UV bulb error _ Fuji Acuity

[Jesse P]

Hello All, this is my first post so bare with me. I have a Fuji Acuity flatbed printer and I just had all my lines replaced, all my print heads , filters etc etc etc. Now I keep getting a error for right UV bulb that happens in the middle of a job and stops it dead. I have cleaned the poop out of the housing unit and it still happens. Also these bulbs are 2 months old and I am running them at full capacity and they are still pretty tacky.

Any help and all information is greatly appreciated.


Thank you

 

[AlsEU]

Hello All, this is my first post so bare with me. I have a Fuji Acuity flatbed printer and I just had all my lines replaced, all my print heads , filters etc etc etc. Now I keep getting a error for right UV bulb that happens in the middle of a job and stops it dead. I have cleaned the poop out of the housing unit and it still happens. Also these bulbs are 2 months old and I am running them at full capacity and they are still pretty tacky.

Any help and all information is greatly appreciated.


Thank you

Usually the source of such problem may be:
- the bulb itself
- the lamp housing
- the cable (rarely)
- the power supply.

Which exactly model of Acuity you use?

First of all - swap bulbs between lamps (wait first until they are cold, don't burn your fingers!) and check, if the problem stays in the right lamp (that means that the bulb is not a problem and you need to look somewhere else) or it moved to the left lamp (now you know, that it's the bulb). If it's not a bulb, put them again in the positions they were at the beginning (so swap back) and check, if all fans on top of the right UV lamp are working (if not, hot air circulation may be too low to give proper cooling). If all fans are working, try to swap cables connecting UV lamps with the power supplies (it may require to undo some screws in the carriage, don't forget also that you may unplug the cable only when lamps are cooled down, otherwise you may damage the reflector inside the lamp) and check again if the problem moved. It's also possible that one of the power supplies or cables is damaged, but the diagnostics requires the SDS key or at least logs and someone who can read them. Check also, if the ventilation holes on the UV power supply box are clean, sometimes the power supply itself may overheat (try to print anything without cover, but be VERY careful - there is a high voltage inside!!!).


Unfortunately you can't swap housings, as they are different. But you may also swap the power supplies (cables on the PS side).

Everytime you want to disconnect anything, wait until lamps are fully cooled (fans on the top are off), otherwise you may damage the lamp itself (not the bulb). And don't forget, that you can't touch the bulbs with bare hands, use cotton gloves (I use nitrile gloves and cotton gloves on the top to be 100% sure that I don't leave anything on the bulbs).

 

[DallasM]

Hello All, this is my first post so bare with me. I have a Fuji Acuity flatbed printer and I just had all my lines replaced, all my print heads , filters etc etc etc. Now I keep getting a error for right UV bulb that happens in the middle of a job and stops it dead. I have cleaned the poop out of the housing unit and it still happens. Also these bulbs are 2 months old and I am running them at full capacity and they are still pretty tacky.

Any help and all information is greatly appreciated.


Thank you

I had a similar problem last year where a print would stop in the middle. I had a shutter that was sticking closed on a lamp housing. About every 6 paths of printing the shutter would stick closed causing the lamp to overheat. Could also explain tacky prints. Check the shutter and see if it freely moves from closed to open and doesn't have any "stick" to it. If it does, it probably needs the bearings replaced in the lamp housing.

 

[Jesse P]

Usually the source of such problem may be:
- the bulb itself
- the lamp housing
- the cable (rarely)
- the power supply.

Which exactly model of Acuity you use?

First of all - swap bulbs between lamps (wait first until they are cold, don't burn your fingers!) and check, if the problem stays in the right lamp (that means that the bulb is not a problem and you need to look somewhere else) or it moved to the left lamp (now you know, that it's the bulb). If it's not a bulb, put them again in the positions they were at the beginning (so swap back) and check, if all fans on top of the right UV lamp are working (if not, hot air circulation may be too low to give proper cooling). If all fans are working, try to swap cables connecting UV lamps with the power supplies (it may require to undo some screws in the carriage, don't forget also that you may unplug the cable only when lamps are cooled down, otherwise you may damage the reflector inside the lamp) and check again if the problem moved. It's also possible that one of the power supplies or cables is damaged, but the diagnostics requires the SDS key or at least logs and someone who can read them. Check also, if the ventilation holes on the UV power supply box are clean, sometimes the power supply itself may overheat (try to print anything without cover, but be VERY careful - there is a high voltage inside!!!).


Unfortunately you can't swap housings, as they are different. But you may also swap the power supplies (cables on the PS side).

Everytime you want to disconnect anything, wait until lamps are fully cooled (fans on the top are off), otherwise you may damage the lamp itself (not the bulb). And don't forget, that you can't touch the bulbs with bare hands, use cotton gloves (I use nitrile gloves and cotton gloves on the top to be 100% sure that I don't leave anything on the bulbs).

Thanks For the advise. It is a acuity advanced 350

 

[uvgerard]

Fuji UV lamp problems

Hello All, this is my first post so bare with me. I have a Fuji Acuity flatbed printer and I just had all my lines replaced, all my print heads , filters etc etc etc. Now I keep getting a error for right UV bulb that happens in the middle of a job and stops it dead. I have cleaned the poop out of the housing unit and it still happens. Also these bulbs are 2 months old and I am running them at full capacity and they are still pretty tacky.

Any help and all information is greatly appreciated.


Thank you

To make an accurate diagnosis we need the model of your printer. Fuji uses two different style UV lamps in their printers. One system is cassette style--see attached picture

Newer Fuji machines use a lamp having black connectors attached--see picture

Each lamp style has its own merits. The cassette style is know for shutter issues and that would explain shut-off mid print. It also has machine voltage issues which might occur in the summer. The lamp with black connectors is powered by a higher quality UV power supply however shutter sticking can always be an issue. After knowing what lamp you have we can move forward toward a solution

 

[AlsEU]

Thanks For the advise. It is a acuity advanced 350

So now from the beginning:
- swap casettes with bulbs (when you have casettes removed, check the shutters movement, sometimes they may stuck, as someone wrote)
- if the problem stays on the same side, check 3 fans on the top of the lamp, if they are working. Verify also, that the filter above the fans is not clogged.
- check ventilation of the power supplies under the table
- swap cables powering lamps in the carriage
- swap cables powering lamps on the PS side

After each change verify, if the problem stays on the same side or not. And change just one thing and verify where the problem is. If you don't find anything suspicious (problem won't move at all), it may be a time to look in the logs.

 

[DougWestwood]

OCE / FUJI lamp problem

Hey All,

Some excellent advice above. I have run both makes of this machine, OCE + FUJI.

BOTH have the same power supply problem. Stops mid print, have to turn machine off and on, printing resumes. Also, the bulbs are easy to change out, even from inside the older cartridge.

The aspect you describe of your brand new lamps being set on HIGH, but not curing well enough, tells me it's the power supply.

Good luck!
- Doug
Vancouver

 

[AlsEU]

Hey All,

Some excellent advice above. I have run both makes of this machine, OCE + FUJI.

BOTH have the same power supply problem. Stops mid print, have to turn machine off and on, printing resumes. Also, the bulbs are easy to change out, even from inside the older cartridge.

The aspect you describe of your brand new lamps being set on HIGH, but not curing well enough, tells me it's the power supply.

If you swap bulbs between cartridges, you must be aware that it's a procedure not supported by a printer suppliers (both). Technically it may be done, but it may be also dangerous for reflectors inside the cartridge. They are very soft and may be distorted easily, which may lead to curing issues, as the light will not be spreaded evenly. As I know, after first bulb swap lamp should work fine, but after second one the reflector very often becomes bent and whole cartridge needs to be replaced.

And don't forget, that the reflector itself shouldn't be touched with bare hands, same rules as with the bulbs applies.

 

[DougWestwood]

If you swap bulbs between cartridges, you must be aware that it's a procedure not supported by a printer suppliers (both). Technically it may be done, but it may be also dangerous for reflectors inside the cartridge. They are very soft and may be distorted easily, which may lead to curing issues, as the light will not be spreaded evenly. As I know, after first bulb swap lamp should work fine, but after second one the reflector very often becomes bent and whole cartridge needs to be replaced.

And don't forget, that the reflector itself shouldn't be touched with bare hands, same rules as with the bulbs applies.

Yes, true, the cartridge housing is a curved sheet of aluminum. It can get warped while changing, but is pretty easy to bend back into shape. Have not experienced any curing problems from an aluminum housing being bent out of shape. Usually, if it fits back together, it is pretty much in the same shape as before.

And yes, do not touch the bulb or the housing with bare fingers. Use rubber gloves.
Good Luck!
- Doug
Vancouver