Komori Ink keys

[Ashwin Agrawal]

But PQC also includes computerised registration..isn't it?

 

[GazKL440]

yes it does for lateral and circumfrential(spelling??) movement, but not plate cocking or diagonal movement which can save an enormous amount of time during M/R, especially if plate making is not so good..

 

[Mike LaForest]

Ashwin : With the industry the way it is I would go in lower than you would normally. I know the value of used equipment is very low right now. We actually looked at getting rid of some of our extra iron, but the value is way down from 2-3 years ago.

 

[Kenichi]

Hey new to forum found this place looking for answers on a press issue. We have a Komori Lithrone 840 and every once in a while the whole console will just start flashing you can go through and lock and unlock and they will be able to reset or turn the power switch off at the console and it will let you reset. Anyone else have this problem or know of a solution? All I can get from a tech is that we bought a used press that is 10 years old I should expect it? So I'm here not buying his advice. Thanks for any help.

This would be because of ink key motor overload. And this problem occured when the zero set was too tight that key edge pushed ink fountain roller, or dropped ink went in under the ink key and become sticky. Set all the keys as zero and turned ink fountain, and if you find too thin ink film area, then the key push too tight. turn off the console and rorate motor manually and set zero individually. basically, zero set ink film is to be 5 micron.

 

[Parts4Presses]

Power interuptions and things that go bump in the night

Power interuptions and things that go bump in the night

hello, I'm a press installer much more familar with Heidelbergs, but the problem you mentioned is common to most machines. Unfortunatley it has lots of possible answers.

Here are a few things to look for:

Static eliminator: if you have one, and the power line in laying close to a control cable it can induce a spike in the line. Find the lead in the cable bundel and seperate it from the rest.

PQC console. the PQC has it's own single phase power plug. Check the voltage with a meter to make sure your getting what you need. Normally you would run a dedicated line to the PQC, but if its a shared line and the voltage drops, it will lose it's mind..

Main press power... have the power company bring out a recorder to keep an eye on the 3 phase power... then the next time it happens you can see if there was a surge or brown out.. They may need to install a capacitor bank to level out the power..

Hope this helps... Bob

 

[Mike Herndon]

hello, I'm a press installer much more familar with Heidelbergs, but the problem you mentioned is common to most machines. Unfortunatley it has lots of possible answers.

Here are a few things to look for:

Static eliminator: if you have one, and the power line in laying close to a control cable it can induce a spike in the line. Find the lead in the cable bundel and seperate it from the rest.

PQC console. the PQC has it's own single phase power plug. Check the voltage with a meter to make sure your getting what you need. Normally you would run a dedicated line to the PQC, but if its a shared line and the voltage drops, it will lose it's mind..

Main press power... have the power company bring out a recorder to keep an eye on the 3 phase power... then the next time it happens you can see if there was a surge or brown out.. They may need to install a capacitor bank to level out the power..

Hope this helps... Bob

Static eliminator is a great suggestion. When those things start to go out they can wreck havoc on a press electrical system. On one of our SM102's the static bar in the delivery started to go bad and short to the press making the EAK boards on the cabinet go nuts. It was like the press was possessed, waters dropping at random, impression on/off, etc. Took us a few days to track it to the anti static system.

Mike

 

[Parts4Presses]

If your incoming voltage drops low enough, long enough, the voltage out of your presses control power transformer will drop below a preset limit and shut down the presses brain.

Capacitors are kinda like storage units for electrons... and depending on their size they can hold a certain amount. They can either give some electrons up, or take them in. When you incoming power fluctuates, the capacitor will help eleminate this unwanted ripple, by either giving up electrons or taking the excess in..

Also used for power factor correction.. you are charged by the utility for KVA (Kilo Volt Amps).. and the useful power you get is the KW (Kilo Watts).. the difference is the KVA/KW ratio can be quite low... in the range of .7 -.8... What this means is you are only getting 70% or so useful work (watts) out of what you pay for.. (KVA)... The rest is "lost"

The "lost" energy is called KVAR (Kilo Volt Amps Reactance)... and is the energy needed to build the magnetic field in your presses motors... (presses, bindery, and..and..and..) they all have to have it. Anyway this field is always building and colapsing.. thats how motors work.. With a capacitor bank the energy used for this field is pushed back and forth between the capacitors and the motors.. not between the motors and the utility.. giving your more KW for the KVA you are paying for..

One last thing... sometimes one phase of a 3 phase system has more loads on it then the rest.. so while two are just fine, one could be dropping voltage.. if this is the single phase the is connected to your presses brain, CPC, PQC.. it would only effect that press.... by simply running control power from a different phase it could eliminate the problem...

So get with your utility, or an industrial electrical company and have them check out your system..

 

[mark haworth]

Hey new to forum found this place looking for answers on a press issue. We have a Komori Lithrone 840 and every once in a while the whole console will just start flashing you can go through and lock and unlock and they will be able to reset or turn the power switch off at the console and it will let you reset. Anyone else have this problem or know of a solution? All I can get from a tech is that we bought a used press that is 10 years old I should expect it? So I'm here not buying his advice. Thanks for any help.

Presses are electrically extremely complicated and your problem can be attributed to many many conditions. The best electrician for this would be the factory representative Steve Pierson who works for Komori on the West Coast. He can be reached at the National number 800-806-9036 ask for service. Steve should be able to start you towards a resolution. Once a press has changed hands on the used market all assumptions about its service and reliability go away due to conditions, rigging, abuse etc, all things however are fixable. good luck.

 

[David Schroeder]

hello, I'm a press installer much more familar with Heidelbergs, but the problem you mentioned is common to most machines. Unfortunatley it has lots of possible answers.

Here are a few things to look for:

Static eliminator: if you have one, and the power line in laying close to a control cable it can induce a spike in the line. Find the lead in the cable bundel and seperate it from the rest.

PQC console. the PQC has it's own single phase power plug. Check the voltage with a meter to make sure your getting what you need. Normally you would run a dedicated line to the PQC, but if its a shared line and the voltage drops, it will lose it's mind..

Main press power... have the power company bring out a recorder to keep an eye on the 3 phase power... then the next time it happens you can see if there was a surge or brown out.. They may need to install a capacitor bank to level out the power..

Hope this helps... Bob

These are very good suggestions. Also, to prevent stray voltages from getting into the electronics, Komori specifies a "Y" distribution feed through a delta-wye electrostatically shielded transformer. The transformer has taps to adjust the press voltage which should be 220 volts +/- 5%. Anything below 210 tends to cause problems while voltages over 230 can damage components especially the solenoids. If you have power line variations greater than 5%, you might want to run a seperate 220 volt service to the console and you should use a shielded isolation transformer. If you do not have the three phase transformer, this would be a less costly way of providing filtered power to the console.

Have a technician check the power to the console with an oscilloscope to determine if there are any transient spikes or dropouts on the supply line.

It is also a good idea to check the backup batteries on the console circuit boards and check that the heat exchangers are not clogged and the cooling fans are working to prevent high temperatures.

Also, make sure the console is grounded to the press. You can check this with a voltmeter between the console chassis and press frame. You should see no more than a volt or so difference in either AC or DC.

If all the 100 bars are flashing, on all units, the condition is most likely electrical but it is possible that somehow the keys are jammed against the ball which can be corrected by zero setting as described in an earlier post.

If all else fails, contact Komori as these problems can be resolved if the technician is motivated and experienced. If it is a circuit board problem, the best troubleshooting method is by substitution.

Another thought, see if you can make the problem appear by slightly flexing the circuit boards in the console while the press is idling. This can help pinpoint a bad connection or cold solder joint. Also, gently rock the circuit board connectors. Sometimes, merely removing, cleaning, and reconnecting the connectors can fix the problem. Be careful of the contact cleaner you use. Do not use LPS or electric motor cleaner, they are harmful to many plastics. I prefer CRC "QD". With the power off, spray out each socket on the connectors, wait to dry, then reinstall. You may also try removing the circuit boards and cleaning the contacts at the rear of the boards and the sockets on the backplane in the console. Exercise care when re-inserting. Do not apply excessive force and make sure the power is off.

I have more troubleshooting information if these suggestions do not clear up the problem but would need to know if all keys on all units are flashing and any other unusual indications on the console LED displays.

 

[David Schroeder]

Another possibility is that there is insufficient voltage at the ink keys. If your press uses the little driver circuit boards mounted on the cover over the ink keys, check the voltage on the two large wires on all units. You should have a minimum of 12 volts on this line. The first unit would have the lowest voltage since it is most distant from the console.

If the voltage is low, you can increase it by adjusting the large power supply in the console to bring the first unit voltage up to 12 volts. A better solution is to install larger wire or install a seperate power supply for each of the first several units.

Also, check to see if the console is grounded to the press. If not, stray voltages when the main motor is running may cause to PQC to malfunction. Check the resistance between the console and the press with the power turned off. If you see more than a few ohms, run a ground wire from the press to the console.