52 Speedmaster roller setting questions

[52 print man]

4 color Speedmaster 1999. The forms to oscilator are 4. Are the forms to plate 3 or are they 1.5,2,3,3? Was told by another pressman this is settings but manual says otherwise. Also, the water pan setting where you break off the water and then slowly tighten it back tighten it but the setting is maxed where there is still alot of water. there is an adjustment i beleive on each side but how is this done? Thank u for feedback

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

Follow the manual for recommended settings. It will be a good place to start. You could also Google Heidelberg Profi Tips and search for roller info for recommended roller settings. I will offer up this information as to how I would have set them.
4mm to oscillators
3mm to plate Do not set the yellow form roller to plate heavier than the others. Its the last roller to touch the plate.
Water pan roller: meter out heavy water then add 1/8th clockwise. If you cannot get rid of the heavy water, then your roller is not up to spec or adjustment mechanism is out whack.
Water form to oscillator 5mm. Water form to plate 4mm. Chrome metering roller to dampener form can be 4-5mm
Ink ductor to fountain roller 4mm (critical setting) . Once set, then the ductor setting to the ink train will be automatic.
Check the night latch position. Shut off press and drain the air off at the feeder. With .10mm or 4 thou feeler check the gap between the pan roller and the chrome metering roller. Check out the attached PDF file.

 

[Dan Roll]

Since the ink form rollers only contact the oscillators and the plate, it is important the form rollers be set tighter to the oscillators than they are to the plate or the form roller will change its rotational speed twice for each revolution of the plate cylinder, due to the gap.
It is also important to set the water system chrome roller to water form roller pressure lightly as these rollers turn at very different speeds and if tighter than absolutely necessary will endure excess friction.

 

[HDGR]

Ink ductor to fountain roller 4mm (critical setting) . Once set, then the ductor setting to the ink train will be automatic.

After having installed new rollers on a SM52-2 i came across a problem with the ink ductor. Although it was set 4mm to the fountain roller the ductor wasn' t working properly. Problem fixed when i loose the spring which is on the shaft that supports the ink ductor. Does anyone knows the exact method for setting that spring ?

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

Just curious, what method do you use to set the ink ductor? The springs you are taliking about should have been factory set. Someone may have altered the factory setting.

 

[HDGR]

Just followed the method described in the manual of the machine. Forwarding the machine until the ductor is in contact with the fountain roller, then forwarding the fountain roller to check the width of the stripe and adjusting it with the ductor's
adjusting screws.
I agree with you that, someone has altered the factory setting of the springs, and that's why i am asking if someone knows how can i adjust those springs correctly.

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

On your 2 color SM 52 are both units out of adjustment? If one is OK then maybe you can measure with a caliper the distance on the spring and match them. Your method for setting the ink ductor (4mm) to the fountain roller is correct. When the ductor returns to the inking unit then you should also have a 4mm setting. You might want to try and adust the spring tension carefully in order to achieve a good result. Also check to see if anything is broken which might be causing your problem.

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

I totally agree with everything you said in your response. I also knew instructors that set them a bit heavier as part of the training process. I used to instruct them how to set them properly, and caution them to check the settings after some production was done approx 2 weeks later. This way if they did them again, it was a re-fresher course for the operator. Sad to say, in most cases this did not happen and we had to go back and re-instruct the operators. Some businesses would not allow operators to do settings, but would call for service to be done. I could relate a lot of scenarios that I encountered when I was in the field that weren't right, but what were we to do? I once worked on and MO press that had the same color form roller in 2 different hangers. I knew why, based on the roller specs that they were trying to save a buck by allowing a larger roller to shrink thru wear down to a size that it could be used in another position in the ink train. Good thinking on your call that the ink ductor might not be up to spec on the SM52 and therefore they are not able to get the correct settings.

 

[52 print man]

Do you set the rollers including water in integrated or segregated? Also what should be the pre and post damp settings set at in the console?

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

The integration is only connected when the press is idling, in wash up mode or stopped. Adjust the Z roller (see Diagram) to 3mm. You can select it to be integrated or not at the operating console.
With ink on the rollers, you set it by inserting the Z roller into the unit and turn it by hand free spinning and adjusting the screw clockwise until it stops turn and then add approx 1/4 turn clockwise. Then idle the press, stop it and re-check for a 3mm stripe to the dampener form roller. An alternate method you can try but is a bit trickier. You can put in the Z roller and make sure it is seated properly and partially grabbed by the screws, the idle the press and set the roller with a 6mm T handle. You will need good lighting to do this to see what you are doing. Remember the press will not should not run with a guard open If it does then switches have been by-passed. While the press idles CAREFULLY adjuste the screws one side at a time alternating until you see that the Z roller has ink on it. Stop the press and check the settings for a 3mm stripe. the setting to the first form is automatic and should not be tampered with.
Pre and post damp is an operator preference. Generally the factory numbers are good. Three pre-damp revolutions is usually enough ( I believe that that would be Zero value) check the numbers in the operating manual. For post dampening you also want low numbers so as not to over dampen the plate unnecessarily. If you are having feed problems too much post dampening can be a problem.

 

[aqazi81]

This may help...

 

[52 print man]

Those setting seem quite high especially water form to plate is that correct?

 

[aqazi81]

I got this chart from a Heidelberg instructor and these settings work for me.

 

[aqazi81]

Settings recommended by Heidelberg.

 

[Dan Roll]

The setting recommendations from Heidelberg provided by aqazi81 look OK except for the metering to form pressures which are all way too tight I'm my opinion. I think Heidelberg recommends these tight settings in certain markets to make alcohol free printing less attractive to their customers for some reason. I used to have a collection of cardboard handouts from Heidelberg with the Alcolor dampener profiled on them with recommended settings, I had about ten without a single match. It may be these pressures are necessary to adequately flatten a metering roller with a lot of crown, but it is better to reduce the crown than run the rollers too tight.

If it were me setting the dampener rollers I would use the lightest setting I could get to work between the metering roller and the form.

 

[aqazi81]

@ Dan Roll, AFAIK On Heidelberg presses, Pan Roller is crowned, not metering roller. Metering to form strip is tighter when running IPA free and lighter when running with IPA. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Dan Roll]

You are correct, the pan roller is where crown is used. It is hard for me not to refer to the pan rollermasmthe metering roller.

As for the pressures, when running without IPA it is important for all the pressures to be set lightly, particularly the chrome to form roller pressure where the speed differential is. This is why rollers with a lot of crown are difficult/impossible to run alcohol free. When you have the right pressure at the ends you have too much in the middle and when right in the middle, you may not have any pressure at the ends. This is why the crown was used to begin with. When running IPA at the twelve percent level common in Europe when the Alcolor dampener was introduced the dampener delivered more water in the middle of the press than at the ends using a straight roller. Due to patent restrictions preventing the use of a center skew device, the crown was introduced. It worked fine as long as printers did not run more or less alcohol than recommended.