Instructions for making a textile printer. Printing consumables at wholesale prices. Screen printing machines
We found out that for this you need a flatbed printer. An industrial flatbed printer costs astronomical money, so most people try to build a flatbed printer with their own hands, which not only saves a lot of money, but, in principle, makes the project real without the need to sell half an apartment to drug dealers for a stash.
In fact, a flatbed printer can serve not only as an addition to directly printing colorful images on finished products. It can act as a completely independent means of production! For example, for printing on T-shirts and fabric (textile printer), printing on tiles and glass (for an interior design studio), for making printed circuit boards in the production of electronics, and much, much more. Those. as we see, a flatbed printer is a separate business that anyone can start from their first salary, simply by making a flatbed printer with their own hands!
First you need to understand what remaking an inkjet printer involves. Ordinary jet printer designed for printing on paper, but we want to print directly on a hard surface. This means we just need to redo the paper feeding mechanism, instead of which we need to install a movable table with a flat surface to position the object on which direct printing will be done (plywood, wood, T-shirt, tile, glass, phone case, loaf of bread with a memorable inscription, etc. .d.).
The flat table can be driven by the same engine from the paper pulling mechanism, but you need to understand that such a table cannot “drag” anything heavier than a piece of rag under the printer. And the table itself should be made of some kind of “airy” material, for example, plexiglass or plastic, and preferably with holes to lighten the weight. And sometimes for large-format printers it is advisable to move not the table under the printer, but the printer itself above the table! This task is certainly beyond the capabilities of a regular engine!
I believe that you need to leave the original printer motor alone and adapt the stepper motor that is most suitable for the tasks of “heavy lifting”. The choice of stepper motors is so wide that you can drag at least half a cubic meter of bricks under the printer and directly print on them. Personally, I am a supporter of versatility and do not like to initially lock myself into the framework of “printing only on fabric,” so I chose the option of converting the inkjet printer into a flatbed printer using an external stepper motor to drive the moving table.
To control a stepper motor you need a controller and a driver. There are no questions with the stepper motor driver - it could be the simplest A4988, costing 180 rubles, which provides an output current to the motor winding of up to 2 Amps (using a radiator and external fan cooling). This is more than enough to control a medium-power stepper motor.
It remains to understand what the controller is needed for and what functions it will perform. If you disassemble any inkjet printer and pay attention to the paper feeding mechanism, you will see a long shaft with rubberized rollers, driven by a small motor through a gear drive. There is also a transparent disk with small black divisions on the shaft - this is the so-called encoder. The encoder disk passes through a black optical sensor, and these divisions on the disk help the printer electronics understand how much the paper feed shaft has rotated, in other words, how much the sheet has moved in the printer. Our controller basically just needs to convert “paper offset” to “table offset.” To do this, he must also “read” the data from the encoder (count the black marks) and convert this data into steps for the stepper motor.
You can use everyone's favorite Arduino board as a controller. You can buy a simple Arduino for 500 rubles. Someone will say that Arduino is too slow - this is not entirely true, or rather, it is not true at all! Arduino is simply a convenient development environment for Atmel AVR microcontrollers. In the Arduino environment, no one forbids using the “native” commands of this microcontroller instead of the library functions of the Arduino environment, which are really slow. With “native” commands, your microcontroller will operate almost at a clock frequency (which is 16 MHz, stabilized by a quartz resonator on the board). For comparison, the signal from a printer encoder can arrive at a frequency of no more than several hundred hertz or kilohertz, i.e. Our microcontroller will roughly work for 1 clock cycle, and rest for the remaining 1000 clock cycles!
The optical sensor of the printer encoder has two channels (conventionally - A and B). When the encoder disk rotates, rectangular pulses will appear at the output of the optical sensor. The direction of rotation of the encoder disk can be determined by determining from which channel the pulse comes first. If an impulse has arrived in channel A, but there is no impulse yet in channel B, then the disk rotates clockwise (for example); if an impulse has arrived in channel A, and there is already an impulse in channel B, then the rotation goes counterclockwise (again, for example). In a real program, we can then easily change “-” to “+” if it turns out that the motor is spinning in the wrong direction.
The optical sensor is connected to the Arduino via digital inputs D2 and D3 (marked with numbers “2″ and “3″” on the Arduino board, respectively). All that remains is to connect the stepper motor controller based on the A4988 module to the Arduino output. It receives input signals STEP (one step or microstep of a stepper motor) and DIR (direction of rotation: 1 - in one direction, 0 - in the other). On Arduino, for the STEP and DIR outputs, we can assign any pins we like, for example, 12 and 13. On the 13th pin, there is usually also an LED directly on the Arduino board, which will also give us visual confirmation of the transfer of STEP steps to the stepper motor driver . If you want, you can hang DIR on pin 13, then the LED will light up when rotated in one direction and go out when rotated in the other - also visually.
The program for the microcontroller is very simple. Here is its listing:
// Pins for encoder input
#define ENC_A_PIN 2
#define ENC_B_PIN 3
// Read value from encoder
#define ENC_A ((PIND & (1<< ENC_A_PIN)) > 0)
#define ENC_B ((PIND & (1<< ENC_B_PIN)) > 0)// STEP/DIR pins
#define STEP_PIN 13
#define DIR_PIN 12// Sending data to STEP/DIR ports
#define STEP(V) (PORTB = V ? PORTB | (1<< (STEP_PIN-8)) : PORTB & (~(1<<(STEP_PIN-8))))
#define DIR(V) (PORTB = V ? PORTB | (1<< (DIR_PIN-8)) : PORTB & (~(1<<(DIR_PIN-8))))void setup() (
intSetup();
driveSetup();
}void driveSetup())(
pinMode(STEP_PIN, OUTPUT);
STEP(0);pinMode(DIR_PIN, OUTPUT);
DIR(0);
}volatile boolean A, B;
void intSetup())(
pinMode(ENC_A_PIN, INPUT);
A = ENC_A;
attachInterrupt(0, onEncoderChannelA, CHANGE);pinMode(ENC_B_PIN, INPUT);
B = ENC_B;
attachInterrupt(1, onEncoderChannelB, CHANGE);
}volatile unsigned long pulses = 0;
volatile boolean gotDir = false;
volatile boolean cw = false;unsigned long pps = 2; // pulses per step
if(pulses >= pps)(
pulses = 0;
STEP(1);
delayMicroseconds(10);
STEP(0);
}if(gotDir)(
DIR(!cw);
gotDir = false;
}
}void onEncoderChannelA())(
if((A && B) || (!A && !B))(
if(!cw) gotDir = true;
cw = true;
)else(
if(cw) gotDir = true;
cw = false;
}pulses++;
}void onEncoderChannelB())(
if((B && A) || (!B && !A))(
if(cw) gotDir = true;
cw = false;
)else(
if(!cw) gotDir = true;
cw = true;
}pulses++;
}
A few explanations about the code. In attachInterrupt() we attach a handler function to an external interrupt, which is triggered by a change in the state of the encoder optical sensor channel. Any change from 0 to 1 and 1 to 0 is monitored by the function onEncoderChannelA and onEncoderChannelB for channel A and B respectively. Well, then we simply count the number of pulses from the encoder and issue the STEP and DIR commands to the stepper motor. As you can see, nothing complicated!
Then, depending on the design of the table and the transmission mechanism, it will be necessary to select the coefficient for converting pulses from the encoder into motor steps. In my program, this value is set in the variable pps (pulses per step - pulses per step).
The video shows a mock-up of a controller for a flatbed printer table in action. For now, a linear encoder is used instead of a circular one, but this does not change the essence. You can see how the controller in real time controls the position of the stepper motor depending on the position of the encoder sensor.
The article describes the process of manufacturing a flatbed printer from their Epson 3880 printer.
1)Preparing the printer.
1.1) What will be required?
1. A set of screwdrivers (electric screwdriver, screwdriver for convenience)
2. Angle grinder (grinder)
3. Drill, metal drills
4. Pliers.
Disassembling the printer
We begin preparing the printer for conversion into a textile printer by completely disassembling the device.
Ours is Epson Stylus Pro 3880
First, remove all the plastic casing of the printer.
Remove the control panel and disconnect the cable. 
We remove the side plastic covers, they are latched. 
Removing the front plastic panel 
Removing the upper part of the case
Removing the paper feed tray
Disconnect the waste ink tank presence sensor
(diaper), we won't need it anymore 
Remove all front paper output trays 
Removing the back of the case
Unscrew and remove the paper feed motor 
Unscrew the paper pickup roller mounting brackets 
Unscrew the screws securing the paper feed unit 
And we take it off 
Removing the protective plastic panels 
Below them we see a compartment for the formatter board and power supply 
Remove the top cover of the compartment 
And disconnect all connectors and cables from the formatter board 
Printer modification
First you need to remove all unnecessary components and parts.
We need to completely remove the paper feeding mechanism; we don’t need to spare it too much; we won’t need it anymore.
And we take it off
Removing the plastic panel
and paper pulling shafts, as well as the encoder disk drive shaft
View from below
We will no longer need the paper feed shafts, but the encoder disk drive shaft needs to be cut off immediately behind the locking ring and put in place, so do not lose the spring, washer and locking ring.
We’ll also remove the fastening of the mechanism of the front paper trays, it doesn’t really interfere, but we won’t need it for anything either
Now turn the printer on its side so that there is access to the print head. We are interested in the plastic cover under which the optocouplers are located
There are two of them. We need to remove the one that is smaller in size
The removed optocoupler will no longer be needed
Now you need to attach the case that contains the motherboard and power supply to the top of the printer, so that in the future it does not interfere with the passage of the moving part of the table
To do this, take the upper part of the body and, placing it in place, mark and drill holes for the bolts
Screw on the housing cover
It should work out like this
Install the lower part and connect the connectors and cables
You don’t have to tighten the screws for now, as we will still need access to the formatter to connect the table control board
Remove the metal cross member. It will also interfere with the passage of the moving part of the table
Another metal crossbar at the bottom of the printer frame will interfere with the table; to remove it we will have to use a grinder
From the bottom plastic part of the case we make legs for our printer. One of them will contain a container for waste ink (diaper)
The width of the legs should not be wider than the front plastic panel of the case
Connecting the table control board
After the modification of our printer is almost completed, we need to connect the table control board
The installation kit for the table control board contains two wires with connectors and two cables.
Let's start with the wires. Connect to the control board and the motherboard
Connect the connector marked CN54 to the connector on the printer motherboard; it is also marked CN54. The wire block does not fit the connector on the motherboard, but it’s not scary; carefully unbend the connector and connect the wire.
Important!
On the motherboard, the connector has 4 pins, and the wire has 3. We need to connect the wire, as in the photo, so that the right pin of the connector remains unused
And to the printer motherboard. The connector is also marked CN53. There are no more problems here; the block fits the connector on the motherboard. Here, too, the right contact of the connector should remain unused.
It remains to connect two cables
One of them is connected to the connector on the table control board marked CN49. On the printer motherboard, this cable is connected to a connector also marked CN49
The second cable, connected to the connector on the table control board labeled PF Sensor, is connected to the connector on the optocoupler of the encoder disk.
The original printer cable that goes to this sensor can be removed completely; we won’t need it.
Connected table control board
We also need to slightly modify our printer motherboard, namely, install jumpers (jumpers) in certain contacts on the board. As shown in the photo.
All that remains is to connect the cable to the contact pad to determine the diaper chip. It is located on the right foot of the printer. Connects in the same way as it was connected before disassembly, using a standard printer cable
Printer assembly
We install the legs cut from the bottom of the printer into place.
You need to cut off the back part from the top of the body
Since the raised compartment with the motherboard and power supply will not allow it to fall into place, it should turn out like this:
After this we install the upper part of the body
Installing the side covers
We connect the cable to the control panel and install it in place
At this point, the conversion of our printer is almost complete; all that remains is to refill and install the cartridges with special ink for direct printing on textiles. Bleed the internal ink supply system to fill the ink supply loops, as well as the print head dampers.
The last step will be connecting our prepared printer and a ready-made table for direct printing.
Previously, we looked at the process of converting an Epson printer from the C80 series (Epson C84). In this material we will consider another model.
Direct Printers
Many radio amateurs are thinking about how to simplify the process of manufacturing printed circuit boards:
1.Reduce the amount of manual labor;
2. Eliminate errors and shortcomings when manually drawing tracks;
3.Speed up the board creation cycle.
In the classic version, manufacturing a printed circuit board involves:
1.Design;
2.Manual drawing of tracks;
3.Etching;
4.Drilling holes;
5. Tinning;
One of the stages can be automated no worse than in factory production - printing boards.
Printing can be entrusted to a regular inkjet or laser printer, but with minor modifications to the latter.
Some craftsmen have been able to adapt laser printers for printing on PCB, but the printing process is quite complicated, as is the process of remaking the device itself. The process of converting any inkjet printer can be called simpler and more understandable.
Classic rework algorithm
In most cases, the following general sequence of steps applies:
1. Disassembly of the case;
2. Removing the print head (nozzle) cleaning mechanism - if necessary (some cleaning systems can be moved inside the body so that they do not require rework);
3.Removing the paper feed mechanism;
4.Removing the paper feed sensor;
5. Raising the printing mechanism or structural modification of the body to allow a straight surface to be printed;
6.Construction of a tray with a printing field;
7. Adaptation of the sheet feeding mechanism (redesign for movement of the entire tray or rigid field for printing);
8.Connecting the feed sensor according to the new design;
9.Installation of a cleaning system (if necessary);
10.Installing the printer software into the operating system and connecting it to the PC;
12.Printing (correct positioning of the textolite, its heating, drying, etc. is assumed).
Epson R1400 conversion
The instructions may also apply to such models as:
- 1390;
- 1410;
- L1800;
- 1500 W.
This model can print on A3 sheets (297×420 mm) with high resolution in color. If desired, you can install a continuous ink supply system (CISS), which will greatly facilitate the process of refilling cartridges with the required ink and eliminate the need to reset the cartridges (today, almost all cartridges are equipped with a complex anti-tampering system). The last fact is very important, because all actions may not have the desired effect only for the reason that the printer refuses to work with homemade cartridges.
A converted printer may be suitable not only for printing on PCB. It can be used for design work on applying images to fabrics, tiles, wood, etc.
Rice. 1. Epson R1400
Algorithm:
1.Remove the casing (unscrew all the retaining screws);
Rice. 2. Removing the printer body
2. Disconnect the cable to the control panel.
Rice. 4. Disconnecting the loop to the control panel
The output should look like this.
3. Turn off the paper feed sensor.
Rice. 7. Disabling the paper feed sensor
4.Remove the pressing springs from the paper feed mechanism.
Rice. 8. Pressure springs from the paper feed mechanism
5.Remove the pressure plates.
6.Disconnect the connectors.
Rice. 9. Disconnecting connectors
7. We disassemble the case completely.
8. We remake the lower part (cut it). It turns out like this.
Rice. 10. Removing the printer body
9.Reinstall the frame with the printing mechanism.
Rice. 11. Installation of the frame with the printing mechanism
10. We make a frame (there may be other options, it is needed as an alternative to a single frame in which the tray and the pulling system will be placed).
Rice. 12. Bed
11. In this case, the movement of the lower tray is carried out on special guides, the pulling mechanism is implemented using stepper motors (the movement of the tray must be coordinated with the movement of the sheet during normal feeding, this is done through the correct selection of diameters and gear ratios, the control signal is taken from the standard control connector serving).
Alternatively, furniture guides can be used.
Rice. 14. Furniture guides
Rice. 15. Tray scroll mechanism
Rice. 16. Tray scroll mechanism
13.Option for a tray height adjustment mechanism (required to adjust the location of the print surface to the height of the print head).
Rice. 17. Option for the tray height adjustment mechanism
Rice. 18. The final version of the printer for direct printing
15. To work with the printer, it is suggested to install alternative software - AcroRIP.
Now you have a ready-made printer for direct printing on almost any horizontal surface.
The only ink suitable for the etching process is Mis Pro yellow ink. Before printing, it is best to warm up the textolite with a hairdryer (after printing, you can dry it further). Etching should only be done in a ferric chloride solution.
Publication date: 04.02.2018
Readers' opinions
- Kairat / 01/08/2020 - 09:19
Hello I would like to remake my Epson L800 printer, can you help me with this my number is 89307964557 - Dmitry / 11/17/2019 - 10:54
We need to convert our A3 printer to print CDs. An example of what you need to get as an output - https://youtu.be/QKifizrSI7s 89254495767 - Evgeniy / 06/30/2019 - 16:50
I need to redo my printer, I'm looking for a technician [email protected] - Marina / 05.28.2019 - 15:58
Good afternoon, author of the article, please respond???? - Alvard / 05/18/2019 - 20:08
I want to convert Canon to widescreen. To draw on drywall, you need one meter by 70 centimeters. The carriage with the PG will move along the “meter”. I understand that I need to update the software. But this is probably not a simple matter, even in terms of the programmer. And where to attach it? Is AcroRIP suitable? Thanks for the answer to [email protected] - Arthur / 03/20/2019 - 11:34
I need to remake the printer for direct printing, help me find a good specialist who can remake it! Thanks a lot! 8495-978-8338, 8901-517-8338, mail [email protected] Best regards, Arthur! - Ilya / 03/13/2019 - 00:29
Hello, who converted the Epson T50 into a tablet, please tell me what happened?! - GENNADY / 09/07/2018 - 15:49
and the software - AcroRIP ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL THE ENTIRE TRAY WHEN PRINTING OCCURS. WITHOUT CONTROL BY OPTOCOUPLE SENSORS. - Ilgiz / 08/22/2018 - 23:34
Have you tried converting the Epson SureColor SC-P6000 Plotter into a tablet? - Ruslan / 03.24.2018 - 14:06
Please tell me. What material was used for the clutch drive shaft? Also, where can I get a rip?
Small business, which is based on the idea of printing on fabric: T-shirts, canvases, tablecloths, is increasingly gaining popularity in the post-Soviet space. People love bright, exclusive things at a low price and willingly use printing services on textile materials. In order for the image to be of high quality, with high resolution, the question of choosing a special printer should be the main task of the entrepreneur: this is what will make you a name and generate income. If a printer for printing on fabric is purchased for home use, do not rush to spend your hard earned money. There are several reasons for this.
It’s another matter if the purpose of the acquisition textile printer –creating or expanding a business . In this case, there is no risk of downtime or drying out of the device; it is the volume and service life of the printer that is important. If the printing volume is about 200-300 products per day or small batches, but within 3-5 years without loss of quality, you need to think about purchasing professional equipment. The professional category includes a printer based on Epson 4880 with A2 print format. The ability to draw small patterns combined with the ability to fill large areas (40 by 80 cm) allows you to work with many materials: cotton, linen, leather, silk, knitwear. This model will cost the buyer 500-600 thousand rubles, and is the most reliable option in the Epson line of textile printers. The parts in the model are predominantly metal, and the print life is an impressive 20 thousand prints. There are several more worthy pro-class models on the Russian market:
Epson F2000, several DTX-400 models from DekoPrint, a couple of models from Brother, Kornit, American I-Dot, and Texjet from Polyprint. When choosing a printing device, you need to pay attention to the possibility and cost of service: a printer is a complex device, repairs and maintenance must be performed at a service center by professionals. Be sure to ask the sellers how they work if you need warranty repairs.
Refueling and repair
Brother and Epson F2000 printers do not allow the use of non-original consumables. The manufacturer guarantees the quality and reliability of the device only if it uses original cartridges, which the user must buy as soon as the old ones run out. But the price of original consumables for all printing devices without exception is prohibitively high, so before purchasing, be sure to check with your nearest service centers for the availability of ink and the possibility of refilling cartridges. When choosing a printer for textiles, pay attention to the number of colors - this will allow you to significantly save on refills or replacing cartridges in the future. For high-quality full-color printing, 4 colors (black, cyan, magenta, yellow), one cartridge per color, and four cartridges for white are sufficient. White has the highest consumption. When choosing a textile printer with 8-9 colors, remember that print quality and brightness will not change much, but ink costs will double. The most common problem with ink-based printing devices has been and remains the problem ink drying out while idle- when no one is using the printer.
To avoid clogging and drying of the nozzles, the printers are equipped with an ink recycling system and micro-cleaning during downtime. Recirculation does not allow the ink to travel the full path from the cartridge to the spray nozzles and can only prevent the ink from thickening, but not from drying out the print head. The function is useful, but it does not eliminate the danger. Much more important is the presence of a micro-cleaning function in the device: in automatic mode and without your participation, the printer itself will pass ink from the cartridges to the nozzles. Yes, a small amount of ink will go down the drain, but the user will protect his printer from a serious problem.
Sometimes drying of pigment ink in the nozzles cannot be completely eliminated, and the only solution is to replace the print head, the cost of which is comparable to the price of a new printer. It is worth paying attention to the printer delivery package: what is included in its package. An unpleasant surprise from many printer manufacturers may be the absence of printer ink in the basic kit when purchasing. There is no way to print without ink, so you will have to look for high-quality ink in specialized stores. You should not skimp on ink - the quality of your products and the service life of your device directly depend on the quality of the consumables. Just like in cars: a sports car will not produce full power on bad fuel, and the power unit will quickly become unusable.
Textile printer - choose wisely
Important nuances that you need to pay attention to when purchasing a textile printer:
— format and resolution;
— estimated circulation;
— brand (manufacturer);
— number of colors and possibility of refilling in the future;
— declared print life of the device;
— compatibility with operating systems and programs that you use at work, availability of drivers;
- Energy consumption;
- weight of the device.
Do not make spontaneous purchases - carefully study the offers, read forums, seek advice from service engineers: they will give comprehensive information about the weak points of a particular model. The comfort of your work with a textile printer, maintenance costs and its service life depend on this.
The simplest, most affordable and best-resulting method for making printed circuit boards at home is the so-called “laser-iron” (or LUT). A description of this method can easily be found using the corresponding keywords, so we will not dwell on it in detail, we will only note that in the simplest version, all that is needed is access to a laser printer and the most ordinary iron (not counting the usual materials for etching boards). So, there are no alternatives to this method?
When developing a variety of electronic devices used, for example, when testing monitors, we used several methods for mounting electronic components. At the same time, printed circuit boards as such were not always used, since when creating prototypes and devices in a single copy (and often this turned out to be both), subject to inevitable errors and modifications, it is often more profitable and more convenient to use factory-made breadboards, performing wiring with thin stranded wire in Teflon insulation. Even the most famous companies do this in a similar way, as demonstrated by the prototype of the AIBO toy robot from Sony.
Stores sell relatively cheap double-sided tinned and even very high quality breadboards with metallized holes and a protective mask on the jumpers.
Note that such development boards make it possible to achieve high packing densities without much effort, since there is no need to worry about routing conductive tracks. However, for example, when developing power blocks and when using elements with non-standard pin spacing or their geometry, as well as when using surface-mounted elements (which we are not doing yet), it becomes difficult to use ready-made breadboards.
As an alternative to breadboards, we used methods of cutting foil in the gaps between conductive pads and the mentioned LUT method. The first method is applicable only in the case of the simplest wiring options, but it does not require anything at all except a sharp knife and a ruler. The LUT method gave generally good results, but I wanted some variety. We considered the method of use to be too labor-intensive and require the use of caustic chemicals, which is not always acceptable at home. The incident allowed us to learn about another method - the method of direct inkjet printing of a template on foil fiberglass (search keywords in English - Direct to PCB Inkjet Printing).
The method is divided into the following stages:
- The actual seal pigmented
- Thermal curing of the printed template. In this case, the ink becomes resistant to the etching solution.
- Removing ink from a circuit board.
There is also an alternative option:
- Printing in principle any ink the PCB template directly onto the foiled fiberglass laminate, usually using a modified inkjet printer.
- Powdered toner from a laser printer/copier is sprayed onto the still wet ink, and excess toner is removed.
- Thermal curing of the printed template. In this case, the toner fuses and reliably adheres to the foil.
- Etching areas of the foil unprotected by the template in the usual way, for example, using iron III chloride.
- Removing caked toner from a circuit board.
We did not consider the second option due to our reluctance to work with powder toner, which could stain everything around with an accidental wrong move or a sneeze. All of the implemented direct inkjet template printing methods we found used Epson inkjet printers. Also, the type of ink, or rather the type of dye used in it - pigment, is strongly associated with the printers of this manufacturer, so we began our search for a suitable printer with the Epson catalog. Apparently, Epson has, or at least had models capable of printing on media with a thickness of up to 2.4 mm (and not only on CDs/DVDs), for example, the Epson Stylus Photo R800, but this the model is no longer produced, and we didn’t know in advance whether we would be able to use any of the modern analogues (obviously not cheap). As a result, it was decided to look for the cheapest model that uses pigment ink. The model was found - Epson Stylus S22. This printer also turned out to be the cheapest among all Epson printers - its price was less than 1,500 rubles, then, however, it increased noticeably: in Moscow retail (ruble equivalent - in the tooltip) - N/A (0) .
A quick inspection showed the need to make significant changes to the design of the printer, since it involved printing on flexible media with its bending when moving from the top loading tray to the output tray. The sequential modification described below was synthesized from several iterations, since after the next assembly it became clear that certain changes needed to be made to the design. Therefore, the possibility of slight inaccuracies in the description of this process cannot be excluded. The modification has two main goals. Firstly, to ensure a straight supply of media without bends or height differences, for which you need to change, and in fact create anew, the supply and receiving trays. Secondly, to ensure the ability to print on thick materials - up to 2 mm, for which it is necessary to raise the assembly with the print head and its guide slides. So:
1. Unscrew the two screws on the back wall and remove the casing, releasing the latches that still cling to the bottom.
2. Disconnect the control panel cable from the main board, unscrew the two screws securing the control panel,
release the control panel cable and put it aside. It will still come in handy, unlike the housing casing.
3. Unscrew the 4 self-tapping screws of the paper feed unit, release the wires going to the carriage motor, release the feed roller gear lock, remove the feed roller stand and the entire feed unit, remove the side paper clamp - these parts will no longer be useful.
4. Unscrew the self-tapping screw on the absorbent pad tray and on the power supply, disconnect the drain hose from the tray and the cable from the power supply on the main board, remove the absorbent pad tray and the power supply. Put them aside - they will come in handy later.
5. Unscrew the two self-tapping screws with the rollers pressing the emerging sheet, remove this assembly and move it to a pile with “extra” parts.
6. On the right, unscrew the self-tapping screw and the screw securing the slide along which the print head moves.
Remove the spring that presses the slide.
Remove the carriage ruler spring (the tape with the applied strokes) and the ruler itself.
Unscrew the two screws securing the main board,
and press it away from the slide (be careful with the paper sensor!). Unscrew the screw securing the slide located under the main board.
Unscrew the screw securing the slide on the left.
Disconnect the feed motor connector (J7) from the main board.
Disconnect the spring on the left side of the slide.
Remove the slide assembly with the print carriage and main board.
7. Unscrew the self-tapping screw of the broach shaft lock on the left,
remove the shaft and its retainer.
8. Remove all additional guides at the beginning of broaching, which are attached to the clamps.
9. Using a hacksaw blade and needle files, cut out a window in the bottom from the side posts, to the bottom of the feed tray and to the feed shaft. In this case, it is convenient to use the existing grooves and holes in the bottom. Cut off the burrs with a knife and remove the sawdust.
10. Now you need to create a direct feed tray. To do this, you can use two pieces of aluminum corner 10 by 10 mm, 250 mm long, and part of the original paper support in the feed tray (you can use any rigid plate of a suitable size). The corners are attached using M3 countersunk screws as shown in the photographs below. Grooves should be cut out on the vertical planes of the printer body to which the corners are attached so that the feed tray can be moved slightly up and down to fine-tune its position.
On the right corner you need to cut off the vertical corner, otherwise the right pressure roller will rest against it. You also need to cut a groove on the pallet opposite the paper sensor (although, apparently, you don’t have to do this).
And put a piece of tube on the antenna of the paper sensor, thereby lengthening it a little.
11. Disconnect the feed shaft position sensor (one screw), cut off the stopper on the sensor body, and secure it by moving it as far down as possible.
During subsequent assembly, make sure that the disk with the strokes is placed in the middle of the sensor slot and does not touch its edges.
12. Under the three mounting points of the slide, place two washers with a hole of 4 mm, each 1 mm thick. When using wide washers in two places, they need to be filed down so that they do not rest against the body elements.
13. Remove the pressure rollers, put 2-3 layers on them (at least 3 layers on the central pair of rollers) of heat shrink tube, shrinking the intermediate layers with a hot air gun or other heating method. Use a file to deepen the grooves for the rollers so that they rotate freely. Insert the rollers into the holders.
14. In the parked position, as well as during the process of cleaning the nozzles and initializing new cartridges, a pad with a rubber gasket is pressed against the bottom surface of the print head, where the nozzles are located. There is a tube connected to the bottom of the pad that goes to the vacuum pump. When cleaning, the pump sucks ink from the cartridges, and during storage, the nozzles are protected from the ink drying out in them. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the rubber gasket fits tightly to the head, but due to the upward movement of the slide and the print head, this condition may not be met. It is necessary to increase the movement of the pillow in the crib. To do this, you will have to remove or at least move the pump - unscrew the two screws and press out the two latches.
Then remove the spring that tightens the crib pad, remove the crib-cushion assembly, and disconnect the tube extending from the pad. Next, use a knife to trim the sections of the body of the pad and the bed by about 1.5 mm in the right places, increasing the vertical stroke of the pad. Then put the unit back together. Since when using non-original cartridges, automatic cleaning of nozzles and initialization of cartridges led to strange results, we decided to disconnect the pump from the pad, for which we used a piece of tube and a tee. To remove excess ink or when manually washing the pad, you can connect a syringe to the tee, or simply hold its outlet with your finger and, turning the feed shaft back (by the gear on the front left), turn on the printer pump.
15. Reassemble the printer in reverse order. When installing the feed shaft, carefully clean the seats from chips and dust and apply a layer of grease to them and to the corresponding areas of the shaft. After installing the shaft, you need to adjust the feed tray. By loosening the screws securing the tray to the side walls of the case, using a rigid plate of a suitable size (for example, a piece of fiberglass), you need to ensure that the movement of the plate from the feed tray along the feed shaft and along the shaft in the output tray is smooth, without differences in height. You should also ensure that the feed tray guides are strictly parallel and perpendicular to the feed shaft. Having found this position of the feed tray, the screws should be tightened and preferably secured on the nut side with a drop of varnish. Then continue assembly. On the right side, due to the upward shift of the slide, the mounting hole will not coincide with the hole in the housing rack - you can file the hole and secure the slide with a screw, or you can leave it as is.
We installed the absorbent pad tray, having previously shortened its right post, in its original location, fixing it at two points with hot-melt adhesive. The power supply did not fit in its original position, so we did not find anything better than simply securing it with a plastic tie on the left post of the printer frame. We screwed the control panel to the lug on the power supply.
The original output tray causes the sheet to come out kinked, so it needs to be improved to ensure that the sheet comes out smoothly and horizontally. To do this, just place something a little less than 3 cm high under the tray, and put a couple of thick magazines or a stack of paper on the tray. However, after some time we replaced this design with a tray made from the casing of a non-working DVD player. What needs to be done with the casing to turn it into a tray is clear from the photographs, however, here everyone can use their imagination and available material.
Result:
Shift the slide up to b O a larger value than described above is associated with some difficulties. Problem areas are at least the feed shaft position sensor, the right bracket of the carriage ruler, and the parking unit. Perhaps something else too. As a result, the thickness of the material on which a modified printer can print is somewhere around 2 mm or a little more, therefore, with a PCB 1.5 mm thick, the substrate should not be thicker than 0.5 mm, and it should be rigid enough to move blanks for printed circuit boards. Thick cardboard, for example, from a folder for papers, turned out to be a suitable and affordable material. The liner must be cut exactly to the width of the input tray, as any horizontal movement will affect the printing accuracy. In our case, the substrate turned out to be 216.5 by 295 mm in size. The original feed unit cannot be used, so the liner must be manually placed under the pressure rollers, but the paper sensor must not be activated. Because of this, a cutout will have to be made in the substrate for the paper sensor antenna, in our case at a distance of 65 mm from the right edge, 40 mm deep and 10 mm wide. In this case, printing begins at a distance of 6 mm from the bottom of the cutout, that is, 6 mm before the edge of the media that the printer detects. Why this is so - we do not know. To secure the workpieces to the substrate, it is convenient to use double-sided adhesive tape. Pressure rollers press the substrate against the feed roller with great force, so for smooth printing, the rollers should not ride or move off the workpiece. To ensure this condition, before, after and possibly on the sides of the workpiece, it is necessary to glue material with the same thickness. This will also make it easier to position the workpiece for serial and/or duplex printing.
The original cartridges ran out quite quickly, but overall the results using the original ink were very good. However, it was decided to purchase refillable cartridges and compatible inks.
The soul did not rest on this; attempts were made to modify the ink in order to increase the content of the polymer component in it. As a result of these experiments, the nozzles with black ink were clogged by 90%, with magenta ink by 50%, one nozzle in the “yellow” row did not work, and only the nozzles of cyan ink remained fully functional. However, for printing templates, one color is enough. Since magenta ink showed the best results, it was they that were refilled in the cyan cartridge.
1. Prepare the surface of the workpiece. If it is relatively clean, then it is enough to degrease it with acetone. Otherwise, degrease, clean with an abrasive sponge, and, to form an oxide layer, place in the oven for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of 180°C. Then cool and degrease with acetone.
2. Using double-sided adhesive tape and auxiliary scraps of textolite, secure the workpiece to the substrate.
3. Convert the template to a pure color that will be used for printing. In our case - in blue (RGB = 0, 255, 255). Carry out a test print (not the entire template, but only the dimensional points, for example corners), if necessary, correct the position of the template in the program used for printing, wash off the previous result with acetone, repeat the correction procedure if necessary.
4. Print the template on the workpiece. The best results were obtained with the following settings:
5. Air dry the workpiece for 5 minutes; you can use a hairdryer to speed it up. Then detach the workpiece from the substrate and carry out preliminary fixing in the oven for 15 minutes (the time from turning on the oven) at 200°C at peak. Cool the workpiece.
6. For precise positioning of the second layer, you can drill several holes of small diameter, for example, 1 mm in diameter, at the attachment points of the future board. Secure the workpiece with the surface for the second layer facing up, and apply double-sided adhesive tape to the completely painted areas of the first layer. If the workpiece is tightly sandwiched between two plates at the front and back, then using double-sided tape is not necessary. Degrease the workpiece with acetone.
7. Perform positioning and printing - repeat steps 3 and 4.
8. Air dry the workpiece for 5 minutes; you can use a hairdryer to speed it up. Then detach the workpiece from the substrate, secure it on stands, for example, made from paper clips, place it in the oven, and carry out the fixation for 15 minutes (the time from turning on the oven) at 210 ° C at peak. Cool the workpiece.
9. Inspect the workpiece, paint over areas with a suspiciously thin layer of ink (for example, near holes or stuck dust particles) with a waterproof marker. Etch the workpiece. To ensure that the surface of the workpiece maintains a distance from the bottom of the container, you can insert toothpicks into the holes (1 mm in diameter used to position the second layer), so that the sharp tip extends 1.5-2 mm, and bite off the thick one to the same height. When etching, periodically turn the board over and check its readiness.
Wash off the ink with acetone.
Important notes.
1. In order for the ink used to become resistant to the etching solution, it must be kept for about 15 minutes (the time from turning on the stove) at a temperature of about 210°C at peak (obtained using a thermocouple located next to the workpiece). The interval is narrow, since when it is exceeded by 5-10°C, the textolite begins to collapse, and when it is too low, the ink is washed off with the etching solution. The exact conditions in a particular case must be determined empirically. For control, you can use a cotton swab test. If a cotton swab moistened with water easily washes off the ink, then you need to increase the temperature; if it does not wash off, or only slightly stains, then resistance to the etching solution has been acquired. If even a cotton swab moistened with acetone has difficulty removing the ink, it means that the resistance to the etching solution is very good. This way you can select the ink and curing conditions that give the best results. Note that we used an electric grill stove, turned on only the upper heating element, and when the ink was finally fixed, the stove thermostat was set to 220°C.
2. Printing reproducibility reaches about 0.1 mm, so if necessary, you can print it a second time on top of the first side of the template, with intermediate drying directly on the substrate with a hot air gun (with adjustable temperature) or a household hair dryer set to maximum temperature. Drying is necessary so that the pressure rollers do not lubricate the previous layer.
3. The production of two sides can be done sequentially. First, print and secure the first side, and protect the foil on the second, for example, with acrylic spray paint. Etch the first side, wash off the protection from the second with acetone, print and secure the second side, protect the first with paint, etch the second side, and wash off the protection from the first.
4. You need to print as follows: first send the print job, wait until the printer reports that there is no paper, then carefully slide the substrate with the workpiece secured under the pressure rollers, turning the feed shaft by the gear in front on the left, and then press the continue printing button. If there are short breaks between printing sessions, the printer will not perform a short cleaning procedure, so you can first load the substrate with the workpiece, and then send the job to print.
5. Particular cleanliness must be observed, since any speck of dust that gets on wet ink on the workpiece can lead to a defect.
Several double-sided printed circuit boards were produced using this method, and although the tracks at However, rather than 0.5 mm were not used, the possibility of obtaining tracks with a width of 0.25 mm was demonstrated in test areas, and this is clearly not the limit of this method.
P.S. An example of a double-sided board with 0.25 mm tracks (during the design, the standards of 0.25 mm were laid down for the width of the tracks and for the gaps, but during manual finishing the distances between the tracks were increased as much as possible). Note that when making double-sided boards, it is apparently still safer to print and etch the sides sequentially. Side 1:
Side 2:
Three types of defects can be noticed:
1. Linear distortion, which is apparently caused by the fact that one side was printed in a fast two-pass mode, and the other in a slow single-pass mode. That is, it is better to print both sides in the same mode.
2. In some places the tracks are slightly wider due to ink spreading. This defect can be avoided by carefully preparing the surface - degrease with a piece of cloth soaked in acetone, then wipe thoroughly with a dry cotton swab.
3. On one edge, the tracks and contact pads were noticeably more etched. This happened due to overheating, as a result of which the ink became very dark and began to peel off. This means that it is necessary to carefully monitor the uniformity of heating (choose a place in the stove where the heating is more uniform) and in no case allow overheating - the ink should darken noticeably, but not acquire a dark sulfur tint.
However, these defects did not turn out to be critical and as a result, without any wiring correction, we received a fully functioning device.
