Sidewinder 7 Care Sheet

Please watch the Sidewinder 7 tuning video below.  It explains a lot.

 

 DO NOT USE OIL ON THE BEARINGS!  The bearings are grease lubricated, and the oil will have an adverse reaction with them. KEEP ALL STERILANTS AWAY FROM ALL MOVING PARTS!  Sterilants are very corrosive and will deteriorate the electrical contacts as well as the bearings.

 

Use a good firm nipple/grommet.  I recommend my "half hard nipples." (available on my site, Workhorse Irons, & Saltwater Supply)  Put a bend at the tip of the needles so that it 'licks' the tip of the tube.  Use 2-3 #12 bands, or 1 #28 band around the vice motor.  Thick rubber bands from Workhorse Irons or Lucky's Supply work fine.  You may find that certain sizes of hair ties work well & are very durable.

 

When using the machine, you can adjust the hit of the machine with the return spring adjustment knob on the rear of the frame.  It's the easiest adjustment to get the hit where you want it, for the speed you want to run it at.  Turning it in (clockwise) will make it hit softer.  Counterclockwise will back off the spring tension and make it hit harder.

 

** Rule of Thumb: higher volts, more tension; less volts, less tension.

Cartridges can be used.  Be sure to use the rubber band to pull the bar down adn neutralize the tension of the cartridge.  (refer to the video)

 

Average volts between 5 and 6.5

 

After a while, if the machine seems to have lost some hit/power, it is probably because the impact mechanism has settled in and needs to be rotated counterclockwise to the next indexed position.  If the machine runs too choppy and hard, rotate the pin clockwise.  (please refer to video)

 

Direction of the clipcord will affect the hit of the machine.  Clockwise (positive up) will hit punchier, counterclockwise (positive down) will be a tad more passive. 

Enjoy your machine!

.

Sidewinder 7.5 Overview & Set Up

Sidewinder Impact Adjustment

Sidewinder v7.4 with Cartridges

Advanced Tuning 

 Trouble Shooting


Spitting Ink:

Not enough band tension.  Try pulling the band tighter.
Improper tube tip for needle.  Try smaller tip.
Needle loop too tight, open up loop.
Improper bend on needle.  Ensure the needle 'licks' the tube tip.
Too little spring tension.
Too much impact.  Refer to tuning video.  Back off the impact pin by rotating clockwise.
 

Spits Ink with Cartridge: 
1. Ensure drive bar plunger is a close fit with the mating hole in the grip. (mostly a problem with disposables)  

2. Wobbly cartridge.  Most membrane cartridges have a sloppy fit to them.  I recommend Black Claw cartridges if you must use membrane type.  

3. Bend plunger bar forward slightly.

 

Speed Fluctuations:
1. Bad clipcord  

2. Bad bearing.  Mainly the cam bearing. Usually from sterilant contamination.  

3. Corrosion on electrical connection  

4. Broken or damaged wire  

5. 99% sure it is not your motor!  These motors don't fluctuate in speed from going 'bad'.  Only if there is a weak electrical connection (ex. corrosion around connections form sterilant), chaffed wire, or weak solder/connection  

6. Some type of obstruction. Back off all spring tension and check if mechnism moves freely.

 

Loss of Punch:

Needs more impact. The line on the cam should be at the 2:00 position when the bar is pushed down and cam is rolled clockwise to touch the spring. (refer to tuning video)
Loose pivoting spring (the one that the cam rolls on)
Weak electrical connection. (clipcord in most cases)
Possible bad pivoting bearing (in a-bar). Back off spring tension to ensure the bar pivots smoothly & easily.
 

"But I really think it's the motor.  It's rotary, so what else could go wrong?"
The reality is that the motor is usually the last thing to go wrong.  Especially with this model of Mabuchi motor.  I've only had to replace 3 in last 5 years out of 7000 machines due to the actual motor just burning out.  When I do, its from sterilants or the user crushing the motor.  I have gone to great efforts to protect this machine from teh accidentals taht have occurred in the past.  In order to have a high performance machine, there must be tight tolerances.  If the machine gets dropped or gets debris all over it (ink or sterilant comtamination) you will have issues.  Bearings are the 1st to go.  Mainly the cam bearing.  Again, usually from sterilants or other contamination.  Number one issue is the impact adjustment being out of whack.  I have gone to great efforts to make that adjustment as simple as possible on this machine.  Signs of a bad motor: loss of power, but high amperage.  More of a possible issue after 3000-5000 hours of use.

Sidewinder 7 Care Sheet

Please watch the Sidewinder 7 tuning video below.  It explains a lot.

DO NOT USE OIL ON THE BEARINGS!  The bearings are grease lubricated, and the oil will have an adverse reaction with them. KEEP ALL STERILANTS AWAY FROM ALL MOVING PARTS!  Sterilants are very corrosive and will deteriorate the electrical contacts as well as the bearings.

Use a good firm nipple/grommet.  I recommend my "half hard nipples." (available on my site)  Put a bend at the tip of the needles so that it 'licks' the tip of the tube.  Use 2-3 #12 bands, or 1 #28 band around the vice motor.  Thick rubber bands from Workhorse Irons or Lucky's Supply work fine.  You may find that certain sizes of hair ties work well & are very durable.

When using the machine, you can adjust the hit of the machine with the return spring adjustment knob on the rear of the frame.  It's the easiest adjustment to get the hit where you want it, for the speed you want to run it at.  Tuning it in (clockwise) will make it hit softer.  Counterclockwise will back off the spring tension and make it hit harder.

** Rule of Thumb: higher volts, more tension; less volts, less tension.

Cartridges can be used!  Be sure to use the rubber band to pull the bar down and neutralize the tension of the cartridge.  (refer to the video)

Average volts between 5 and 6.5

After a while, if the machine seems to have lost some hit/power, it is probably because the impact mechanism has settled in and needs to be rotated counterclockwise to the next indexed position.  If the machine runs too choppy and hard, rotate the pin clockwise.  (please refer to video)

Direction of the clip cord will affect the hit of the machine.  Clockwise (positive up) will hit punchier, counterclockwise (positive down) will be a tad more passive. 

Enjoy your machine!