Carestream DryView 5700: recurring film jams after several prints
What happened
The printer jams film; errors 543, 326 and 116 were reported in the case; it can wind several films onto the drum; after power-up it prints a few films and then jams again, as if something is overheating; calibration often fails.
What was checked
- Cleaned the rollers and blew out the air ducts — the jams continued.
- Slipped the belt off and rotated the drum by its wheel by hand, feeling the drive motor for binding.
Cause
The engineers found a binding drum drive motor: it rotated unevenly and dragged in one position, with a grinding feel under light axial pressure on the shaft.
The cause is probable and was not fully confirmed.
What was done
The engineers decided to replace the drum drive motor; the part was procured by the facility. The outcome was reported as probable, so treat this as a likely fix, not a confirmed one.
Safety
Disconnect the printer from the mains and let the print head and drum cool before taking the belt off or reaching into the film path, and run the electrical safety test before returning the unit to service.
Lesson: Jams that appear only after several prints often point to a mechanically tired drive motor rather than sensors or boards, so spin the mechanism by hand with the belt off before replacing anything else.
Covered in the course: Medical Imagers and Film Printers — Level 2: Fault-Finding →
Written from an anonymised case shared by service engineers. It is not a manufacturer instruction and grants no authorisation. Independent note; names are trademarks of their owners.