What is the photoconductor drum? How to replace the photoconductor drum

What is the photoconductor drum? How to replace the photoconductor drum

What is the photoreceptor drum?

The drum cartridge (or the photoreceptor belt in some copiers) is the heart of the system. A toner cartridge is basically a metal roller coated with a layer of light-guiding material. This coating is made of a semiconductor such as selenium, tellurium or silicon. Elements like selenium can conduct electrons in some cases, but not in other cases, which makes them very cool. In the dark, the photoconductive layer on the cartridge acts as an insulator, preventing electrons from flowing from one atom to another. But when illuminated into the photoconductive layer, the energy of the photon releases electrons, allowing the current to pass! It is these newly released electrons that neutralize the positive charge on the surface of the drum to form a latent image.

It is easy to imagine how to project an image onto a photoreceptor belt of almost the same size as the paper containing the image. But when you consider that you want to do the same thing on a narrow cylindrical toner cartridge, the problem arises. How can the surface area of ​​the toner cartridge match the real state on the paper? The solution is simple, just turn the toner cartridge while copying. If the toner cartridge is rotated in accordance with the speed step of the beam sweeping through the original document, the image can be formed one by one. When a beam of light is collected onto the corresponding printhead of the cartridge, the cartridge rotates to expose a new area of ​​the photoconductor. At the same time, the previously exposed drum area comes into contact with the toner as it rotates, and then comes into contact with the paper.

Since the length of the standard paper is much longer than the circumference of the toner cartridge in modern copiers, only a small portion of the paper can be copied by rotating the drum one full turn. In fact, in order to copy the entire original, the toner cartridge has to be repeatedly cleaned, recharged, exposed to photons, and sprayed with toner. If you look at it inadvertently, you think it is a continuous process, because with the rotation of the toner cartridge, everything is seamlessly coordinated inside the copier.

So, how should the drum cartridge be replaced?

As an important part of the copier, the drum drum has a rated life of about 6,000 to 10,000 sheets. When the printed image is found to be light, uneven, and non-transferred corona electrodes and toner, etc., the drum life is terminated and should be replaced.

The following is an example of a commonly used HP 6L printer toner cartridge.

First, to cut off the power of the printer, remove the toner cartridge from the printer, then use a diagonal pliers to clamp the metal pin on one side and pull it out carefully (or use a nail to nail the metal pin into the toner cartridge. After opening the toner cartridge, The metal pin is taken out. After the silver metal pins on both sides are pulled out, the toner cartridge can be divided into two parts. One side of the light blue photosensitive selenium is the collecting part of the waste powder, and the side with the magnetic roller is the part for supplying the powder.

Then, the screw on the gearless side of the magnetic roller of the powder is unscrewed, and after removing the plastic casing, a plastic cover can be seen, the plastic cover is opened, and the toner in the toner cartridge and the magnetic roller are completely cleaned. Be sure to clean all the residual toner, preferably with a vacuum cleaner. Then, the magnetic rollers are installed in the reverse order, and the magnetic roller is pressed by the force to prevent the magnetic roller from being out of position. Shake the toner and slowly pour it into the powder supply bin. For the plastic cover and the plastic case, pay attention to the semicircular shape on the end of the shaft of the magnetic roller and the semicircular hole on the plastic case. Gently turn the gears on the side of the magnet roller several times to make the toner even.

Now is the most important step - replacing the new drum. Remove the fixing pin of the waste toner collection part from the photosensitive drum with a diagonal pliers. Note: You cannot use the nail to drive the fixing pin into the toner cartridge. After removing the fixing pin, you can take out the old photosensitive drum and then collect the waste toner. The waste toner is cleaned up. Replace the drum cartridge with the new drum cartridge in the reverse order. When installing the drum cartridge, be aware that there are left and right points. Then fix the pins to secure the drum. The newly purchased photoreceptor drum has a black anti-exposure seal. Do not tear it off before installation to prevent exposure. It can be removed after the installation is correct. Finally, the powder supply part and the waste powder collection part are installed and restored according to the position when the disassembly is opened, and the metal pin on both sides is inserted, and the printing can be started.

Pay attention to the following points when replacing:

1) After removing the drum, do the necessary cleaning work. After the new drum is unsealed, it should be directly loaded into the holder and loaded into the machine as soon as possible. Do not expose the drum to direct sunlight, or let the surface touch hard objects.

2) Do not touch the surface of the drum with your hands or dirty items. When dust is attached, it can only be gently brushed with a soft brush. Do not scrub with any detergent. If necessary, use toner to clean it.

3) For the photosensitive drum and toner is an integrated mechanism, it must be replaced at the same time. Shake the toner well before loading.

4) The toner that falls inside and outside the printer during replacement can be removed by a vacuum cleaner and scrubbed with absolute alcohol.

5) The replacement work should be carried out in a darker studio.

In addition, it should be noted that the photosensitive drum is valid for two and a half years when it is removed at the end. The validity period after unpacking is 6 months. The validity period is printed on the drum kit and must be used within the validity period.