Gerber Technology MP+ Series Quick start guide

FOR MP+ PLOTTERS
TECHNICAL GUIDE

2

3
Technic mode����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
INTRODUCTION TO PRINTING 5
Introduction to printing������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6
CALIBRATION 8
Calibration���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
PRINT DATA FLOW 13
Print data flow�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
SCHEMATICS 15
Schematics������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16
TROUBLESHOOTINGS 20
Plotter firmware ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21
Plotter movement alerts ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 31
Software errors on printing����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 37
Plotter sensors ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 42
Cartridge not detected 4PH����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51
Printing quality ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 55
Mechanical issues �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 58
PREVENTIVE MAINTEANCE 60
Preventive maintenance���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 61
Smart check list ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 62
Parts life cycle �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 66
SERVICE NOTES 67
FFC Flat Flexible Cable - REPLACEMENT ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68
Keyboard membrane - REPLACEMENT ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 70
Encoder strip - REPLACEMENT ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 73
Carriage electronic board - REPLACEMENT ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 75
Master board REPLACEMENT & FIRMWARE INSTALLATION���������������������������������������������������������� 77
INDEX

· With this mode plotter is able to print with the front cover open in order to allow the technician to check
plotter during working.
· A more detailed calibration can be carried out.
· Special technical menu with detailed tests is available.
4
TECHNIC MODE
To activate the TECHNIC MODE, turn on the plotter and hold the “Menu” key during the Startup process.
REMEMBER

INTRODUCTION TO PRINTING

6
INTRODUCTION TO PRINTING
4321
A 4PH plotter can have 1 to 4 active printheads.
A 2PH plotter can have 1 or 2 active printheads.
For Printing it is mandatory to have at least one active printhead, no
matter the position where it is located.
The more active printheads, the faster it will print.
According to the cartridge deck: Standard 2PH, option to 4PH.
The printheads position is agreed as below:
HP45 cartridge is based in thermal inkjet technology.
To print, an energy pulse is given in the ink chamber to create a 29* picoliter ink drop.
*(average, depends on the ink formulation).
The cartridge ring frequency is limited, so the faster it moves, the less resolution it can print:
GENERAL
HP45 TECHNOLOGY
Normal mode
(1 m/s): 300x600 dpi
Best mode
(0,5 m/s): 600x600 dpi
Fast mode
(2 m/s): 150x300 dpi
Q Fast mode
(2 m/s): 150x600 dpi

7
The 2PH plotter has a print swath of 1 inch (2,54 cm) and the 4PH has a print swath of 2 inches (5,08 cm).
See the picture to view the nal line result in the 4PH distribution:
The relative height position of the cartridge deck to the plotter beam can be adjusted using 4 screws.
An excessive distance between cartridges and paper may cause blurred prints.
A too short distance may result in cartridges touching the paper. In this case the ink cartridges may be
damaged, and paper scratched.
The optimal distance measured is between 9.7 and 9.8mm.
Each HP45 cartridge has a maximum resolution of 600dpi in a ½ inch swath, so each cartridge has 300 dots
distributed in 2 print lines as seen in picture below:
DISPOSITION
2 inches
INTRODUCTION TO PRINTING
9,7 - 9,8mm

CALIBRATION

9
CALIBRATION
To achieve a good appearance printing with these cartridges’ placement, some steps must be done.
In the plotter menu this procedure is called “Head align". The calibration can be done only if all available
holders have cartridges installed and active.
It’s important to follow the steps in the correct order to keep the proper dependencies between them.
The purpose of this test is to check condition of the cartridges and the nozzles.
This test is done to adjust the angle between the deck and the beam and achieve
a straight vertical line.
GENERAL
NOZZLES CHECK
ANGLE
· If there are many gaps in the print, clean the cartridges and try again.
· Clean the HP Driver Board Pins. See QR.
· Calibration must be done with good quality cartridges.
At the beginning it's only done with one cartridge because they are not correctly related yet.
With more cartridges correctly calibrated the results can be more precise.
Clean

10
The offset adjusts the distance between two cartridges in the X axis.
The overlap adjusts the distance between two cartridges in Y axis.
OFFSET
OVERLAP
CALIBRATION
By adjusting it is possible to achieve aligned vertical lines.
To achieve it the plotter will print all different possibilities to let the user select the best one.
By adjusting it is possible to have continuous vertical lines, without gaps or overlaps.
To achieve it the plotter will print all different possibilities to let the user select the best one.
Offset
789
Overlap
7 8 9
This calibration needs special attention.
This is a critical adjustment because the other calibration steps are based on it.

11
CALIBRATION
The purpose of this calibration is to nd the raster parameters to ensure exact
print out dimensions.
The rasterization parameters are stored in the plotter and used by the server
every time the marker is sent to User Manager Queue. The parameters are loaded
from the plotter to the PC and a raster le is created for the specic plotter.
Once the offset and overlaps between cartridges are correct, it’s possible to
perform an angle test with all the installed cartridges having more precision.
ANGLE - Fine adjust
If any adjustments is needed, it might be necessary to re-adjust the height of the cartridge desk.
A change in the angle can also affect offset and overlap values, so it’s recommended to restart the
calibration.
The Y axis (paper) encoder is used to measure real paper feed movement.
There is a small mechanical tolerance that need to be adjusted.
PAPER ADVANCE
With this calibration the deviation is corrected to not have gaps or overlaps between swaths.
1
2
Paper advance

12
The purpose of this step is to have the deck height on equal level in each
measurement point. The goal is to have 9,7 - 9,8mm as shown below.
PARALLELISM
Be careful to not push the deck with caliper while taking measurement.
9,7 -
9,8mm
CALIBRATION
In a bidirectional printing, the cartridge print height is causing a misalignment
between the two directions.
BIDIRECTIONAL
In bidirectional printing mode, due to distance between nozzles and paper, and different environment
conditions, the moment when the drop will red from nozzle while moving to right side, may need
adjustment to match the position of drop placed doing movement to left side.
This adjust tests the different offset values to choose the best match.
This calibration parameter is not affected when printing in best mode because this is an unidirectional
print.
Bidirectional
paper 6 8 10
IT IS RECOMMENDED TO RUN THE CALIBRATION AFTER CHANGING CARTRIDGES�
AFTER FINISHING THE CALIBRATION, IT MUST BE PERFORMED A LENGHT ADJUSTMENT�

PRINT DATA FLOW

14
SWITCH
PRINT DATA FLOW
CAD
USER MANAGER
SERVER MANAGER
VECTOR
FILE
HOT
FOLDER BACKUP
*.plt, *.hpgl, *.iso, ...
RASTER
FILE
INCOMING
Raster.dll
Drawing.hpgl
Drawing.hpgl + Settings
*.tkt, *.kfc
USB
LAN
VECTOR RASTER
AppData\ ... \incoming\PLOTTER
AppData\ ...\ incoming\PLOTTER\pattern
AppData\ ... \sw\incoming\11111
AppData\ ... \BACKUP
Status, file data,
size calibration,
...
pltserver.exe

SCHEMATICS

16
SCHEMATICS
General electrical schematics
Options are remarked in yellow background.
Spare part number is indicated.
Multi-wire cables are also indicated.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Autor: Archivo:
Fecha: Folio: 1/1
22
2
L
to top cover
14
C14
EMI
FI LTER
3
Q
-
-
M
M1
-
4
4
14
3
Faston
+
18
6
6
+
4
14
4
18
Ferrite
bead
N
L
85-264VAC / 30VDC - 150W
2
N
MM2
C13
18
6
+
+
RFI D Antenna
2
14
PE
N
L
Faston
-
2
PC
2
MM3
2
4
(S pare Part: 205181)
(S pare Part: 205209)
(S pare Part: 205215)
(S pare Part: 205178)
HEAD MOT O R
30 V
C O N5
P C B H M I
M A CH I N E M P +
C O N22
P C B M A S T E R
C O N5
CON52
3x I 2C
4x I 2C
SWI T CH
C O N26
C O N45
Stepper
motor
C O N2
P CB B T
C O N4
Cartridge board 3
C O N2
CON20
USB B (device)
CON7
C O N7
PAPER MOT O R
C O N46
C O N6
CUT &GO OPT ION
C O N9
USB A ( host)
C O N1
I NPUT A C 85/264V - 50/60Hz - 2A - 70/150W
EARTH
C O N8
C O N28
Paper encoder
Paper sensor
Cartridge board 2
C O N3
C O N2
C O N8
T ag machine
Cartridge board 4
C O N44
AC LI NE FI LT ER MO DULE
SD
-
C O N1
C O N4
Ethernet (RJ45)
J3
Cartridge board 1
Display
Paper-end
sensor
+
C O N3
C O N32
J4
Keyboard
POW E R SUPPLY
GND
J1
C O N29
-
C O N16
C O N4
P C B 4 H E A D S
C O N14
ET HE RNET OPT ION
C O N10
C O N14
DUAL ROLL OPT I ON
Power
Line
Sensor
Paper-end
2nd sensor
ROLL T O ROLL OPT ION
S
Paper diameter sensor PCB
C O N16
C O N1
J2
uC
C O N21
GC B MO T O R
+
-
C O N27 C O N15
+
4 HE ADS OPT ION
S
C O N33
(S pare Part: 205244)
30V PWM
(S pare Part: 205246)
(S pare Part: 205245)
(S pare Part: 205214)
(S pare Part: 205156)
(S pare Part: 205172)
(S pare Part: 205252)
(S pare Part: 205213)
(S pare Part: 205200)
30V PWM
30V PWM
30V PWM
30V
GND
SDA
S C L
30V
GND
SDA
S C L
3 - 5V
6 - 30V
18 - GND
(S pare Part: 205242)
(S pare Part: 205243)
(S pare Part: 205251)
( Upk it: 205049)
( Upk it: 205079/205080)
( Upk it: 205081/205082)
( Upk it: 205083/205084)
( Upk it: 205047)
_
694500706)
694500632)
694500699)
694500662)
(Spare Part: 694500587)
(Spare Part: 694500585)
(Spare Part: 694500602)
(Upkit: 694500679 / 694500680)
(Spare Part: 694500562)
(Spare Part: 694500601)
(Spare Part: 694500696)
(Spare Part: 694500544)
(Spare Part)
(Spare Part: 694500634)
(Spare Part: 694500547)
(Spare Part: 694500565)
(Upkit: 694500731/694500732)
(Upkit: 694500733)
(Spare Part: 694500536)
17

18
SCHEMATICS
Detailed electrical schematics
More detailed view of the Master Board and 4 Heads PCBs connection.

19
MASTER BOARD
PCB 4 HEADS

TROUBLESHOOTINGS
This manual suits for next models
1
Table of contents
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