Executive Summary

Our group project was the Compaq IJ600 color printer. We were assigned to disassemble, analyze, and reassemble the printer and all its respective components. Using the information we obtained from this entire process, our task was to implement some design enhancements and possible improvements to the printer. We meticulously recorded every piece that was removed and documented the few tools that were used. The product was an inkjet printer that was relatively easy to disassemble, though we ran into some problems.

Introduction

The product our group was tasked with disassembling was a simple desktop printer. The Compaq IJ 600 is single function inkjet printer. The intended use was for common household medium to low volume printing. The IJ 600 can print in both color and black ink due to separate cartridges. The Compaq IJ 600 has a 100-sheet paper tray for storing paper for print jobs. It can be connected to the computer via a Parallel port or a USB B-type connection.

Group Members

Sameer Parikh

Kevin King

Casey Jacobs

Chris Martensen

Johnnie Pacifico

Before Disassembly

The Compaq Model IJ600 printer was in fairly good condition when we received it. The top casing had a broken knob on one end, but didn’t have a substantial effect on the printer’s appearance or the operation of the casing. It was a little dirty, but that was expected considering how long ago the printer was made. When we opened it up, it looked as if the dissection would be difficult. However upon further examination, the weird shapes of the parts created the illusion that there were more components than there actually were. There ended up being more screws than anything else. All in all, the printer consisted of about 25 to 30 screws and about 20 actual parts. It seems there are only three or four different types of materials used. The metal brace located inside towards the back was aluminum. The paper rollers and some screws seemed to be manufactured out of steel. Other screws, which varied in color, could have been made out of bronze. A belt that was part of the ink cartridge moving system was made out of rubber. The rest of the components, including the casing, trays, ink cartridges, ink cartridge holder, gears, and other little minor components were made out of plastic.

Although the printer did not function when we received it due to the missing power cord, it was easy to see how the printer would work when we removed the top casing. First, the printer’s circuit boards receive information from the computer about the image or text to be printer. The circuit boards then distribute information to the appropriate motors, gears, and the ink cartridges. The first action is the translation from electrical energy to mechanical energy by the first of two paper rollers. When it is time to print, the first roller catches the paper from the top loading section and pushes it through to the second roller. The second roller then grabs the paper and pushes it through underneath the ink cartridges in spurts. Simultaneously, the ink cartridges and the motors moving them process the information about the image to be printed. The motors move the ink cartridges back and forth as they expend little droplets of ink on the page in order to create the desired image. When a line of certain width has the correct ink pattern and density, the motor connected to the roller moves the paper just enough so that the ink cartridges can start printing the next line. This process continues until the entire image is correctly mirrored on the paper. Finally, the roller pushes the finished document out to the tray in the front of the printer.

Disassembly

Disassembly Process Table

Step

Process

Tool Used

Difficulty

1

Slid on plastic cartridge support

By Hand

Easy

2

Put in paper roller

By Hand

Easy

3

Put on plastic bridge holding second paper roller

By Hand

Moderate

4

Screwed in two screws

Flat head Screwdriver

Easy

5

Put on gears

By Hand

Easy

6

Screwed in three screws holding gears

Phillips-head Screwdriver

Easy

7

Put on first gear attached to plastic paper roller

By Hand

Easy

8

Slid on another plastic roller

By Hand

Easy

9

Slid on spring

By Hand

Easy

10

Attached plastic paper roller

By Hand

Easy

11

Attached the four page rollers which were located on the underside of the metal brace by attaching their springs which were latched onto a hook in the brace

By Hand

Moderately Easy

12

Put on two tiny metal clips which allowed the metal rod to be put back on

By Hand

Moderate

13

Screwed on two screws to attach two circular-shaped pieces of metal that the metal roller passed through

Phillips-head Screwdriver

Easy

14

With the screwing in of two screws the circuit board came off of the plastic holding

Phillips-head Screwdriver

Easy

15

The ink cartridges popped back in

By Hand

Moderately Hard

16

Attached plastic holding which contained the second circuit board by popping it back on rubber belt

By Hand

Moderately Easy

17

Slid a spring on the end of it

By Hand

Easy

18

Popped on metal roller that held a gear which moves gears on the opposite side of the metal brace

By Hand

Easy

19

Screwed in three screws which detached a motor soldered to a smaller metal brace along with another motor

Phillips-head Screwdriver

Moderately Easy

20

Screwed in three screws which attached the circuit board and the two motors

After Reassembly

Since we were not given a power cord, we could not test whether the printer worked initially or after reassembly. The product was designed very well for its purpose. However, we still came up with a few improvements that could be made to the printer. For starters, there were many different types of screws. If they were all the same type of screw, assembly and disassembly would be easier and would only require one tool instead of several screw drivers. Second, it seemed like there was a lot of unnecessary space that wasn’t utilized by parts or components. Minimizing space would make for less material needed, and the product would also be smaller in size and not as bulky. A third improvement would be to implement automatic reverse side printing to be able to print double sided pages and save paper. Our last improvement we considered was to change from ink jet printing to laser jet printing. Ink jet is cheaper initially, but laser jet printing is faster, cheaper in the long run, and prints better quality. Overall, the task of creating a simple, cheap, household printer was accomplished by Compaq.