Ok, I have been working with my printer for a year now. I have become very familiar with the mirrors galvos, trays, and all other parts and have been able to quickly diagnose and solve just about any failed print problem – until today. Parts were beginning to fail so I did a laser check and it was a mess. I opened the printer up and cleaned all my mirrors. Ran the test again and everything was still bad.
When running the laser test, I have found that if I leave the printer plugged in with the back panel off I can stick a lens cleaner swab (the kind with the flat spatula end) in the path of the laser I can tell which mirror is causing the trouble. I had a nice “hot” dot out of the laser and also after the galvos. When I put the swab in front of the small mirror cutting the laser off before it hits the big mirror, there was an issue.
I must of cleaned that small mirror off 10 times today before I tried putting my flashlight behind the mirror. This revealed a huge scratch that was completely invisible when shining the light on the mirror’s surface.
So I have put n a ticket showing these images and how that scratch is botching everything up. Hopefully I’ll get it before the weekend.
I hope this post helps others out before they tear their hair out! When checking the mirrors flash the light from behind! It may reveal your problem!
Cheers!
Ralph