ATLANTEK 200 Operator's Manual

Thermal response test system

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OPERATORS MANUAL FOR

MODEL 200

THERMAL RESPONSE TEST SYSTEM

Revised March 14, 2003

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Summary of Contents for ATLANTEK 200

Page 1 OPERATORS MANUAL FOR MODEL 200 THERMAL RESPONSE TEST SYSTEM Revised March 14, 2003...
Page 2: System Overview
SYSTEM OVERVIEW The ATLANTEK Model 200 thermal response test system is designed to provide thermal response vs. print density for imaging on direct thermal or thermal transfer media. This system is based on a special purpose ATLANTEK controller board which drives a standard thermal printhead and a programmable stepping drive controller.
Page 3: Print Mechanism
PRINT MECHANISM The print mechanism provides the capability to interchange printheads industry standard, 8 dot/mm printheads which have been selected by ATLANTEK in order to provide a good representative cross section of competing thermal printheads. This will allow the printhead itself to be treated as a control variable for evaluation purposes.
Page 4 PLOTTING Plots of the test results may be obtained through the use of the optional "TECH-GRAPH-PAD" software. TECH-GRAPH-PAD is a powerful menu-driven software package whose features include the following: - Plotting single or multiple data files - Support for various types of hard copy devices Printers, Laser Printers, Pen Plotters - User defined labels and comments - Automatic or Manual scaling...
Page 5: General Specifications
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS PRINT MECHANISM MAX. MEDIA SPEED........125 mm/sec. MINIMUM STEP INCREMENT....0.0625 mm PRINTHEAD RESOLUTION......8 dots/mm TEST PRINTHEADS SUPPORTED.....Kyocera 8" Model KST-216-8MPD1 Kyocera 8" Model KJT-216-8MGF1 Rohm 8" Model KF2008-B1 Rohm 8" Model KE2008-C2 Ricoh 8" Model SH216-08FSH41 Ricoh 8" Model EH216-08FS41 Gulton 4"...
Page 6: Applied Voltage
TEST PATTERN DESCRIPTIONS: Within the Model 200 there are several operator selectable test patterns that may be chosen to run for a desired test session. Test patterns that are included within the standard system configuration are a Checkerboard pattern and a Walking One pattern. Other supported test patterns include a Self-Generating Barcode module and a Pixel On/Off pattern.
Page 7 RTEST.exe application file. Sample .PCX files are provided, 640.pcx is a sample image file that can be printed on a Model 200 equipped with the KST- 48 printhead, TP1.pcx is a sample image file capable of being printed using the KST-216 printhead. The .PCX...
Page 8: Installation
INSTALLATION THE ATLANTEK THERMAL RESPONSE TEST SYSTEM is interconnected to the computer as follows: 1. Connect power cable to back of test controller and plug into standard 110 volt wall socket. 2. Connect the printer cable to the female 25 pin "D" style connector LPT1.
Page 9: Loading The Media
POWERING UP THE TEST SYSTEM Before applying power the voltage adjustment knob on the front panel of the printer should be turned fully counter-clockwise. This ensures that the applied voltage is below the maximum value recommended for the printhead. NOTE: If the voltage adjustment knob is positioned near maximum, the over-voltage protector may shut the printhead power supply off.
Page 10 LOADING THE THERMAL TRANSFER RIBBON The test system mechanism is designed to accept a variety of thermal transfer ribbons. The ribbon should always be center justified with respect to the printhead. The ribbon should be oriented such that the side carrying the ink faces down as it passes between the printhead and platen roller.
Page 11: Changing Printheads
TEST CONTROLLER FRONT PANEL CONTROLS There are four controls on the front panel of the test controller. Each is described as follows: 1. RESET - Performs a microprocessor hardware reset. This button is used to perform re-synchronization of the test controller and the computer. 2.
Page 12: Test System Operation
The printhead should first be electrically disconnected from the printer by removing the printhead interface and printhead power connectors on the left side panel of the mechanism. Release printhead pressure by rotating the head lift cam shaft to the up position. Remove the screw in the hole at the front of the printhead swivel block.
Page 13 F7 - INVOKE PLOT UTILITY - Executes the TECH-GRAPH-PAD program to allow the generation of dynamic sensitivity curves without terminating the MODEL 200 operating system software. F8 - CONFIGURE TEST SYSTEM - Enables/disables the SAMPLE mode option. When in SAMPLE mode, the test sessions are not saved in a file therefore the operator is not prompted for a file name.
Page 14: Using Function Keys
SAMPLE OF THE TEST MENU TEST MENU Head Type: Rohm2 File Name: TEST1 Printhead Set Temperature: 35 Image Width: Full Choose from: current values F1 - Reset to default values F2 - Pattern type F3 - Dot pulse Duration (Ton) Seq up to 0.50 msec F4 - Cycle Time (Tcycle) 5.0 ms...
Page 15 PLOT Utility) option from the MAIN MENU or the Tech-Graph-Pad program can be used from outside the MODEL 200 operating environment. TECH-GRAPH-PAD is started from DOS by entering "TGP" followed by a carriage return. Once started, an entry screen is displayed, and the Main Menu appears.
Page 16 REDUCED WIDTH PRINTING For test conditions where higher print speeds are required the MODEL 200 dynamically adjusts amount of data printed across the printhead. This adjustment is necessary due to the effects of having multiple strobes energized simultaneously and the percentage of dots loaded during one dot line.
Page 17 PRINTHEAD PARAMETERS Average resistance values of printheads supplied with system serial number ______________ MANUFACTURER MODEL Kyocera 8" Model KST-216-8MPD1 Kyocera 8" Model KJT-216-8MGF1 Ricoh 8" Model SH216-08FSH41 Ricoh 8" Model EH216-08FS41 Rohm 8" Model KF2008-B1 Rohm 8" Model KE2008-C2...
Page 18 APPENDIX A DIAGRAM FOR LOADING PAPER AND RIBBON...
Page 19: Test Samples
APPENDIX B TEST SAMPLES...
Page 20 APPENDIX C MAXIMUM OPERATING CONDITIONS GRAPH FOR KYOCERA KST-216-8MPD1 THERMAL PRINT HEAD EXAMPLE For a test with the following conditions: Ton=Sequence up to .5 milliseconds Tcycle=5.0 milliseconds Ton/Tcycle=.5/5.0=10% From the graph, the maximum allowed power level is the point read on the Y axis where 10% on the X axis meets the Ton curve for .5 milliseconds.
Page 21 APPENDIX D MAXIMUM OPERATING CONDITIONS FOR ROHM KF2008-B1 THERMAL PRINT HEAD The following are constants given by ROHM for this style of printhead: Maximum allowed applied power Po max = 0.82 watts/dot Maximum allowed applied voltage Vset max = 26.4 volts Resistance of internal power bus Rcom = 0.13 ohms Resistance of internal drivers...
Page 22 APPENDIX E NOMINAL PRINTHEAD VOLTAGES KYOCERA KST-216-8MPD1 The following is a table of recommended nominal printhead voltages for various resistances of the standard KYOCERA KST-216-8MPD1 printhead. Printhead KYOCERA Model KST-216-8MPD1 Tcycle 5.0 msec 0.5 msec Aprox. temp 25 C Impressed Power 0.70 w/dot Ravg Nominal Voltage...