couple of units on my press just refuse to washup

[Albert Noel]

all rollers are set damn near perfectly in spec. (forms to plate and osc. all riders/bridge rollers the correct pressure) all pneumatic rams to engage and disengage rollers are working properly, my auto wash and water for the roller wash are both full and both spraying properly and all washup blades are in good shape.it sometimes takes 3 or 4 wash cycles (at 6 minutes each!) to get them to clean up, occasionally i actually have to run up to each unit and spray extra wash and water. sometimes it helps other times it doesn't.

what could i be missing? it just started happening last week.


any suggestions on what to check? i'm out of ideas...

 

[RGPW17100]

Clean up blades shot? Try cleaning with the forms down on the plates. I like to use Step 1. It emulsifies the ink so it does not bead up on the edge of the clean up blade. I do squirt and let idle for about 20 seconds then run the clean up.

 

[cjwworld]

also are you using a good blanket wash? Maybe its is good enough to emulsify the ink

 

[Albert Noel]

blades are good and i always wash with forms down.
i'm using the same wash ive always used, and it worked great up until last week. (needing only ONE wash cycle to wash beautifully)

 

[GazKL440]

Whats changed then? unless your blades have just reached their used by date and just arent doing the job any more, something else has changed.. perhaps the blades look ok but physically are not long enough any more due to wear..can you adjust them or check they are locked up properly??

 

[9162]

i agree must be the wash and or the cycles you use. if it is an auto system maybe your cycles got changed?
dont always trust the label check the wash

 

[Albert Noel]

i agree must be the wash and or the cycles you use. if it is an auto system maybe your cycles got changed?
dont always trust the label check the wash

the wash hasn't changed as it's from the same drum as the previous week and i've been the only one to touch the press since the other guy is on vacation.

even though the blades look fine i may just change them anyway.
everything else seems to be fine.

 

[REYES1377]

What type of press is it? Maybe the bridge roller isn't set right. If it is a newer press you should wash up with vario off bridge on.

 

[Paultheprinter]

my guess is either the wash up system (i assume automatic) is draging the shit up out of the bottom of the tank or the second is heat, the wash may be evaporating off before cleaning the ink of the rollers in essence like washing up with water.

Paul

 

[Albert Noel]

sorry forgot to mention it's a roland 300 circa 1999

 

[Paultheprinter]

are the blades thrown on by air rams? if so can u force the washup trays back away from the roller with a screwdriver when in the washup position? its a common sm74 problem on the drive side but from what i know rolands are better enginered

 

[steve.e]

does it wash up alright manually?

 

[Albert Noel]

are the blades thrown on by air rams? if so can u force the washup trays back away from the roller with a screwdriver when in the washup position? its a common sm74 problem on the drive side but from what i know rolands are better enginered

hmm i never thought to check that. yeah, they are thrown on by pneumatic actuators.
maybe one isn't working well.

also, it washes up great if i squirt extra wash and water into the train while the auto wash is running, kinda leads me to think theres a roller that's not set correctly allowing no wash to migrate down into the lower rollers.
gonna check the actuators right now...

 

[Albert Noel]

ahh the rams are working properly

 

[Luther]

Albert,

Check to see if your solvent is water miscible. That could be the problem. Most wash cycles alternate solvent/water/solvent/water etc.. if so, try to change the cycle to deliver solvent only for the first 80% of cycle then finish with the water. On my Heidelberg we had just that issue with the UV Wash we were using. Turns out there is a UV button in wash cycle to change how the solvent is delivered.

 

[GazKL440]

also, it washes up great if i squirt extra wash and water into the train while the auto wash is running, kinda leads me to think theres a roller that's not set correctly allowing no wash to migrate down into the lower rollers.
gonna check the actuators right now...[/QUOTE]

Is this resolved??? From this statement ^^^ it would seem a transfer is a touch loose... does it ink up ok; ie when you run up ink does it get from top to bottom ok? its possible that ink will "bridge the gap" sufficiently to transfer but on wash up the solution will allow a loose-ish roller to freewheel somewhat and im guessing that the roller wash is applied near the top of the train as most auto systems are..

 

[Albert Noel]

well, i found a bearing that was a little sketchy and swapped it out and it seemed to wash ok after that. i don't know if i trust that as being the fix, but i will see today.

 

[rbhanna]

It may be your intermeadeant roller is not set properly or has a low spot one roller can make all the difference

 

[RGPW17100]

Heidelberg SM has a manual mode as well as an automatic. Does your press have this feature? Try doing a manual washup first. We had similar problems until we finally did a complete roller change and the problem went away. We had been replacing forms and water rollers but the transfer rollers were 6 years old and must have been the problem. I would put in new clean up blades first if you havent already tried that. If one unit cleans up better then the other try swapping clean up trays (I only know SM52 may not work on your machine). Another issue is the spray bars for the press wash and water get clogged and may need to be cleaned and the spray holes cleaned out. Check the water tank for gelatin like material. Even distilled water goes bad. We have to use vinegar periodically in the water tank to get the crap out of there