Epson TM-FX2180 manual Overview, Printer Mechanism

EPSON FX-2180 Service Manual

2.1 Overview

The printer’s main components include the printer mechanism, power supply circuit, control circuit, control panel, and housing. This chapter describes the operating principles of the main components.

2.1.1 Printer Mechanism

The printer mechanism consists of the following parts:

‰Print head

The print head prints dots on paper using the ink ribbon. Print data comes from the control circuit.

‰Carriage mechanism

The main parts of the carriage mechanism are the carriage unit, carriage (CR) motor, timing belt, driven pulley, and CR guide shaft. The carriage unit contains the print head. The carriage mechanism moves the carriage unit along the CR guide shaft between the left and right ends of the printable area.

‰Platen gap mechanism

The platen gap is the gap between the platen and the print head. You adjust the platen gap to maintain print quality when using paper of different weights or thicknesses. The platen gap mechanism consists of the CR guide shaft, the platen gap adjustment bushing, and the platen gap (PG) adjustment lever. The platen gap mechanism moves the print head toward or away from the platen, depending on the position of the PG adjustment lever.

‰Paper feed mechanism

The main components of the paper feed mechanism are the paper feed (PF) motor, the rear or front tractor, and the platen. Using the PF motor, the paper feed mechanism picks up continuous or single-sheet paper, moves it to the print head for printing, and ejects it from the printer after the page has been printed.

Chapter 2 Operating Principles

‰Disengage mechanism

The disengage mechanism consists of two disengage gears. It switches the paper feed torque from the PF motor to the tractor(s) or the paper feed rollers depending on the selected paper feed method (friction, front push tractor, rear push tractor, pull tractor, or push-pull tractor feeding).

‰Ribbon advance mechanism

The main components of the ribbon advance mechanism are the ribbon feed roller and the driven pulley. The ribbon advance mechanism winds the ink ribbon in one direction. This allows the printer to use a fresh ribbon surface for printing.

rear tractor

						disengage gear 1
								PF motor
	platen
CR guide shaft					PG adjustment bushing
		print head	carriage unit
timing belt							CR motor
driven pulley
ribbon feed roller				disengage gear 2
ink ribbon

front tractor

Figure 2-1. Printer Mechanism

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