BWM HOPKINS STARTING LINE PRESS Installation manual
STARTING LINE™PRESS
Setup And Operating Instructions
PUBLISH DATE 25 Feb 2013
NOTES
RECEIVING YOUR MACHINE
SETUP AND ASSEMBLY
REGISTRATION ADJUSTMENTS
Your press has been crated to keep it from being damaged while
in transit. Please inspect exterior of crate while the shipping
company driver is present and make a notation on the freight
bill if there appears to be any kind of damage. is is your
responsibility!!! Be sure the driver signs too, it may help you if
there is damage and a damage claim needs to be led with the
freight company.
Once you sign and accept the shipping receipt begin the uncrating
process by removing the lid. Next, remove the body of the crate.
Using a drill motor and a screwdriver bit remove the screws
holding the body of the crate to the pallet on all four sides. Aer
the screws are removed, li the body of the crate up and over
the press. Next, remove the screws securing the print station to
the oor of the crate with a phillips head driver and carefully
move the print stations out of the way. Place the print stations
on their side so they won’t fall over. Please note, the white nylon
registration bolts stick out on both sides of the gate. Take care not
to drop the print station, as these bolts may be sheared o.
e press is bolted to the pallet oor. It must be unbolted from
the underside of the pallet. You will need a 9/16 box wrench or
9/16 socket and ratchet. Unbolt the press from the pallet, slide
it o the pallet and place the machine in the location where it is
going to be used.
Open the parts bag(s), spread and organize the nuts, bolts, steel
roll pins and leg levelers in the area the press is now located.
LEG LEVELERS
Carefully tip each leg of your press up and thread a leg leveler on.
read the leg levelers all the way up and into the threaded insert
of each leg.
PRINT STATIONS
Note: Each print station is numbered on the backside of the
mounting plate and each print station location on the rotary
indexer has a corresponding number.
Mount the number one print station to the number one station on
the rotary indexer. Use the 3/8-16x1” bolts with nuts and washers.
Loosely install the 4 mounting bolts and locknuts so the print
station can be moved slightly for alignment. (Use a 9/16” wrench
and a 9/16” socket and ratchet). Aer the print station is in place,
you will now insert the roll pins by aligning the scribe marks on
the side of the mounting plates on the arm and indexer.
Install a roll pin into each pre-drilled hole (2) on each print
station by tapping the pin through the hole using a hammer. Each
pin should protrude through the holes far enough to be visible on
the backside of the mounting plates.
Make sure the scribe marks on each side of the print stations line
up with the mark on the companion plate and then secure all four
mounting bolts.
Proceed to mount each additional print station to the
corresponding numbered location on the rotary indexer. Because
this press was factory leveled, it is not necessary to make any
adjustments to the print stations.
PRINT HEADS AND SPRINGS
Locate the longer of the bolts in your parts bag (3/8-16 x 4 1/2”).
ese bolts and the corresponding nuts, along with the clear
bumper tubes, are to be used in the bracket the print heads are
to be mounted to. e bolts act as a stop, limiting the print heads
upper movement. ese bolts are removed for shipping purposes
and now need to be installed. If any of the springs have come
loose from their print head locations, now is the time to re-attach
them. Raise the print head up as far as necessary to attach any
loose springs to the print head base and spring retainer bracket.
Aer all springs are attached, pull the print head down and into
the registration gate on the print station arm. If the springs are
properly axed there will be resistance felt as the head is lowered
into the gate. Take caution that the print head does not come up
inadvertently, it could hurt someone!
Begin inserting a bolt into the top hole of one of the print head
brackets. As the threads of the bolt appear on the inside of the
bracket, put one of the at washers and then one of the bumper
tubes next to the threads and complete the insertion of the
bolt into the tube and through the hole and the washer on the
other side of the bracket. Attach a 3/8-16 hex nut to the bolt to
hold the bolt in place. Do not over tighten the bolt and nut, it
could possibly restrict the up and down movement of the head.
Complete this task for all the print heads.
SHIRTBOARD
With the print heads in the up position and resting against the
bumper and bolt, slide a shirt board with bracket onto a print
station. Rotate the print head wheel into a position that allows a
print head to be lowered into the registration gate on the print
station arm. Position the shirt board so the rear or back edge of
the board is approximately 1/2” from the print head screen clamp.
To secure the board in this position hold your le hand on the top
of the board’s surface pressing down to ensure atness. With your
right hand, tighten the small side knob so it comes in contact with
the side of the print station. Now tighten the large knob on the
bottom of the bracket. is torque knob will hold the shirt board
in place during the printing process. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN
THESE KNOBS!!! If you over tighten any of these knobs you may
bend the metal of the print station. It is only necessary to snug
these knobs.
Raise all the print heads to the up position and give one of them
a solid push rotating the entire wheel. e wheel should rotate
freely and eortlessly.
Rotate the print station indexer in the same manner. It should
rotate easily with a slight noise and hesitation as each print station
slips into and out of a print station location.
Place screen frame into the print head
frame clamp and center frame to center
of the clamp. Turn down the large black
knobs on the top of the clamp to lower the
clamp bar down onto the top of the screen
frame. Tighten the knob. It’s not necessary
to over tighten the knob as damage to
the screen frame or clamp could occur!
Pull the screen frame down and into the
registration gate on the print station.
e o contact adjustment is preformed
manually. Loosen the 2 nuts on the back
of the screen frame clamp as well as the
bolts that allow the adjustment of the
screen angle.
With the print head and screen frame
sitting in the registration gate and the
nuts and bolts loosened, raise the o
contact distance between the bottom side
of the screen frame and the top of the
shirt board. e amount of o contact is
dependant on mesh tension and not an
issue for this narration. Suce to say the
higher the mesh tension the lower the o
contact distance. Manually li the print
head and screen up to the desired height
making sure the distance is the same
across the entire rear of the screen frame.
Tighten the o contact nuts.
Once the o contact is set at the rear of the
screen it will be necessary to match that
distance at the front of the screen. is
adjustment is made manually by raising
the front of the screen frame to the desired
height and then tighten the bolts on each
side at the back of the clamp that will lock
down the screen tilt adjustment. Verify all
distances are correct. Re-adjust if needed.
At this point, if ne tuning is necessary
to register the screens, Loosen the ratchet
handle on top of the print head. en use
the two y-axis micro adjusters to move
the screen front to back and/or rotational
movements. Le and right adjustments are
done with the x-axis micro located on the
side of the print head (viewing from the
front of the screen) and next to the y-axis
adjuster. Once the screens are registered,
re-tighten the handle.
Good Printing To You!!!
Screen Tilt
Adjustment
Y-Axis Adjuster
X-Axis Adjuster
Spring Bar
Off Contact
Adjustment
Micro Registration
Lock Down
THESE INSTRUCTIONS ASSUME A MULTI-COLOR JOB IS TO BE PRINTED
