# Pumps in inkjet printers



## Kludge (Sep 4, 2008)

Would anyone happen to know what they're for?

I recently dismantled one each Canon and Epson printer (with an HP waiting) and now have a total of three parastaltic pumps that don't seem to have had any real purpose in life. (Parastaltic pumps are the kind used in heart-lung machines etc. They are most definitely positive displacement and can develop some decent pressure if asked nicely.) These are cute little critters but I have no clue why they were there. Any thoughts?

BEst regards,

Kludge


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## ksouers (Sep 4, 2008)

Well, an inkjet is just that. A jet of ink. It spits blobs of ink at the paper.
I've never taken one apart, though I have one waiting for me to do so.

I would suspect the pumps are there to develop enough pressure for the printhead to spit ink.

Does it look like it has a recirculating loop? Kinda like a closed-loop hydraulic system? Don't know if it means anything, I'm just curious.


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

ksouers  said:
			
		

> Well, an inkjet is just that. A jet of ink. It spits blobs of ink at the paper.
> I've never taken one apart, though I have one waiting for me to do so.
> 
> I would suspect the pumps are there to develop enough pressure for the printhead to spit ink.



That's pretty much handled in the head. I didn't see a way for the ink cartridges to be pressurized but this is a real possibility. It looked like tubing came from a connection at the head's park position then through the pump to a pad under the rear of the printer. Or vice versa. I didn't pay a lot of attention while I was taking it apart.



> Does it look like it has a recirculating loop? Kinda like a closed-loop hydraulic system? Don't know if it means anything, I'm just curious.



Nope, definitely open loop. All the tubing is clear & clean so it could be used for air pressure.  I really have no clue what it's for.

Best regards,

Kludge


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## Twinsquirrel (Sep 5, 2008)

Hi kludge,

Just a theory but do the pumps connect to a "platter" that could be raised to form a seal with the print head? If so it is likely that they are there to create a partial vacuum during a cleaning cycle to pull ink through the head.

*Edit*: it could also be there to prime the head after a cartridge change if the cartridge is the type without the head built in.



> Well, an inkjet is just that. A jet of ink. It spits blobs of ink at the paper.
> I've never taken one apart, though I have one waiting for me to do so.
> 
> I would suspect the pumps are there to develop enough pressure for the printhead to spit ink.
> ...



The print head has a matrix of VERY tiny holes, behind the holes are VERY tiny chambers in which the ink is heated and vapourised forcing it out of the VERY tiny hole, no pump as such.

David


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

Twinsquirrel  said:
			
		

> Just a theory but do the pumps connect to a "platter" that could be raised to form a seal with the print head? If so it is likely that they are there to create a partial vacuum during a cleaning cycle to pull ink through the head.
> 
> *Edit*: it could also be there to prime the head after a cartridge change if the cartridge is the type without the head built in.



Well, the printers are in pieces now so the pumps aren't connected to much of anything anymore. However, drawing a mental image of how I remember them being connected, They were connected to the carriage and I _think_ somewhere near its base. This would make both possibilities possible.



> The print head has a matrix of VERY tiny holes, behind the holes are VERY tiny chambers in which the ink is heated and vapourised forcing it out of the VERY tiny hole, no pump as such.



So _that_'s how they work. Cool, thank you!

BEst regards,

Kludge ... who continues to learn new things.


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## ksouers (Sep 5, 2008)

Kludge  said:
			
		

> That's pretty much handled in the head. I didn't see a way for the ink cartridges to be pressurized but this is a real possibility. It looked like tubing came from a connection at the head's park position then through the pump to a pad under the rear of the printer. Or vice versa. I didn't pay a lot of attention while I was taking it apart.
> 
> Nope, definitely open loop. All the tubing is clear & clean so it could be used for air pressure. I really have no clue what it's for.



I wouldn't expect it to pressurize the cartridge, but move the ink from the cartridge to the print head, maybe with a return loop from the head to the cartridge. That's what I was thinking, anyway.

Since the tubing is clear and clean I'll bet it's using pressurized air to clean the head. Printers have a cleaning and unclogging routine they go through before and after printing.


David,
Thanks for that bit of info. I knew the holes were very tiny, I didn't know the head was heated and the ink vaporized.


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## SmoggyTurnip (Sep 5, 2008)

I have no idea but since we are all guessing - my guess is thet is is used to lift the first piece of paper of the stack.


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## spuddevans (Sep 5, 2008)

Hi there folks, I've been lurking on here for 6 months while waiting to get my workshop set up, and finally a question that I think I can answer   



			
				Kludge  said:
			
		

> It looked like tubing came from a connection at the head's park position then through the pump to a pad under the rear of the printer. Or vice versa. I didn't pay a lot of attention while I was taking it apart.



This tubing takes the waste ink that is produced when the printer cleans itself, and delivers said waste ink to the waste ink pads. On larger more professional printers they have a replaceable waste pad system, but on most consumer style printers they are not replaceable.

So what happens when the non-replaceable ink pad gets full? Well if you are very unfortunate you will have a rather messy desk, but if you are just slightly less fortunate you wont actually fill the waste pad up, most inkjets have an internal counter that monitors how much ink it estimates has been sent down to the waste pad and will lock up the printer well before the waste ink pad is full.

You can get software to reset the inthernal counter, but f you do that then you should also divert that little plastc tube away from the waste pad and into a seperate waste tank strapped to the outside of your printer so that you can keep an eye on the waste level.

That's what I have done on my Epson r300 when I installed a Continuous Ink System ( a fancy term for what is essentially is a set of 60ml tanks connected to the print head via a ribbon of 6 clear tubes. costed me less than half a full set of manufacturers inks and lasts about 10-15 times longer )

Anyway, hope this answers the question of what those little pumps are for.

Tim


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

spuddevans  said:
			
		

> This tubing takes the waste ink that is produced when the printer cleans itself, and delivers said waste ink to the waste ink pads. On larger more professional printers they have a replaceable waste pad system, but on most consumer style printers they are not replaceable.



Kewlness! Thank you! Um, that waste pad system would be the white foam-like stuff under the paper feed tray in back? I saved it thinking it was just enough different not to be just plain foam, besides that seemed a silly place to put either sound proofing or much of anything else foamy.



> That's what I have done on my Epson r300 when I installed a Continuous Ink System



Ooooh, do tell more!



> Anyway, hope this answers the question of what those little pumps are for.



It does at that! Again, many thanks!



> Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.



Hmmm ... someone who has watched me work. ;D

Best regards,

Kludge


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## spuddevans (Sep 5, 2008)

Kludge  said:
			
		

> Um, that waste pad system would be the white foam-like stuff under the paper feed tray in back?


Yea, they usually put it at the back, but the exact position varies with different printer models.



> That's what I have done on my Epson r300 when I installed a Continuous Ink System
> 
> Ooooh, do tell more!



I can do better than tell, I'll show via a couple of pics I've just snapped.

1st pic shows the cis tanks sitting behind the printer.






2nd pic shows the ink tubes feeding into the printer





3rd and final pic shows the waste tank at the back of the printer.





If you are not worried too much about the photo quality of your black ink being truely black, you can recycle the waste ink into the black ink resovoir combining it 1:1 with new black ink. I dont do this as I like my black ink to be black.

It's kinda neat to see the ink squirting out into the waste tank when the printer cleans itself, and kinda shocking how much ink it uses to do this.

I reccomend getting this sort of system to anyone who wants to print a lot of pictures or text, it is so much cheaper. If you do want to print good quality pictures then I reccomend using a good quality ink. (the ink that came with my system was not all that good, great for text or printing web pages, but photos printed with it would quickly loose the saturation of the reds and blacks leaving most pictures looking a bit too green for my taste. However, I've since got some better quality ink for it and the results are much better. ) (sorry for the looooong ramble :-[ :-[ )


Tim


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## Lew Hartswick (Sep 5, 2008)

I tried to send this PM but it isn't working I guess. 
Sorry.


Kluge, the correct spelling of those pumps with an e and an i. .
<parastaltic pumps > Peristaltic
I use to repair a lot of those for the various bio. and chem. labs at PSU back in the dim distant past. 
  ...lew...


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

Lew Hartswick  said:
			
		

> I tried to send this PM but it isn't working I guess.



No worries. I messed up in open forum so fixing this in open forum is cool. 



> Kluge, the correct spelling of those pumps with an e and an i. .
> <parastaltic pumps > Peristaltic



*chuckling* ... Kluge is the alternate spelling for both the noun and verb forms but there can only be _ONE_ KludgeMeister, and that would be ... ummm ... oh, yeah, that's me. 

I'll probably screw that up again but now I know better and hopefully shouldn't. Thanks!



> I use to repair a lot of those for the various bio. and chem. labs at PSU back in the dim distant past.



PSU ... Penn State University? As in Nittany Lions? Hmmm ... And before moving here I was in Univ of Pittsburgh Panther territory, among other things as a student there. 

Best regards,

Kludge


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## raym 11 (Sep 5, 2008)

Are these pumps engine driven? ;D Would they be applicable to moving cooling fluid through a small engine (driven by said engine).
I've been looking at an old 1980's HP sitting here that gets torn apart soon.
Ray M


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## nemt (Sep 5, 2008)

Only recently, last weekend, I found out from a fellow modelengineer, that he had used such a type of pump as a injection pump for his model dieselengine. The pump was activated by solenoid. He rewound the original coil to make it suitable for 1.5 Volts. It worked very good. The model is from Rudolf Diesels first dieselengine. It runs on dieselfuel and produces no smoke at all. The solenoid is activated by a hall magnetic pick up.
Speedcontrol is by retarding or advancing the moment of fuel injection.

Nemt


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## bentprop (Sep 5, 2008)

And here's another thing:the waste ink pad in both Epson printers I've pulled apart were nice bits of 1/4" thick felt.Washed them out and used them as wicks in various lubrication operations.My thought was actually to use them to replace the wipers on my lathe bed,but I haven't gotten a roundtuit yet ;D.I didn't recognize the pumps as such though,I'll have a look if I've still got them.
Hans.


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## Loose nut (Sep 5, 2008)

Kludge  said:
			
		

> Would anyone happen to know what they're for?
> 
> I recently dismantled one each Canon and Epson printer (with an HP waiting) and now have a total of three parastaltic pumps that don't seem to have had any real purpose in life. Kludge



How about open heart surgery on mice.

Spud, are these a generic ink system or are they printer type specific and where did you find them.


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

ElGringo  said:
			
		

> Are these pumps engine driven? ;D



Why, yes. They are. An electric engine. :big:



> Would they be applicable to moving cooling fluid through a small engine (driven by said engine).



I have no clue how much volume these puppies can push but it might be worth a try. It would depend largely how much coolant you need to move how quickly.

I've been looking at one for a caffiene IV pump with Jameson's injection metered to it. ;D 



> I've been looking at an old 1980's HP sitting here that gets torn apart soon.



My HP is sitting quitely underneath a bunch of stuff waiting for the breaker (that's me) to get to it. It's a newer version but that didn't stop it from becoming deceased shortly after the warrantee ran out. 

By the way, those old HP 500-series printers were real workhorses. I had a 500 I picked up at Goodwill for nearly nothing that was part of the equipment I gave away when I moved to Hawaii in 2000. It was still running then and I wouldn't doubt is still trucking right along.

On another line of thought, I've been looking at them as pumps for cutting oil on at least the Taig and maybe other machines. The tubing may have to be swapped out for something that won't do bad things in the presence of oil - even soy-based oil - but with the size of the machines I have, the volume would be more than adequate.

Best regards,

Kludge


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## Kludge (Sep 5, 2008)

bentprop  said:
			
		

> And here's another thing:the waste ink pad in both Epson printers I've pulled apart were nice bits of 1/4" thick felt.Washed them out and used them as wicks in various lubrication operations.



I didn't take a close look but I shall now. This is in keeping with my Kludgitude. 



> My thought was actually to use them to replace the wipers on my lathe bed,but I haven't gotten a roundtuit yet ;D.



Lathe bed wipers? Something to remove debris as the carriage moves or something to lube the bed or ??? My little itty bitty machines don't have anything like that but I'm sure any addition of this order would be quite welcome.



> I didn't recognize the pumps as such though,I'll have a look if I've still got them.



When I was dismantling the machines, I noticed the tubing but wasn't sure what was going on. Then it disappeared into "things" then emerged again elsewhere on the same "things". So, being niele, I had to find out what the things were, and they turned out to be really cool little pumps. I really should study these a bit, see if I can introduce them to applications around the shop like for cutting oil mentioned elsewhere.

Oh, yeah, the two printers also yielded up 4 DC motors and a bunch of other stuff that will wind up in the parts bins. I'm looking at one of the motors to maybe drive a micro-drill attachment for the watchmaker's and Clisby lathes. That should be fun.

Best regards,

Kludge


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## spuddevans (Sep 6, 2008)

Loose nut  said:
			
		

> Spud, are these a generic ink system or are they printer type specific and where did you find them.



Hi, I guess they are a generic ink system in the way that they do not use the manufacturer's own (extortionate) ink, and they can use ink from pretty much any ink manufacturer as long as the ink is the same colour/s and type (pigment or dye based) as your printer needs.

I found mine on a uk website that I ordered a load of blank dvdr's and cdr's from, but recently have found a better supplier of ink who also supplies the whole kit www.inkrepublic.com , they ship worldwide for free as well.

If you want to find out more, just do a google for "CISS" or try wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_Ink_Supply_System
Or go to the supplier mentioned inkrepublic.

Tim


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## bentprop (Sep 6, 2008)

Talking of ink,spud,I badly need to find such a system for my canon mp160 multifunction.You can pick those up on sale for nz$79,but 1black +1 colour cartridge comes in at about $85 .If the cartridges are empty,chuck the darn thing and buy another.Even the off-brand ones aren't much cheaper.
Kludge,the wipers serve both functions I think.On my lathe they are on the chuck side of the cross slide.If you need it,I'll take a piccy tomorrow.
Hans.


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## Loose nut (Sep 6, 2008)

I've been searching the web and I can't find a system that will fit my printer a HP Photosmart 7150, Figures!


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## Bogstandard (Sep 6, 2008)

Loose Nut,

I think you will not be able to get one for a HP printer.

The reason HP cartridges are so expensive is that they contain a new print head in each cartridge. Epson and a few other printers retain the print heads in the machine, and you only change the ink reservoir. Those are the type that can have bulk bottle feeding systems fitted.
There is a large industry in the UK, cleaning and refilling HP and other cartridges. In fact I used to have a good little sideline (£300+ per month), collecting up all the old ones from industry and selling them to the filling companies, I kept it up for a couple of years, but it soon collapsed when charities started to ask businesses for them, to raise money for their favourite animal rescue schemes.

Bogs


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## raym 11 (Sep 6, 2008)

nemt  said:
			
		

> The model is from Rudolf Diesels first dieselengine.


Nemt;
How can I find info/drgs on this engine?
Ray M


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## Twinsquirrel (Sep 6, 2008)

Ray,

There is a VERY small amount of info on it in this PDF from the M.A.N. museum. Mr. diesel was another one of those troubled genius characters and met with a sad end aboard a ship powered by his own greatest invention....

Sorry there is so little info in this pdf but at least there is a picture.

David


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## Loose nut (Sep 6, 2008)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> Loose Nut,
> 
> I think you will not be able to get one for a HP printer.
> Bogs



I think your right, there are systems for a very few HP printers but not many and not mine. Might be worth spending some money on a new printer and ink system.


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## shred (Sep 6, 2008)

Worse yet, many HP printers and cartridges have a sensor in them that detects refills and refuses to print more after the 'lifetime' is up, no matter how much ink may be in them. Coming along soon is encrypted links between the cartridge and printer so off-brand replacements won't work either..

FWIW, the HP packaging (flashy box, plastic wrap) is more expensive than the cartridge and ink cost to make. Massive profit margin on ink.


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## Kludge (Sep 6, 2008)

bentprop  said:
			
		

> Kludge,the wipers serve both functions I think.On my lathe they are on the chuck side of the cross slide.If you need it,I'll take a piccy tomorrow.



I would greatly appreciate it, Hans. I'll probably have to downsize a bit due to the size of my machines but it sounds like a great idea.

Best regards,

Kludge


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## Shadow (Sep 7, 2008)

From Loosenut: How about open heart surgery on mice.

i've seen such pumps used for I.V. pumps on mice and rats. Blood pressure cuff goes around tail, small funnel for gas mask.

Kludge, I'm a bit envious of your Clisby. I wascthinking of purchasing on when I found they were being discontinued. It's my eight week on the road for work staying in motels and the machining withdrawls are bad. I may have to suitcase my Unimat for some "motel machining".

For small lathe use I have gotten away with using denatured alcohol for some items and a 5/8" clear tubing adapter for a shop vac taped to the crosslide has caught a it's fair share of swarf.


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## Kludge (Sep 7, 2008)

Shadow  said:
			
		

> i've seen such pumps used for I.V. pumps on mice and rats. Blood pressure cuff goes around tail, small funnel for gas mask.



Will I regret asking how you managed to see that? 



> Kludge, I'm a bit envious of your Clisby. I wascthinking of purchasing on when I found they were being discontinued.



Do so. Do so quickly while you can and get as many spares as you can. They don't get any smaller and you can power them from a 12 volt, 5 amp power pack, a gell cell or heavy duty nicad pack (with the attendant chargers, of course) or your vehicle battery if that works for you. 



> It's my eight week on the road for work staying in motels and the machining withdrawls are bad. I may have to suitcase my Unimat for some "motel machining".


You machine motels? :big:

If you can get one of the original wooden boxes for the Unimat (I'm assuming it's an SL-1000), that would be a wonderful way to transport it. You may even be able to use the box itself to help support it. Of course, doing this by a window with the drapes open will cause people to be curious but that's always cool. 



> For small lathe use I have gotten away with using denatured alcohol for some items and a 5/8" clear tubing adapter for a shop vac taped to the crosslide has caught a it's fair share of swarf.



That sounds like an idea. It would be great for everything down to the Clisby but for that one, it would be overkill. Somehow a full sized shop vac being used to clear swarf from a lathe that could almost get sucked into the main hose itself seems a bit much. I wonder if a mini one could be made for the Clisby. 

Thanks for the ideas, and do get a Clisby before they're gone.

Best regards,

Kludge


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## raym 11 (Sep 7, 2008)

David,
I guess I was referring to the model engine Nemt's friend built.
Ray M


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## Shadow (Sep 7, 2008)

Kludge,

No, you won't regret asking. I service and repair equipment, literally microscopic, that is also used in research laboratories where such activities occur. Check your pm inbox for details.

My Unimat SL is on long term loan, and my Unimat 3 came in only a foam package.
A suitable wooden box would be easily constructed. Were I spendy I would purchase a hardcase toolbox like my pelican clean room work toolbox.

Still contemplating the Clisby, a man can't have too many lathes.


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## bentprop (Sep 7, 2008)

Kludge,here are the pics I just took.Unfortunately,I was completely wrong! .
The wipers aren't felt at all,they are completely made of rubber.I took one off just to show you the underside,which is how I found out.Therefore, they obviously don't lubricate anything,they are just there to keep the swarf from getting on the slideways.That doesn't stop it from falling into the "valley",i suppose you could call it,but that area is not too important.But if your lathe doesn't have any such thing,I'm sure the felt would make a great wiper.What i thought was felt,was simply an accumulation of crud :-[.But there definitely are lathes out there that have felt wipers,as I was told on "the other forum",so it must be true :big:.
Anyway,fwiw,here are the pics;















Regards.Hans.


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## Kludge (Sep 7, 2008)

Shadow  said:
			
		

> Check your pm inbox for details.


Got it. Reply coming forthwith. Or fifthwith, given inflation. :big:



> My Unimat SL is on long term loan, and my Unimat 3 came in only a foam package.
> A suitable wooden box would be easily constructed.



If you can find a winery or distillery that still delivers bottles in the old style wooden crates or a source of the older crates, that's a good start. Some of them are sized to handle a Unimat 3 and the older ones are seriously sturdy. I have one that's around 30-40 years old that is holding the accessories for my SL-1000 but may one day be where I keep it. (Another reason to head to storage. *sigh*)



> Still contemplating the Clisby, a man can't have too many lathes.



*looking around* ... six plus the orphan 5.5mm that needs parts to make work, a Swiss turns and parts for a couple more ... still planning to get a Sieg C0 and another orphan - a 4.5mm this time ... nope, can never have too many lathes. ;D 

Best regards,

Kludge


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## Kludge (Sep 7, 2008)

bentprop  said:
			
		

> Kludge,here are the pics I just took.Unfortunately,I was completely wrong! .



It's cool. It happens to everyone. I mean, even _I_ have made a mistake now and then.  



> The wipers aren't felt at all,they are completely made of rubber.



That would work on the cross slide as well. So would the felt, for that matter. I'm keeping the pics for study later for my own machines, if you've no objection. 

The Taig doesn't have that valley; the bed is one solid piece across so swarf (and wood chips) accumulate there instead of disappearing like they can on other machines. When I get the replacement machine (The current one got eaten by salt air when I had to take an unexpected "extended vacation" at the hospital) it will definitely get that. 

Thank you for the pics. They will definitely help.

BEst regards,

Kludge


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## rtp_burnsville (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi,

I just discovered this thread and would like to know if anyone would care to guess at the displacement of the inkjet pumps mentioned here. The reason for asking is that I have been looking at micro-drop coolant systems and this sounds like the ideal pump for such an application. 

It looks like I will have to keep an eye open for some non HP inkjet printers...

Thanks,
Robert


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