The bad ink Keys.

Hi All,
Many thanks in advance to the helpful community over here.

The old ink keys (which close the wrong way) are struck. The motors move but the keys remain at same place.I believe the keys are dirty and struck and thus jammed.

Is there a simple way to clean them up to get them moving without fiddling around with much components?

Thanks in advance.

 

are they stuck in the closed or open position?

 

Most of the struck keys are struck in open position. One in the middle is struck in closed position. Many are working fine.

 

If You have multiple stuck keys… it's time for a major cleanup… however I would start by manually backing off the key that's in the closed position (make sure the unit is not selected). spray some lubricant in between the keys. the keys close down with the little spring, and so you can try to help them close by lightly pushing at the backs of the keys that are stuck in the open position…

 

I'm already a few baby steps into the major clean-up and things do look messy.

 

https://www.colorprintingforum.com/threads/komori-lithrone-ink-keys-cleaning-project.12626/

 

Read that already, I must say a big thanks .

Also, a quick question, should the thin metallic tong which is held by 2 screws be removed prior to taking out the ink key?

 

No I would not remove those… and as a matter of fact be very careful not to bend them since that's what is used for opening up the keys.

 

Many thanks

 

Here's some before and after photos of an ink fountain I cleaned out. It takes between 6-8 hours to do it the first time. After you've done it a few times (and used them afterwards, to see how they respond), it goes a little quicker because then you know what to do.
The most important thing is using the right type of lubrication, and properly maintaining them afterwards.

 

Yours is very clean and professionally done .
Took us over a day. The ink was dry, the numbers were jumbled up and the whole thing was a mess.
The hardest part getting the last one to fit.

Although we couldn't try the keys, I did notice some of them to be uneven in the closed position.

Can this be fixed?

I also noticed plate strips stuffed as packing between the two Allen key bolts.
Probably this was done to level the keys?