MP 6000/Sr 970 hole punch mystery

[Lagonda]

A problem I thought had gone away has reared its ugly head again.

I have fitted the latest firmware but they still do it. Any bright ideas?

[Kopyrtek]

Dont have an answer for you yet but i have one that will punch two holes but wont do the three holes.It will throw a SC760 code.Am going to try a new drive motor and see if that will solve my problem.The latest firmware for the finisher is 3.18.
Will let you know what solves mine.May help yours too.

[Kopyrtek]

Just got back from putting the punch motor assy in and still did no good.Tech support says it COULD be a finisher main board problem.Guess we will see.Will be another week before i can get back as this is a school and they will be closed all next week.Will post as soon as i can get the part in.

[Lagonda]

The word I've had back from my Tech Support is the there are variations of the SR970 finisher. Early models had different firmware to suit earlier model copiers, so I'm off into town later on today to decode the serial numbers off the finishers to see if their production date is close to the copiers.

[Cipher]

Does this hole punch problem occur on both copying and printing?

[cobiray]

I've had the same issues on a few of these as well. I've seen the hole punches back up and need emptied out. Sometimes, the frame that holds the punches has been misaligned. I ended up taking the unit out and disassembling the units, cleaning and filing the holes for the punches. They seem to get bound up for some reason (possibly burrs on the holes). I really don't like the new style punch units at all. They seem very over engineered, IMO.

[Lagonda]

Yes.

[Cipher]

I was thinking it could be print driver / PJL command error.
But it definely sounds like a firmware bug if it's on both copying and printing.

[Kopyrtek]

The finisher i am working on has the latest version (3.18) on it.I know that version takes care of the misaligned holes on the 8000 but i am not sure of what is does for the 6000.

[Lagonda]

More Info.
The customer has 8 MP6000/SR970 combinations and they have all done the 4 hole for 2 hole trick. Two have done it more often but they do a lot more hole punching then the others.
The production dates on the finishers is close to that of the copiers so there should be no miss match of firmware issues.

The IT nurds think it could be a problem with the way Softlog and Enhanced Lock Print were installed so I've got them going out on Monday to reload everything.

The customers getting narky and the salesmans giving me a hard time 'cos he hasn't got his commission cheque yet and his alimony and BMW X5 lease payments are due! but I'm going too sneak off and watch the cricket for the afternoon!

[Cipher]

Screw the salesman' he/she should sell something that works LOL.

[Shadow1]

First thing you want to do is pull the waste chad conveyor belt assembly and rip out the static brushes on either side of the belt. This won't help with your 2/3 (us) 2/4 (uk) punch issue, but will save you a lot of time later with the vacuum sucking confetti out of the finisher.

Next pull the punch itself and make sure the motor / rails / punch heads are clean and WELL lubricated. Heck, just dip it in grease.

Check to make sure nothing is rubbing on the home and punch position sensors.

Find the engineer who designed this Rube Goldberg Machine and be sure he can't reproduce - the gene pool needs a little chlorine.

For those of you not familiar with Rube Goldberg try dispensing toothpaste via this mechanical marvel:

[cobiray]

Something we've done to try and help the chads leave the punch unit is to add some friction surface to the transport belt. We've been putting some super glue at 30-40mm increments and putting a gritty powder on the glue. We've used sand, baking powder or whatever is handy. I don't know if it really helps getting the chads out or if it's just chance that it seems to help.

[Shadow1]

The chads always seem to catch on the hairs from the static brushes - without the brushes I haven't had one backup and barf so far, but I'm still waiting. I'd thought about gluing a few standing kleats to the belt, but I didn't think the glue would hold up too good with all the constant flexing (the belt runs any time the entrance motor is going)

I'll try your Idea - I want to ask a customer "Do you have any sand or baking soda?" Just to see the look on their face...

[cobiray]

It's not a field fix, just something we've been trying on a few of the high punch volume accounts. Although, you could always check the "Smokers Oasis" outside the back door for some sand...