won't hold cleaning fluid

[skasigns]

When I did a cleaning today on my Mimaki, the two on the right would not hold the cleaning fluid. The print I did just before that looks ok. Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[genericname]

Either your pump is busted, or it's engaging in the wrong spot. For the time being, I'd open up the printer, and manually turn the pump gear until you meet more resistance than usual. That should be an indication of the line being pinched, and you can then put in your cleaning fluid.

Long term though, check those pumps for defects, and either repair or replace them as necessary.

Another issue could be the lines to the pump either having been detached, or having a fissure in them.

 

[artbot]

i think the caps holding fluid has to do with one of two things.

1, i've never taked the trouble to do this but supposedly the pumps have a "closed" position that they rotate to controlled by the firmware. i don't like this because i like to dump cleaning fluid down my caps. this isn't possible if they are closed.

2. they can be clogged instead of closed. another reason for not setting your pumps to closed is if they hold fluid at whatever certain rate, that is a sign of what level of "clogged-ness' they are at.

i'd do this pump mod shown in the attachment. it takes only a few minutes and make the printer way easier to service. ...if you have a head vapor locking, just pull that line, apply a bit of vacuum and you are back to work. if you want to do a head soak, just stick plugs (nails!) in the ends of the lines and fill your caps. also, you can pull a line and check the flow. and or clean the tips which is a major clog point.

 

[MikePro]

I like the access panel! I must have taken mine off and put it back on 20 times in the past 2 weeks...
Guess I know what I'm doing to my printer tonight!

my cyan had the "open position" issue for the past month. I don't think it was a gear "engaging" issue, because the yellow (which is operated by the same gear) was holding fluid just fine. Your lines that are running through the pump are most likely getting stretched/worn and the pump isn't pinching them properly.

finally just replaced the pump itself, $70 from fieldcenter, easy swap.

 

[artbot]

@mikepro, there was someone on signs101 that also did this mod, but has a separate bottle for each color (cmyk x 2). i think he mentioned that he then just gives the colors to his daughter or something for artwork. to me, if done right, you could just dump them back in the printer. don't see why that would be an issue. i used to do that with a single white ink collecting syringe (had a pinhole at the top).

roland engineered white ink recyling for probably about $1500 per printer.

"oh yeah, i got ur white recyclin' right here...."

 

[genericname]

my cyan had the "open position" issue for the past month. I don't think it was a gear "engaging" issue, because the yellow (which is operated by the same gear) was holding fluid just fine.

Naw, didn't mean that the gear wasn't engaged, just that you could advance the gear to lock the pump. As Artbot said, there's a position in the pump that pinches the lines. It's possible that one colour could be pinched, and not the other, either due to misalignment in repair of the pump, or broken gates inside the pump mechanism. Manually advancing the gear is a way of forcing the internal rollers into getting moved by the gates, thereby pinching the line.

If that still doesn't keep fluid in place though, those gates are probably busted. Like I said, either repair or replace, depending on one's level of comfort.

@Artbot - I kind of like the idea of the pump locking. If it's open all the time, then technically the heads resting on the caps are exposed to air (unless the waste solvent is above the point where the lines enter the waste bottle, of course). With the lines pinched, you have an air-tight environment. If I feel the need to flush fluid down the caps without waiting for Disway, I just advance the pumps until all the caps are in the open position.

Edit: On a sidenote, I love that mod. Saw it in a previous post of yours, and put it on my to-do list.

 

[artbot]

thanks, so is there a firmware/font panel choice that will run the pumps? similar to pressing up or down and the pinch roller moves? that would be awesome!

 

[AnotherSignManiac]

it sounds to me as if your lines arent secure into the pumps, check those lines, check for any access ink... where it shouldnt be. And then I would check your pump to make sure that it is pinching the lines properly

 

[genericname]

thanks, so is there a firmware/font panel choice that will run the pumps? similar to pressing up or down and the pinch roller moves? that would be awesome!

You would think, since it's the firmware that manages how often the pumps fire up. If a command exists though, I certainly don't know about it. I'll say this much though; it would save a hell of a lot of time and effort in troubleshooting.

I suppose a hardware mod could circumvent the issue, placing a bypass switch on the motors that drive the gears for the pumps. I think that's more your department than mine though, as the bosses might be reluctant to let me try it out. Last time I made a bypass switch for something, it coincided with a take-up board blowing up. Pretty sure it wasn't my fault, but not a chance the decision makers wanted to continue with, haha!

 

[artbot]

now i'm really tempted to start drilling more holes in the hull. it seems that printers are not designed by people that have ever had to use one.

one odd thing i figured out (maybe i was the last to figure this out). you can pause a print, while in local, do a head cleaning, then go back to remote and continue on where you left off. that's kind of thinking.

 

[gabagoo]

now i'm really tempted to start drilling more holes in the hull. it seems that printers are not designed by people that have ever had to use one.

one odd thing i figured out (maybe i was the last to figure this out). you can pause a print, while in local, do a head cleaning, then go back to remote and continue on where you left off. that's kind of thinking.

except with Flexi, if I pause to long I lose about 1 pass of information..usually happens if I don't change an ink cartridge within about 10 minutes of the beep

 

[MikePro]

except with Flexi, if I pause to long I lose about 1 pass of information..usually happens if I don't change an ink cartridge within about 10 minutes of the beep

is that even information you've lost? happened to me many times and i just assumed that the color just doesn't lay down the same on top of cured ink as it does on top of ink that's still fresh.

 

[MikePro]

@mikepro, there was someone on signs101 that also did this mod, but has a separate bottle for each color (cmyk x 2).

definately going to do that when i switch to bulk.
noted: the vent holes at the bottom of the printer are the perfect size to fit your waste lines through. Couple of screws and a hole in a bottle cap to fit the line through, should make for an easy do-it-yourself ink recycling station.

 

[artbot]

yeah do that instead. that's and upgrade. the printer is just slightly louder with the little cut out. plus it's just a more elegant solution. one thing, i'v also considered moving the waste lines in some way to the front of the printer somehow. maybe i'm getting lazy...