Do you own a ROQ automatic press? If you do have one of these amazing pieces of equipment in your shop, you’re going to want to make sure you protect your investment. Even if you keep a clean working environment, and adhere to proper maintenance cycles for the internal workings of the press—there’s still the outside of the press to consider. Spray glue, ink, lint, and dust can accumulate on the outside of your beautiful machine. Lint and dust, in fact, are among the prime culprits of part failure.
Here are 5 steps you can take to attack the dust before it attacks your press:
- Clean the fan ports on your flash units
Remove the grills and soak them in warm water. A shot of compressed air will clean off any excess lint. Be sure to turn off the main power before cleaning.
- Clean the inside base of your press
This is where the “brains” of the press are kept so be extra careful. Again, turn the main power off. A good shop vacuum will do nicely to clean, but be mindful around the electronics, use an antistatic cloth and hand wipe dust away.
- Wipe down the outside of the press once or twice a week
Make sure to check areas that aren’t visible. A simple press wash will not harm the painted surface, and will also remove dried plastisol and spray glue. Knock off the dust bunnies.
- Consider switching to liquid glue moving forward
Spray glues are the main cause of lint and dust build-up on automatic presses, in both the load on and off positions. Plus, they coat the floor with a sticky coating. Liquid glues are a good way to eliminate build-up while reducing airborne glue and VOC emissions.
- Lay cardboard under the load on and off positions if you must use spray glues
Liquid glues don’t perform as well on sweatshirts or thicker substrates, and may not be optimal for fleece and water based printing. So, if you must use spray glue, consider laying lengths of cardboard under the load on and off positions, around the base of the entire automatic, to catch glue and any ink droppings.
Once you’ve got your press back in ROQstar shape, establish a cleaning schedule you can stick to. We know that cleaning the shop is a drag, but replacing parts is an even worse drag, right?
Don’t let dust build-up slow your automatic screen printing press down. Take care of your ROQ and it will take care of you!