Polar 115 cutter maintenance

[enzoesg]

Hi everyone!

I'm pretty new to cutting and don't really know what to do when it comes down to maintenance. The cutter I use seems to be making a loud squeaking noise whenever the backgauge moves all the way from the back to the front. I'm thinking it's the backguage dragging on the bed that causes the loud rumbling noise. Is there any way to prevent it from happening?
Any information on this or on any other maintenance that can be done on the polar 115cutter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
EnzoEsg

[graficworx]

If the backguage is dragging you should see scoring on the table. More than likely the drive screw needs to be lubricated. You can try spraying the table with WD40 and see if the squeaking stops. If it doesn't, the drive screw needs to be lubricated with a grease gun. The manual will tell you what grade and where the fittings are located. Also, I recommend cleaning the table with a clean rag, then you can either wax it with a carnuba wax, or spray it with cutter table spray, it's similar to silicone spray. Waxing it lasts a little longer, and helps keep the table from rusting.

[Al Ferrari]

WD-40 will work as a quick 'n dirty diagnostic aid, but will leave you with a clean up chore. Much better to use a cutter bed spray lubricant. Varn's SlipAgent 6 is a good one. Or the carnuba wax or other quality car wax will work well. Depending on how old the unit is, there should be a semi automatic hand plunger type of heavy oil lubricator to use on a daily basis. In any case, no matter the age of the machine, and what the source of the noise turns out to be, the lead screw should be lubricated at least once daily.

It is well worth having a qualified service tech come in to teach you the basic care and feeding of it. Do you have the original instruction manual for that specific model? Try getting a photo copy of it by Gooogling for it.

Al

[ondemandbindery]

Get ready for a workout!! Al is right in getting someone in there to do some PM for you to make sure there is not something else going on. Does it not do this when the machine is cold or in early shift production and then as the day wears on it becomes and issue? If so, that is the metal warming up and your tolerances tightening. So here is where the workout comes in.

Get scotchbrite pads and clean the bed following the grain (front to back). Scrub, scrub, scrub. Oh yeah, scrub some more. Wax is fine but food grad silicone will do the job also. I clean, silicone, and then use Slide from time to time. Definitely make sure you are lubricating the screw. If you clean the bed correctly, your lifts of paper will move across the bed with the greatest of ease.

HTH,
John Weaver

[ballykea]

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