Cleaning the Azura gummer C125 & roller wear question

Started by DCurry, July 18, 2011, 12:08:54 PM

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DCurry

July 18, 2011, 12:08:54 PM
Two questions for you Azura users:

1. I'm going to be doing a full cleaning on the gummer this week. In the past, it seems like it takes an awful lot of scrubbing with a Scotchbrite pad to get most of the residue off the squeegee rollers, and also a lot of work to clean the gray basin after all the rollers are out. Is there a better way than good old-fashioned elbow grease/Scotchbrite?

2. Do the squeegee rollers wear out, and what are the signs? I'm noticing that the top roller (after the scrub brushes) looks like it is either swollen in the middle or worn toward the outer 1/3 of the length (can't tell which is the case). My plates are coming out a little dirty due to the uneven squeegee action, and sometimes the center of the roller rubs against the clear plastic splashguard, rocking it back and forth and causing a knocking sound. Can I just swap the roller with the top roller that is in the first position to get some more life out of it? (the very first roller an incoming plate touches).
Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

DigiCorn

#1
July 18, 2011, 01:10:41 PM
1. Hot water with the scotch brite is what I use. I do a rinse every other month and pull the rollers every other month. Only takes a few minutes per roller - not bad. The hotter the water, the easier the stuff comes loose... but it's never caked on very bad. The whole process shouldn't take you more than about 2 hours total. I find that an old toothbrush to get in behind the gears does the trick. I also like to take the brushes outside and spray them with our hose attachment.

2. I guess they could, but in almost 10 years of working with Agfa processors I've never seen it happen.

I have a question for you - how often are you cleaning your processor? If it's that bad, maybe you're not cleaning it often enough.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Grimace

#2
July 18, 2011, 01:33:00 PM
I don't have an AGFA plate processor, but I find cleaning mine is very quick and easy.
I drain my gum and developer and then fill the machine up with just hot water both developer and gummer.
I run the cycle a couple of times, drain and repeat.
I scrub the rollers with a wet terry cloth towel while it cycles, with the rollers in place.
I find the pumps, brushes, hoses and distributing "sprayer" bar will also keep clean this way.

I don't get much build up and the whole draining and refilling is pretty quick.
I don't know how feasible that kind of process would be for you guys, but worth looking into if it works.

DigiCorn

#3
July 18, 2011, 02:32:41 PM
Hi Grimace!  :hello:
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

DCurry

#4
July 18, 2011, 03:03:35 PM Last Edit: July 18, 2011, 03:04:55 PM by DCurry
Quote from: DigiCorn on July 18, 2011, 01:10:41 PMI have a question for you - how often are you cleaning your processor? If it's that bad, maybe you're not cleaning it often enough.

I follow Agfa's recommendation of every 3rd jug of gum it gets cleaned. Each time I change the jug I do a rinse with a jug of hot water and also clean the filter, both per Agfa's manual. Takes me about 2 hours for the full clean, too.

I think part of the issue might be that I don't run very many plates. I do put a jug of hot water on over the weekend to loosen things up, but unless I were to come back and keep replacing the water it is only hot for an hour or so.
Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

gnubler

#5
July 18, 2011, 03:07:16 PM
You're doing it wrong.
Hicks • Cross • Carlin • Kinison • Parker • Stone •  Colbert • Hedberg • Stanhope • Burr

"As much as I'd like your guns I prefer your buns." - The G

Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

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DigiCorn

#6
July 18, 2011, 03:33:04 PM
Quote from: DCurry on July 18, 2011, 03:03:35 PM
Quote from: DigiCorn on July 18, 2011, 01:10:41 PMI have a question for you - how often are you cleaning your processor? If it's that bad, maybe you're not cleaning it often enough.

I follow Agfa's recommendation of every 3rd jug of gum it gets cleaned. Each time I change the jug I do a rinse with a jug of hot water and also clean the filter, both per Agfa's manual. Takes me about 2 hours for the full clean, too.

I think part of the issue might be that I don't run very many plates. I do put a jug of hot water on over the weekend to loosen things up, but unless I were to come back and keep replacing the water it is only hot for an hour or so.
Like I said, I actually do it every other time, instead of every third. I figure we're not running that many plates, so I might as well get the best I can all the time.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

DCurry

#7
July 20, 2011, 07:04:01 AM
Even after cleaning and switching 2 of the rollers, I am still getting "dirty" plates - by that I mean it looks like the gum is not being properly squeegeed, and the plates come out a little wet and you can see the gum is not smoothly applied. I did put the rollers back where they should be after the switch didn't improve anything. I can feel that the heater kicks on like it should, so it's not that, and all the spray bars are flowing freely so the gum is getting on the plate.

Any ideas before I get Agfa involved?
Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

Tracy

#8
July 20, 2011, 07:13:06 AM Last Edit: July 20, 2011, 07:15:38 AM by Tracy
your using a different processor than me:
are you able to adjust the tension of the gum roller?
If you are just be careful and adjust evenly for both
sides (count the turns of the screw for example)

DCurry

#9
July 20, 2011, 07:15:35 AM Last Edit: July 20, 2011, 07:25:47 AM by DCurry
I don't believe so - the bottom roller sits on springs, and the top roller slides into a hole on one side and bolts to a fixed bracket on the other side. I'll take another look, though.

Edit - Just double-checked, and I don't see any way to adjust the tension. I suppose I could stretch the springs a tad, but I'd rather not start mucking about with things that may cause more problems.
Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

Tracy

#10
July 20, 2011, 07:51:29 AM
agreed!
the press prolly isn't having problems with the plates?
if not you should be able to fix the problem at your leisure.

DCurry

#11
July 20, 2011, 07:56:25 AM
True - no problems on press as the gum gets washed off when the water hits it anyway, so yes I can fix at my leisure.
Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

DigiCorn

#12
July 20, 2011, 09:08:08 AM
Quote from: DCurry on July 20, 2011, 07:15:35 AMI don't believe so - the bottom roller sits on springs, and the top roller slides into a hole on one side and bolts to a fixed bracket on the other side. I'll take another look, though.

Edit - Just double-checked, and I don't see any way to adjust the tension. I suppose I could stretch the springs a tad, but I'd rather not start mucking about with things that may cause more problems.
Just in front of the springs, under the plastic platform, there's an adjustment to make the platform higher and increase pressure against the brushes. It's a sensitive adjustment - you may only need a 1/4 turn, but be consistent. Run the brush test afterwards to be certain. I just took mine apart to clean it and snapped a picture for you.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

DCurry

#13
July 20, 2011, 09:20:43 AM
Thanks, Corn. I actually just stumbled across that very information in Agfa's Service Manual. However, I wonder if that's going to help anything. The scrubbers are making proper contact and removing the un-lasered emulsion just fine, and the only thing that adjustment will do is to push the plate a little higher so it contacts the brushes more firmly. It won't change how the plate feeds between the next set of squeegee rollers, which pretty much just rest on each other.

I believe the problem lies with the rubber squeegee rollers immediately after the scrubber brushes, or perhaps the exit rollers though I don't know if their purpose is strictly to push the plate out or to also provide squeegee assistance.

Prinect • Signa Station • XMPie

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. But set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

DigiCorn

#14
July 20, 2011, 09:26:00 AM
There should be two sets of rubber rollers at the end... one basically just pulls the plate through the scrubbers and the second is inside the dryer. It may provide a squeegie -like effect; I never thought about it.

Have you done a scrub test? Run a blank plate through and look at the results. The gap should be exactly 8mm and the emulsion should be consistent.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway
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