Mimaki UCJV300-160 supply ink error.. HELP

[Yourcustomshopla]

Hello we have a mimaki ucjv300-160, Did anyone ever find a solution for error 61a ink overflow? We are only getting the error in channel 7 which is our white ink.
We have had 3 techs come out and none of them have been able to fix it, now they are out of options and want us to have mimaki come out but one, they’re not available till atleast a month out and this is our 2nd month down and 2 it’s been a bunch of money wasting with no solutions and we just don’t want to waste any more money unless it’s wjrh someone who has had this error. And the mimaki tech they are trying to send is new so we don’t know if we want to take those chances.
If anyone has had this problem and fixed it please let me know if you can spare any tips. Here’s a list of what we have switched and tried .
We have replaced
Subtank
Line for channel 7
2 way 3 way solenoid
Cartridge valve
Lines that go to recirculating pump
Recirculating pump itself
Magnetic float sensors
We air purged it

The error before switching any parts would happen mid print. After inspection the tech recommended we switch the subtank, after switching sub tank we now get the overflow 61a error instantly, we can’t do anything. If you try filling su tank, error. If you try doing a cleaning, error, we have spent so much money on visits and parts and just are looking to catch a break, if anyone can recommend a good tech for the ucjv mimaki that would be greatly appreciated or if anyone has had this problem and can help we would be super thankful and are even willing to pay.
We are in long beach california
Thanks in advance

 

[ivanngonly]

Hello we have a mimaki ucjv300-160, Did anyone ever find a solution for error 61a ink overflow? We are only getting the error in channel 7 which is our white ink.
We have had 3 techs come out and none of them have been able to fix it, now they are out of options and want us to have mimaki come out but one, they’re not available till atleast a month out and this is our 2nd month down and 2 it’s been a bunch of money wasting with no solutions and we just don’t want to waste any more money unless it’s wjrh someone who has had this error. And the mimaki tech they are trying to send is new so we don’t know if we want to take those chances.
If anyone has had this problem and fixed it please let me know if you can spare any tips. Here’s a list of what we have switched and tried .
We have replaced
Subtank
Line for channel 7
2 way 3 way solenoid
Cartridge valve
Lines that go to recirculating pump
Recirculating pump itself
Magnetic float sensors
We air purged it

The error before switching any parts would happen mid print. After inspection the tech recommended we switch the subtank, after switching sub tank we now get the overflow 61a error instantly, we can’t do anything. If you try filling su tank, error. If you try doing a cleaning, error, we have spent so much money on visits and parts and just are looking to catch a break, if anyone can recommend a good tech for the ucjv mimaki that would be greatly appreciated or if anyone has had this problem and can help we would be super thankful and are even willing to pay.
We are in long beach california
Thanks in advance

hi,
did you try to swap the 7 and 8 connector to see to try isolate where the problem is by doing so u can aleast exclude the good working parts and potion. this can easily be done without the mimaki tech personal help. u check my youtube video. My problem fix as the value is weak leaking. But since you have change it not really sure so u try swap the connector see if your still having the Overflow in the same 7 or did it migrated to 8.

regards
Ivan

 

[BigDogPrinterMan]

I solved a supply ink error yesterday by draining the effected bottle tank (with bottle removed), both through line to back of solenoid and the center hole (covered by blue plug on color lines) to empty.

Loaded a flush bottle, waited until bottle tank was full, then flushed out main line to solenoid with a syringe. Then hooked back up to solenoid, and flushed through that as well. Once blockage was removed, removed flush bottle, repeated step one to drain all flush from bottle tank, lines, and solenoid. Loaded ink bottle and bled the line - reattached everything - turn back on and run fill up. Error was gone.

^ I was able to verify that both the solenoid and the solenoid connector were still fully functional by swapping my effected magenta assembly with my light magenta assembly. 61b error continued on the no prior error parts, so moved forward with flush. This is a very messy, very annoying task, so verify if your solenoid / solenoid assembly is actually bad before attempting.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Don't have a service manual on these guys yet, but if it has ink filters like the UJF MKII series, check to see if those are swelling up. As far as I can tell, most bottle fed UV printers have a similar setup on the current generations, so worth checking as well. Also, if anyone has a service manual or parts list on these, let me know, about to pick one up in a couple days.

 

[BigDogPrinterMan]

Don't have a service manual on these guys yet, but if it has ink filters like the UJF MKII series, check to see if those are swelling up. As far as I can tell, most bottle fed UV printers have a similar setup on the current generations, so worth checking as well. Also, if anyone has a service manual or parts list on these, let me know, about to pick one up in a couple days.

No ink filters in the UCJV300

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

So much for that idea, almost feels like an oversight. Ink can get chunky, even if it's not expired.

 

[BigDogPrinterMan]

So much for that idea, almost feels like an oversight. Ink can get chunky, even if it's not expired.

That’s why I had to flush my magenta the other day. Also had to do a head replacement for chunky white. Just a couple months into the second year.

Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to put filters between the ink tanks and solenoids on your own accord.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

The UJF series filters are the M022219 (formerly M018307), but there are plenty of generic ones. Thankfully the little clip fittings are cheap, just the gaskets are murder.

 

[dudeinthemoon]

BigDogPrinterMan, UCJV300 has filters in subtanks but additional filters wont save you from problems with magenta and white. The only solution is to shake white bottles from time to time (everyday works perfect) and do nozzle washings in cleaning solution for 10-30 mins (depends on current printheads condition) at least twice a week, and your printer will be living long and happy life

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Yourcustomshopla, take a look on subtank when its filling, drain both whites from #adjust>subtank>discharge, remove plastic covers from both white subtanks to see how ink flows and start fill them back, compare both of them. 61b basically means that subtank wasnt filled enough in certain amount of time. So if you'll see your 7 channel filling up much slower than 8 you have ink flow problem but you've already replaced a bunch of parts so I doubt you have ink flow issues.
Inside subtank you have floating magnet which tells to a sensor when limit is reached and machine will close the valve, the sensor is connected to HDC pcb, so if there no ink flow problem you may have problem on pcb. In case if both subtanks filled up simultaneously try to swap sensor connectors on HDC pcb (7 and 8), if 61b will moves to channel 8 (with both subtanks filled completely) you have either: stuck floating magnet inside subtank, bad sensor, or bad HDC pcb.

 

[BigDogPrinterMan]

BigDogPrinterMan, UCJV300 has filters in subtanks but additional filters wont save you from problems with magenta and white. The only solution is to shake white bottles from time to time (everyday works perfect) and do nozzle washings in cleaning solution for 10-30 mins (depends on current printheads condition) at least twice a week, and your printer will be living long and happy life

Already do all of this. We’re good!

I’m not afraid to clean and tinker.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Subtank filters are glorified screens, so building up the stuff I need for proper filters. Just landed the UCJV300-107 that was on eBay as a new project and soon to be production printer. Excited and nervous at the same time, but at least it has Gen5 heads instead of the Toshiba Tec heads like the UJF-6042MKII. Lots of identical parts to the UJF, and I already have a cracked ink-chip-free firmware compiled up and ready to test. =)

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Got a UCJV300-107 finally and seems this is the issue I am working with. From the looks of it, the previous owner never did an air purge even, and it has less than 600sqft of total prints on it. Seems the flush fluid for both the UJF and this printer is the same, so probably going to flush all the lines and subtanks to clear any clogs. The filters in the subtanks are worthlessly small, so I can see this being an incredibly common issue.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Running a full-on triple reply here. But, I finally dug into my UCJV300 and found a fun issue causing the ink supply errors. Seems 2 of the lines (1 per head, Black/White), are clogged up. Clog seems to be a good foot-long and we're just going to replace the tubes. Can easily probe the lines with a clean length of wire and feel if it stops. The lines can be squeezed decently easily when clear, but the clog was a solid mass. Not a bad deal on the printer, and it was lightly used. Really happy the problem was relatively simple.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Saga continues on my project. Seems the magnetic sensor on channel 6 is borked. Getting a reading of ---, ---, --- and occasionally LOW, ---, ---. Saw mention of the check valve also playing a role in the system that might be problematic. Mine sat for quite a while, so I might look into those as well. Anyone know about what the flow rate is from the ink solenoids is? Removing the fitting below the valve and pressing the solenoid down tends to get me a flow of about 2-3 full sized drops of ink per second. Seems about right if I were to go off the UJF-6042 MKII's bleed rate.

Also, check valve p/n M016017 seems to be pretty uncommon, so haven't found prices on them in the wild. Guess I will call a dealer and see if they can look them up. I see the entire bottle holder, but those are a bit obscene at $122+ each.

To add to the confusion, it seems the check valve has been changed to the 'buffer tank' in the reference manual. P/N M021398. Mine has check valves, so I wonder which is the proper version to use?

 

[Dasdesignguy]

It's the sub tanks. That is the first thing the Mimaki tech should have replaced. Then ink lines, release valve. Would have been a lot cheaper for them too.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Subtanks are fine, verified them with a sensor swap. Test mode for the sensors showed the #6 (clear in this case) one reading wonky. Since the printer did come with a subtank, we replaced it just in case. All but 1 line was clear, black was clogged in 2 places. Release valves flow good when unimpeded. The resistance we get on the heck valves is pretty significant though. No luck finding anyone who stocks those. Seems that the buffer tank revision replaced those, and since they have clear diaphragms, I could definitely get why.

Printer shows only about 500 sqft of total printing, and apparently it was mothballed with ink still in it during covid. So, makes sense. Thankfully, a good IPA flush did an amazing job, chased with some regular Mimaki flush.

 

[Dasdesignguy]

What are the positive and negative pressures?

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Pressures are within .2 kpa, but not at the printer now. Checked one of the ink check valves after pulling it, and they are sludged. Since I can't get the older style valves and no luck getting quotes on the newer buffer tanks, we're adapting in UV ink filters instead. Leads to way better flow, dirt cheap to replace, and added filtration. Will take pics of the install in case someone else ever wants to do the mod, putting them in before the solenoid valves to keep them from ending up as a source of overflow issues.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Valve assembly was the culprit, yay. Looks like it got ink in it from a previously failed subtank. Working good, still getting overflow on head 4 (K), but checking on that now.