how do i go about flushing out my sc-540 proII please?

[Michael Antrum]

Press menu and then the down arrow until you see the heading ‘INK CONTROL’ – Press the right arrow and the the down arrow a couple of times until you see ‘Head Wash’ – Pressing Enter will then inititate the flushing proceedure.

If you only have your oringinal 4 flush cartridges that were shipped with the machine and were used on install – it is likely that you will not have enough flush to complete the proceedure.

As an alternative method – say if you only want to flush a couple of colours, you can also put the flush into Bank A, B or C and do 2 powerful cleans – leave for 15 mintues – put the ink back in and and do two powerful cleans again.

It is unusual to have to flush the machine after install, but not unheard of.

Good Luck,

Mike

[dave48858]

Yes, I got brave and primed it with a large sering and was able to get it primed and flushed. it’s like the three pumps under the head aren’t working. but it does print. I don’t quite understand how that works, I have figured out that the 3 pumps pull the ink/cleaner through the heads. I can hook the sering to 1 of the 3 lines to the drain which primes 4 of the lines (2 colors).

nothing has been going into the drain bottle unlike when I recall when they brought the machine. i haven’t seen those pumps pull anything through the lines, is it possible that all 3 went bad at once? they are the new pumps (recalled) whatever. mechanically it appears that they are all working, but nothing is being forced through.

after all that, I was able to print every color but red. I’ve still got a few more ideas I want to play with, i’ll let you know how they work.

Thanks a lot, Dave

quote michael antrum:

Press menu and then the down arrow until you see the heading ‘INK CONTROL’ – Press the right arrow and the the down arrow a couple of times until you see ‘Head Wash’ – Pressing Enter will then inititate the flushing proceedure.

If you only have your oringinal 4 flush cartridges that were shipped with the machine and were used on install – it is likely that you will not have enough flush to complete the proceedure.

As an alternative method – say if you only want to flush a couple of colours, you can also put the flush into Bank A, B or C and do 2 powerful cleans – leave for 15 mintues – put the ink back in and and do two powerful cleans again.

It is unusual to have to flush the machine after install, but not unheard of.

Good Luck,

Mike

[Michael Antrum]

Dave,

You will need to get the pumps fixed, but it may not be the pumps at all. The new pumps are very reliable, and do not fail often. For all 3 to go at once is very unlikely.

What could well be the case is the the piping has become blocked with dried ink, you could try pushing or pulling flush solutions through the pipes. Also, wet the cap head seals and sponges with flush as when they dry out you don’t always get an airtight seal on the head.

It may also be damper related – the seals between the heads and dampers or ink lines and dampers may have failed, so you are pulling air through rather than ink.

It’s quite simple really, if the pumps are working and you aren’t getting ink through, there will be an air leak or a blockage somewhere in the ink flow.

Once you get the ink moving, things normal sort themselves out quickly.

Regards,

Mike

[dave48858]

Well, I’m able to pull ink from the tanks in the back of the machine, I’ve pulled the flush through, and then ink again through all 12 lines so there’s no blockage. I like your idea about the wetting the cap heads because when I had everything primed, it worked until I printed about 2 square feet then it ran out of ink.

My next question is where the ink line come in to the print carriage, it hooks up to a piece of plastic and from there it goes down into the print head. what is the purpose of this piece of plastic. What I’m getting at is what pumps the ink while it is printing? are those pumps deeper inside the machine? Gravity can’t be assisting too much in this situation.

I’m going to try wetting the cap heads and I’ll get back with you if I need help with the dampers. I’m not quite sure what the dampers are but I’m sure you can explain it to me.

Thanks a million,

Dave

quote michael antrum:

Dave,

You will need to get the pumps fixed, but it may not be the pumps at all. The new pumps are very reliable, and do not fail often. For all 3 to go at once is very unlikely.

What could well be the case is the the piping has become blocked with dried ink, you could try pushing or pulling flush solutions through the pipes. Also, wet the cap head seals and sponges with flush as when they dry out you don’t always get an airtight seal on the head.

It may also be damper related – the seals between the heads and dampers or ink lines and dampers may have failed, so you are pulling air through rather than ink.

It’s quite simple really, if the pumps are working and you aren’t getting ink through, there will be an air leak or a blockage somewhere in the ink flow.

Once you get the ink moving, things normal sort themselves out quickly.

Regards,

Mike

[Michael Antrum]

It sounds like a damper issue. When you can print for a bit and then the ink goes it is usually the damper, although you may have a cracked or broken manifold.

The ink lines go into the dampers, which in turn plugs onto the manifold, which is bolted onto the printhead.

The dampers do a couple of jobs for us:

They have a filter which strains the ink much like the fuel filter in a car. Over time this metal gauze filter may become blocked constricting the supply of ink to the head.

They equalize the pressure of the ink as it supplied to the head.

Dampers can, however, have the following problems:

Poor seal between the ink line and the damper. When you remove the ink line from the damper you undo a brass nut. Inside this nut is a rubber washers. You need to make sure this connection is good. Sometime the ink lines get a crimp at the bottom, so you need to cut them back about 3-5 mm to get a good seal.

Also there is a window on each damper – ensure that this is not punctured.

The damper has a gauze filter which you should be able to see through the window. If this is clogged up you could try washing it out with flush.

Most likely is that the seals on the bottom of the damper have come apart. The rubber seals at the botton of the dampers plug onto a black vertical spike which is part of the manifold. If this seal has dropped apart they will need replacing. Sometimes these seals swell causing the black spike on the manifold to crack or break. If the manifold is damaged the head will need to come out and the manifold replaced – not a simple task if you have not done it before.

You can break the black spike if you are not careful when removing or replacing dampers, – be very careful when doing this.

I am pretty confident from what you describe that you problem is the dampers.

Regards,

Mike

[dave48858]

Fantastic, I will get a hold of my supplier and get some dampers on the way. Again, I really appreciate all your help. The next step was going to be to take the printer to Grand Rapids.

Ok, my next question would be what pumps the ink while it is printing?

We tested the 3 pumps below the head, they appear to be working yet they can’t do the pumping while it is printing.

we can pull ink and cleaner from the tanks in the rear from before the damper (incoming lines)

yet barley a drop has ended up in the drain bottle with multiple cleanings, flushings, and fillings.

Thanks again,

Dave

quote michael antrum:

It sounds like a damper issue. When you can print for a bit and then the ink goes it is usually the damper, although you may have a cracked or broken manifold.

The ink lines go into the dampers, which in turn plugs onto the manifold, which is bolted onto the printhead.

The dampers do a couple of jobs for us:

They have a filter which strains the ink much like the fuel filter in a car. Over time this metal gauze filter may become blocked constricting the supply of ink to the head.

They equalize the pressure of the ink as it supplied to the head.

Dampers can, however, have the following problems:

Poor seal between the ink line and the damper. When you remove the ink line from the damper you undo a brass nut. Inside this nut is a rubber washers. You need to make sure this connection is good. Sometime the ink lines get a crimp at the bottom, so you need to cut them back about 3-5 mm to get a good seal.

Also there is a window on each damper – ensure that this is not punctured.

The damper has a gauze filter which you should be able to see through the window. If this is clogged up you could try washing it out with flush.

Most likely is that the seals on the bottom of the damper have come apart. The rubber seals at the botton of the dampers plug onto a black vertical spike which is part of the manifold. If this seal has dropped apart they will need replacing. Sometimes these seals swell causing the black spike on the manifold to crack or break. If the manifold is damaged the head will need to come out and the manifold replaced – not a simple task if you have not done it before.

You can break the black spike if you are not careful when removing or replacing dampers, – be very careful when doing this.

I am pretty confident from what you describe that you problem is the dampers.

Regards,

Mike

[Michael Antrum]

The ink only needs pumping to pull it through and for force cleaning. Once the ink is in the lines/dampers/heads, as the machine prints, simple pressure keeps pulling through the ink on it’s own. It’s kind of like siphoning petrol (or should I say gas !).

What is happening is as the machine prints, pressure should build up in the dampers which will pull through more ink to replace what is used and replenish the print head. What is happening is either there is an air leak (so no pressure builds up and therefore doesn’t repleish and the ink fades out after a bit) or a blockage in the filter (preventing the pressure in the damper from pulling through more ink). The end result of both of these isues is a print that fades out the affected colours reasonably quickly.

You only need the pumps for priming the ink (initial fill) and maintaining the prime (cleaning).

One thing I have often seen is when a damper will pull the ink through, but has an air leak that is so small that it works. However, if you let the machine stand (say over a weekend), the ink can run back up the ink lines back to the tanks. That is a sure sign of a faulty damper.

I am pretty sure that replacing the relevant dampers wil fix your problem.

Regards,

Mike