Platten Sticking

My platten turns freely then sticks with brute force it loosens only to stick again just before it closes.
Your advice pse

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Press make? Size? Manual or treadle or motor-driven? Throw-off? Does it happen whether there is a forme in the press or not? (Need more information — could be half a dozen or more reasons for the problem.)

Bob

Heidelberg Platten 10x15 Moter driven .It happens even if there is no frame it. If the press is open it will start but if in the closed position the clutch will just slip and yhe only way it will turn is manuely at the flywheel.
I have checked for obstructions but found nothing

Louis
South Africa

I forgot to mention this also happens with the pressure bar released .

Louis

Follows a few pathetic efforts, from one who has only dealt with Thompson Platens, which share quite a few operational methods:> I believe that the heidelberg incorporates a shear collar, at the rear (for protection) have you recently had a mishap, and popped it in such a away as to be fouling subsequently? with the aid of a powerful small inspection lamp, and a dentists type mirror (or larger) could you ascertain, if there is a build up of compacted rubbish, underneath and behind the lower/ obscured part of the Platen or even a Quoin(s) or furniture that was lost without trace? the clutch I believe is pretty foolproof, but with another pair of eyes looking on, is all well there including the outrigger bearing? when you reach the stuck position can you move the reciprocating main ink drum just a fraction, on its natural free play which might tell you if the main drive train has partial siezures (but that would involve in depth inspection but may give, possible would be engineers, some initial clues). I fully appreciate my efforts are basic and humble but of course Peter Luckhurst WILL give it to you 98% to the limit , but we believe he is at present otherwise occupied, in his treasury, but we will attempt to to hit the grapevine. And thank you for calling it a PLATEN because as far as I know A WINDMILL with only 2 (TWO SWEEPS) that move in three different planes has not been invented yet.

Follows a few pathetic efforts, from one who has only dealt with Thompson Platens, which share quite a few operational methods:> I believe that the heidelberg incorporates a shear collar, at the rear (for protection) have you recently had a mishap, and popped it in such a away as to be fouling subsequently? with the aid of a powerful small inspection lamp, and a dentists type mirror (or larger) could you ascertain, if there is a build up of compacted rubbish, underneath and behind the lower/ obscured part of the Platen or even a Quoin(s) or furniture that was lost without trace? the clutch I believe is pretty foolproof, but with another pair of eyes looking on, is all well there including the outrigger bearing? when you reach the stuck position can you move the reciprocating main ink drum just a fraction, on its natural free play which might tell you if the main drive train has partial siezures (but that would involve in depth inspection but may give, possible would be engineers, some initial clues). I fully appreciate my efforts are basic and humble but of course Peter Luckhurst WILL give it to you 98% to the limit , but we believe he is at present otherwise occupied, in his treasury, but we will attempt to to hit the grapevine. And thank you for calling it a PLATEN because as far as I know A WINDMILL with only 2 (TWO SWEEPS) that move in three different planes has not been invented yet.

Thnx the collar is good Will check the ink drum tomorrow our time I stuck my hand in every hole I could find and came up with perf blades and even a numbering machine that is still working but could not find any obstructions

Louis

Oil the oil points where the main shaft goes through the platen liberally , oil and grease the main bearing areas and get some oil down the bolt hole on the inner side of the flywheel ,also the little pots inside of the rear of the platen accessed via the flue door at rear of machine .
fill the reservoir with oil and get that into the bearings too . run the pres reasonably quickley for a few minutes and pumps more oil into the main shaft ,keep it running for a bit longer and go round back and feel the bearings in the back of the machine see if you have a warm one in there anywhere .

Thnx Peter will do first thing in the morning.
My feeling was that a piece of furniture had dropped in somewhere ,but the again it should be crushed by now

I think it may be a prudent point to have added in post that you had sprung a form in the bed !
You will need to remove foreign matter before running the press !!
the offending matter will not crush up as you put it ,the back of the machine is accessible for visual inspection with someone winding the machine ove for you , pay particular attention to the area down the sides of the platens pivot as foreign matter like furniture jams into the web and can do some damage that is not repairable .
you can see into the front base area from the front and down the side of the platen pivot from above small bits of rubbish in the base is harmless enough but anything that could jam the swing area of the base of the platen must be cleared . It is not good minding to just shrug of an ingressed object with the phrase it will have crunched into small bits by now !

I doubt this is the case but I will report a finding I had. When I bought my black ball, Heidelberg had cleaned it for me and did a great job of sending on to this amazing press in a clean usable state (new hoses etc). But I was fussing around it one day and I noticed one of the pots at the back was “slow”. Well I fished around and dug out a big quad of lead which I think a disgruntled employee had dropped in there to block the oil hole. He/she didn’t quite pull that one off and my beautiful press is still doing beautiful work 20 years on. I was replacing all the pipe cleaner wicks too and found them hard to buy these days. The ones I got were all pretty colours! So check those oil pots - one might be clogged somehow. Peter Luckhurst is as usual someone to listen to closely.

I took off the vacuum pump and she turned freely ,stripped the pump and found that the nut holding the piston to the the shaft had come loose .Tightened and problem solved
.
Thanks for all your input

Louis

Did you never hear anything unusual when you were running it ?

No not at all, that made more difficult.

at least its sorted , not come across a self dimantle in the pump ! I have to hold my hands up to a bit of neglect my vibrator on the ink duct has a sezed operating cam i found it last night , i mainly die cut stuff but i have a print run to do and discovered i have not oiled the cam pivot point !