Scott Scotty 5000, Instruction Manual

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4 Maintenance
4--22
F--9999--8 Build 8 Issue 1
4.2.4 Pile Feeder
The paper feeder used on the Scotty 5000 is specially designed to feed index stocks at high speeds. It is
very important for the operator to keep the feeder in good working condition and to learn how to adjust and
correct for various operating conditions. The importance of this is magnified by two conditions. First, the
machine is handling papers which have already been through two or three other machines and, because of
this, may not be in first class condition. Second, the stocks being fed may vary, and will vary greatly in
feeding ability. Knowing how to make fine adjustments to compensate for various paper conditions will
greatly increase the productivity of this machine.
The most critical area in any paper feeder is at the point where the vacuum nozzles contact the top sheet to
lift it from the stack. If papers and operating conditions were uniform all of the time this would not present a
problem. However, the papers handled by this machine tend to have various curls, warpage, ripples, etc.,
which greatly hamper feeding. The sheets may tend to curl up or down or the entire stack may be tilted due
to moisture from printing. The following “hints” will help the operator to keep the Scotty 5000 operating at
maximum production speeds.
1. Sheet separator fingers.
The position and condition of the sheet separator fingers should be carefully maintained. When properly
installed, the feeder nozzles should come down until the bottom of the nozzles are exactly in line with
the fingers. Care should be taken to make certain that the fingers are free and extend into the sheet
about 1/4--inch (6.3mm). Whenever the position of nozzles is changed the stack guide should be moved
until the finger is slightly to the left of the nozzle.
2. Vacuum Nozzles.
The machine is equipped with a floating nozzle cup which does two things. First, it allows for slight
variations in the height of the stack and, second, it allows the cup of the nozzle to conform to the curl of
the paper. The advantage of the floating nozzle cup is that it will compensate for a much wider range of
operating conditions. It is important to make certain that there is no binding condition in the floating
“cup” of the nozzle which prevents it from dropping down on the paper each time.
3. Paper side and back guides.
The right hand guide remains in the same position for all sheet sizes. The left hand guide must be
adjusted for sheet size. Allow approximately 1/16” (1.5mm) freedom in the stack. The back guides
should be adjusted close to the stack.
4. Compensating for a tilted stack of paper.
Uneven paper stacks can be compensated for by inserting strips of binder’s board every so often on the
low side of the stack. Also the use of binder’s board the same size as the sheets is recommended as a
platform for the stack. Make sure it is heavy enough not to be picked up by the nozzles.
5. Curled stock.
The nozzles will compensate for quite a bit of curl in the paper. However, if the curl is too bad it may be
necessary to roll the stock by hand before loading it into the pile feeder.
6. Pile Height Adjustment.
During the operation of the machine, the paper stack automatically rises until the top sheet reaches a
predetermined height. The stack height is controlled by a checking bar above the stack. As the stack
approaches the feeding height, the checking bar begins to strike the top of the stack. The higher the
stack, the less the bar moves and the less the stack rises until it finally stops rising at all. As sheets are
fed into the machine, this has the effect of lowering the top of the stack and the stack begins to rise. The
height that the stack will rise to, is controlled by a hand knob on the outside of the R.H. feeder cover.
Lifting this hand knob will cause the stack to rise to a higher point. Lowering the hand knob will cause
the stack to stop rising at a lower point. In operation, the operator should lower the hand knob to its
bottom point; then with the machine running and the vacuum on, gradually lift the knob until the feeder
begins to feed. The knob should be kept at it’s lowest position possible allowing stock to feed.