View source for Maintenance toolkit

{{Resource}}A toolkit of a few key items will support most standard repairs on all models of risograph.<ref>This list is built from the toolkit used by [[User:Robertbaxter]]—outlined at: [https://robertbaxter.substack.com/p/risograph-mini-resources#footnote-1-161485864 Risograph Mini-Resources]</ref>

{{mbox|text=The majority of these can be found in any hardware store, but a few will likely need to be special ordered.}}

== Tools ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! Notes
|-
| JIS Phillips #2 screwdriver || <p>The screws in a risograph conform to the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), not ANSI (used in the US), or older variants of ISO (used in Europe).<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#JIS_B_1012</ref> Using a proper JIS screwdriver will provide more torque to stuck screws, and make it less likely that screws become stripped.</p><p>While the ISO standard was eventually updated to work correctly with JIS screws, quality varies greatly by manufacturer. </p><p>Recommended products:<ul><li>[https://crawfordtool.com/products/vessel-220-p2-150-phillips-2-x-6-blade-o-a-l-10-magnetic-ball-grip-screwdriver-great-for-japanese-industrial-standard-jis-screws Vessel 220 P2 150]</li><li>[https://crawfordtool.com/products/wera-05008723001-lasertip-phillips-2-x-6-150mm-kraftform-plus-screwdriver?srsltid=AfmBOoqoc_lAUknY-mfbTOgxjkXj7OPADFm5WDFfzrabpltJgbNoYP5G Wera 008723 Phillips #2 x 6" (150mm) Kraftform Plus Screwdriver]</li></ul></p>
|-
| Metric hex keys || These should be separate L-shaped wrenches, not part of a pocket knife-style connected set. The sizes needed are: 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, and 1.5 mm. Hex keys are used for removing and tightening machine screws and set/grub screws, but also to measure small standard gaps when calibrating the second paper feed cams and the feed tray elevator.
|-
| Small flat head screwdriver || Primarily for removing [[E-ring|e-rings]]—a thin, strong blade is important. A small butter knife or type tweezers for letterpress make good substitutes.
|-
| Needle nose pliers || <p>For reattaching e-rings, and manipulating light springs.</p><p>For stronger springs, a spring puller or zip-tie handle should be used instead, or hook nosed pliers if they are avilable (so that the spring does not slip off the end of the pliers).</p>
|-
| 5.5 mm nut driver and/or crescent wrench || Many internal screws in the risograph have an external hex head profile of 5.5 mm. A small adjustable wrench will also do, as will a socket wrench with a 5.5 mm head.
|-
| Small vice grips || For removing stuck screws. Also called "locking pliers."
|-
| Ruler (mm) and/or calipers || Mechanical calibrations for the risograph are invariably provided in metric.
|-
| Lens cleaning cloth || Of the sort used for glasses—a smooth, shiny soft cloth. This is used for cleaning the thermal print head (TPH) whenever a roll of stencils is replaced, and for cleaning debris off the scanner glass (or scanner head).
|-
| Small flashlight || A magnetic flashlight is best; a headlamp or bike light will also do.
|-
| Fine point sharpie || For marking adjustable plates/screws before and after adjustment, or making notes inside the risograph.
|-
| Magnet or magnetic retrieval tool || For retrieving dropped screws and other parts. A magnet can also be clipped near screws and e-rings before removal, to catch them if they fall (but should not be used near circuit boards).
|-
| Bristle brushes (nylon & brass) || For cleaning old grit and grease off of hard plastic and metal surfaces respectively. Usually these are useful for cleaning the gears in the riso—but the can also be used to brush rust and oxidation off of internal drum surfaces (use proper ventilation & masking so as not to inhale these oxides).
|-
! colspan="2" | ''Specialty tools''
|-
| Metric feeler gauge || A feeler gauge measures tiny spaces between surfaces—in the risograph it is used to adjust the squeegee gap and squeegee pressure in drums on all models, and the G-lever mounting position in {{Zplus}} machines. For drum maintenance this should have leaves of 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.10 mm. For the G-lever adjustment additional leaves of 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30 will be useful.<p>''Note that an imperial gauge with mm conversions marked on it will not have high enough fidelity to make these calibrations.''</p>Recommended product: [https://www.mcmaster.com/2334A66/ McMaster Carr Feeler Gauge Set 2334A66]<p>
|-
| Retaining ring removal tool || These are used to remove a special type of retaining ring, the "c-ring." These are rare inside the risograph (used at the back of {{Zplus}} drums and on some of the main motor gears & pulleys), but this is the only tool that will remove them.
|- Screw sorting container || A good container will have many small compartments for different types of screws (such as a tackle box, ice cube tray, or egg carton).
|}

== Lubricants ==

Whenever maintenance is done on a unit, that unit should receive a light clean and lubrication—this keeps the friction in the system low and ensures everything is moving smoothly. This is most critical in all the components that are rotating every cycle (for every sheet printed): the paper feed, main drive, press, and paper ejection units.

{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! Notes
|-
| Light machine oil || All bearing surfaces (bushings and ball bearings) in the risograph can make use of occasional oiling. A drop of oil on a bearing will wick into the contact surfaces as the shaft spins up. Any light machine oil will do for this purpose (i.e. sewing machine oil, typewriter oil, etc.).</p><p>Recommended product: [https://3inone.com/product/3-in-one-motor-oil/ 3-in-1 Motor Oil] (blue label)</p>
|-
| White lithium grease || <p>For gears and sliding surfaces (such as in the vertical channels of the elevator, or the paper guides on the feed tray), a grease is used instead. Gears can get a small dollop of grease (half the size of a pea) on their teeth in a few places around the gear (roughly every 3 cm if possible. Pulleys (which rubber belts ride on) should not be greased. Avoid over-greasing the risograph as this will attract dust over time.</p><p>A little bit of grease goes a long way, only a small tube is needed—not a large canister for a grease gun.</p>
|}

== Cleaning supplies ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! Notes
|-
| Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) || <p>Also known as white spirits. Used for cleaning ink off of metal and plastic surfaces. This is a petroleum-based mild solvent, often used to thin or clean oil-based inks and paints.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit</ref></p>{{Warning|OMS is harmful for both skin and inhalation—it should be used with gloves and in well ventilated areas or while using a respirator. It also has a <u>flash risk</u>—meaning it should be stored in a flammables chest and that rags with OMS should be handled with [https://www.briarpress.org/29565 rag safety]. Generally treat OMS as a form of gasoline for storage and disposal.}}<p>Recommended product: [https://gamblincolors.com/oil-painting/gamsol/ GAMSOL]</p><p>There are many alternative, less toxic solvents that can be used instead of OMS, though they may work more slowly. Here are some in use in risograh printshops:<ul><li>[https://citrasolv.com/collections/citra-solv Citra Solv]</li><li>[https://soysolv.com/products/soysolv-ii/ SoySolv II]</li><li>[https://estichem.com/products/estisol Estisol 242]</li><li>Vegetable oil</li></ul></p>
|-
| Isopropyl or ethyl alcohol || <p>There are a few places where adhesives are used in the risograph (particularly for attaching the ink blocking sheet to the surface of the drum body in {{Zplus}} drums)—in order for adhesives to make a strong bond, the surfaces need to be perfectly cleaned. After removing the majority of the ink with a solvent, a pass with alcohol will leave a zero-residue finish when dry.</p>{{Warning|Both isopropyl and ethyl alcohol are highly flammable, and have low flash points—they should not be used near open flames or heat sources.}}
|-
| Dish soap || Neither solvent, nor alcohol should be used on the rubber surfaces in a risograph—as both can dry out the rubber. Instead rubber should be cleaned with simple dish soap.
|}

== Consumables ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! Notes
|-
| 4 in (100 mm) zip ties || This size of zip tie is used throughout the risograph to bundle wires together. These can also be closed into small loops to provide handles for attaching/detaching springs, or applying tension to screens in {{Zplus}} machines.
|-
| Packing tape || <p>Good-quality single-sided plastic packing tape. Used in {{Zplus}} drums to seal the drum body.</p>
|-
| Double-sided tape || <p>Good-quality double-sided tape. Used in {{Zplus}} drums to hold down the ink blocking sheet, and often to hold the screen end plate down as well. It's important that this tape is strong, thin, and resistant to oil (foam mounting tapes are far too thick for this application; 3M yellow cartridge tape will work for a time, but will fail after 3–6 months).</p><p>Recommended product: [https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/223004973639/?tab=catalog&Page=1&CategorySpec=00000161437%3A%3Amig00000001457623 NITTO 5000NS-10]</p>
|-
| Rags || When cleaning the risograph, it's best to use rags that will not deteriorate too badly with exposure to the various cleaning agents and ink (this is especially important when cleaning the drum body, which will abrade the rag). Disposable shop towels and cotton t-shirt rags are both good options.
|}

== Technician's tools ==

The remainder of the tools in this section are much more rarely used, but may be useful for technicians who are commonly working on risographs.

{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! Notes
|-
| 8&nbsp;mm and 4&nbsp;mm shafts || <p>These act as positioning jigs when re-timing {{Zplus}} machines—they can be pressed through alignment holes in the drive gears, pump gears, and pressure levers to lock things in place while doing maintenance on a smaller section of the drive. Two of each size are required for maintenance—to avoid leaving them in the machine accidentally, the ends can be painted with a fluorescent color. </p><p>Recommended products:<ul><li>[https://www.mcmaster.com/4143n17/ 303 Stainless Steel Rotary Shaft ⌀ 8 mm × 100 mm]</li><li>[https://www.mcmaster.com/1327k506/ 12L14 Carbon Steel Rotary Shaft ⌀ 4 mm × 100 mm]</li></ul></p>
|-
| Multimeter || For analyzing electrical issues, adjusting the TPH power in {{machine chip|GR}}{{machine chip|FR}} machines, and adjusting the sensitivity of send/receive sensors in some {{Zplus}} models. An autoranging multimeter is best for this purpose.
|-
| CompactFlash (CF) PCMCIA Adapter || Allows firmware updates to be loaded onto {{Zplus}} machines from a CompactFlash (CF) card.
|-
| 3&nbsp;mm roll pin punch || <p>Useful for extracting and replacing broken elevator gears on {{Zplus}} machines. A proper roll pin punch should have a small protrusion at the tip, not just a flat end.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(tool)#Roll_pins</ref></p><p>Recommended product: [https://www.mcmaster.com/3421A53/ Pin Removal Punch ⌀ 3 mm]</p>
|-
| 7&nbsp;mm flat wrench || For manipulating the locking nuts used in the {{machine chip|GR}}{{machine chip|FR}} squeegee gap adjustment inside drums. This wrench must have a very flat profile (i.e. punched out of a single sheet of metal, not cast).
|-
| Torx Plus #10 driver || <p>A few places in {{Zplus}} machines use a 5-pointed screw, which can be removed with a Torx Plus #10 (also known as TS10 or IPR10) driver (screwdriver, or bit and handle). The most common use of this is to separate the front frame of the drum chassis, so that its mounting tabs can be bent square again if they are damaged (usually when a drum is dropped and lands on its face).</p><p>Recommended product: [https://www.mcmaster.com/5043a42/ Tamper-Resistant Torx Plus Bit, IPR10, 1/4" Hex Shank]</p>
|-
| M3 and M4 tap/die || Riso screws are made of very weak metal, and can become easily damaged, which will in turn damage the threads they screw into. Most riso screws are M3 or M4, and having these tap & die sets on hand can allow for easy thread recutting.
|-
| Needle files || Many machined surfaces in the risograph have not been chamfered or de-burred, additionally repeated wear can raise burrs (especially from set screws)—a set of small files will allow smoothing of parts causing too much friction. A few different grades of emery cloth can also be useful for this purpose.
|-
| Small end-cutting nippers || Useful for trimming down zip ties, or forming shims from small pieces of aluminum can.
|-
| Rubber rejuvenator || <p>This can be used to both clean and chemically refinish rubber rollers—giving them a bit more life before they need to be replaced.</p>{{Warning|Rubber rejuvenator is ''highly toxic'', it should only be used while wearing gloves and a respirator, and the area it is used in should be vacated for many hours afterwards to give the fumes time to dissipate.}}<p>Rubber rejuvenators swell the rubber, to bring back its tackiness. Alternately, a dedicated rubber cleaner (such as [https://af-net.com/product/platenclene-printer-roller-cleaner-restorer/ Platenclene]) can be used, though these are more about full cleaning than rubber renewal.</p>
|}

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