[Mimaki UJV55-320] ERROR 404 Y CURRENT

[Isaac_K]

We had a blackout in our area last night and have since been getting ERROR 404 Y CURRENT on boot on our UJV55-320. Video here

We are not able to find anything blocking the path and connections to the board all seem fine. Really hoping the motor or board aren't fried. Any ideas for troubleshooting?

I was thinking maybe the "zero position" of the head might be knocked out of place. Anybody know how to recalibrate?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I've never worked on that machine but I have worked on tons of Mimakis and they all have similar designs. I would run an encoder test in the service mode to see if it is working properly. The encoder and the motor are deeply reliant on each other so if one fails, it can affect the other. The fact that the motor moves the carriage at all means it's getting power and is capable of moving. That's why I would suspect the encoder first as it would fail once it tries to move and measure the media.

 

[APC Tech NE]

Looks like the error happens when the motor tries to move the carriage at higher speeds and power levels. This normally would indicate a failing Y motor, especially If this machine gets heavy use. Was the motor getting louder leading up to this?

 

[Isaac_K]

I've never worked on that machine but I have worked on tons of Mimakis and they all have similar designs. I would run an encoder test in the service mode to see if it is working properly. The encoder and the motor are deeply reliant on each other so if one fails, it can affect the other. The fact that the motor moves the carriage at all means it's getting power and is capable of moving. That's why I would suspect the encoder first as it would fail once it tries to move and measure the media.

Thanks for the suggestion. I was able to get in to the service menu but can't seem to find the encoder test. Do you know where that is located within the menu?

 

[Isaac_K]

Looks like the error happens when the motor tries to move the carriage at higher speeds and power levels. This normally would indicate a failing Y motor, especially If this machine gets heavy use. Was the motor getting louder leading up to this?

Yes, the machine gets heavy use...about 12 hours a day nonstop. I am not in the large format press room consistently but the operators say they did not notice any more noise from the motors.

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Error 404 during the boot usually caused by the faulty start point sensor, it interrupter or bad communication with it. Try to determine what is happening before error. Most likely you'll see the carriage moving to the right after the station moves down until the carriage reached right edge and gives you an error. It might try do it few times moving left and right before it stops with an error. Usually it is a shifted or bended metal plate which must interrupt starting point optical sensor and stop the carriage. To find the sensor you have to remove carriage cover and find it inside somewhere behind the heads at top right before the circuit boards (HDC). Try to see what is happening with the sensor before it stops. Ill attach the picture with the sensor position. I really doubt that the problem is in Y motor, you easily can detect faulty in most cases when it becomes noisy, worsening print quality in bi-directional mode or random 404 errors during the printing, but not at the initialization

 

[dudeinthemoon]

You can test Y origin sensor from the service menu. Go to Test>Sensors>Y origin sensor

 

[Dasdesignguy]

This is a relatively new printer, are you not under warranty? Update your firmware. Check the carriage in the off state wether it moves smoothly in the Y direction. Apply grease to the LM guide. Check CN14 & 15 on the main PCB and the motor cable. (Had an issue with my first install of a UJV 55 where the cable was not connected in the leg of the stand causing all kinds of take-up issues.) Lastly, replace the Y-Axis motor.

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Mimaki discontinued those printers years ago. It was replaced by UCJV and UV

 

[Isaac_K]

After a few days of troubleshooting we narrowed it down to the motor and got it replaced. Our dealer charged us $1500 just for the Y motor which seems exorbitant. Unfortunately we did not have time to source it ourselves.

After replacing the motor, we are realizing that the rail bearings and encoder will likely need to be replaced soon as well. Mimaki only sells the rail bearings as a set of 4 with the 2 rails which I have been told is in the thousands.

I plan on contacting Motion Industries to see if they can supply the bearings but do not have the exact specs nor a spare part to take. Does anyone know the part # or correct specs? Any references for 3rd party parts would be much appreciate as well

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Sure, they’re using Hiwin MGN15H carriage in all their products. You don’t have to find the exact one, just be sure it is the same dimensions and the screws are in same place, there is too different carriages of type you need: with or without separator, the carriages without ball separator is more noisy but cheaper. You can remove on of them from the rail to be completely sure you buying needed one. But I really doubt you’ll need any, those are very reliable and if you don’t hear any screeching sounds when printer carriage is moving there is no need to replace them. And honestly error 404 during the start seems doubtful for me, technically this error appears when logic detects unexpected overcurrent to the motor which usually means the motor couldn’t move the carriage using common power and has to consume more energy than before, and it might be while it printing, but not at the start. And they using the same motors in their SWJ, SIJ and UV55 models, maybe in JFX too but I could be wrong, and when those printers has 404 error it is very rare that Y motor caused it. But anyway you should replace the motor at least every 5 years, to prevent possible problems which dead motor could cause, so it wasn’t unnecessary

 

[Isaac_K]

Sure, they’re using Hiwin MGN15H carriage in all their products. You don’t have to find the exact one, just be sure it is the same dimensions and the screws are in same place, there is too different carriages of type you need: with or without separator, the carriages without ball separator is more noisy but cheaper. You can remove on of them from the rail to be completely sure you buying needed one. But I really doubt you’ll need any, those are very reliable and if you don’t hear any screeching sounds when printer carriage is moving there is no need to replace them. And honestly error 404 during the start seems doubtful for me, technically this error appears when logic detects unexpected overcurrent to the motor which usually means the motor couldn’t move the carriage using common power and has to consume more energy than before, and it might be while it printing, but not at the start. And they using the same motors in their SWJ, SIJ and UV55 models, maybe in JFX too but I could be wrong, and when those printers has 404 error it is very rare that Y motor caused it. But anyway you should replace the motor at least every 5 years, to prevent possible problems which dead motor could cause, so it wasn’t unnecessary

I appreciate all the info. I did think it was odd that a black out would damage the motor. You would think the board components would be the first thing to go. I am holding on to the motor to test and repair if it is actually damaged.

We tried oiling the bearings as best as we could. It did help quite a bit but according to the technician, the head should easily glide across the rail. Ours definitely requires some pressure to move it. Any suggestions on how to clean or lubricate the bearings before we attempt a replacement?

 

[dudeinthemoon]

The system only way I know to lubricate those carriages you can find in this document

https://www.hiwin.us/wp-content/uploads/lubricating_instructions.pdf

But you can use syringe to push the lube inside the carriage, and to do it you will need to unscrew the bearing from the back of printer’s carriage to release it back then move it outside of printer’s carriage then remove the screw on the side of the bearing, you’ll see it in the document, and push lubricant inside

 

[Isaac_K]

Update:

The fun continues...

Printer started throwing a System Halt (2): 509 error. We opened up the head and cleaned the encoder sensor the best we could. The error seems to have subsided but now there is obviously something very wrong with the way the encoder is functioning...We output a test print and each pass gets further and further off the correct Y position.

Ran an encoder test and got the attached results...

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Check the position of the encoders sensor, and it still might be the motor issue as it has its own encoder

 

[dudeinthemoon]

Isaac_K, did you solve the problem?

 

[Isaac_K]

Isaac_K, did you solve the problem?

Not quite yet. We took your advice and were able to start printing correctly by reseating the encoder sensor...temporarily. However, we are still getting that System Halt error intermittently. We have called in the techs at this point and have received a quote on a new encoder and sensor.

Thanks for your suggestions. It helped us get to the point where we can output at least our rush jobs.

 

[dudeinthemoon]

This error means that the HDC board received a different amount of scales from the sensor.
Not as expected. It might be still the motor. Did you try your old motor

 

[Isaac_K]

This error means that the HDC board received a different amount of scales from the sensor.
Not as expected. It might be still the motor. Did you try your old motor

Potentially dumb question but I am unfamiliar with digital equipment (I mainly deal with offset).

Are scales the different sections going across the encoder strip? If so, could oil on the strip cause an issue with the sensor correctly reading each scale?

The last tech that was out here put oil all along the rail and I thought that was odd. Over a couple days of printing on and off, oil worked it's way on to the encoder strip and I am sure into other unknown areas.

I was going to try the original motor again but have not had a chance. Will update once I do.

 

[dudeinthemoon]

No, the scales are the same for the entire length. Oil on a scale will affect the readings, it usually happens with new machines, there might be few oil drops from the rail. Just wipe the stripe with alcohol, do not use any solvent!
Did you noticed in what part of the printing table error usually appears?