Replacing the Carriage on your MH MK2 series cutter.

Tools needed:
Philips Screw driver
Needle nose pliers

Average time to complete process:
20 – 30 mins

This tutorial assumes that previous trouble shooting with a USCutter Technical Support Representative has determined your MK2 carriage to require replacement. Your cutter should be un-plugged from power throughout this process. There are a variety of issues that would require a motherboard replacement, all of them stemming from hardware failures only.

The first step is to remove the metal menu bar (known as the “top rail”) from the cutter. To access the carriage and carriage-bracket we will need to lift up the top rail from the cutter. This can be accomplished with a small Philips screw-driver. Remove the two silver screws on the far right and far left as pictured below. Make sure that you place all the screws in a safe place and label them.

Once the screws are removed, you should be able to simply lift the rail up like a lid and set it to rest gently on the pinch-roller levers. Be careful not to pull or twist the top rail dramatically as there are ribbon cables connecting from the LCD menu to the motherboard on the right side.

The next step is to take off the left end-cap to access the tension pulley so that we can loosen the carriage belt.

 

There are 4 screws that hold the end-cap on. Take these off and the cap will separate from the utter.

Gently place the end-cap at an angle near the cutter

Once the end-cap is separated we need to release the tension on the drive belt pulley by turning the screw counter clockwise. This will allow us to release the belt from the behind the carriage. There are two wheels on the bottom of the carriage (left and right) and a single spring-loaded wheel on top. While you won’t be able to see the top wheel, the bottom two wheels are plainly visible behind the carriage back-plate.

Pull the carriage slightly up and towards you to remove it from the lower track.

The carriage can now be removed from the top and bottom track.

Next we need to disconnect the belt from the back of the carriage.

Pull the now slack belt in towards the clasps and un-latch them from the carriage.

Once both sides are unhooked from around the posts the carriage is now fully free from the belt.

To put the new carriage on, you are now essentially performing the above steps in reverse.

So now We want to re-connect the belt to the carriage. Make sure the belt hooks are securely reattached to the posts (or clasps) behind the carriage, then place the single wheel on top, back into its track.

Next, place the bottom wheels back on the lower track and re-tension the belt. By hand, ensure the carriage runs smoothly left to right on the track. Be careful not to over tension the belt. With the carriage all the way to one side; there should be no more than 1inch of play in the belt if you pull on it with one finger.