designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

[yannii33]

The carriage head doesnt move smoothly accross the platen, the image isnt affected but
it bumps across the platen and makes noise what can be done to tweak this??

Thanks

[JustManuals]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

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[fixthecopier]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

your belt probably needs changing. Missing teeth would cause a bump, also those rubber teeth get caught in the pulley that moves it.

[hekotez]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

Like fixthecopier said first is to check the belt.

@ fixthecopier... dunno if you've seen these... but i already had problems of "noise" before... even after full belt kit replacement/full adjustment... was the dragging of the Ink Supply tubes... when the carriage moved specially from left to right... the tubes didnt skid on the metal plate easily sorta delaying the carriage, forcing it to skew a bit, and it would move around slamming alot on the metal rod...
(whoever saw the machine before me, had the "brilliant" idea of putting some lube on it, it dried out, and the lube messed the spongy tubing protection, so it was gluey, seen it happen with dust/debris/ink residue too...)
Can happen easilly since the carriage doesnt have bushings... it just lays on the rail very "loose", low wear/tear but noisy...

[Lasersupplies]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

Try this.Run a light line of oil we use wd 40 along the carriage assembly bar . The oil must not run around the bar. Start at the carriage assembly and stop half way across the bar.

[mo0651]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

could be the trailing cables are folded and creased. They are supposed to lay flat with the help of clips.

[titanscout]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

I have a similar problem with DJ 500. On a 24" height sheet, the plotter prints smoothly for the first 6 inches or so, then stutters and jerks, making a noise for the next 12 inches or so (the middle of the sheet), then once again smoothly prints the last 6 inches of the sheet. The printed material is fine, no quality problems.
What can be causing the erratic behavior and noise while printing in the middle of the sheet?
Why does it print smoothly (normally) at the beginning and at the end of the sheet?
The belt has recently been changed.
Thanks

[austonrush]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

Has the carriage shaft been properly cleaned and lubricated? this sound like a belt/slash lubrication issue.

If the belt is new, then it could also be that it was installed incorrectly.

[fixthecopier]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

Has the carriage shaft been properly cleaned and lubricated? this sound like a belt/slash lubrication issue.

If the belt is new, then it could also be that it was installed incorrectly.

The original post is couple of years old, but for plotter techs with a similar problem, DO NOT USE WD-40 ON YOUR RAILS! It will leave a residu on the rails and cause build up. There is a lube called Tri-Flow that has saved my ass on a couple of plotters. It is some slick stuff.

[RRodgers]

Re: designjet 500 bumps the platen while printing and makes noise

I have a similar problem with DJ 500. On a 24" height sheet, the plotter prints smoothly for the first 6 inches or so, then stutters and jerks, making a noise for the next 12 inches or so (the middle of the sheet), then once again smoothly prints the last 6 inches of the sheet. The printed material is fine, no quality problems.
What can be causing the erratic behavior and noise while printing in the middle of the sheet?
Why does it print smoothly (normally) at the beginning and at the end of the sheet?
The belt has recently been changed.
Thanks

Did you clean the encoder strip?