Versacamm SP300V - Carriage Rail Sliders Friction

[JeffInPcola]

Hello folks,

I was printing a banner on my SP300V and suddenly the carriage stopped in the middle of the printer. I got a Scan Motor Error 0080 0080, and then a Service Call 0110. When I disconnect the part with the plotter blade from the print carriage, the part with the plotter blade (which is connected to the cable) moves left-right-left-right very freely.


The print carriage moves with a lot of resistance. The rail had not been cleaned in awhile. So I cleaned it, and at one point, some nylon looking fuzz came out in a big glob. After that, the printer allowed the carriage to move itself and clean itself with no error, but after cleaning, it gave the Scan Motor Error again. (I feel sure there is more fuzz in there that I can't get to.)


Although reduced, there is still resistance on the print carriage. It seems that there are sliders (that maybe have nylon insets) that travel across the rail. Does it seem reasonable to think the problem is these sliders being worn out? And the fuzz is the nylon part of the sliders? (Printer is 7 years old, medium duty.) I'm hoping that somebody will say 'Yes, that's what it is, but such-n-such LUBE will give you a couple more years of printing without having to replace anything."


I'm temped to try a super slippery grease from the auto store, but I don't know if that would immediately eat into the sliders or otherwise destroy my machine. Stop me before I do something stupid!


Let me know what you think, and thanks in advance for your time!

Jeff in Pensacola

 

[GTSTech_1]

3 in 1 oil should be good enough for oiling the rail. Not sure about the "Nylon" being in the "Sliders", I have gone with the assumption they are metal bearings. If the "Sliders" are giving you the resistance that is causing the scan motor error, Roland doesn't sell just the sliders, you have to replace the whole rail. That can be a high dollar repair, not just the part, but the labor involved (you have to remove the print carriage, and then perform all the head alignments). I would look at the scan motor before replacing the rail. 7 years use on a scan motor is really good, most of my customers are replacing them every 2-3 years (High volume shops).

My .02

GTSTech_1

 

[JeffInPcola]

Arggg! Sorry for not replying with a "thank you" GTSTech_1! I didn't get an auto email letting me know somebody replied to this post. After trying grease with some success, I ended up getting some Liquid Bearings and lubing my rail with that, and my machine eventually started sliding smoothly again (after a period of about a week of slowly getting smoother). I now think that it was most likely some kind of buildup of junk that got into the sliders that had to work itself out. Thanks for the help and info!