RF Auto printing onto luxury cartons with thermal inkjet printer

RF Auto troubleshooting

Need some help with your RF Auto? Here's everything you need to know

Need some assistance navigating your RF Auto?

Rotech has a comprehensive range of resources that will ensure your system works seamlessly. From our user manual, setup video, expert advice and renowned support and after care services, you will always have the support to guarantee perfect off-line coding on your substrate.

Click through the links below to take you to where you need to be!

RF Auto manual

This manual includes information on:

  • Safety information
  • Assembly
  • Installation
  • Decommissioning and disposal
  • Operation
  • Maintenance
  • Wiring diagrams
  • Fault finding chart

Product specifications

Min product dimensions

80 x 30mm (W x L)

Max Product dimensions

400 x 300mm (W x L)

Max throughput

300 products per minute

RF Auto Setup Guide

A quick walkthrough on the basics of getting your RF Auto up and running. All an operator needs to know on the control panel, power to the machine, adjusting the printer, belts, infeed and outfeed.

Click the image to expand and watch the whole video.

  • RF Auto setup guide

Operator troubleshooting flowchart

Follow each step through to troubleshoot your system and work out whether the issues you are experiencing are a quick fix or require a little more assistance. For problems that call for more coding and marking expertise, why not give us a call?

Click the image to expand the troubleshooting flowchart.

The Rotech Tick

RF Auto glossary | What does that mean?

RF Auto

A heavy-duty, offline feeder that is used for the coding and marking of sleeves, cartons and pouches of varying thicknesses at high speeds.


Off-line

Refers to a manufacturing process that occurs away or separately from an automatic production line.


On-line

Refers to a manufacturing process that occurs on an automatic production line.


Feeding system

Designed to handle any flat-form packaging, they can be fitted with a variety of coding & marking technologies to overprint variable data.


Live count

The number of products fed, counted in real-time. Can be reset by the operator.


Infeed

A mechanism which supplies material to a machine.


Outfeed

Relating to packaging exiting a machine. A number defined by the operator, that adjusts the belt speed to increase or decrease product throughput.


Stack count

A number defined by the operator, that automatically pauses the feeder when the live count matches. Commonly used when products need to be in stacks of a specific size.


Batch Count

A number defined by the operator, which automatically stops the feeder when the live count matches.


Ingress Protection (IP)

How well a device is protected against water and dust.


 

Samples

Spare products that can be used to setup the system to the correct adjustments.


Coder/ Printer

Printers used to apply variable information such as batch codes, best before dates and barcodes onto packaging.


Thermal Inkjet (TIJ)

A non-contact printing technology that uses heat to transfer ink onto a surface. The printers use contained ink cartridges and are maintenance-free.


Platen cleaner

Non-toxic, solvent spray used for cleaning and restoring rubber rollers.


Lint-free cloth

A type of cleaning cloth that won’t leave fluff and fibres behind when used i.e. a microfibre cloth.


Spares

Certain parts of a machine can be prone to wear and tear. Spare parts can be replaced to ensure the system continues to run at full capacity.


Consumables

A product that is used up quickly and must be replaced on a fairly regular basis. i.e. ink cartridge, ribbon, hot foil.


Ink Cartridge

HP Ink cartridge that contains various variations of solvent and water-based inks, which are used depending on the substrate.


HMI (Human Machine Interface)

HMIs replace manually activated switches, dials, and other controls with graphical representations of the control process


 

The Rotech Tick

TIJ troubleshooting

Video tutorial | Step-by-step troubleshooting

If your thermal inkjet (TIJ) system isn’t printing to the best of its ability, there are some troubleshooting steps you can take to enhance the printer’s performance.

Click the image to expand and watch the whole video.

  • checking the ink capacity on a thermal inkjet printer

Blog post | Why is my thermal inkjet printer producing poor print?

When your printer starts producing prints that are incomplete, poor quality or have lines going through them, it’s likely that there’s a problem with the printer settings, the ink cartridge, or it’s positioning in relation to the product it’s printing on to.

The Rotech Tick

TIJ cartridge care

Video tutorial | How to care for your TIJ cartridge

In this video, we highlight how to clean, store, insert and check the status of your thermal inkjet cartridge. These simple steps will ensure that the cartridge and integrated printhead are always producing the highest quality code – as you would expect from this technology.

Click the image to expand and watch the whole video.

  • cleaning the nozzles on a thermal inkjet cartridge

Downloadable guide | TIJ cartridge care

There are steps you can take to guarantee peak performance of your thermal inkjet printer and prevent wear and tear as a result of operator mishandling.

More support & aftercare services

spares kit hamper

Spare part kits

Spare part kits can be provided directly through our support team or can be ordered from our online shop for next day delivery.

Rotech engineer working on the wiring in a RF Compliance

Rotech Care+ Maintenance Plans

With our Rotech Care+ plans we deliver proactive aftercare support, to give you peace of mind by keeping your equipment running reliably.

Rotech employee speaking with a customer in front of computer

Training

Training is essential to guarantee the safe and proper use of your Rotech equipment and to ensure that it is always used to its full potential.

RF Auto with TIJ Printer and Rotech tick on 3D printed component.

Buy Rotech – Simple, stress-free purchasing of consumables

Get up to date pricing, stock information and lead-times. View your online account history too.

 Rotech employee speaking with a customer in front of computer
The Rotech Tick

Talk with an expert

Still unsure what you need? Our coding experts are on hand to help you find a solution that matches your exact requirements.