System 3 Service Bulletin 010

001: Lettering, Centering and Alignment for System 3 Machines.

002: Setting Ball Nut Preload on System 2 & System 3 Machines.

003: Setting System 3 Printwheel Belt Tension.

004: Pre-load Adjustment for System 3 Spindle Bearings.

005: Diagnosing System 3 Machine Problems.

006: Setting up the Cloth Feeder.

007: System 3 Printwheel Drive Sheave Positioning.

008: Setting Auxillary Sensors on the System.

009: Spindle bearing lubrication for System 2 & System 3.

010: Setting Wheel Tilt Positions on System 3.

011: System 3 Printwheel and Font Table Selection.

012: "Over Travel" Theory and Use.

Flesher: Technical Support System 3 Service Bulletin 010: Setting Wheel Tilt Positions on System 3 The wheel tilt positions on the System 3 machines must be set to insure that all rows of the printwheel will stamp on the same base line. Several steps are involved and each step must be carefully carried out since each subsequent step depends on the accuracy of all of the previous steps. Thus, errors from each step are carried to the following steps and the errors can accumulate and result in unacceptable stamping quality. In the first step, one of the rows of characters on the print wheel must be chosen as the reference row from which the other rows will be set. Choose the reference row to be the row which contains the largest horizontal type face. INITIAL SETTINGS: The T axis home position should be set to 9000 and the T axis offset to zero. (These should not need to be changed.) If you are setting up a machine "from scratch", set the Z axis home position to 10465 and the Z axis offset to 9000. (The Z axis is always 9000; it should never be changed.) If you are just "tweaking" a machine, leave the Z axis home position where it is. If you are setting up a machine "from scratch", set the row positions to the following settings. Otherwise, leave the row settings where they are. ROW 1 1500 ROW 2 4700 ROW 3 8500 ROW 4 13000 ROW 5 17350 ROW 6 21850 STEP ONE: Setting the Z axis home position Before beginning, install a new anvil pad on the machine and make sure it is seated flat on the bottom of the anvil pad holder. P1: Create a test title with one line of several upper case M's. Use the font which will cause the "M" on the selected reference row to stamp. Stamp the test title several times, each time reducing the stamp depth until the foil begins to transfer very lightly. If any adjustments are required, you will notice that the M's appear to be stamping more heavily on one side. They may also appear to be stamping more heavily on the top or bottom. P2 Set the Z axis home position If the test M's appear to be stamping too heavily on the left side, change the Z axis home position to a smaller number. If the test M's appear to be stamping too heavily on the right side, change the Z axis home position to a larger number. (Use increments of 25 to begin with and increments of 10 when getting closer to the final setting.) Repeat the stamping test and adjust the Z axis home position until you are satisfied that the M's are stamping evenly on both sides. You may have to change the setting of the stamp depth several times during this process to make the stamping light enough to see the difference between left and right sides of the characters. STEP TWO: Setting the printwheel tilt on the reference row Use the same test title as in step one, part one (M's). Stamp the test title again several times, each time reducing the stamp depth until the foil begins to transfer very lightly. If any adjustments are required, you will notice that the M's appear to be stamping more heavily on the top or bottom. If so, an adjustment will need to be made to the printwheel row position number for the reference row. If the M's appear heavy on the bottom the printwheel row position number will need to be made larger; if the top of the M's appear heavy, make the printwheel row position smaller. Repeat the stamping test and adjust the printwheel row position until you are satisfied that the M's are stamping evenly at the top and bottom. You may have to change the setting of the stamp depth several times during this process to make the stamping light enough to see the difference between top and bottom of the characters. STEP THREE: Setting the printwheel tilt on the remaining rows Horizontal Rows: Note: the procedure described in the following paragraph is used to set printwheel row positions on rows which have horizontal characters. For rows with no horizontal characters, a different procedure is used and is described separately. Create a new test title with alternating upper case M's from the reference row with another horizontal character from the row being tested such as 'MmMmMmMmM'. Be sure to use a character with a flat bottom such as an 'I' or an 'M' - not a 'U' or 'C'. Again, stamp the test title several times, each time reducing the stamp depth until the foil begins to transfer very lightly. This time if any adjustments are required, you will notice that the characters from the row being tested will appear higher or lower on the base line than the reference character. If so, an adjustment will need to be made to the printwheel row position for the row being tested (not the reference row). If the test characters appear to be high on the reference base line, the row position will need to be made larger; if the test character appears to be low on the base line, the printwheel row position should be smaller. Repeat the stamping test and adjust the printwheel row position until you are satisfied that the test characters and reference characters are stamping evenly on the base line. Vertical Rows: Note: The procedure described in the following paragraph should be followed AFTER setting the base line on all rows which contain horizontal characters. Once the row positions have been determined for the horizontal rows, do not change them. The rows which contain vertical positions will be set independently. If your wheel has a row with both horizontal and vertical characters, choose that row as the new reference row. If there is not a row with both horizontal and vertical orientations, choose the new reference row to be the row which contains the largest vertical type face. Create a new test title with alternating upper case vertical I's from the reference row and a vertical character from the row being tested such as a lower case 'L'; ie, 'IlIlIlIlI'. Or use alternating upper case I's with lower case 'v's; ie, IvIvIvIvI. Be sure to select characters which are symmetrical. Don't use a 'P' or 'J'. Upper case 'I's and lower case 'L's are ideal. Once again, stamp the test title several times, each time reducing the stamp depth until the foil begins to transfer very lightly. This time, if any adjustments are required you will notice that the characters from the row being tested will appear to be spaced unevenly between the reference characters such as; I lI lI lI l or I vI vI vI vI *Note: If the row position setting is very far off, the stamped test title can look confusing because the characters may stamp on top of each other. If so, add a space or two between each character in the test title. When the adjustment for the row position is closer to being correct, delete the spaces in the test title for more accurate row position setting. If the character spacing is uneven, an adjustment will need to be made to the printwheel row position for the row being tested. If the test characters appear to be too far to the left, the row position will need to be made larger; if the test characters appear to be too far to the right, the printwheel row position should be smaller. Repeat the stamping test and adjust the printwheel row position until you are satisfied that the test characters are spaced exactly between the reference characters. If there are additional vertical rows to be set, use the same vertical reference row and repeat the procedure for the remaining vertical rows.