User:Connor.delaney6/ENES-100/project 0

1sfoerster

Laser Printer Project

Olivia's Wikiversity Page

Week1 Narrative
During the first week and weekend I worked mainly on understanding how a laser printer works, so when I started to break it apart I knew what to expect and where to start. Removing the outside plastic covers first was conspicuous, but when I got past the shell of the printer I wanted to be ready to tackle the more important and electrical parts. Not knowing much about | laser printers, looking up videos on YouTube helped me learn. After doing my research I felt confident taking apart more critical components of the laser printer.

Most of what I did was remove structural components, specifically the covering plastic surrounding the printer. Next I would remove screws to take off parts that were covered by outer plastic or metal parts. This allowed for more access into the interior of the printer. The next steps after week 1 are to continue to go deeper into the printer, and remove working parts, which can still function.

 File:Laser Printer Top Open.JPG|This is a picture of the laser printer I am working on with the top open and cartridge removed. Also, the plastic casing underneath the display screen is off exposing the circuit board to control the display screen. File:Laser Printer Without Paper Trays.JPG|Laser printer with paper tray 1 and 2 removed during early stage of disassembling. File:Behind Printer.JPG|View of printer from behind after removing covering parts. Paper tray ports 1 and 2 clearly seen. 

Week2 Narrative
Week 2 was productive and all outer structural components of the printer were removed. I focused on the problems around the cartridge. After taking the cartridge out to get into more of the laser printer, it did not go back in smoothly. There was a pin on the side of the cartridge that was a little off and did not allow for the cartridge to slide back in place. This affected the printing process because the printer did not recognize a usable cartridge, and thus did not print. The trick was to wiggle around the cartridge when placing in into the printer, which got it to slide into place. Wanting to learn more about laser printer cartridges, I searched online for resources. I found that the cartridge supplies the toner, is the ink that creates the image or text on the paper. This made me realize that it must have been something wrong with the toner when the printer printed a test page that was completely black. This thought was verified when looking online I found the HP Support Forums with the same question and answer for laser printers. Learning a lot about laser print cartridges has helped me understand the printing process of a laser printer tremendously. This | 3D model of a laser printer cartridge looks just like the one I am dealing with.

One of the specific tasks I worked on was to figure out how to reinsert the printer cartridge so the printer recognizes it, and thus is able to print and spin its gears. What is discover is that there was a plastic component that had to be pulled up in order for the cartridge to slide in successfully. This pushed the project forward, and then I discovered the electronic switch that detects the printer is in place, which is pictured below. The next steps for this project would be to place working parts of the printer onto a piece of plywood for display.  File:Side View of Printer Cartridge.JPG|A side view of the printer cartridge in place. This displays well the progress of taking apart the printer and how exposed everything is. File:Laser and Reflecting Mirrors.jpg|The uncovered birds eye view of the laser in the top left, and spinning reflecting wheel in lower right. File:Ink Paper.JPG|Paper after going through printer. Splotches of toner can be seen. The paper did not make it to the fuse roller, resulting in a paper jam. File:Cartridge switch.jpg|View of the switch that signifies cartridge is installed. The switch is the metal loop sticking up which I believe is triggered by a spring and electronically. 

Week3 Narrative
During week 3 I learned about laser safety because the case covering the laser had finally been removed and the printer could now work with the laser chamber exposed. The laser in are laser printer was a Class 3B laser. Looking online I found out that a Class 3B laser is hazardous if the eye or skin comes in contact directly, however indirect contact like off of a reflection is harmless. This was the main task I worked on as we got our printer as bare as possible due to time. The printer by the end always produced a crumbled piece of paper due to a paper jam every time a printing job was run. The next steps of this project would be to remove working parts of the stripped printer onto a piece of plywood, and have them continue working on the wood. Pushing this project forward will include using components of the laser printer for the room access project. I have been moved to a different project though, so my time with the laser printer is over for now.