What type of steel

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

As a ME who does not like to throw things away I have a few PC printers that are faulty so they have been stripped down.

The steel guide rods etc. that look like a form of chrome on them? are really easy to machine and I get a good finish on them.

I only use them for none critical parts but wonder the type of steel they are made from?

Paul

 

Edited By Windy on 18/08/2014 15:39:24

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Older printers tended to use silver steel Windy. Don't know about modern units tho

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Paul

I have reclaimed shafts and other parts of printers/faxes/photocopiers. Like you I dont know what grade of steel it is but it machines beautifully. I imagine some might have a hard chrome plating but mostly they are centreless ground to quite high tolerances of diameter, finish, and straightness.

I have come across shafts made od stainless steel but I cannot imagine why they would ever use Silver steel (ie hardenable) but maybe that is just my assumption. I have never tried to heat treat any of the parts I have made.

IanP

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> I dont know what grade of steel it is but it machines beautifully

With the exception of the stainless steel HP used to use as a core for the rubber rollers in a Laserjet IV!

Neil

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 19/08/2014 11:27:59:

With the exception of the stainless steel HP used to use as a core for the rubber rollers in a Laserjet IV!

Neil

Salvaging from that printer is sacrilege! The LaserJet 4 was/is one of the best printers HP have made. A true workhorse, beautifully and ingeniously designed so it has no internal wiring looms, ultra reliable but easy to service and it can even print on cardboard.

I rescued one from a skip 10 years ago and put in a new genuine HP cartridge about every two or three years, last one cost me £9.99 incl postage. An acquaintance has bought several new inkjets and spent a small fortune on cartridges over the same period.

Ian P

resued one from a skip

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Agree IAN. It was built like the proverbial.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Where I worked we used to say thy had a core of 'star matter' because they were so heavy.

Yes beautifully made, but for my needs a laserjet 1022 does the job just as well, if not a bit better.

It's odd how new technology is often very well made, and as it progresses it's hugely simplified. As a teenager I was given a modest Sharp 'ghetto blaster'. The speakers had plastic frames to hold them and avoid vibration. All the joints in the case had thin felt strips to stop rattles. All controls were over-engineered. I still quite a bit of it in my electronics recycling including the fully functional FM radio unit, speakers and (apparently) defunct power amp.

Neil

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Not forgetting scanners which have a lovely precision ground guide rod in them and machine beautifully. Neither can I bring myself to throw the glass panel away – surely it will come in handy some time?

Rik

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