Hi everyone... Itek 975 feeding problem

Newbie here seeking help with my Itek 975. A little info about myself. My name is Robert Carter and I have been in this industry for 32 years. I have been self employed for 22 years. Recently I have been having problems with my Itek 975. It has feeding problems. Here is a list of what I have done so far.

1. Checked and adjusted the grippers.
2. Checked and adjusted the cylinder gripper.
3. Scrubbed the crap out of the feed wheels.
4. Oiled everything that I could think of.
5. Have adjusted the buckle to both extremes and everything in between.

I prided myself in being able to fix anything that went wrong in my shop, But this one has got me stumped. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks Robert,

 

Hey Robert, could you elabortate a little more on what exactly is going on? Then, with a little more info, everyone on here will chime in and we'll get you going in no time at all!

 

Will do. The press has been running fine for many years, but lately sheet would drop at the cylinder gripper and the delivery gripper. sometimes it will run several hundred sheets without problem and sometimes it would drop several sheets. I would watch the delivery grippers to see if I could see a pattern to which gripper was the problem. There was no rhyme or reason to which gripper that would drop the sheet.

 

That just sounds like some miss feeding is this new stock? Happen more often on short or long grain? How long is your upper feed roller makin contact before lifting off?

 

Sounds like you have a vacuum hose that is has a crack in it somewhere. Go over all your hoses really well and look for any cracks or signs of wear. Check to see if one has fallen down onto the belt and is rubbing. I've seen that happen before. The belt actually acts as a "bandaid" for awhile and that is why feeding issues come and go. Also, check the hose that leads up to the sucker tube assembly on the non-op side. Check the area where the hose clamps to the tube assy. Sometimes it looks alright but you will find a bit of the hose is cracked where the clamp is.

 

^^^^Now THAT sounds like a plan. That would explain why there is no rhyme or reason to the misfeeding. I will check that out in the morning.

 

I checked today and the press ran better but still misfed after about 50 sheets. I am going to clean all of the grippers and oil them.

 

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!! I figured it out. The squirrel cage was bent, so I removed it. And I loosened the 3 allen bolts and adjusted the timing. I ran a 1000 sheets through at the highest speed. It ran great. Thanks for the help guys.

 

I WAS WRONG!!!!! the problem came back the next day. I'm now thinking that the feed wheels might be the problem.

 

I also noticed that the image isn't registering correctly. I have everything snugged up tight. Any thoughts?

 

I'm still trying to fix the problem. HELP PLEASE