Christmas came late! [Kruzer]

[mimosatexas]

update: album of photos: http://imgur.com/a/aB1Eb

enjoy!
_________

So I get a phone call earlier this afternoon, and a truck is waiting at my shop with my brand spankin' new Kruzer from M&R!  BEST AFTERNOON EVER!

Just finished putting it together and playing with it a bit to figure out the micros and calibrate a few little things.  So far so good!  The only issue at the moment is the wrong sized pallets were shipped with the press (15x16 instead of the 22x16 I ordered).  Hopefully that will be a quick fix and I can start printing by the end of the week or early next week.  I am seriously excited about this thing.

First impressions without printing anything yet:
The crating was very well done and everything arrived in perfect shape.  The press is made like a tank and the build quality is impressive.  I mostly only have the silver press to compare it to, but I have played with a Vastex v2000hd and the higher end workhorse among others, and this is right up there if not beefier in many ways.  Very pleased on that end!  The micros are simple, but really quite nice.  It is obviously night and day when compared with the silver press.  I was a little uneasy about how they would compare to the Vastex, but they have very little play when fully unlocked and you can pretty easily loosen enough to tweak with no play at all due to the springs.  I'm looking forward to actually setting up a job with them.  The only thing that could maybe use a little work is the manual when it comes to instructions on putting it together.  I had zero issues, but some of it came pre-assembled and I am a probably more savvy when it comes to building stuff than a lot of the printers.  The instructions are bare bones and missing a lot of the detail I would have expected, and there are a handful of typos.  It took me a little less than an hour and a half to assemble it by myself and was all in all very easy.  Everything threaded easily and fit easily even with the powder coating which made it a smooth process.


I'll update with more when I can start printing!

edit: Forgot to add a photo! (ignore the random stacks of shirts and general mess.  Just finished tearing down a wall and building another wall to double the size of my shop!)

[starchild]

Nice.. How about a close up pic of a print head?

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[mimosatexas]

I'll take a bunch more pics today.

[stitches4815]

Please do get some more pictures posted.  I am thinking about purchasing this press and getting rid of the one I currently have.  Oh, btw, I am jealous.

[RichN]

Check out the full story on the Kruzer at MRPrint.com. You'll be glad you did.

[chubsetc]

I was thinking about getting one of these as a less expensive option to get into side clamps, use the tri-loc, and have a pallet system that is interchangeable with my auto pallets.  My biggest worry is platen arm deflection on prints where I need to use extra force as it seems there is a lack of support there.  Keep us posted!

[PhilR]

I've been jonesin' after one of these ever since I saw them first advertised. I don't NEED one, I just WANT one. 

[Croft]

I was thinking about getting one of these as a less expensive option to get into side clamps, use the tri-loc, and have a pallet system that is interchangeable with my auto pallets.  My biggest worry is platen arm deflection on prints where I need to use extra force as it seems there is a lack of support there.  Keep us posted!

I think you would really want air clamps to use the triloc , they say it works  but isn't ideal, we gave up on it until we outfitted our press with air clamps which honestly
has made printing easier.

[mimosatexas]

I am going to upload photos and more info today, and maybe even a video or two.  Been simply too busy the last week!

So far, no issues with deflection, and I have been printing discharge with massive pressure. 

I do not have the tri loc and have been using my own system to line things up and the registration is holding great and the micros are quick and easy to tweak.  I plan on building my own tri loc like system soon, and expect it to only aid in getting the screens close enough that they need minor microing.  I know it will not be pixel perfect, but it will still be fast. $1600 is just a whole lot for a registration system that may or may not be perfect without air clamps in my opinion.  Making something that is 99% as effective for $200 is a lot more appealing right now.

[tancehughes]

I'm actually tossing around the idea of throwing one of these in the shop, and am looking forward to hearing about your experiences. I am going to be checking the press out at ISS LB, can't wait!

[RichN]

Look for Monty Bartel at the M&R booth. He is your rep and will show you all the features.

[mimosatexas]

didn't have time to take photos today...ugh.  I will in the morning though. 

[mimosatexas]

updated the first post with this album of photos: http://imgur.com/a/aB1Eb

enjoy!

[starchild]

Unless someone could prove otherwise.. That album is the most detail view of the kruzer on the net.. What's your peeve about the off contact adjustment? Setting it or it holding after it's set?

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[mimosatexas]

There were two issues with the off contact adjustment initially. 

First, that part of the press came preassembled and everything had been seriously over tightened.  At first I tried using it without loosening everything and it wouldn't budge.  After loosening the screws directly on each adjustment and for the tilt adjustment (or what I assume is some form of tilt adjustment) it began to work, but they are very loose.  Unlike the micros, which you can unlock and adjust without much if any play, if you unlock the off contact it is VERY loose.  I have not found any kind of middle ground while playing with the various bolts, it is either tight and wont budge, or loosening it the tiniest bit makes it basically settle into the lowest position.  I am still messing with it, but it just doesn't seem like the best design.  Fortunately this isn't something I regularly change, and the system does still work if you adjust one side at a time and sort of mostly tighten that one side then the other then come back to the first.  Not streamlined, but manageable.  I am going to continue playing with everything to see if I am simply missing something which is also entirely possible.

The other issue is the silicon or plastic pads on the front of this part of the head, which have been adhered to the metal in what I would assume is an effort to make everything slide up and down smoother.  A few of these were slightly bubbled when I got the press, and those bubbles/ripples definitely caused a problem with the up and down motion of the off contact adjustment.  I had to basically fully loosen the bolts and smooth those pads out and then retighten, but only to a point where it wouldnt compress the pad enough to cause it to ripple.  I think over tightening by whoever put the heads together initially is the likely issue, but at the same time, I don't really see the point of the pad at all.  It seems like a weak point in the design and with continued use and heat/moisture fluctuations it seems destined to cause future issues.  Some kind of nylon block or simply metal on metal would be better I think.

Otherwise, once set the off contact is solid as a rock and a non issue.  I am sure I will become more comfortable adjusting it with continued use and tweaking, but I brought it up specifically as it is the weak point in the overall design in my opinion.  Otherwise the press is a tank and very easy to use, setup jobs, and hold registration without issue.