Summa S2 75T Pinch roller sensors not working

[DonutSlinger]

Hey guys,

I just purchased a brand new Summa S2 75T about 2 months ago. Ever since Friday it no longer reads the pinch roller positions and is not usable.
I have 2+ rolls of laminated material with summas registration marks needing to be cut and another 8 rolls to cut. I'm loosing my patience!

Things I have already done:
1. Called tech support: getting the run-around and it's EOD Wednesday with no contact. or solution. I have called many many times.
2. Cleaned / blew off the sensor.
3. put machine into sensor mode to verify sensor is not working. It says it's covered when it's not.
4. Cleaned sensor again.
5. Reset to factory defaults.
6. Searched online for summa parts (can't find anything?)


The last thing I heard was on Friday, this is what a Summa tech said,

"This points to a sensor being fine and possible issue with main PCB. RESET MAIN PCB TO FACTORY"

How do i do this?
or
Does anyone know where to purchase summa replacement parts?

 

[FrankW]

Every factory configuration of any plotter since around 2009 or so is downloadable through the Summa Website:

https://www.summa.eu/en/vinyl-cutter-downloads

At the end of this site, you find a possibility to input the serial number of your device. Put it in and klick the magnifying glass, and a download link will appear. Download the file and restore it to the cutter through Summa Cutter Control. Have found out that sometimes the cutter needs additional calibration, but if the machine is only a few months old, you should not run into big trouble.

But not shure if this will help. Could be that a piece of vinyl stucks in the sensor (it is difficult to reach behind the cutting head). Could happen very seldom that the sensor is mechanically broken.

 

[DonutSlinger]

Thank you FrankW! I really appreciate it!

I found the file and downloaded it. However, I am getting an error while using cutter control.

I get this error 90% of the time (it's been an issue since day 1)
"Access Violation at address 005321A8 in module "CutterControl.exe". Read of address 00CCb000"

I am not able to connect to the printer. Any ideas?


EDIT: This same error comes up on 2 different computers, using both USB and ETHERNET connections

 

[FrankW]

Have no idea about that error. Could you try to open Summa Cutter Control in Administrator mode (right click on the app icon)? And do a re-install?

 

[FrankW]

Unfortunately I had sensor trouble with a Summa DC4 a few weeks ago ... in this case we suspect a mainboard damage. To check that, could you have a look if other sensors are working correctly? The media sensors are easy to check.

 

[DonutSlinger]

Have no idea about that error. Could you try to open Summa Cutter Control in Administrator mode (right click on the app icon)? And do a re-install?

I have tried that. No go. After finally speaking with tech support they said the machine needs to complete setup or it won't connect. Got it to work so long as media is loaded when it's turned on.

 

[DonutSlinger]

Unfortunately I had sensor trouble with a Summa DC4 a few weeks ago ... in this case we suspect a mainboard damage. To check that, could you have a look if other sensors are working correctly? The media sensors are easy to check.

I have put it into service mode and sensors check out fine. Pinch roller sensor (CAM) isn't working. After finally speaking to tech support, pinch roller sensor needs replacing. I'm waiting on Grimco to service the unit which the tech couldn't give me an answer as to how soon that may happen...


Would anyone know where to purchase summa parts? I can use the Graphtec for the time being but it can't keep up with the workload.
I'm very familiar with servicing the Graphtec. The Summa looks very similar. I am considering doing it myself.

 

[DonutSlinger]

An update to what happened previously. The main board needed replacing. Summa replaced and sent a tech to install under the warranty.

Well after over 5 years, the machine has the same problem AGAIN. Was cutting fine and then went to load the next sheet and BAM no more pinch roller sensor.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

It's possible that it could just be the pinch roller sensor that needs to be replaced(part number is KIT-2011 for the sensor) and not the mainboard like you dealt with five years ago. When the cutter boots up, the carriage should go all the way to the right(origin) before it moves to detect each pinch roller location. If the carriage doesn't move all the way to the right, that will cause the origin to be off and could cause the cutter to not search for the pinch rollers in the correct position. I would check and make sure there's nothing preventing the carriage from establishing its proper origin position, and if there's no issues with that I would try swapping out the sensor($71 part versus almost 2k for a mainboard) to see if that fixes your problem.

We offer technical support plans that you can purchase if you wanted to troubleshoot this issue with our tech team. We used to own and operate Summa for 20 years, and our techs have over 100 years combined experience servicing Summa cutters, so they can definitely figure out what's causing the problem and help to remedy the situation. The number for our tech team is 800-323-9766 and more information on the different tech plans that we offer can be found here - https://www.airmark.com/collections/technical-support-plans

Let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com

 

[DonutSlinger]

I got a new pinch roller sensor today and it didnt fix the problem. Looks like a new s3, i was already thinking of getting a bigger unit.

 

[DonutSlinger]

It's possible that it could just be the pinch roller sensor that needs to be replaced(part number is KIT-2011 for the sensor) and not the mainboard like you dealt with five years ago. When the cutter boots up, the carriage should go all the way to the right(origin) before it moves to detect each pinch roller location. If the carriage doesn't move all the way to the right, that will cause the origin to be off and could cause the cutter to not search for the pinch rollers in the correct position. I would check and make sure there's nothing preventing the carriage from establishing its proper origin position, and if there's no issues with that I would try swapping out the sensor($71 part versus almost 2k for a mainboard) to see if that fixes your problem.

We offer technical support plans that you can purchase if you wanted to troubleshoot this issue with our tech team. We used to own and operate Summa for 20 years, and our techs have over 100 years combined experience servicing Summa cutters, so they can definitely figure out what's causing the problem and help to remedy the situation. The number for our tech team is 800-323-9766 and more information on the different tech plans that we offer can be found here - https://www.airmark.com/collections/technical-support-plans

Let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com

The carrige does go all the way to the right and when it searches for the pinch rollers its un able to locate then and gives the error. I may just give a call and see if it’s fixable without replacing the mainboard.