GBC Streampunch III - jamming in Die area

[Smee]

Hey guys - Im having a few issues with a GBC Streampunch III hooked up to an AF2105 with a SR871 finisher. It had an SR872 finisher that was constantly jamming in the entrance sensor and saddle stitch stapler (as on the SMC report) - played around with it for a while then decided to try another finisher on it, which fixed half my jam problems....

So now its jamming approx every 500 copies in the punch unit around the die area. When it jams there are 2 pages caught up - ones going in behind the other.

Ive done the usual strip it down, clean the paper path, polish out any nicks and scratches. The rollers are clean - I have ordered a new set of idler gears in the entrance side as they are slick when compared to the exit side which are rough. I have cleaned the sensors, updated firmware and leveled the units. Ive also lubed the die's felt and springs.

The paper stop mechanism appears fine - the solenoid, linkages and springs are all there, and the die itself is only a couple of months old and fairly new.

So at this stage I'm running outta ideas - apart from the idler rollers - but I'm thinking of trying a new punch die. I was also wondering if there were any common / known problems with the paper stop mechanism?

Any help or ideas - no matter how obscure! - is really appreciated.

[TonerMunkeh]

Ayup!

According to the peripherals section of the manuals, there isn't an SR871. Is that the correct model number? I've seen an SR870 but that's for the old 550. If it is one of them, it won't work. Neither will the SR850/860/861, they are for the Martini (2075 etc) only.

[Smee]

Sorry mate - just went back to our manuals and your right - I got the model number wrong.

I took out an SR842 and replaced it with an SR841 which seems to work fine - 5000 copies without being punched and not a single jam.

[Shadow1]

The backguage assembly (paper stop) can stick occasionally, so its not a bad idea to strip it down, clean, and lube it. Sometimes you find other problems when you do it. (dimpled chads)

I've also heard of the punch clutch slipping. It's just a gigantic electromagnetic plate clutch, so it's really easy to tear apart and clean the plate then ruff it with some fine sandpaper. One of mine actually had oil on the plates, but it was still working

Had one on a Pro1356Ex where the cam assembly was extremely stiff. Pulling it apart, filing the bushings a bit so they don't bind, and greasing it up really good helped.

There was an update to the entrance sensors that can help with jams. The punch uses the lag between those sensors to determine the transport speed so if the distance isn't quite right it will run the entrance and exit motor at the wrong speed. If your sensors are mounted together and gapped with a single bracket they have been updated, if not try adding or removing a washer or two to change the speed.

What fixes most of the odd jamming problems for me (assuming the paper path is free from burrs) is to unlatch the tension spring on the center backing roller for the aligning belts. Sometimes its just the entrance or exit, sometimes you need to do both. With just the top and bottom roller pressing the paper against the belt it doesn't shove the page as hard into the aligining guide which can slow the page down and trigger a jam. This is especially true for the faster machines - I've never had to modify a 90ppm machine, but all of my 135's have 1 or usually both center rollers untensioned.

[Smee]

Thanks Shadow - you've given me a few helpful ideas that I hadn't thought of.

Im going back prolly on Monday to fit the idler rollers so i will definately have a look at the aligning belt rollers and re-visit the back gauge assembly.

The entrance sensors already have the bracket between them so it has been modded.

Im still a bit unsure why I have saddle stitch jams on the smc report when the stapler has NEVER been used. Im assuming this is what the copier uses as a jam when it occurs in the streampunch? I mean, its a third party machine so the copier dosn't have a jam location for the punch unit so it uses the saddle stitch location instead.....if that makes sense?

[Shadow1]

If I remember, that machine still hotwires itself into the finisher and cheats the sensors, so yes, a GBC jam will show up as an odd finisher jam. Its much more integrated on the new series machines, but its still a pain to work on.

[Bob484]

I have vever seen a Stream Punch operate smoothly on any machine. They are a little better installed on canons for some reason. Customer has to run paper within spec of the punch and keep the chads from collecting around the puch area. They like to collect up in the rear then slip in and play havock with the sensor. Good luck

[Smee]

As a follow up....I replaced the finisher with a second hand unit. Stopped all the entrance sensor jams on the SMC report, but the punch was still jamming in the die area. So I put in new idler rollers in the punch entrance, and also a new die unit.

Since then I have had no jams in the streampunch or finisher.....but the 2105 itself is a dog....still lotsa jams. I was getting jams on the exit sensor - paper was actually exiting the copier and going BETWEEN the copier and punch - so i raised the punch unit and bent the "V" bracket thing. Today I went back to raise the finisher as the punch unit was too high for it. So much for keeping it all level...

The finisher is now slightly higher than the streampunch which is slightly higher than the copier. Hope thats it cause I NEVER want to go back there!

[TonerMunkeh]

As a follow up....I replaced the finisher with a second hand unit. Stopped all the entrance sensor jams on the SMC report, but the punch was still jamming in the die area. So I put in new idler rollers in the punch entrance, and also a new die unit.

Since then I have had no jams in the streampunch or finisher.....but the 2105 itself is a dog....still lotsa jams. I was getting jams on the exit sensor - paper was actually exiting the copier and going BETWEEN the copier and punch - so i raised the punch unit and bent the "V" bracket thing. Today I went back to raise the finisher as the punch unit was too high for it. So much for keeping it all level...

The finisher is now slightly higher than the streampunch which is slightly higher than the copier. Hope thats it cause I NEVER want to go back there!

I hope it doesn't roll down the room and out of the window lol

[Smee]

Ha -wouldnt bother me if it did.