Brother P-touch PT-9600 User manual

SERVICE MANUAL
MODEL: PT-9600/3600

SERVICE MANUAL
MODEL: PT-9600/3600

PREFACE
This publication is a service manual covering the specifications, theory of operation,
disassembly/reassembly procedure, and troubleshooting and error message of the Brother PT-
9600/3600. It is intended for service personnel and other concerned persons to accurately and
quickly provide after-sale service for our PT-9600/3600.
To perform appropriate maintenance so that the machine is always in best condition for the
customer, the service personnel must adequately understand and apply this manual.
This manual is made up of four chapters and appendices.
CHAPTER I SPECIFICATIONS
CHAPTER II THEORY OF OPERATION
CHAPTER III DISASSEMBLY AND REASSEMBLY
CHAPTER IV TROUBLESHOOTING AND ERROR MESSAGE
APPENDICES 1. MAIN PCB CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS
2. LCD PCB CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS
© Copyright Brother 2002
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
form or by any means without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Specifications are subject to change without notice.

i
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I SPECIFICATIONS......................................................................... I-1
1.1 MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS ........................................................................ I-1
1.1.1 External Appearance...................................................................................... I-1
1.1.2 Keyboard........................................................................................................ I-2
1.1.3 Display........................................................................................................... I-2
1.1.4 Printing Mechanism........................................................................................ I-3
1.1.5 Tape Cassette................................................................................................ I-3
1.1.6 Tape Cutter.................................................................................................... I-4
1.1.7 PC Interface................................................................................................... I-4
1.2 ELECTRONICS SPECIFICATIONS ...................................................................... I-10
1.2.1 Character Generator....................................................................................... I-10
1.2.2 Power Supply................................................................................................. I-10
1.3 KEY COMMANDS FOR SPECIAL FUNCTIONS................................................... I-10
1.3.1 Initializing....................................................................................................... I-10
1.3.2 Demonstration Print........................................................................................ I-10
CHAPTER II THEORY OF OPERATION........................................................... II-1
2.1 OUTLINE OF MECHANISMS................................................................................ II-1
2.1.1 Print Mechanism ............................................................................................ II-1
2.1.2 Roller Holder ASSY Setting & Retracting Mechanism..................................... II-3
2.1.3 Tape & Ribbon Feed Mechanism ................................................................... II-4
2.1.4 Tape Automatic Full Cutter Mechanism.......................................................... II-6
2.1.5 Tape Automatic Half Cutter Mechanism......................................................... II-7
2.1.6 Tape Eject Mechanism (Full Cut Only)........................................................... II-8
2.1.7 Release Button............................................................................................... II-9
2.1.8 Roller Holder ASSY & Cassette Cover Interlocking Mechanism...................... II-9
2.1.9 AV Label Print Start Position Detector Mechanism......................................... II-11
2.2 OUTLINE OF ELECTRONICS .............................................................................. II-12
2.2.1 Configuration.................................................................................................. II-12
2.2.2 Main PCB....................................................................................................... II-14

ii
[ 1 ] Block Diagram............................................................................................. II-14
[ 2 ] Solder Ponits............................................................................................... II-16
[ 3 ] Cassette Sensor & AV Cassette Sensor Circuit............................................ II-16
2.2.3 LCD PCB ....................................................................................................... II-18
CHAPTER III DISASSEMBLY AND REASSEMBLY ......................................... III-1
3.1 DISASSEMBLY PROCEDURE ............................................................................. III-2
[ 1 ] Removing the Tape Cassette ...................................................................... III-2
[ 2 ] Disassembling the Cassette Cover ASSY.................................................... III-3
[ 3 ] Removing the Screw from Bottom Cover .................................................... III-4
[ 4 ] Removing the KB Unit/Rubber Key Unit ...................................................... III-5
[ 5 ] Disassembling the KB Unit/Rubber Key Unit................................................ III-6
[ 6 ] Removing the Body Cover .......................................................................... III-10
[ 7 ] Removing the Chassis Unit ......................................................................... III-11
[ 8 ] Disassembling the Chassis Unit................................................................... III-12
[ 9 ] Removing the Main PCB............................................................................. III-23
[ 10 ] Removing the LCD Module Unit.................................................................. III-24
[ 11 ] Removing the Release Button, Tape End Sensor PCB and
Cassette Sensor PCB.................................................................................. III-26
3.2 REASSEMBLY PROCEDURE .............................................................................. III-29
[ 1 ] Reassembling the Cassette Sensor PCB, Tape End Sensor PCB and
Release Button............................................................................................ III-29
[ 2 ] Reassembling the LCD Module Unit............................................................ III-32
[ 3 ] Reassembling the Main PCB....................................................................... III-35
[ 4 ] Reassembling the Components of the Chassis Unit..................................... III-36
[ 5 ] Installing the Chassis Unit ........................................................................... III-47
[ 6 ] Reassembling the Body Cover .................................................................... III-49
[ 7 ] Reassembling the KB Unit/Rubber Key Unit................................................ III-50
[ 8 ] Installing the KB Unit/Rubber Key Unit ........................................................ III-54
[ 9 ] Reassembling the Bottom Cover................................................................. III-55
[ 10 ] Reassembling the Cassette Cover ASSY .................................................... III-56
[ 11 ] Reassembling the Tape Cassette................................................................ III-58
[ 12 ] Final Check................................................................................................. III-59

iii
CHAPTER IV TROUBLESHOOTING AND ERROR MESSAGE....................... IV-1
4.1 OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................... IV-1
4.2 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE.............................................................................. IV-1
4.3 ERROR MESSAGE .............................................................................................. IV-2
4.4 TROUBLESHOOTING FLOWS ............................................................................ IV-40
[ 1 ] Printing is performed with specific dots omitted........................................... IV-40
[ 2 ] The tape cassette type is not detected correctly .......................................... IV-41
[ 3 ] No printing is performed.............................................................................. IV-42
[ 4 ] The interface malfunctions (RS-232C)......................................................... IV-42
[ 5 ] The Interface malfunctions (USB)................................................................ IV-43
[ 6 ] The tape is not fed correctly ........................................................................ IV-44
[ 7 ] The tape is not cut....................................................................................... IV-46
[ 8 ] Half cut failure............................................................................................. IV-47
[ 9 ] Forced tape eject failure.............................................................................. IV-48
Appendix 1. MAIN PCB CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
Appendix 2. LCD PCB CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

I-1
CHAPTER ISPECIFICATIONS
1.1 MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS
1.1.1 External Appearance
Fig. 1.1-1 External Appearance (1)
PT-9600 (Europe)
PT-9600/3600 (U.S.A./CANADA)

I-2
Fig. 1.1-1 External Appearance (2)
[ 1 ] Dimensions(W x D x H) 237 mm x 302 mm x 104 mm
[ 2 ] Weight Machine proper Approx. 1.9kg
Approx. 2.0kg (including a tape cassette)
In package Approx. 4.0kg
1.1.2 Keyboard
[ 1 ] Entry system Rubber key pad (PT-3600 Europe)
Full keyboard (PT-9600/PT-3600 U.S.A.)
[ 2 ] Number of alphanumeric and symbol keys 39
[ 3 ] Number of function keys 27 (PT-9600)
21 (PT-3600 U.S.A.)
19 (PT-3600 Europe)
(excluding “ON/OFF” key, “PRINT” key)
[ 4 ] Key arrangement See Fig. 1.1-2.
1.1.3 Display
[ 1 ] Display type Liquid crystal display (LCD)
(PT-9600 having Back-light)
[ 2 ] Configuration (See Fig.1.1-2.) 119 dots wide by 24 dots high and
guidance
[ 3 ] Number of indicators (See Fig.1.1-2.) : 32
[ 4 ] Field-of-view angle adjustment : Fixed by a resistor.
PT-3600 (Europe)

I-3
1.1.4 Printing Mechanism
[ 1 ] Print method Thermal transfer onto plastic tapes (laminate tape
and non-laminated tape) or special tapes (instant
lettering tape, non-laminated thermal film tape,
iron-on transfer tape, and porous-stamp tape, and
*AV labels tape)
(Fixed print head and tape feeding mechanism)
* AV labels tape : PT-9600/PT-3600 U.S.A. only
[ 2 ] Print speed (max.) 285 dots (20.1 mm) per second
[ 3 ] Print head
Type Thermal print head
Heat generator Consists of 384 heating elements vertically aligned
Size of heating element 0.08 mm wide by 0.0705 mm high
[ 4 ] Character size (dots)
Character size
(Point size) dots Height x Width (mm) Character size (Point size) dots Height x Width (mm)
622 x 17 (1.54 x 1.19) 22 80 x 61 (5.6 x 4.27)
726 x 20 (1.82 x 1.4) 24 88 x 67 (6.16 x 4.69)
829 x 22 (2.03 x 1.54) 28 102 x 79 (7.14 x 5.53)
933 x 25 (2.31 x 1.75) 32 117 x 89 (8.19 x 6.23)
10 37 x 28 (2.59 x 1.96) 36 131 x 101 (9.17 x 7.07)
11 40 x 31 (2.8 x 2.17) 40 146 x 112 (10.22 x 7.84)
12 44 x 34 (3.08 x 2.38) 48 175 x 135 (12.25 x 9.45)
14 51 x 39 (3.57 x 2.73) 56 204 x 157 (14.28 x 10.99)
16 58 x 45 (4.06 x 3.15) 64 234 x 179 (16.38 x 12.53)
18 66 x 50 (4.62 x 3.5) 72 263 x 201 (18.41 x 14.07)
20 73 x 56 (5.11 x 3.92) 76 277 x 213 (19.39 x 14.91)
* Scaling with width settings
WIDE 2
NARROW 2/3
NARROWEST 1/2
1.1.5 Tape Cassette
[ 1 ] Cassette Cartridge type
[ 2 ] Types of tape cassettes
•Laminated tape cassette Laminate tape, ink ribbon, and adhesive base tape
•Non-laminated tape cassette Non-laminated tape and ink ribbon
•Instant lettering tape cassette Instant lettering tape and ink ribbon
•Iron-on transfer tape cassette Iron-on transfer tape and ink ribbon
•Stamp tape cassette Porous-stamp tape and base paper
•Cloth tape cassette Cloth tape and ink ribbon
•AV (Avery) labels cassette AV labels and base paper
Note: The tape cassette for Head cleaning is provided.
* The height and width of printed characters will
differ depending on characters. The values in the
above list apply to character “H” of HELSINKI.
* The character size refers to the point size.

I-4
[ 3 ] Tape size
Type of tape Width Length
Laminate tape 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36
mm 8 m (5 m for the fluorescent coating tape)
Non-laminated tape 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 mm 8 m
Instant lettering tape 12, 18, 24 mm 8 m
Iron-on transfer tape 18 mm 6m
Porous-stamp tape 18, 24 mm 3m
Cloth tape 12, 18 mm 4m
AV address labels tape 24 mm 7m
AV return address labels tape 24 mm 7m
AV file folder labels tape 24 mm 7m
Head cleaning tape 36 mm 2.5 m (Approx. 100 times)
[ 4 ] Tape cassette packed with the machine
PT-9600/PT-3600 (Europe) version Laminated tape cassette (containing a 24-mm-wide
black ink ribbon, laminate tape, and adhesive base
tape)
PT-3600 U.S.A. version Laminated tape cassette (containing a 24-mm-wide
black ink ribbon, laminated tape, and adhesive
base tape) and AV address labels cassette
(containing a24-mm-wide AV labels tape and base
tape)
1.1.6 Tape Cutter
[ 1 ] Tape cutting (1) Automatic full cutter
(2) Automatic half cutter
Not user-replaceable (1) and (2)
1.1.7 PC Interface
[ 1 ] Comunication Interface USB, Serial interface (RS-232C)(PT-9600 only)
[ 2 ] Applicable OSs Microsoft Windows 95
(for the RS-232C I/F of PT-9600 only)
Microsoft Windows 95/98 SE
Microsoft Windows ME
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
(for the RS-232C I/F of PT-9600 only)
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows XP
Macintosh Mac OS 8.6 ~ 9.x
Macintosh Mac OS X 10.1/10.2
[ 3 ] Printer emulation Serial I/F (PT-9600 only)
[ 4 ] ASCII, ESC/P N/A (PT-3600 only)