Unit 6: Maintenance
RIBBON SPINDLE TENSIONING
The printer has two ribbon spindles; one to supply ribbon medium from the rear of the printer past the print head to the spindle closest to the front for the purposes of rewinding the used medium. The rewind spindle is coupled to the drive train and draws the ribbon medium forward incrementally with the print media (label/tag) comparable with gearing ratios.
For a proper function, the spindles must be individually adjusted with the correct drag. Drag is the resistance to the advancement of the medium and is controlled by increasing or decreasing frictional tension to rotational movement. A torsion spring takes up excess slack in the ribbon medium during backfeed movement of the print media.
The following procedure explains how to adjust the ribbon spindles without the use of a tension gage. The procedure is the same for both, however, the tension requirements are different.
NOTE: The tension requirement for the supply spindle is
To tension adjust the ribbon spindles without the use of a tension gage, perform the following.
1Open the right housing cover to access the ribbon spindle assemblies.
2 Loosen the set screw while holding the adjustment nut stationary.
3Turn the adjustment nut in a manner to achieve the required space between the ribbon boss and the stopper collar (supply spindle: 3.5 to 3.0, rewind spindle: 3.0 to 2.0 mm).
4Hold the adjustment nut in position and secure set screw.
5Repeat 2 through 4 for the remaining spindle.
NOTE: A complete revolution of the adjustment nut equals approximately 1 mm (100g). Likewise, a half revolution equals .5 mm (50g).
Metric Scale
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Ribbon Boss |
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| Collar |
| Adjustment Nut | ||||
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Figure 6-8, Ribbon Spindle Tensioning
Set Screw
| PN: 9001155A |
