take a long, skinny piece of banner and wrap it around the take up tube and then pull the remaining banner through the area where media normally goes on the platen. Put tension on the banner so it lays flat on the platen and pick a reference point on the platen to compare. Mark the banner where the reference point is and then do the same on the right side. If the mark on the banner doesn't line up with the reference point you chose on the left side, shim or adjust your take up to allow it to match.

Sorry if that isn't the best description!

 

[Roland Product Support]

Roland Product Support Contribution

Hello,

This is Roland corporate product support adding to this email thread. Based on all that's written, it seems additional product support is needed.

For you to receive that support, it's recommended to contact us at 800-542-2307 or simply complete email support form online here: https://www.rolanddga.com/support/product support form/.

Alternatively, it's encouraged for you to contact your regional, authorized Roland dealer for additional support.

We hope these other methods to obtain support help in some way.

Take care,
Roland Technical Support
Roland DGA Corp.
rn