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R3000 P600 Printhead Damper Replacement Thread

[DIY DTG] 
9K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  frankdoyal05 
#1 ·
So I decided to try to replace 2 of the dampers in the P600 upper printhead area to get my 2 white channel back. I thought having a separate thread to discuss this surgery might help others in the future.

I did waterfall the printhead and all 8 channels are beautiful. Not a single issue. 2 white channels are gone. I also replaced both print cartridges in the bay, and gentle testing of the upper printhead dampers led me to believe they're toast.

Here are my questions (for @jgabby and @PirateLife mostly):

1. Removing the ink lines is messy. Very, very messy. What's the best way to NOT make this messy? I snagged a glass cup, removed the ink cartridges from the bay, and pulled the 2 screws off connecting the ink set to the damper assembly. Ink poured into the cup (thankfully) and I didn't make a mess but my hands were covered.

2. I removed the dampers -- @jgabby has photos in another thread but I'll try to take video this week showing the process. Each damper covers 2 channels. I removed the ones that didn't seem to have white ink near the output nozzle -- those were definitely clogged as no pulling or pushing with a syringe showed movement. I put new dampers in (well, refurbished ones from another printer).

3. I reconnected everything. Powered on. Ran a CL1 clean and nozzle check -- no channels are printing (very light nozzles on a few channels). Prior to the surgery I had 6 perfect channels and 2 missing.

4. I powered down, pulled the damper assembly off and did a light priming all the way from the ink cartridges. I hear ink flowing, and my syringe did have ink in it. So ink is flowing.

5. Reassembled, powered up, CL3 clean ($$$) and nozzle check: same issue, 8 missing channels with very very light ink in a few nozzles.

Now I'm uncertain what the next step is. After turning on the machine after priming, the first 10 seconds of a head clean does show all colors in the capping station but after that, the rest of the clean isn't pulling ink through. There's no obvious visible air in any of the tubes or lines. I think I primed enough.

Thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
Did another prime of the upper dampers (connected to the ink supply chain), CL3 ($$$) and now have 3 white channels (which is good because I only had 2 before) and a full black channel. Missing CMY and 1 W.

I did notice the C damper is a tight pull so maybe my refurbished dampers weren't so good. Going to have to pull it all apart again which sucks but at least ink is flowing which means I didn't fry anything. Yet.

How many CL3 cleans are needed after a upper damper replacement? I obviously did 2 CL3s and 1 CL1 to get this far.
 
#3 ·
Ok I got 7 channels back -- I had to waterfall the printhead to get rid of any air locks. One channel is still gone but that one was working earlier so I am assuming it's still a damper issue.

I will update the process list once I get that white channel back. It's a real waste of ink but it's important to have this information out there.
 
#4 ·
I will update the process list once I get that white channel back. It's a real waste of ink but it's important to have this information out there.
Thanks for the info, I'd love to see some video of this (inevitable) process... I've seen one vid showing the head damper setup, but it's already pulled from the printhead, the ink lines are already removed, etc... i'd love to see the "removal process". :/

I'm still trying to figure out which P600 dampers to buy to replace the ink carts... I see a bunch that look interesting, particularly the tall ones with large filters:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...th-Big-Filter-compatible-with/1960224633.html

I'm not sure whether the size of the damper / size of the filter make much difference? What do the R3000 dampers look like, short with the small circular dot filter?

Also, I see they have P600 chip Decoders AND Resetters (one chip at a time) now... if I were doing a HEAD damper replacement and had NO channels after, I would reset ALL chips and then do an Ink Charge (or head soak, but I'd have done that before getting to the dampers).

I imagine any damper replacement (on the P600) is gonna cost some ink no matter what... as it is, I do a CL3 every morning... sometimes 2 or 3 of them if low ink levels stop the cleaning process... it sucks donkey balls (I'm sure the printhead / dampers love it)... thankfully the P600 chip decode/reset technology is starting to hit the streets.

Did you get one in-hand yet? I'd like to grab one, I see there's 2 decoders out there now... I can't tell what the difference is beyond the board layout though... and if they really work (unlike the waste ink reset).

Anyway, thanks for the posts Brian... you're asking all the questions I'm just starting to realize myself, so it's been a ray of light finding some answers... as well, getting an idea of what mods I should be doing to make P600 life easier in the long run.

It's frustrating... but short of the waste ink counter issue, these p600 machines are coming into their own... this stuff is all just early adopter pitfalls.
 
#5 ·
I have the ink reset tool and it's FANTASTIC. I just zip them all to 100% in the morning and go on my way, although as you know printing white ink makes the levels drop FAST.

I'm curious if the decoder tells the printer if they're 14ml or 30ml carts. 30ml would mean fewer need to do a reset at least.

I'll take photos of all the dampers I have -- I received a few broken ones so I am short of enough to do the entire changeover, but I will likely just change the white carts to dampers first just to see if it works well. Even with 100% brand new white carts and upper dampers today, I had an issue with some ink starvation after 4 hours of white printing (about 35 shirts in). All brand new hardware, and I fulled cleaned everything from the ink bay to the printhead so I'm definitely going to have to test a few different combinations to find which keeps the ink flowing the best.

White ink was thicker and brighter than I've seen since the day I turned on the printer, so obviously the Epson upper dampers (or the CIS carts) are a serious problem.
 
#6 ·
Something else to consider when the white ink starts off good and tends to fade out, but nozzle checks are good after a head clean is: When the feeder lines are disconnected from the head dampener assembly, disconnect the lines from the cartridge bay You will find that even though there is white ink flowing, after time the white ink lines start to build up inside like bad arteries. They can be flushed out with hot water, blown dry, re-assembled to the cartridge bay, ink lines opened and they will fill with ink. Often if they are re-connected to the head dampeners, the dampeners will fill saving many head cleans to prime.
 
#9 ·
treefox2118, I have the same problem with missing ink chanals. I build dtg printer base on P600 with UFO controller board. Everything was fine with printing before I try to remove original ink cartridges and to install CISS. All colors were fine. I decided to clear ink tube, damper and print head with cleaning solution before to install CISS with textile ink. Then never came out all colors. Where do you think that is the problem? Air in the damper? Air in teh tubes? How to fix that problem?
 
#12 ·
Guys, what I understood is that the main problem of blank channel color is a problem in CISS or refill gartridge I used. Do you think if i remove refill cartridge and put damper will resolve this problem? That will be very hard because have to find way how to indicate chips. Do you think there may be another problem? I bought new damper for printhead even though I do not think the problem comes from them. Do you think it might be air trapped in the tube or printhead dampers? I think that I can not be damaged print head because once even I got 7 channel then when removed damper and clean print head I had only 2-3 channels... so the print head works.
 
#14 ·
I used refill cartridge. I have read a lot of places that many people have the same problem but after removing ciss or refill cartridge and install damper the problem gone. Do you thing that is the problem? I have some little doubt that the problem is refill cartridge because channels ink missed after pull out damper from printhead and and clean it with a syringe and cleaning fluid. I read somewhere that after removing the dampers on DX7 printhead decompressed system then it is very difficult to start working the printer correctly.
 
#15 ·
Do you thing that is the problem?
Nobody can tell you for sure, that's the fun of DIY DTG... nobody knows for sure when it's their OWN MACHINE sitting right in front of them... you just have to open it up and DIY.

Have you soaked your printhead overnight in a tupperware lid with aggressive cleaning solution (I use ImageArmor's "Cleaning" solution)?

That usually helps bring a head back (with weak ink clogs)... i've done this when accidentally leaving the printhead OFF the capping station overnight... it works.

That said... if you've done plenty of CL3 / Purges to get ink flowing (as mentioned earlier), and you still have trouble... then you may as well install cartridge dampers while you have the machine apart again.

If you have ink starvation, then something is blocked... it's that simple... unfortunately, nobody can tell where it is without being there to take apart your machine and find the blockage.
 
#16 ·
The P600 has so many places for ink to clog and create starvation. Soooooo many places.

I have had bad CISS carts (new ones even) that didn't allow ink to flow. Now I prime each cart every morning of 1ml to see if there's a problem.

After the cart, there are many small nozzles and bends along the pressurized ink path that can create issues. So far, I have no easy way to test this area without a massive loss of ink. I am looking at options for testing that ink flow path but so far I've come up with zero ideas.

Even the upper dampers have other areas not so easily changed that can impede ink flow.

I am overhauling my third P600 that used to be 100% waste pad dead but now is alive again. Printhead is 100% clogged but I'm going to rebuild the entire printer from scratch and see how much I can remove from the ink flow path.

I'm definitely dumping pressurized ink in my test build. Also dumping cartridges. And junk Epson dampers that can't be swapped easily.

Right now it's in pieces across two tables while I try to discover what can be tossed and what can't. The printer is a dream to use when ink flows well. I know we can solve this riddle because I have days where white ink just flows beautifully.

Yesterday I printed 46 white ink shirts in one session without a single white ink issue. Black ink started to band around halfway, which is hilarious. But the white ink was thick and rich and opaque. Will see if it's still perfect today.

After changing the upper damper, I do an ink charge and then let it sit for 30 minutes. It's a huge waste of ink but my nozzles came back 100%.
 
#17 ·
After the cart, there are many small nozzles and bends along the pressurized ink path that can create issues... ... ... I'm definitely dumping pressurized ink in my test build.
I'm really curious why things get blocked while you're printing so much volume? Shouldn't a constantly "fresh flow" of ink keep things from solidifying? It sounds like you're ink is settling before the end of your work day, and you're printing enough to actually get that settled ink into your lines... have you considered shake (bags, carts, etc) every time you bake (reset chips)?

Anyway, if you're rebuilding from the ground-up... consider what parts you could replace to increase the size of the ink lines... adapt from auto parts or fish tank accessories (to increase inner diameter flow on angle bends, for example), etc... larger diameter everything might allow you to get the days work done before settled ink actually causes a blockage with the volume you're doing.

I am overhauling my third P600 that used to be 100% waste pad dead but now is alive again.
How are they alive again? New motherboards? Reeeeally curious about this comment. :)

After changing the upper damper, I do an ink charge and then let it sit for 30 minutes. It's a huge waste of ink but my nozzles came back 100%.
I have a GT-541 that costs $400+ per cartridge... $1600 to buy an ink set, every single time = NEVER buy into a companies closed eco-system!!

That said, I have absolutely no issue purging this $400 set of ImageArmor ink, this stuff is cheap like rice... I'm taking a roadtrip at the end of the month, I plan to just throw away whatever is left of the White ink... I wouldn't sweat an InkCharge every now and then (or even daily cleanings), ink waste is a pittance on these machines compared to the F2000, etc.

Anyway, I'm buying all my dampers, decoders, and more china junk today... I can live with all the mods and hoop jumping, for now... I'm just concerned about that waste pad counter issue, still testing mine to see how f*kt it is. :/
 
#18 ·
I have a solution for the waste pad issue that I tested over at OpenDTG, but it does require that I be doing it remotely. In the near future I hope to find a way to distribute the solution open source.

ALso, you can't go with bigger tubes and fittings -- the negative pressure of the DX5 means you don't want to have ink flow too easily, either. It needs just enough flow, but not too much. Frustrating as hell.
 
#19 ·
I have issues with r3000 Damper/selector,,,installed screw for plastic into the hole it should be
a machine screw,,plus over tightened now it wont com out...ouch! without both screws installed
it wont seat tight on the print head.. Can't seams to find the damper on line...Question,,, is the 600 takes the same head and damper/selector as the r3000? also where to buy this...
 
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