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| Its always good to be self sufficient and with network cables this is doubly so. If you are a technician and you are doing networking its a good idea to make network cables. With cables costing as much as $30 a pop, its cheaper to buy a spool of cable and the end connectors as well as the crimper and go to town. Management can always charge for the service and you, my dear tech look absolutely brilliant. One thing to keep in mind when making network cables is you don't have to strip the actual wires inside. Most instructions say this but if you are someone like me who doesn't know their own strength you can actually rip the wire inside the cable and not know it. Your best bet when making cables is to strip the of the outer cover, seperate out the cables, organize them by apropriate color order, cut them with the crimping tool then apply the end connect and crimp. Remember your instructions even the ones here say strip. Stripping isn't neccessary. When you crimp, the end connect will cut right into the wires and make the connection. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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( 2.5 / 39 )Now lets talk about assembling copiers. Copiers are the easiest things in the world to assemble if you have a good bit of mechanical aptitude, like to solve jigsaw puzzles and read the instructions. Remember before you do anything talk to your manager find out what copier you need to assemble and what options are included... For example you might need to setup a copier that does 30 page a minute with a document feeder and a finisher with fax card installed as well as a print/scan card. So before you do anything get the details on what you are going to be assembling. There is usually an assembly guide in the package but on the off-chance there isn't then you can usually download one from the manufacturers service site or in some cases, you find this in the manual. Use the assembly guide to walk you through the process, experience and inexperienced tech alike should use the guide. That said and done your next step is to assemble all the components, the copier and all the optional parts. Now that you have everything assembled, its time to write down the part name, part description and serial number. This will spare you a lot of headaches later on. After doing that, I usually take a quick bathroom break to wash my hands and clean up a bit. Depending on the shop, you could get very dirty and some copiers are colored cream to white so dirty hands might actually work against you. That done... Your next step is to unpack. I usually take apart the boxes containing the copier frame and the box that contains the stand. At this point, I usually need the help of a second tech to set the copier on its stand. After which, I bolt down the copier frame to the stand if that is possible. I then install the document feeder. At this point, I remove all tape and test the copier. Why? Why not just keep going...??? You need to verify that the main body works before you start adding stuff to it. Attachments such as finishers and document feeders and such are nice but if you assemble everything all at once without testing the main frame then when you test at the end you really won't know where the problem is if there is a problem. Or it may take you quite a bit longer to find it... After verifying that the trays work, the copier can do all its functions, I then add all the options that are specified. Keep in mind, each option has an assembly guide that you need to walk through. I test again and verify that all is ok. If not then I troubleshoot until it is ok. Once all is well, then I update the firmware to the latest and greatest, set the dates, add in any settings that the customer requested, give the copier a good cleaning and then send my manager an email. Two things to note 1) a copier can ship with a defective drum or board or other part and 2) there are times when copier does not assemble as expected. Don't depend on these points because these failures are rare and far between. Test and double test and triple test before you fall back to these points. The issue may not be the copier but your lack of experience or experience assembling the copier the wrong way.
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( 2.9 / 71 )As a service Technician for copiers its always a good idea to have a toolkit. Firstly, it keeps your boss from wondering what the heck you are doing in his office without a toolkit and two it makes you look proffessional. Notice, I did not say it would help you to do your job better. This is becuase you don't need a full toolkit to do a great job just a few basic things. I am going to go into those but for now lets talk about your tools...
Your first step is to go to the store. For me that means a trip to walmart and home depot. You need tools that will enable you to open your machine and move things about. You will need a full set of screw drivers. There needs to be flatheads and Phillips in your kit. These are for screws. If they are magnetic then thats the best becuase if a screw falls then you can use your screw driver to get into a tight place and pick them up without having to take apart the whole machine or pull a screw from somewhere else. Flathead will help with areas that plastic is locked into metal holes or grips. On some occasions you actually use them to remove screws but phillips is usually the item of choice. You will also need various plyers... needle nose and otherwise. If you have a needle nose you can do most anything you need to... The very next thing that you will need is a spring hook. Spring hooks are useful when working with what else springs. You will also need a flat metallic 6 inch ruler. These are very useful for the odd paperjam. Every once in a while you will have a copier that makes noise... its good to have some form of high temperature grease or high temperature lubricant available. Its always good to have multimeter. You will rarely use it. But on the offchance you do... it will be to check continuity... In essence this is a test to see if a wire has a break in it. You might also use it to check point voltages... These are the voltage that you are sopposed have at certain points in your circuit. Voltages at these points will be displayed in a schematic. In most cases you will not go that deep but there are situations. Its also good to get a cheap phone. The purpose of the phone is to test the fax. Sometimes you will need to listen to the phone signal for static or see if there is a signal. This will help you to determine of the fax card is bad. If you are doing networking then most people will say get a cat 5 and cat 6 crossover cable... if you dont want to get involved with that... just get a switch and three regular cat 5 cables... if there is a need get three cat 6 cables... if you are the handy type you can just make the cables... The reason for the switch, it allows you to interfaced the copier with your laptop with a minimum of fuss... thats the next thing.. you need a loptop if you are doing networking... the laptop will help you with various issues such as testing advanced scanning and advanced printing issues... If you get seriously into networking then you will need a program called wireshark... it will help you to see what is actually going on in your customers network when the copier engages it.
Now that you know what you need lets break it down for what you need when you get good...
A good tech will mostly carry 1 long magnetic phillips screw driver, a pair of plyers and a cell phone... and ofcourse some form of lubricant for the copier... get your mind out of the gutter... The screw driver is for the machine... the plyers is if something unusual happens and the phone is to keep in touch with the office... This is presopposing the tech knows the machine inside out...
A network tech needs 1 long magnetic phillips screw driver, a pair of plyers, a cell phone, a laptop, a switch, 6 cables... three cat5 and three cat6... a spool of both kinds of cables and a good grasp of the network configurations of the copier
Many shops will give you a good supply of trunk stock to clear up minor issues but if they don't you are still expected to do a good job and you can becuase most errors with a copier do not require the use of parts... just a good cleaning... which means you need to have some rubbing alcohol available and paper towels...
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( 2.4 / 50 )Copy machines were created to make life easier for the office worker. Most copy machines can make copies and print jobs from a computer. It is rather simple to network, troubleshoot and repair them but most individuals don't have the time or the specialized training that is needed. I have always wanted to do copy repair and have not been able to get into the field. After a long time, I some how stumbled into it. Copy repair can be broken down into several categories: training, cleaning, jams, break/fix, network issues, copier limitations and customer adjustment.
When dealing with customers always remember that they may not know as much as you do about the copier. Lets set the stage. You walk into a customers office and they are unable to make doublesided copies. The customer is already frustrated from not being able to fix the issue and all you have to do is solve it. Many copier companies have staff that specialize in training so you may not be required but its always good to be the goto person. You become the goto person by taking the time to read the users guide. Even if its available to the customer, they rarely use it. If you know the users guide or at the least, you are familiar with every aspect of the copier then you should be able to take care of the more common features. If, for example, a customer states they need to do a specialized function that you have no familiarity with you have a choice (1) You can tell them that you are going to research it and get back to them or (2) You can tell the customer that this is an advanced feature which requires a different individual to help out with the issue and you will set an appointment for them... If they are really insistent then you might need to get some assistance via a teleconference and make it happen. I generally just made it happen by contacting whoever I needed to contact. If I was unable to resolve the issue then I would get a contact person at the customers office and get back to them with a solution in a timely fashion. Training isn't hard it just takes time to learn the material.
Another common issue with copiers is cleaning. You know that your copier needs cleaning becuase you are at the customer's site. What do I mean? Exactly what I said... Always clean the copier. If you clean the outside of the copier, the customer will swear you did a good job even if you did nothing. The cosmetic cleaning aside, it is always best to clean the copier, the paper path, anything thats a mirror or glass or even plastic that is a part of the copy process. In many cases, paper dust can cause the copier to perform significantly below its optimum state. Dust can clog filters which causes the copier to overheat this can lead some copiers to work more slowly or make erroneous copies. Dust can also cause components that affect image quality such as transfer rollers make a lighter image. Dust can also interfere with transfer chargers by causing them to fail or leave marks on the copy. In the case of the drum, dust can cause spots on the drum that become permanent.
Our next issue is paper jams. If something else is jamming in your copier then you have a serious problem. Enough jokes, lets get back to the discussion at hand. Paper Jams can be generated by a variety of issues. Lets explore a few reasons for paper jams. Paper jams can be caused by unsecured guides. If you open the paper drawer and the paper is loose then more than likely this will cause a jam. You rememdy by getting the guides very tight to the paper. If you are unable to do this by just casual adjustment then you may have to bolt down the guides in place. Another reason for paper jams is a roller that has been worn down. You can usually tell a roller has been worn down when the paper does not take up right away. The paper is trying to grip but its taking forever to do it. If you are into magyverisms then pull the roller off the machine and cut little grooves across it making the roller look like a gear. You can also clean the roller with rubbing alcohol till its dry this returns the stickiness in many cases. Even a household cleaner will do in many cases just so its dry before you put it in the copier. Copiers and liquids do not mix. Jams can also get generated by lose staples in the paper path or torn paper. You can usually detect these jams by seeing where the paper stops and then clearing the issue.
Keeping in mind that I am not going in order, the next issue is copier adjustment. In many cases with the copier alignment will need to be adjusted. Either it wasn't adjusted to begin with or the adjustment was lost due to power outage or vibrations from use. In adjustements we are usually talking color calibration or paper alignment. If the colors aren't right then you need to calibrate your colors first. If your paper alignment is off then you need to check your trays first and then after ruling out user error then proceed to do the internal machine adjustments. Remember bring the machine back to the adjustment specifications before taking it beyond. If you try to go beyond the margins specified before bringing it up to specification then you might overlook an issue that will cause another issue.
Copier limitations is a very important topic. In many cases a customer will want a copier to print to the very edge or will want a copier to do multiple things at the same time or move faster than it was built to. As a technician, it is your responsibility to explain this to the customer. The customer may not like it but you cannot take the copier beyond its specifications. In some cases your manager will agree that this needs to be done. In such cases, you will either be shown or you will need to figure it out. Explain to the customer and your manager that this might cause an extra service call in the long run and then if your manager does not budge do the adjustment.
Break/Fix is very far down on this list because it is not always an issue. In many cases, a break can be worked around. Here is an example. Lets say a custommer breaks a paper tray... You can usually disable the tray by emptying it. If the customer breaks the ethernet port on the printer card for the copier, there is usually a usb port on the printer card which means you can either setup a usb printer server or setup a shared printer on the nearest pc via usb. There are also a variety of issues that a well placed paperclip, bonding agent or a scissors can come in handy. If you come to the off chance when you do need to replace something make sure to diagnose it as deep as possible. This means don't tell your manager we need to replace an assembly. You need to be able to explain to him what broke and why. When making the purchase the part may be sold as part of an assembly or if a used assembly is on you might be able to scrounge it...
The last issue is the network. In many cases, customers lack a proper network department and you become the impromptu network guy. They may have scanning either of email, or ftp or smb or to folder and it stops working. You might need to troubleshoot the issue. The easiest way to troubleshoot a network issue is begin with knowing the problem. If the customer is saying that they have lost connectivity to the copier check the cables if the cables are ok... check where they are plugged in. check that everything is on. Check that the network is live. Check that the customer hasn't changed everything from static to dynamic. Check that the IP, SUBNET, AND GATEWAY of the copier is working... Ping the copier from a pc... If working with scanning know the basic principles of smb, folder scanning and ftp. This way you can test from the command line if ftp or smtp is working and then if they are not then fix them. In other words verify everything else works before even messing with the copier.
Its a long article but if you are a copier technician or field engineer you will glean some nuggets of wisdom. Copiers are not difficult to fix. You need to listen to them. You need to get a feel for your machines. Once you get a feel for your machines then you will know what to do about the various issues. After a certain point, you see the same things over and over. Every now and again, you might see something really new but when you are experienced that wont be too often. Just keep an accurate record, try everything, contact your tech support when you need them and keep track of your expenses. If you can do that then you will be ok...
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( 2.9 / 43 )
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