Chapter 6
87
Printer Maintenance
P83173A RevA
7/19/10
Monthly maintenance
This section describes the recommended monthly maintenance.
CAUTION: A Purge must be performed on all printheads once a month to ensure
ink line and nozzle health.
Purging ink lines to remove air
Occasionally you may have air introduced in the system that must be removed or you may have
several missing nozzles in a specific head that do not return when a Clean Heads procedure is
performed. This is when a purge should be performed. When purging a specific ink color, both
heads connected to that color reservoir are purged. You can also choose to purge all ink colors.
When the
All Colors
option is chosen, the printer cycles through the purging sequence, one ink
color at a time.
The Purge command is located in the Maintenance section of the printer's menu.
CAUTION: Use impervious gloves to protect your hands. Nitrile gloves of no less
than 8 mils have proven impervious for one hour of exposure. Gloves should be
disposed of after one hour of exposure time. Wear safety goggles to protect your
eyes. Dispose of used gloves according to local laws and regulations.
CAUTION: It is required that only Gerber-recommended wipes and swabs be used
when purging the printheads. Use of wipes and swabs other than what is
recommended could damage the printheads. Always use new, clean wipes and
swabs. Never reuse wipes and swabs. Never substitute paper towels for wipes.
NOTE: You must perform a Purge Procedure on all heads every 160 hours of print time or
monthly, whichever comes first.
Required purge supplies
♦
Daily Maintenance Solution
♦
Fisher Scientific foam-tipped swabs
♦
Anticon Gold heavy-weight, clean room wipes
♦
All-purpose wipes
♦
2mm, long handled, Allen wrench (supplied)
♦
Flashlight is recommended to assist in locating the valves and viewing the ink flow
To purge ink lines to remove air
CAUTION: During maintenance procedures, always wait for printer prompts
before lowering the maintenance shelf or opening the head access door. Performing
either of these actions prior to the prompts will cause an emergency stop and
require you to redo maintenance procedures from the beginning.
