Group 26 - Compaq Printer

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Latest revision as of 18:45, 17 March 2009

Executive Summary

Our group project was the Compaq IJ600 color printer. We were assigned to disassemble, analyze, and reassemble the printer and all its respective components. Using the information we obtained from this entire process, our task was to implement some design enhancements and possible improvements to the printer. We meticulously recorded every piece that was removed and documented the few tools that were used. The product was an inkjet printer that was relatively easy to disassemble, though we ran into some problems.

Introduction

The product our group was tasked with disassembling was a simple desktop printer. The Compaq IJ 600 is single function inkjet printer. The intended use was for common household medium to low volume printing. The IJ 600 can print in both color and black ink due to separate cartridges. The Compaq IJ 600 has a 100-sheet paper tray for storing paper for print jobs. It can be connected to the computer via a Parallel port or a USB B-type connection.

Work for the project was divided evenly among group members.

Group Leader- Sameer Parikh

Disassembly/Assembly Team- Kevin King, Casey Jacobs

Presentation/Wiki Team- Chris Martensen, Sameer Parikh, Johnnie Pacifico, Casey Jacobs

Presenters- Kevin King, Johnnie Pacifico

CAD Drawing- Kevin King

Group Members

Sameer Parikh

Kevin King

Casey Jacobs

Chris Martensen

Johnnie Pacifico

Before Disassembly

The Compaq Model IJ600 printer was in fairly good condition when we received it. The top casing had a broken knob on one end, but didn’t have a substantial effect on the printer’s appearance or the operation of the casing. It was a little dirty, but that was expected considering how long ago the printer was made. When we opened it up, it looked as if the dissection would be difficult. However upon further examination, the weird shapes of the parts created the illusion that there were more components than there actually were. There ended up being more screws than anything else. All in all, the printer consisted of about 25 to 30 screws and about 20 actual parts. It seems there are only three or four different types of materials used. The metal brace located inside towards the back was aluminum. The paper rollers and some screws seemed to be manufactured out of steel. Other screws, which varied in color, could have been made out of bronze. A belt that was part of the ink cartridge moving system was made out of rubber. The rest of the components, including the casing, trays, ink cartridges, ink cartridge holder, gears, and other little minor components were made out of plastic.

Although the printer did not function when we received it due to the missing power cord, it was easy to see how the printer would work when we removed the top casing. First, the printer’s circuit boards receive information from the computer about the image or text to be printer. The circuit boards then distribute information to the appropriate motors, gears, and the ink cartridges. The first action is the translation from electrical energy to mechanical energy by the first of two paper rollers. When it is time to print, the first roller catches the paper from the top loading section and pushes it through to the second roller. The second roller then grabs the paper and pushes it through underneath the ink cartridges in spurts. Simultaneously, the ink cartridges and the motors moving them process the information about the image to be printed. The motors move the ink cartridges back and forth as they expend little droplets of ink on the page in order to create the desired image. When a line of certain width has the correct ink pattern and density, the motor connected to the roller moves the paper just enough so that the ink cartridges can start printing the next line. This process continues until the entire image is correctly mirrored on the paper. Finally, the roller pushes the finished document out to the tray in the front of the printer.

Disassembly

Disassembly Process Table

Step	Process	Tool Used	Difficulty
1	Unscrew four screws in top casing	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
2	Remove the top case	By Hand	Easy
3	Unscrewed the two screws that held in the metal brace in order to easily remove its’ individual parts	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Moderate(awkward positioning)
4	Removed three screws which detached the circuit board and the two motors	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
5	Removed three screws which detached a motor soldered to a smaller metal brace along with another motor	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Moderately Easy
6	Popped out metal roller that held a gear which moved gears on the opposite side of the metal brace	By Hand	Easy
7	Slid a spring off the end of it	By Hand	Easy
8	Removed plastic holding which contained the second circuit board by popping it over rubber belt	By Hand	Moderately Easy
9	The ink cartridges popped right out	By Hand	Moderately Hard
10	With the removal of two screws the circuit board came off of the plastic holding	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
11	Unscrewed two screws to remove two circular-shaped pieces of metal that the metal roller passed through	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
12	Removed two tiny metal clips which allowed the metal rod to be pulled out	By Hand	Moderate
13	Removed the four page rollers which were located on the underside of the metal brace by detaching their springs which were latched onto a hook in the brace	By Hand	Moderately Easy
14	Detached plastic paper roller	By Hand	Easy
15	Slid off spring	By Hand	Easy
16	Slid off another plastic roller	By Hand	Easy
17	Pulled off first gear attached to plastic paper roller	By Hand	Easy
18	Unscrewed three screws holding gears	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
19	Pulled off gears	By Hand	Easy
20	Unscrewed two screws	Flat head Screwdriver	Easy
21	Pulled off plastic bridge holding second paper roller	by Hand	Moderate
22	Pulled out paper roller	By Hand	Easy
23	Slid out plastic cartridge support	By Hand	Easy

After Disassembly

The CAD files can be downloaded here.

Part Table

Part #	Part Name	Quantity	Material and Reason for Choice of Material	Function	Manufacturing Process
1	Cover Screws	4	Steel	Holds the cover in place so that the parts inside can work in order	Machined
2	Clips	4	Plastic	Lets the paper flow easier from the start to the end.	Machined
3	Ink Cartridge Holder	1	Plastic	To hold the cartridge in place.	Molded then Machined, and placed by hand
4	Top Roller	1	Plastic and metal for springs	Moves the paper from tray towards the ink cartridge	Injection Molded
5	Pulling paper axed	1	Metal and rubber	Rolls with the help of the motor and brings the paper out with ease.	Injection Molded
6	Motherboard	1	Computer material	Takes information from the printer and prints off onto a paper.	Injection Molded, Machined
7	Gear Head	1	Metal and plastic	Turns all the rollers via a motor	Machined and Hand Processed
8	Motor	2	Metal	Runs off power cord to run the rollers and gear head	Injection Molded
9	Cartridge Holder	1	Plastic	Holds the cartridges in place, internally	Hand Processed
10	Cartridge Belt	1	Rubber	Helps move the ink cartridge back and forth.	Hand Processed
11	Back Internal Case	1	Metal	Holds the motherboard rollers and other components in place.	Injection Molded
12	Top Case	1	Plastic	Secures the ink cartridges and other components.	Machine Processed

CAD Drawings

Motor.

Gear 1

Gear 2

Gear 3

Pulling Paper Axel

CAD Animation

Reassembly

Reassembly Process Table

Step	Process	Tool Used	Difficulty
1	Slid on plastic cartridge support	By Hand	Easy
2	Put in paper roller	By Hand	Easy
3	Put on plastic bridge holding second paper roller	By Hand	Moderate
4	Screwed in two screws	Flat head Screwdriver	Easy
5	Put on gears	By Hand	Easy
6	Screwed in three screws holding gears	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
7	Put on first gear attached to plastic paper roller	By Hand	Easy
8	Slid on another plastic roller	By Hand	Easy
9	Slid on spring	By Hand	Easy
10	Attached plastic paper roller	By Hand	Easy
11	Attached the four page rollers which were located on the underside of the metal brace by attaching their springs which were latched onto a hook in the brace	By Hand	Moderately Easy
12	Put on two tiny metal clips which allowed the metal rod to be put back on	By Hand	Moderate
13	Screwed on two screws to attach two circular-shaped pieces of metal that the metal roller passed through	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
14	With the screwing in of two screws the circuit board came off of the plastic holding	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy
15	The ink cartridges popped back in	By Hand	Moderately Hard
16	Attached plastic holding which contained the second circuit board by popping it back on rubber belt	By Hand	Moderately Easy
17	Slid a spring on the end of it	By Hand	Easy
18	Popped on metal roller that held a gear which moves gears on the opposite side of the metal brace	By Hand	Easy
19	Screwed in three screws which detached a motor soldered to a smaller metal brace along with another motor	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Moderately Easy
20	Screwed in three screws which attached the circuit board and the two motors	Philips-head Screwdriver	Easy
21	Screwed in the two screws that hold in the metal brace	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Moderate(awkward positioning)
22	Place top case on	By Hand	Easy
23	Screwed in four screws	Phillips-head Screwdriver	Easy

After Reassembly

Since we were not given a power cord, we could not test whether the printer worked initially or after reassembly. The product was designed very well for its purpose. However, we still came up with a few improvements that could be made to the printer. For starters, there were many different types of screws. If they were all the same type of screw, assembly and disassembly would be easier and would only require one tool instead of several screw drivers. Second, it seemed like there was a lot of unnecessary space that wasn’t utilized by parts or components. Minimizing space would make for less material needed, and the product would also be smaller in size and not as bulky. A third improvement would be to implement automatic reverse side printing to be able to print double sided pages and save paper. Our last improvement we considered was to change from ink jet printing to laser jet printing. Ink jet is cheaper initially, but laser jet printing is faster, cheaper in the long run, and prints better quality. Overall, the task of creating a simple, cheap, household printer was accomplished by Compaq.

References

Amazon.com "Compaq IJ600 Color Inkjet Printer". Retrieved December 1,2008, from Compaq IJ600