top fill clearance

[mrelmo]

ok here we go again
the cutting wheel i used was bought at the local home depot for $3.00 it is called a diamond wheel and it was attached to a pencil like attachment for my black and decker dremel type tool, the cutting wheel didn't so much cut the plastic as it melted the plastic so when the slot pieces were removed there was a lot of plastic attached to the bottom side of the case that you can pull off now for the procedure
first with the printer on lift the cover so the printhead is centered, unplug the power cord this allows you to move the printhead carriage from side to side
i placed refilled carts with plugs in the printhead so i could see how wide the slot would have to be
then you take masking tape and run it from the opening in the center of the cover to the far edge approximately 3 1/2" i used 2 pieces of tape to mark a slot on top of the cover, i was able to follow the tape with my cutting wheel
now for the actual cutting
i first cut the left side as there is less chance to do "damage" on that side and there is a little more clearance for your tool
move the printhead carriage all the way to the right after you remove the printhead
take a small piece of cotton cloth and stuff it under the left side of the cover, try to keep it a single layer of cloth so it will sit below the cover and the cutting wheel will not grab it, when the cloth is in place it should be long enough that the remainder of the cloth will stick out of the middle opening and cover the right side of the cover so no debris gets in the right side
when you are cutting be very aware or the white flat ribbon that is attached to the printhead carriage
when you are done cutting lift the plastic from the slot out and then you can grab pieces of plastic from the case that are attached to the bottom of the cover and pull them off as i said it was more melted than cut
slide the printhead carriage to the left side repeat for the right side
put your cloth in place and follow the masking tape that you marked the top of the cover with again be aware of the white ribbon
the right side is a little tighter to work with the dremel tool
the cutting wheel i used is 7/8" in diameter or 22mm
the slot on the left side is 1 1/2" by 3 1/4" or 38mm by 82mm
the slot on the right side is 1 1/2" by 3 1/2" or 38mm by 89mm
the slots can be narrower but i wanted to cut once and be done with it
the slot on the right was made a little longer to insure all cartridges cleared the case when parked
i have done this on a 560, 640 and these pics are from my 990 (that i was going to throw out the window but that is another story)
i have a friend that is getting ready to use refilled cartridges, before i cut his case apart i am going to try the plugs that are referred in post #16 of this thread as they look like they may be flush with the top or the cartridges when inserted and then dig them out with a pin when they need to be removed that would solve a lot of things but then you still need to make sure the plugs are flush with the top of the cartridge after refilling
the pics below in this order are if there are any other questions feel free to ask and i will try to answer
1 cutting wheel
2 printhead centered
3 left side slot
4 right side slot
5 right side slot

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Can't you just put the plugs on the end of the cartridge instead of cutting the printer?

 

[mrelmo]

there is not enough room on the side between the cartridges and you can't do it in front because it needs to lock in

 

[stratman]

Psst... Durchstich method... no printer cutting necessary... pass it on.

 

[The Hat]

When I cut one of my printers I only need to trim two small pieces out of the front of
both sides no bigger than my little finger, the first hole was not in the right position.
The tool I used was just a small junior hacksaw.

Thats certainly dramatic surgery alright, things have really moved on with the head clearance of Canon printers.

 

[mikling]

The limited clearance issue is generally caused by ridges either on the edges or the underside. On some models, the edge bends down and this bend is what catches the plugs. Hat's previous post demonstrates this. If you just grind down or file down about a 1/2" wide opening on the edge only where the plugs would have collided it is sufficient to clear the plugs. The plugs don't actually collide with the top but just these ridges that are put in there. For example on the MX870, with the sample I had witnessed, the left side of the printer has no ridges so the plugs clear. The right side has ridges so the plugs collide. On the MP 980/990, the ridges are really just bent down edges that give a curve to the ends of the top. You can grind these down or just snip the ends. Strangely enough on the MG5120 (5 color 225/226 model) the bottom chassis looks to be the same that is used on the MP560 (5 color 220/221 with the small head) and the plugs clear the tops. Oddly enough, on an MX860 I worked on, the plugs clear both left and right but on the revised model the MX870, only the right was tampered with by Canon. This makes me wonder if the clearance issue is intentional or not.
Reason.. if it was designed in to mess with refilling, then they would have done the same on the MG5120, but it looks like they didn't. Also, the means by which they are messing with the tops seems to be all over the place. This suggests that the designs do not originate from one common office or the toolmakers/die designers/engineering offices are in fact different.

to check for clearance issues, while the printer is printing, remove the power cord. this will allow you to move the printhead left and right freely. Now take a look at where the "push" is written on the cartridge label. Move the printhead aside and then feel above the path where "print" is written. If there are bumps or ridges on the underside, this will tell you where the interference is likely to occur. Do this for both left and right side. If it is just the edges on the outside then the fix is just a file or a pair of snipping pliers and dramatic cutting is not necessary.

For many, just switching to the German refill is possibly the most likely course.

 

[mikling]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/mikord/edge2.jpg

 

[barfl2]

Just to add my 5p/5cents worth . On my Canon MP620 I have established that whilst clearance of the printhead is tight on the 2 plastic shields situated either side of the printer, both the low profile flanged and newer flangeless type plugs clear OK. These were supplied by Octoink. I am particularly pleased that the flanged ones work as I feel more confident of their sealing capabilities. The flangeless ones will be difficult to extract without flying out.

I note mrelmo plugs extend up quite a bit and the low profile type might work. Anyway the surgery has now been done. The low profile ones only stick up 1/16" surely Canon's clearances are not less then this ?.

Stratman comments also relevant. I use this method as well. In fact it is the least troublesome and easy to master and works very well.

Those members who started refilling in the early days nearly all did so by the topfill method, and no doubt like to stick to what they feel most comfortable with.

 

[MP640]

Here are pictures of my chopped MP640.

I cut away most of the plastic. Before cutting, I covered the inside of the printer with plastic foil (shrink wrap).

Hope this helps.

 

[mrelmo]

i tried the german method several years ago with the CLI-8 cartridges that have full view of the sponge area, at times i would get an over saturated sponge and a small leak from the hole where the needle entered, with the cli-8 it is much easier to detect and make adjustments for over saturation, that is why i am more comfortable with the top fill especially with the 220/221 cartridges, however i may try just cutting the lip on the 560 for my friend