Guiidence mx-3500/4500 colour

[banginbishop]

I need some advice and guidence on these machines please.

I have a few of them about and as i dont really see a lot or work on sharp much these days i need some input on the following.

1: servicing - what do i change or leave as normal for servicing time

2: charging units (saw tooth) - cleaning

3: adjusting copy quality i.e. 44-02 etc for optimum copy quailty

All advice happily received. I've replaced the fusers, tx belt 1 & drums but as i don't do a lot of sharp anymore i feel as though i'm not getting the best out of these machines, setting them up correctly and replacing or not replacing items when i should.

I think i have about 5 on my area and their not really hammered to the maximum monthly volume and 3/4 are mainly b&w use with some colour.

[OMD-227]

We have over 1000 MX machines in the field. I look after these every single day.
There are quite a few things you should keep in mind when servicing them as everything is not what it seems.........

Information in your requested order:

1. We have found that many items within the MX series last ALOT longer than specified by Sharp. There are some items that obviously expire, such as the Web Cleaning Unit, Feed Rollers, Separation Rollers & the 4 Drums/MC Grids. Obviously change these when they are due.
There are many items that last.... These are the 2 Belt Units (rated at 150K, we usually get 300K from them in a clean office environment), Fuser Rollers, once fitted with the latest modified bearings & spacers on each end will also usually last around twice as long as specified.
All developers in MX machines hardly need replacing. We have found that when you replace a Drum Unit, you can reset that particular color developer at the same time and still have great copy/print quality. Always check Sim 64-01 & 64-05 self print tests to ensure all halftones look OK after resetting the dev. If there is one or more color slightly under or over toned, execute sim 44-06 & 44-26 to perform process control & halftone adjustments. This will bring all colors back to a nice level. You should print the same 64-01 & 64-05 after doing this manual adustment to check the copy/print quality afterwards. You will notice everything should be OK.
We have machines in the field over 2 years old, 500K blk, 300K color etc etc and they maybe have had 1 set of devs replaced. Trust me... they are brilliant developers. They last very well. As they are expensive anyway, you dont want to change them when not actually required.

2. If you are still using the original design MC Grids, you will notice the drums dont last as long as rated (approx 3/4 life mostly). Always fit the latest Drum Units with the latest MC Grid design. The grid unit has a small cleaning roller instead of a small plastic flipper design to clean the sawtooth. The latest design almost always lasts the full rated life. The main problem with the drums is the ends get abit chewed out by the drum seals, which if left in place, can lead to dev being pulled from the dev tank. Always replace the drum units or drum, blade & MC Grid set when due to give you no problems down the track. Rememeber you can reset that color dev at the same time to keep counters at the same intervals and still print/copy OK.

3. Usually leave all other Sim 44 adjustments alone other than what I mentioned above. If you have copy/print quality problems after doing those adjustments, actually replace the dev or perform the full color calibration procedure 46-24 & 67-24 for scanner & engine. You shouldnt need to touch any other sims or adjustments.
If you are noticing a color density fade over a long print/copy run, you can adjust 44-28, items G & N, to allow extra process control adjustments for toner consumption pixel count instead of page count. This is handy for clients who do alot of high coverage documents and they notice a slight color density fade or change between the first and last pages of their document. Change item G to ON, item N to 50 (was 100). This will allow the machine to adjust halftones & toner density levels on a more regular basis instead of over a specified page count.


The MX machines are brilliant. They almost always perform twice as long as rated on most parts. You will notice on the new MX series machines, that the parts such as Belts, Devs & Fuser Rollers have a higher rated life than the first series machines. I think Sharp realised that techs were getting more out the parts than they were rated at, so the new machines have a longer maintenance schedule for parts which are very similar in size, shape & design to series one.

[vlad_robas]

useful post to read and keep close.. just in case

[johnbla]

I'm with Wazza on this...

Keep them clean (Transport tyres, PuPs & PS sensor) and Firmware upto date... most parts get replaced when they need replacing not when Sharp says so.
Dev, Belts and F Section at least twice around.. adjust the Drum seals or replace them and the drum will go past the flag.

[banginbishop]

Sorry for the wait in reply.

Thanks for all the advice on these machines and i will now go armed with that better info on keeping these machines running better.

[johnbla]

When adjusting copy quality etc...sharpUK have amended the Original proceedure........
PM me