Help with pallets on vastex v2000!!!

[Tcobshea]

I cannot for the life of me get these pallets adjusted equally.

I follow the directions that came with the press and when I go to print two of the stations are always way out of off contact.

Please help!!!

[domineight]

They're pretty straight forward. Ideally you want the whole machine level for a start, but it's not completely necessary. I've always maintained its good practice to number your printheads, and pallets to pallet arms. Saves a bit of drama down the line.

Get head #1 level left to right and adjusted 1/4 from the very bottom of adjustment so you still have 3/4 of adjustment to lift off contact up.

Level pallet #1 out so it's level, and the top is close to matching the height of the bottom screen clamp. Once you know your pallet is level and near enough to matching the height of the clamp, slap your straightest screen in the clamp and adjust the pitch and off contact adjusters on the head so you have nice even off contact all around the screen. I usually set this up to off contact that's suitable for me which is probably 3-4mm.

Once you're happy with head #1 on pallet #1, spin head #2 around and level it off with pallet #1 so it's the same off contact, then head #3,, #4 etc.

When all the heads are in the same place on pallet #1, spin pallet #2 around and take a seat so you can raise/lower the pallet to match printhead #1 so it's near enough the same off contact as pallet #1. The repeat for all pallets levelling them out to head #1.

I know from experience it's a lot easier to lower the pallets down on a V2000, you're not fighting gravity and fiddling with the locknut on each of the four legs so much. Conveniently though, once that first pallet is done and level you can measure the length of thread on each of the four bolt legs between pallet and arm bracket and replicate that to get pretty close for the remaining pallets.

There's a few different ways to level all this out but mostly it's all some variation of the above. Numbering pallets and pallet arms is the most useful thing to keeping it all together when you've got it though.

[mooseman]

If your issue is off contact head to head changes and all of your pallets are set to the same height THEN it is not the pallets it is the register pin that the print head drops down on.
First pick one head and get all pallets registered flat and level to that standard. It is a PITA with all of those bolts but it can be done. When you are sure you have this AND your OC is different head to head the issue is with the height of the registration pin.

You will find that Vastex fails to control tightly the height of the registration pins that limit the drop of the print head.
You Can solve this issue by determining which head when down is the highest or largest off contact to the others...this is the highest pin.
Using that as a standard simply add shims to the tops of the other lower pins to bring them up to the same height relative to the tallest pin. I have used Gorilla tape it is thick and sticks like hell. See the sketch attached, later on I simply filed down the tall pin but this is tricky to get right and you might be right back to shimming.....contact me with questions.
mooseman

[Steve Harpold]

Leveling press in most cases for almost all brands (unless weld pins have been added) 

Step #1
Level base to a reasonable value using leveling feet under press in both x and y directions

Step #2
Label a head as the master, pull it down until it rest on a pin,foot,bearing or piece of metal.
Place level on arm front to back, move adjustment bolt in the head so that the head is level.

Step #3
Level the head left to right. (Some machines do not have this option and shims are required but this condition is rare.

Steps #4
Throw level away, do not use again, disregard, trash, forget about!
(Why: follow this example take a book hold it out flat 9" from the ground, that book is level. Take another book hold it out flat 18" from the ground, that book is also level.)

Step #5
Place flat screen  in master head (if wood screens (most of the time or unflat roller frames your of contact will will always change)

Step #5
Adjust paler with brackets so that it is parellel to the screen on all sides, roughly 1/8" to 1/16" below the screen mesh.

Step #6
Repeat will all stations (DO NOT CHANGE TOUCH MOVR ADJUST ANYTHING ON THE MASTER HEAD!!!)
(Why: if a pin is shorter in the above example or one of a multitude of other inconsistencies you are going to use the pallet to make it parellel to the head) This pallet may or may not be level it is irrelevant to the function of all manual machines. This pallet however will be parellel.

Step #7
Select one master station bring all remaking head to that station adjust the head to be parellel with the station. (DO NOT CHANGE ALTER ADJUST MOVE TWEAK ANYTHING ON THE STATION)

Step #8
Print something cool!


Almost all manual presses work the same as what I listed above. Manual presses are relatively inexpensive for the amount of metal and moving parts associated. There is not a single press on the market that has been completely presicion machined or Blanchard ground that you can count on Level to be the answer. Think parellel.

I only know of a few that do not work, and have not seen this listed on this site. If the arm adjustment or the head adjustment has weld pins in it to prevent a movement than the above will not work. In this case the factory dicded they leveled it correctly and you are out of luck.

As always good luck!! Stop by at any show if you would like to go over the concepts

[tpitman]

One thing once you get your pallets set. If your press is on casters, never move the press by grabbing a pallet and pulling or pushing. The threaded standoffs will bend, lowering the pallet you're pulling or pushing on. It isn't obvious when you doing it, only when you find the one pallet noticably lower than the others.

[domineight]

One thing once you get your pallets set. If your press is on casters, never move the press by grabbing a pallet and pulling or pushing. The threaded standoffs will bend, lowering the pallet you're pulling or pushing on. It isn't obvious when you doing it, only when you find the one pallet noticably lower than the others.

Or when you get distracted and burn the living he'll out of one of your pallet rubbers, and no local supplier has the same size, only the thicker M&R replacement rubber.

That's torture for my OCD.