top fill clearance

[oroblec]

Top reffiling method is getting me satured the sponge no matter it's clean cartriges. i'm using mike cartriges for my4920 i don't know how to fill it out full and not over saturated it any idea?

 

[The Hat]

Top reffiling method is getting me satured the sponge no matter it's clean cartriges. i'm using mike cartriges for my4920 i don't know how to fill it out full and not over saturated it any idea?

I have been top filling my cartridges for a long time and the sponge always seems to get saturated.
Ive not had any problems with ink flow problems yet.
So no worries..

 

[PeterBJ]

oroblec wrote:

Top reffiling method is getting me satured the sponge no matter it's clean cartriges. i'm using mike cartriges for my4920 i don't know how to fill it out full and not over saturated it any idea?

Maybe this post by mikling is just what you are looking for? http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=40771#p40771

It is not mentioned in that post, but of course you must seal the ink outlet before refill. You can reattach the orange cap and keep in place with rubber bands or you can use a storage clip, which might be more handy.

 

[joseph1949]

To: All
To: mrelmo
To: MP640

I would like to thank everyone for their posts, pictures, links, etc.

A special thanks to MP640 for his pictures.

A very special thanks to mrelmo for his replies and his pictures. I will use your procedure when I make my cuts.

Below are pictures of my Canon PIXMA MX870 and my Dremel manual.

I used white tape to cover the edge of right wing. I did not use white paint or white wite-out because I thought that the tape would be easier to apply and see. All that is true, but the tape did not want to stick (i.e. it came loose from the edge) to the plastic. Next time I will use paint or wite-out!

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the distance from the underside of the wing to the top of the cart(s) is a bit less than 1/8 of an inch (3.18 mm). If you press down on the print head, you will see that the print head will press down (give) a bit less than 1/16 of an inch (1.59 mm). If you add 1/8 and 1/16 you will get 3/16 of an inch (4.76 mm). To be on the safe side I would use 1/8 as the clearance.

Note: If you take a good look at what happens to the print head as it moves from one side to the other side you will see that the action is not smooth. The print head jerks around a good bit (in my opinion). You can assume from the jerkiness of the print head that your clearance is less than 1/8. What does all this mean? It means that the cap on your plug cannot be more than 1/16 high. You need to use a very low profile silicone plug or use hot glue.

In the pictures, if you look carefully, you will see a small bit of white on a cart (CLI-221BK, located on the far left of the print head). The write spot is wite-out and it covers the cap on a hot glue plug. The cap is less than a 1/16 high. As you can see the gap between the cap and the underside of the wing is not much. It looks to be around 1/16.

Let me talk about the wing. I will break the wing down into thirdsright, middle, and left (looking from the left side).

The right third has no lip. The middle third is raised (note the channels) and has a lip. Because of the lip the clearance above the carts is the same as for the right third. The left third has no lip and has the most clearance. The left third has no effect on the carts. It can be ignored if one wants to do some cutting on the wing. A quick look at the wing tells me that you will need to cut out part of the right third and part of the middle third if you want to eliminate the tight clearance. If you cut the right and middle third this will eliminate the tight clearance for the factory seal opening and the fill hole located to the right of the factory seal opening.

Based on my observation the left wing is the same (or close to it) as the right wing when comes to clearances. I could be mistaken, but that is what it looks like to me.

mrelmo, the catalog number of the diamond wheel is #545. If the $3.00 is not a typo, that is a damn good price for the wheel!!! I am assuming that Home Depot did not make a mistake on their pricing. I hope you bought more than one!!!!!


Below are pictures of pages from my Dremel manual. The pictures are not very clear (they may be unreadable).

The cover page of the manual says:

DREMEL
Cordless Rotary Tool
Owners Manual Models 750 & 770

The date says 9/02 on the front cover.

I have a price sheet that came with the tool that says 2003, so I bought the tool probably sometime in 2003 (I have lost the receipt). Note: according to the price sheet a #545 diamond wheel cost $21.10!!!!

I have the 770 model. The LO or 1 speed is 10,000 rpm. The HI or 2 speed is 20,000 rpm.

Based on the Operating Speeds for Accessories page of the manual you should use LO or 1 on plastics unless you read different. No matter what model you have I would set the speed at the lowest setting if you are cutting plastic. I am guessing the reason that the plastic melted is because the speed was too high. Im thinking that the high speed kept the dust (the plastic melted instead) down to a minimumgood thing!!!!

According to the SPEED SETTINGS tables the #545 diamond wheel was not made to cut plastics. I dont think this is a big deal if you know what you are doing. mrelmo, it looks like you knew what you were doing.

Based on reading the manual and the Quick Start Book and my limited experience with the Dremel tool here is my procedure for cutting (or whatever) with the Dremel tool.

1. Wear eye protectionbig time.

2. Read the SPEED SETTINGS tables that are in the manual.

3. Start with the correct mandrel and accessory for the job. Read the manual and the Quick Start Book that came with the tool.

4. Use the slowest speed at the start. A high speed may cause the accessory to disintegrate!!! EYE PROTECTION!!!!!!!!

5. Do not let the accessory touch the surface when you turn on the tool. Have the accessory at speed before you touch the material.

6. Cut at a slow pace.

7. Do not cut too deep. If you cut at a fast pace and cut too deep the accessory may not be able to stay together. EYE PROTECTION!!!!

8. Adjust the speed to a higher setting once you know that everything looks O.K. I would do this in steps if you are cutting with an accessory for the first time and/or cutting a material for the first time.

Thank you.

 

[Trigger 37]

I've read just about everything on this forum about the refilling methods and the tight clearance for the new Canon printers,..especially for the MX860 since I just got one for myself. I've been a top refiller for as long as I remember and it started with my first Canon i560 and has worked perfect for all my printers for 7+ years. I don't like the German method because I believe it alters the balance of the ink flow and vacuum pressure needed to good ink flow and operation of the entire system from the air intake hole at the top of the cart to the amount of vacuum created by the purge pump. It is all designed as a unit. Enough of that.

I've investigated the various types of plugs and tested my 870 using several and the spacing is very very tight and may be as little as 3/32". It is about as close as Canon could get it,..and believe me they knew what they were doing. I noticed one other fact that has been common with all of the models and that is that when the top cover is opened and the carriage moves to allow ink replacement, the carriage height in normal print mode is much lower and as they move the carriage to the left the entire height is raised to the max and this is where the clearance is at the minimum. The only time any of us do this is when we are going to change ink or refill ink. So here is my proposal for this problem,... As soon as we open the top cover and the head has "JUST" move away from the park position,... PULL OUT THE POWER CORD---OR TURN THE POWER OFF VIA A POWER STRIP. This will allow the carriage to be moved by hand to the center and the ink can be refilled or replaced and then the cover can be closed and the power turned back on. I am not 100% sure but I believe that the carriage will be moved from side to side and tested for ink carts but I don't believe it will be raised to the max height. Once the initial diagnostics are done the printer will be back in full operation. I have tested the thin green plugs that I have used for years and they do clear the top cover but I don't want to trust that on a long term basis so I feel better knowing that I can keep the printer from raising the carriage to max height. I can test this by putting a dummy TAB on the cover switch and in this way I can leave the cover open to see everything that the printer does but the printer thinks the cover is closed.

I would also appreciate any comments from others that have used any kind of tape to seal the top filling hole. I would appreciate it if NO ONE WOULD ADD SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS ABOUT THE GERMAN METHOD at least with respect to what "I have posted". I'VE SEEN IT AND HEARD IT A HUNDRED TIMES AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT AGAIN.

 

[mikling]

Ingenious and determined I must say.

I am testing plugs that need no clearance but should be backed up with something like aluminum duct tape that has aggressive adhesive and will seal airtight. Removal requires a little something like a paperclip to pluck them out.

I am told that HP defined their printer ink business as challenging. I suspect similar things are said across at Canon. Expect more defensive actions from them down the road.

 

[Trigger 37]

Ok... I've tested my idea this morning and it works just as I expected. The only caution I would add is that before you plug the power back make sure the cover is closed. If it is not then the printer will re-position the carriage just as if you just opened the cover. I did the test by using a simple ice cream stick to press the "Cover" switch down. Since I could not reach my power strip at the same time I just pulled out the power cord. It turns out for the MX860 that you have plenty of time to pull the power cord or turn off a switch since the printer does several things before it moves the carriage towards the center.

Mike,..I purchased a set of plugs from Websnail (Octoinkjet)that have no cap and his instructions for removal are just the same as your post above. My only problem with them is that they are so tiny I think it will be VERY difficult to get them inserted,..especially if I'm wearing gloves. He also indicated that when you use a pin to extract them they tend to fly across the room and are lost forever. Does anyone have any history or detailed information about the aluminum tape and how it works. I think the key here would be getting sufficent surface area around the fill hole to make contact with the tape. I would think that wiping the top off with rubbing alcohol first and letting it dry would insure good contact. If tape works then it is MY best solution. I have also tried just replacing the ball and that works fine for one or two refills but you have to use the same THREADS each time or you ruin the ball.

 

[joseph1949]

To: Trigger 37

Per: post #47

You were looking for someone with experience with aluminum tape. You need to contact Rob (Administrator) on the thread refilling using squeeze bottles w/pics and video(new)and please read the following posts: #101, #115, #116, #116, and #120.

Trigger 37, I will be posting more information on aluminum tape in the near future.

Tomorrow I will post what I think will be the correct method in working with aluminum tape.

Thank you.

 

[joseph1949]

To: Trigger 37

As I promise in my last post here is my correct method when working with aluminum tape.

I will be describing a method(s) based on how I fill my carts. Here is information on my printer, carts, fill method, etc.:

1. PrinterPIXMA MX 870
2. CartsPGI-220BK, CLI-221C, CLI-221M, CLI-221Y, CLI-221BK
3. Fill methodTOP FILL
4. Plug materialHOT GLUE (of course, we will be using aluminum tape)
5. Fill holeJust to the right of the OEM ball seal fill hole

Note: Most of my fill holes are 5/32 in diameter. The correct size for the fill hole should be just a bit bigger than the diameter of the needle. The smaller the fill hole the less chance of leakage. Also, the OEM ball seal fill opening should be left alone. DO NOT REMOVE the OEM label cover that covers the ball seal. You can assume that ALL ball seals leak. The OEM cover helps with sealing the ball seal. Actually, the cover hides the fact that the ball seal leaksCanon is so sneaky!!!!!!!

The correct method:

If there is one overriding commandment in filling carts it is thisThou shalt not have leaks inside the printer. With this in mind here is a method for seeing if the aluminum tape will leak:

Take a flushed out cart and cover the air vent with electricians tape (you may use aluminum tape) and cover the ink outlet with a cap. Fill the cart with distilled water. Cover the fill hole with aluminum tape. If the OEM ball seal is uncovered you should cover the ball seal with the same aluminum tape. It would be best that the area around the fill hole is smooth and unmarked. If the area is scratched the tape will not give a good seal. You could use fine sand paper to smooth out the area around the fill holeyour call.

With the air vent still covered and the cap still on the ink outlet, turn the cart upside and wait for a few minutes. If you do not see water coming from the fill hole this is a good sign. If water is coming from the fill hole this is a very bad sign. You need to stop and rethink your position. We will assume that no watering is leaking from the fill hole.

The next step is to remove the tape covering the air vent and remove the cap from the ink outlet. Next, turn the cart upside down and wait for a few minutes. If there is no leakage you can proceed to the next step (see below).

Note: If you want to be super anal/super safe you could keep the cart in the upside down position (with/or without the air vent cover and the outlet cap) for an extended period of timemaybe for a day or two. Remember it is a thousand times better for the cart to leak outside the printer than inside the printer!!!!!!!!

NEXT STEP

Note: We can assume that the flushed cart/aluminum tape has passed the upside down leak test.

Remove a cart from the print head. The ink reservoir should be just empty or with a small amount of ink in the reservoir. Cover the air vent with tape and the ink outlet with a cap. Keeping the cart in the horizontal position (like it is in the print head) fill the cart with ink. The reservoir should be full. Next, cover the hole (and the ball seal if necessary) with aluminum tape. With the air vent covered and the cap on the outlet turn the cart upside down. If there is no leakage from the tape, remove the air vent tape and the outlet cap and turn the cart upside down. If there is no leakage, turn the cart upright and wait for five minutes. The purpose for this is to make sure that the ink will not leak form the outlet.

Assuming there is no leakage from the outlet place the cart in the print head. The next step is the most important. You will need to baby sit the cart until it is time to refill the cart. I would check on the aluminum tape at least once per day. If there is no leakage (at least for the period of time between fills) you can assume that the tape will not leak. Nevertheless I would check the aluminum tape on an ongoing basis.

Caution: If you decide to peel back the tape and refill the cart and place the tape back over the hole, I would pay special attention to the tape in regards to see if the tape was leaking. You may want to remove the tape, clean the residue with alcohol, wait for the alcohol to dry, and place a new piece of tape over the hole.

Please inform me in the future how the aluminum tape is working for you.

Thank you.

 

[mrelmo]

if you go to this thread http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5004&p=6 #48 you will see a photo of the plugs that i have trimmed flush,without any tape this is something that works for me and i have been quite satisfied, the only additional thing i now do that i never did before was to cover the maze vent when filling this helps to keep the sponge from getting over saturated, thanks to mike for that step, i know i am repeating myself i only added this post for the new people who may not have researched the many previous postings. what color are your fingers LOL