Feeder operator (press *****) needs advice

[print_pelican]

Hey guys im new to this site my name is raymond. Ive been working in the print idustry for 3 years and i find myself on the back end of a 6 color komori lithorne 28". I seem to have alot of problems with keeping the sheets from turning at an angle and shuting off the press, weve tried everything adjusting the suckers, moving the guide wheels, air pressure, height of table (which it likes to run at max height with middle at about top of gate), but the press seems to shut off alot i get front o-l-r sensor lights most of time. We think it may be the gate is not going all the way down and the paper is hitting the gate causing it to turn sideways. The gate seems to go about half way towards the tape and not lay all the way down. Is this normal for komori or is there a way to adjust it?

 

[John LaMantia]

feeder operator. (press *****)

I know you probably tried everything. I would recommend having a Komori mechanic come in and rebuild the forwarding suckers, that should fix it. Also be sure that your feeder pump is healthy, i.e. all your filters in the pump are clean. If it is a Becker pump you should have a filter can (paper) and one that is behind a small cover plate at the bottom of the front of the pump, remove six screws to get to it. good luck. John.

 

[RichardK]

John's right. Check air supply first, then make sure you've no leaks. Then check updown intake wheels on first roller by starting feeder with air on, inching the sheet til it released by the forwarding suckers. Check both updown wheels grip the sheet before sheet is released and they touchdown at the same time. Tape tension? All must be the same. Wheel pressure ditto. We run our feed height about 6mm below top of front flap. Make sure the lift suckers stretch the sheet on thin stock rather than letting it sag so the blow foot can occasionally trap it. You can angle the lift sucker to do this. Steel separators - are they on the sheet or as we run about 5mm above? Are they shingled 2-3mm. Too much blow can be just as bad as to little - don't run on max if you can avoid it.

LHS sensor tripping the feeder? Check the stream of sheet on that side. Is it straight? If not then all the sensor is doing is its job. If the stream is consistent and straight the check the layhood height. If too high then sheets may buckle at the lay and trip the sensor. Don't run your wheels too tight to the tail edge.

 

[puzzle piece]

try putting the rubber wheel 2 inches back from the tail of the sheet and alittle tight to hold the second sheet from being pulled by the first sheet.

 

[Data]

I'd go along with Richards check list first but you mentioned

height of table (which it likes to run at max height with middle at about top of gate)

why the middle at top of gate? Personally i feel that's far to high and suggests you're either running with very little air or wheeled on dead sheets, although why isn't the pile height level right across? If the corners are a lot lower they could be catching the gate and twisting, or your side guides (if fitted) could be to tight thus not releasing the sheet and if there isn't sufficient side blow this to could cause catching and twisting

 

[RichardK]

Data is correct. The pile is too high and if anything the front sides of the pile should be a little higher (by wedging) than the middle. We run ours about 5 to 7mm lower than the gate.

 

[KILRONE]

I agree with John, rebuild forwarding suckers, but just order the rebuild kit from komori, its very simple to do, and will save your company some cash. Also becker pump may need new vaines, they are made of carbonand do wear after years of use . HYDRA-VAC,INC can get you these. Just a few allen screws, slide old ones out, slide new ones in. Pay attention to edge of blade upon instalation. Blow out pump with compressed air.Replace filters ,mann filter C 75/2 LARGE ONE..... SMALL ONE C44. HYDRA-VAC 847) 360-8056 HOPE THIS HELPS

 

[Jon1909]

Komori feeders are well known for bad forwarding suckers, the bushings and shafts need to be replaced and the problem should go away. These feeders are also known for cracked foot hoses, so grab a flashlight and take a good look at the hose up inside the head. One little crack and you'll have exactly the problem you're describing.

 

[adcellprinter]

i have had exactly this trouble. like you i started looking at the gate because it always seems to catch on the gate and then your sheet just ends up sideways. my gate was not 90 degrees to the sheet so first i fixed that. same problem. then i thought that because my back guides were too tight on the sheet they were holding on and causing the sheet to go sideways so i always run them a couple of mill off the sheet. same problem. then i realised that my forwarding suckers were absolutely stuffed, one of them would get stuck down all the time and drag on its way back and then wouldn't snap the sheet up under suction, so i had them rebuilt. better but same problem. and now because of the replies to your problem i checked my blast hose on the foot, and it is leaking air EVERYWHERE so i'll have to get that fixed. and then hopefully no problem

 

[Runarack]

All good advice.

 

[IGEN Jawa]

I get a little skewing in my sheet stream, but normally it straightens
out at the head stops. For a while I kept having trips with skewed
sheets and I discovered that my eyes were out of calibration. You
know, the adjustments inside the feeder control panel... Mine were
way out of whack and after resetting them my problem mostly went
away.

I can get a fair amount of control over sheet skew by tilting the pick
up suckers front to back and even side to side.

I seem to remember running on Heidelbergs that have air blasters
at the lead edge corners of the pile. I wish the Komoris had these.
Similar to what was mentioned above, I do have to wedge up the
edges alot to get the corners over the gate. That's about the only
thing, now, that will give me super crooked sheets.

 

[George_B]

Paper clips and chewing gum

All very good answers but in a pinch you could try a trick that has always helped me out when everything else fails. Take a piece of electrical tape and wrap it once around the infeed roll exactly under the infeed wheel of the late side. It will speed the stream up and allow you to get the job finished. Careful not to over do the tape as you can overdrive the sheet.

 

[mondopronter]

Did all that fix it. I just started on the back of a 8 color komori from around 2005. Same cracked foot hose problem havent fixed hose yet no time it runs barley. But not woth out a lot of baby sitting and i got paper to through and ink to fill and plates to punch ect ect ect. Wondering about the re builds on forwarding suckers to are they a good investment, he said he was still having his same problems.