Before Any Maintenance Procedure – UNPLUG THE MACHINE
When tape jams under the Cutting Shear remove the Upper Tape Plate and see if you can pull the tape back out from under the Upper Feed Wheel. Lift up the Top Heater and remove any tape in the area under the Top Heater.
In more difficult cases, unplug the tape machine. Remove the Water Bottle and Water Tank. Look inside the tape machine and remove any tape is lodged in there. With the Water Tank removed you can also lift the Cutting Shear to remove any tape under the shear. Note that the Upper Shear is attached to a Yoke Assembly by a threaded rod and nut. You can push the Yoke Assembly up with your hand and remove any tape that is stuck under the Upper Cutting Shear.
Helpful Hint: Make sure there are no very small pieces of tape left around the shear. Also make sure that there is no small pieces of tape still under the Upper Shear. The Upper Shear should come down level with the Shear Oiler in it’s down position. If the Upper Shear is stuck up higher, a piece of tape is still “lurking” around the Upper Shear.
Tape Jams are most often caused by:
Worn, Dirty Moistening Brushes
Cutting Shears Out of Adjustment/Worn Cutting Shears
Bent Upper Tape Plate
Bent Lower Tape Plate
1. Worn Moistening Brushes
As Moistening Brushes get older the bristles tend to flatten out. That allows the lower Top Heater Plate and the Lower Tape Plate to come together. This restricts the tape and you will see tape jam under the Upper Shear.
Quick Test: Lift the Top Heater up slightly with your finger. Dispense several tape strips. If the problem stops then the Moistening Brushes are usually the cause of tape jams. Try soaking the moisteningbrushes in warm soapy water. Clean of as mush of the old glue as possible and see if that stops the tape jamming. If you still get tape jams, replace the Moistening Brushes.
2. Cutting Shears Out of Adjustment/Worn<
Every tape piece should have a clean cut edge. If the Cutting Shears are worn, or out of adjustment, or have a glue build up, you will get a poor cut and this will cause frequent tape jams. If you see that your tape edge is bent or has a jagged edge tape jams are caused by the shears not cutting correctly.
Shear Adjustment
You can’t adjust the Upper Shear, but you can adjust the Lower Shear. On the right side frame of the tape machine there is an adjustment screw that will change the angle of the Lower Shear. This screw is located about 1″ above the Heater Socket on the left machine frame. Slightly loosen the screw and tap it all the way up. Re-tighten the screw and check the tape cut. If the tape edge is clean cut the Lower Shear was out of adjustment.
CAUTION Do not loosen the screw too much or you may not be able to re-tighten it easily. If this happens you may have to remove the Upper and Lower Shear to hold the nut on the inside frame.
Cleaning Upper Shear
You should regularly apply light machine oil to the Felt Oiler Pad located just behind the Upper Shear.
This minimizes glue from building up on the Upper Shear.
To check and/or clean the Upper Shear quickly:
- Unplug tape machine
- Remove Water Bottle and Water Tank
- Lift the Upper Shear up with your hand by pushing up the Yoke Assembly.
- If glue is built up on either the front or back of shear scrape off the glue with a single edge razor.
If the Shears are not out of adjustment and are free of glue build up and you are still getting a poor tape cut, you will need to replace the Shears. To learn more about replacing the shears, see our section How To Replace Shear Kit.
3. Bent Upper Tape Plate
On occasion the Upper Tape Plate will bend. The Upper Tape Plate is the plate located around the Upper Feed Wheel. If it is bent (or even missing) tape jams will occur. The Upper Tape Plate should be flat and slide in and out easily with absolutely no resistance. If you have to pull it out and use any pressure to slide it in this will pinch the tape and cause tape jams and poor tape feed. A quick fix is to try to bend the plate so that is slides in and out easily.Then, order a new Upper Tape Plate.
4. Bent Lower Tape Plate
The Lower Tape Plate is the plate that the tape runs travels over. Part of the Lower Tape plate is located just behind the Moistening Brushes. You can see the lip of the Lower Tape Plate when you lift up the Top Heater. The Moistening Brushes should be about 1/4″ higher then the Lower Tape Plate.
Old or worn moistening brushes may be even with the lip of the Lower Tape Plate. If the Moistening Brushes are even with the Lower Tape Plate, clean or replace the Moistening Brushes.
After installing new Moistening Brushes you may have to adjust the height of the Lower Tape Plate if it has bent down over time. This is simple and easy.
With a pair of pliers, gently grab and lift up along the entire lip of the Lower Tape Plate. This will angle the lip higher so that the new Moistening Brushes have that approximate 1/4″ height advantage.
Helpful Hint: Make sure you clean glue build up of the lower tape plate from time to time. Foamy bathroom type cleaner works well. For heavy glue deposits use steel wool or a single edge razor.
If you have any questions regarding these – or any other – maintenance procedures, please call us at 1 (800) 899-9389.
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13093 Old Ridge Road
Beaverdam, VA 23015
