I-Image ST head locking up...?

[Ron Pierson]

Hi All

I have an I-Image ST 3 head, about 4 years old with a TON of miles on it - MANY thousands of screens (well serviced). This issue is unusual... the head moves to the left (away from the docking station - cap area) and LOCKS UP. the only way to release it is to turn off the machine, manually move the head back to the docking station position, and turn it back on. It runs for a while and does it again and again. Please realize I'm not bagging on this machine, it has changed our shop dynamic and has taken us to the next level. Without this machine, we're screwed.

Has any one here seen this issue? I have a call in this morning to M&R but thought I would ask the community.
Thanks in advance for your response. I will post the results of my call to the service dept at M&R.

Ron Pierson

[Alex M]

Ron
M&R Digital has a 24/7 line +1-847-410-3500.
It is the same number you call any time of the day.

This issue sounds like it could be a dirty encoder strip/sensor reading it poorly because it slid out of position. (most likely option)
or
One of the X-prox sensors could be on its way our and reading/sending itermittent signals.

[Underbase37]

Did this just start happening recently? Does the head go back to home on its own when you turn the machine back on?

Murphy

[Underbase37]

Ron
M&R Digital has a 24/7 line +1-847-410-3500.
It is the same number you call any time of the day.

This issue sounds like it could be a dirty encoder strip/sensor reading it poorly because it slid out of position. (most likely option)
or
One of the X-prox sensors could be on its way our and reading/sending itermittent signals.

^This is the where I was leading with my question.

Murphy

[Ron Pierson]

thanks guys - the head does not return when turning back on. I will be on the phone with tech...
I'm west coast and will have pictures fro them SOON

[Screen Dan]

Disclaimer:  I have a completely different brand of machine and I've never even used an i-Image, so I'm mostly talking out of my butt here...all said;

I have a Douthitt CTS, but everything so far sound familiar.  The head will go out to home on initiating a print...then it stays hung out there and won't move.

Every single time I wipe down the encoder strip, wipe down the prox switch, blow some air into it and poof, it all works immediately.

[Ron Pierson]

An update - M&R reached out to me BEFORE I could call them!!

Thanks to Rich and his amazing team - we have a tech on the way - be here Monday. There may be a motor involved and the rail sensors. The encoder strip probably needs replacing also. They clearly walked me through the repair but I'm more inclined to have the pro's do this kind of work. 400+ screens a day since purchase (almost 3 years) and the I-Image is a tank - thanks for the amazing engineering on this one!! the ROI is immeasurable!!

Service at M&R is second to none...these guys are REALLY good!

[ZooCity]

Ron, what does a shop of your size do when the CTS unit is down?  Redundant CTS units or....?

[Ron Pierson]

Hey Zoo - GOOD question...!!

We still have film backups but when we get in this situation and I tell the art department they have to run film - OMG - you would have thought I asked them to use a rotary phone...LMAO
The I-Image is so strong, we never think about it. I have a very well put together maintenance program and the machine is spotless considering the amount of work we have pumped through it.
The I-Image does not count screens, it adds up "square meters" of ink used. here is the result - 20492218 sq meters to date.......that's almost 8 sq miles of JUST INK ALONE - (I think). I have another way of getting to screen usage.

However - these last two days scared me so bad I purchased another. The order is in the works as I type. We need two anyway - lots of screens a day here.

RP

[Alex M]

Hey Zoo - GOOD question...!!

We still have film backups but when we get in this situation and I tell the art department they have to run film - OMG - you would have thought I asked them to use a rotary phone...LMAO
The I-Image is so strong, we never think about it. I have a very well put together maintenance program and the machine is spotless considering the amount of work we have pumped through it.
The I-Image does not count screens, it adds up "square meters" of ink used. here is the result - 20492218 sq meters to date.......that's almost 8 sq miles of JUST INK ALONE - (I think). I have another way of getting to screen usage.

However - these last two days scared me so bad I purchased another. The order is in the works as I type. We need two anyway - lots of screens a day here.

RP

By my calculation you are around 325-350k in screens produced depending when you installed it.
You are correct on the counter, the ST does not have one. But any model with exposure does.
Thank you again for your confidence and the order! Have a great weekend!

[bimmridder]

I have one piece of film (vellum) in my building. I keep it so I can show the kids how we did things in the old days. we Haven't printed a piece of film in about 12 years. We do have a back up CTS because even though our STE has run nearly flawlessly, we understand it is a machine and will break. At the wrong time of the year, that would be totally disastrous. And film isn't an option in our minds. So redundant CTS it is!

[Screen Dan]

Same here.  A redundant CTS that we use exclusively for 43x32 jumbo frames unless the other unit is down, then we have a backup. 

When we got our first CTS of a different brand 8 years ago we realized how hard going back to films was on us and our art department.  We changed over to CTS they wasted no time in repurposing the wide format printer...and forgetting how to manage the workflow with film production.   

And that was the easy part.  Then we'd have to re-wire the exposure unit to trigger the vacuum again...and that's before we got rid of the glass.

It was a week or torture for the art department, screen department and print shop who had come to expect a completely different level of quality and moreover consistency from the screen department.