Heidelberg Windmill Side Lay Problem
Hello, all!
I just purchased my second Windmill, and ran a super tight registration job on it last week. The job went well (I had enough overs to deliver, with samples), BUT every ten press sheets would be out of register.
Once the job was delivered and I could relax a little, I did some troubleshooting. What I noticed is this:
The press sheet (every 10 or so, so not every single one or even every other one) gets delivered too soon (or the sidelay comes up too early?), gets hit by the sidelay, and pushed about 1/16” inch towards the flywheel side.
Registration from top to bottom is excellent and always exact.
From observation, it SEEMS like the gripper is occasionally grabbing too much of the sheet every 10 times. Is that even possible? I would expect to see an EVERY OTHER concern if it were an issue with a gripper, or EVERY SINGLE TIME if it were the side lay.
I’m really stumped! Do you have any advice on what to do or what this might be? I can run more tests today!
Thank you!
Debra
keep an eye on what feed pile height is doing. sounds like pile height is varying too much, causing diff gripper depth on the sheet.
other thing to look at is the rear sheet tension. don’t want to have too tight or too loose.
Side plates set correct? is the tail of the sheet hitting top of sheet guide instead of gliding over it.
Interesting. So maybe I can get the feed pile to be more consistent to resolve this?
Try resetting pie height adjustment for type of stock. Look for the sweet spot between heavy cardboard and normal paper. Also “flying Dutchman” may help.
Its true that the stock was set for NORMAL PAPER on the bottom adjustment and I was running 220#…although it happened on thinner paper, too, when I was running tests yesterday (~90# text weight).
I’ll look into Flying Dutchman!
keep an eye on what feed pile height is doing. sounds like pile height is varying too much, causing diff gripper depth on the sheet.
other thing to look at is the rear sheet tension. don’t want to have too tight or too loose.
Side plates set correct? is the tail of the sheet hitting top of sheet guide instead of gliding over it.
I wanted to update everyone, and in case someone happens upon this because they’ve got the same problem.
My side lay gauge was brand new. Possibly aftermarket. It was too high. We filed it down on the top and sides, and the problem is fixed!