Katun Hot Roller Problems

[unisys12]

Holy busted hot roller batman!!!

This is a Katun hot roller for a Savin 4035 (1071). We had one of do this about a month ago and I was going to take pics of that one, but didn't get a chance. Plus, since we didn't see another one soon after, I blew it off as a one time thing.

Then today I was called to a Savin 8035e with a SC545. When I pulled the fuser, this is what I saw. :eek: After calling a few of the guys, I found that this fuser was rebuilt with the same Katun roller that had this problem before and not the correct OEM 8035e hot roller.

So, I'm going to write this off as incorrect/aftermarket roller being installed in the wrong machine, but what's everyone elses thoughts.... :(

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/members/unisys12-albums-copier-stuff-picture762-close-up.jpg

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/members/unisys12-albums-copier-stuff-picture763-close-up-2.jpg

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/members/unisys12-albums-copier-stuff-picture764-cracked-hot-roller.jpg

[tmaged]

IMO the analog parts from Katun were fine. Pretty much all the digital parts suck & we use oem for just about everything anymore. Too many problems for the price difference.

[blackcat4866]

I've seen this three times on Katun heat rollers on Canon products. Before that I had no idea that the Katun rollers were ceramic with aluminum stub ends.

Personally, I think it's a quality control issue. There must be a weak spot in the roller from manufacture, which is further weakened by the usual heating & cooling cycles of the fuser.

Like tmaged says, I haven't had much luck with Katun fuser rollers in a long time. =^..^=

[copymon]

Their UFRs tend to not last very long, have had issues with teflon peeling as well.

[cobiray]

We didn't see too much of a price break on the Katun vs OEM Ricoh family parts. Plus with the PM kits it was a no brainer to get the kits and have all the parts needed with one parts number. I have seen week ends (where the bearing and drive gear are) on some older Minolta analogs, but thats easily been 10 years since I've seen that failure.

[10871087]

Katun's quality is not even close to what it used to be, Tmaged had it right when he said their old analog stuff was OK bu anything new isn't. Ever since the Canon-Ikon thing happened to them a few years back they have been pretty sucky.

[unisys12]

Well, I think we were finally able to convince our owner that it was a supplier problem. He theorized that we were rebuilding the units with the wrong thermistors for the machines that we were placing them in. So, we had to wait for a few more to fail. Finally he coincided that it "might" be a problem with the Katun rollers. "Might" for us is a big step and we take our victories were we can get them.

Don't get me wrong, personally I have no problem with Katun stuff. Except toner, exspecially color toner! We have used their parts for years at our two locations with almost zero problems. Once in a blue moon, we might get a new hot roller that was dented out of the box. And that has only happened three times in the last 4 years that I have worked there.

Well, today I was working at our other location and one of the techs comes over to me with a Savin 4035 fuser in his hand. He proceeds to ask if I had ever seen anything like it. I told him yes and brought him here to show him the pictures I posted. He had no idea of the problem, so I guess that's our fault of not notifing them of the problem.

Either way, I'm hoping that we'll have this problem resoloved soon. Thanks for everyones input on this topic.:cool:

[prntrfxr]

Well, I think we were finally able to convince our owner that it was a supplier problem. He theorized that we were rebuilding the units with the wrong thermistors for the machines that we were placing them in. So, we had to wait for a few more to fail. Finally he coincided that it "might" be a problem with the Katun rollers. "Might" for us is a big step and we take our victories were we can get them.

"Technology is dominated by those who manage what they dont understand"

Wrong thermistors might melt 2 rollers together or not heat properly, but I've never seen them break or split a heat roller in half. Its a weakness in roller manufacturing. The metal maybe too thin for the speed of machine and the torque is tearing them up or thin spots in the metal or inferior (likely cheaper) metal.

Times are tough and roller manufacturers are using cheaper materials to construct the same rollers we've bought for years with no trouble. We've had to respond quickly to avoid trouble. A couple of cases of bad rollers can ruin a reputation. I dont know if Katun has had to face these issues, but I wouldnt be surprised. HP changed vendors for their formatter board manufacturing to save money and they've been having all kinds of trouble with their P2015 and P3005 formatters. Its a risky business. We use about 95% OEM parts to keep our quality high, but our prices are not the lowest because of it. We've had to make some tough choices about what parts we use because clients are trying to stay profitable right now and cutting prices on parts is tempting for them. Its tough all over. Those of us that have been in the field before understand how it is to have to eat a service call because a part failed before it was supposed to.

Always give feedback to your vendor when you see a problem. Get them samples of the part, how many pages printed before the problem occurred and any other things you're seeing. This will help them identify problems and address them faster. Its a win-win. They keep quality high and provide you with quality parts. Ask for a list of parts replaced on every fuser during their rebuild process (use that to compare the quality you receive with other vendors and shop value not just price).

[mikadonovan]

A couple of years ago we had 3 or 4 of the Katun hot rollers split like that on the 1035 (B003) series. There was no trouble getting credit for the failed rollers, but we used strictly oem B003 rollers after that. It may have been a bad lot due to a problem withn the machining process or the metal itself. We continue to use some Katun parts and normally have no troubles with them.