XC-540 Take up reel tracking

[IvanDD]

Okay, so this XC-540 was our backup, but is now the primary so its seeing a lot of action. I was never a fan of the take up reel, but now it doesnt matter and I HAVE to use it.

So i use the rollers you stick into the side of the vinyl. I lock it in place. It tracks fine out of the front of the machine (have a piece of tape to see if it tracks left or right and it doesnt). But something about the take up reel is making it move back and forth pretty dramatically. It will scoot to one side head strike on the opposite side, and then move back over and do the same. I have used this machine plenty in the past and I've never had this issue. Does anyone have any ideas? I can no longer trust this machine to run over night or even an hour unsupervised for that matter.

Thanks!

 

[Joe House]

Make sure that the roll holders are not worn or cracked and generally in good shape. Also, check the dancer bar and make sure that the screws are tight. You might also loosen all screws and make sure that both ends are at the bottom of the screw holes to make sure that it is aligned. Finally, make sure that the whole assembly is clamped firmly to the feet and up tight against the legs.

Good Luck,
Joe

 

[Solventinkjet]

You also want to make sure the roll is parallel with the platen. If one side is higher than the other it will cause it to pull in that direction. You can see if yours is parallel by using a strip of banner material and looping it around the take up roll. Then feed the banner material through the pinch roller and pull it tight onto the platen but not enough for it to stretch. Just enough for it to lay flat on the platen. Mark the banner material where it lines up with the edge of the platen. Then do this again on the other side of the machine. Adjust the take up until each side lines up.

 

[IvanDD]

Thank you guys. I did the strip of banner thing and went from the platen to around the take up roll. It all seems level. I measured from the ground to the take up reel, to the tensioner, everything seems good. I changed the outside rollers and its still doing it. I have no idea whats going on.

 

[White Haus]

I've had the same experience with our XC-540 and XR-640 since we've gotten them.

Can't trust them to track for more than an hour.

Wish I had some suggestions for you but I've yet to find something that works.

 

[BALLPARK]

We have an XC-540 that we use for cutting. The XC-540 was a workhorse during it's time with printing wraps for us. The tracking was never great on long runs and we had to adjust throughout the roll. It's not fun and requires attention. But you can try to dial it in as suggested above and you will find a somewhat consistent amount of time that will pass before it will need attention.

We try only to cut items up to 48" to 60" long as it would track off slightly enough to cause a smh moment.

Like all printers... they have their strong points and weak points.

I'm not sure you will find a way to get excellent tracking. But maybe also change all the grit rollers at once and go through the steps mentioned above again. It's a good printer and Roland was on top of the world when that printer was in it's prime. I feel like they lost of lot of super loyal customers form the XR series forward.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that will cause you less issues.

 

[JaySea20]

We have the same issue. We just do our best to limit prints to 16' or less. I know that doesn't help with the overnight issue,

 

[IvanDD]

Yea, I was pulling tight against the heater instead of the tensioner and that seemed to work for a while, but now its back to tracking after say 20 feet or so. It doesnt always happen, but it happens most of the time. I had a GS6000 and loved the take reel on that thing, I could trust it to run a whole roll of vinyl overnight. Now, im limited to only printing while I'm at the office.

 

[iraney]

check to see if you have a bad or loose rubber wheel where it clamps the material.

 

[Broome Signs]

HI We had the same problem

best fix is to undo the arm on the motor side and cut the side off , See photo, put back together
this stops the media geting snaged
loosen of bottom brackit both sides and make shore all is square to the machine legs and re fit in place.

make shore the take up roll is pushed on all the way home

start with the media to be printed, bang it down on the floor to make shore it is square on the roll and carfully load the printer
(if the roll is loos roll it backwards to retention it)
feed out a bit of media and cut both sides down towards the center V shape, and tape only the center to the take up roll
start your print and pull out the bar as the print goes past it

this is the only way we can print overnight

dont forget the meda clamps and regualy clean them

also worth changeing the outside pinch rollers as they soon flatten out

 

[ProPDF]

Stop using cardboard cores and use plumbing PVC cores. The cardboard cores expand and cause walking. Also replace your pinch wheels on a regular basis before they show wear.