Can you take a picture/video of the bed/printer head while it’s printing and post it here? If it’s a fan issue, it should be fairly obvious.
Yes, I can do that. In the mean time, here are the cut comparisons. Is it interesting that the auto cut all the way through but not the manual, or is that to be expected? The first one is pre-paper removal so you can see the cut line differences.
Here’s the vid. I have problems, don’t I? And this is how much the alignment is off.
I’m sorry, I must’ve hit Enter accidentally, cuz I didn’t have the vid prepared, which I still don’t. I made it, but can’t open it except on my iPhone. When I sent it to my gmail it came through in a .htm format and even I can’t open it. But looking at the phone video I can see I have problems. Anyone have suggestions on how to get the video uploaded so you can see it?
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Yes, something is off. The char should be blowing toward the front of the machine, and I see at the top left of the Gift of Good Measure that the char seems to be blowing toward the back. Also, the cut line is too thick and the alignment looks like the printhead got moved with the machine on.
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You can upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and then post the link here (the forum is very limited on video size).
Ok, as to the char blowing the wrong way, how to I correct it. About the movement while the GF was on, I’m certainly not going to argue with someone with your experience, but If I discovered I was guilty of doing that, I’d be very disappointed in myself since I’m very careful about NOT doing stupid things like that. But it’s not like I don’t do stupid things all the time, so again, how do I correct it before I send myself to bed without my supper?
I don’t think you moved it, but for the alignment to be that far off something is up. Have you recently removed the carriage plate to clean the air assist fan? Have you double checked that the honeycomb tray is properly seated and that there isn’t debris under one or more of the feet in the bed recess? When the machine is off, does the printhead glide smoothly all the way to the left and right? Does the carriage arm glide smoothly forward and back?
- Yes, I removed the carriage plate May 1 to clean the air assist fan. I haven’t used the printer much since then. Usually clean it once a month.
- Found a tiny bit of debris in one foot notch, removed it.
- The print head slides smoothly left and right (the machine’s supposed to be off, right? (oh, just kidding!))
- Can’t say the laser arm slides smoothly forward & backward, though. Seems to be a tiny (and I mean TINY) bit of resistance.
I suggest removing the carriage plate and double checking that the air assist fan is correctly installed. When you replace the carriage plate, make double sure that the belt teeth are facing in. If you need to contact Support, they will want photos of your lens, mirror, side window inside the machine, and side window on the printhead. Really inspect those optics for any scratch or blemish.
The fan should face in this direction, and the hood should direct the smoke toward the front of the machine.
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That is why there is auto.
Btw the smoke trails tell a story…
If they go straight to the front, the air is moving. If they wander about and move vaguely to the left, then the air is not moving well, meaning flames likely, and not cutting through likely as well.
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I’ve finally been able to double check the air assist fan and make sure it was replaced correctly after the last cleaning. It was. Photo 1 is when I removed it. I did a thorough cleaning and reinstalled it. Photo 2 is when I put it back. New problem, though. I cannot, for the life of me, get the ribbon attached back onto the print head. It just won’t insert. I thought maybe a pin had got bent so I used a strong magnifying glass to inspect but it doesn’t appear one did. Don’t know how it could’ve anyway. The ribbon came out smoothly, I laid the head aside and didn’t touch it until I tried to reattach the ribbon. Afraid to use too much force for fear of breaking the board. Then I’m really screwed.
There’s a little plastic clip on the ribbon - which needs to be depressed to slip it in…are you doing that?
Also, on the fan. There’s a silver chute on the underside that can get plugged up. You won’t be able to see anything in there, but if you push a qtip or canned or or something through the fan blades and out the chute you’ll be able to clear it.
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Yes, I’ve pushed it, I’ve not pushed and if there was a third option I would have done that, too. (That sounds snarky, but I don’t mean it to be.) I thought maybe somehow a pin had become bent inside so I took a photo, but no, it appears all the pins are straight.
As to your fan suggestion, I took it apart yesterday and cleaned so didn’t think there would be any debris in it, BUT just to be sure I took it apart and cleaned it again after finding it too difficult to force a Q-Tip through. However, that still leaves the problem of the ribbon not attaching to the print head. And to answer your next question, yes, the little push thing pushes freely. There’s plenty of give to it.
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What about the other side of the connection? Anything stuck in one of the receiving holes?
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That was a good thought and a result I took my can of compressed air and blew out the end of the ribbon. Still won’t insert. NEXT.
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SUCCESS!!! OMG, We, and by “we,” I mean Oscar and I, found the freaking problem and IT’S FIXED and my printer is working! There were two pins in the print head connector that had somehow gotten bent. Using a very strong magnifier on a head lamp and an xacto knife I got them straightened out, held my breath and snapped the ribbon on. Kept holding my breath while I turned the printer on and just waited to see if the print head would move. IT DID! OMG, WHAT A RELIEF. I printed a Gift of Good Measure and for some unknown reason, All of the problems addressed above have been solved: the focus is dead on, not one bit flame, char is blowing forward and all is good in “Forgeville.” Thanks for everyone’s help, but OSCAR NEEDS A RAISE!
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Glad you and Oscar got your machine fixed.
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It is amazing how little a mountain is when you are on the other side of the mole hill. That is my feeling every time I solve such a problem. Unsolved it is a terrible unknown mountain, but once solved it becomes "oh that’ far more obvious after than before.
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Congrats!
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