Mutoh Falcon 48" Printing out of alignment?

[dtdm]

Hello, I recently purchased a Mutoh Falcon. All of the sudden today It started printing a bit out of wack.

There are two different black dial sort of things on the front of each print head? do these move the heads?

Thanks!

 

[sfr table hockey]

Those levers will move but you will notice as you get to the spot where the heads are set that lever will stop and feel tight. Unless you unscrew the little screw (look down in the area where the dampers are and see a screw on each head on the right front of the head). Once you loosen this screw your head will move from that spot so keep the lever in the tight area and only move a bit once the head is loosened. Then tighten the screw and test print. There should be an area in the service menu ( if its anything like the Rolands) that is for alligning heads. From what I hear they are not as easy to do as the Rolands.

Take care when working on a printer while on or plugged in. You can easily short things out. Best to always turn off and unplug and save the board.

 

[dtdm]

I moved the lever over a few notches and no change in printing.
I only have the operation manual. So if anyone can point me towards a manual that has troubleshooting, if there is such a thing, that would be a great help.

 

[sfr table hockey]

Just to confirm, did you loosen the screw and then move the lever or just moved the lever without loosening the screw?

Also before moving the heads for allignment you might want to do the key pad allignment test prints(assuming there are some on that printer). Temp changes can make things shift or if a head gets bumped then it may be allignment of the head.

 

[dtdm]

Here are the adjustment things I was messing with. There is no screw that I see.

And here is whats happening when i try to print some cmyk blocks

 

[sfr table hockey]

Look down over top of the magenta damper and the yellow damper. Just to the left of the brass nut on the damper and back a bit, you will see a screw with a washer (possibly brass). You can get a thin screwdriver down there without taking out the damper and just loosen it. But watch out as once its loose there is a spring under the black and LC damper that pushed the heads over. You will now notice that the lever in front now will move the head. The key is to know which way corrects the problem.

In the Roland units there is a test print in the service menu that show how to move the lever and test print to see if it lines up the color line right. You need a magnifying glass to see the detail needed to allign right. Next is a lever on the right side of the left head. This also moves the head but this one goes front and back. I find that one is almost easier to line up by feeling the back of the print head area and making that feel flush. From there very little movement is needed.

So you Should have two front levers and one on the left side.

Now even though they have the same heads as on my Roland, they may be set in there differently.

 

[dtdm]

I have no idea what I did, but it seems to be printing fine now? So random! I have heard these machines are kinda spastic...

 

[randya]

Most likely not random.

You could keep a log on the machine.
Log your issues and what you did to resolve it.
Just a log of your issues can be invaluable when trying to troubleshoot problems.

I recommend logging issues with dates and times.
And anything else that may be unique in your shop.

If you always have problems on the second Tuesday of every month and that is the day that you run the panel saw, then it could be related.

If it is contamination, could be from saw dust.
If it were electrical, could be from the power used by the saw.

Develop some basic trouble shooting techniques and your 'randomness' will probably not seem so random at all.

 

[dtdm]

Thank you, a log book sounds like a good idea. I am constantly running into problems months down the road, and can't remember exactly what I did to get things back up and running.