LaserWriter Pro 600/630 Service Source

The LaserWriter Pro 600/630 volume of Apple's Service Source is a 296-page service manual for the LaserWriter Pro 600 and LaserWriter Pro 630. The PDF was distilled on 26 October 1995. Apart from the I/O boards, the two printers are the same machine.

This volume goes further than almost any other in the Service Source set: it has theory of operation chapters, component-level locator diagrams with designators, a measurable registration adjustment, and a published consumables service life.

What it settles

• Engine: Canon LBP-B270. Single-component microfine toner; semiconductor laser with rotating six-faced prism scanning mirror; 600 dpi (the Pro 630 drops to 300 dpi with PhotoGrade enabled). The Pro 600 needs 8 MB of RAM to print at 600 dpi or to use PhotoGrade.
• I/O board: Motorola 68030 at 25 MHz.
• Speed: 8 ppm letter or A4; 6 envelopes per minute with the optional envelope feeder; no monthly duty-cycle limit.
• Power consumption: approximately 0.66 kW at 71 °F (20 °C).
• Operating environment: 50-90.5 °F (10-32.5 °C), 20-80% RH, 570-760 mmHg.
• Consumables service life - Apple's own figures, not an estimate: pickup rollers 200,000 pages; separation pad 200,000 pages; fuser assembly 200,000 pages; transfer roller 200,000 pages; exhaust fan 25,000 hours. Replace the multipurpose pickup roller and separation pad together; the separation pad is part of the multipurpose tray guide assembly.
• Capacitor C202 on the DC controller board does the same job as C211 in the LaserWriter II: on a fusing failure the DC controller cuts the heater and charges C202. Leave the printer off for about 10 minutes or discharge C202 manually by jumpering the two wires at its base, after removing the rear panel and I/O shield.
• Printer diagnostic: switch off, jumper pins 7 and 9 on the I/O board DB-9 connector, switch on. LEDs flash for about 15 seconds, then hold the "diagnostic executing" pattern; if no error is found all LEDs light and two pages print. The error patterns cover I/O Board, ROM #1-#4, SIMM #1-#2, Fuser Assembly, Laser/Scanner, Main Motor and Fan. If the executing pattern lasts more than three minutes, the error is unknown.
• Registration adjustment, which is a real measurement rather than a swap: leading-edge registration is set by paper sensor PS602 and variable resistor VR202 on the DC controller board, and the optimum leading-edge registration distance is 2 mm. Reset VR202 to 0, print three service test pages, measure the distance from the top of each page to the edge of the printed pattern, average the three, and turn VR202 clockwise if the average is under 2.0 mm and anticlockwise if it is over. This must be done whenever the DC controller board, paper pickup block or laser/scanner is replaced.

Contents

• Basics (pdf pp. 3-43) - Product Information, LaserWriter Utility, Paper Path, Mechanical Drive Theory, Sensing System Theory, Hard Drives, Test/Configuration Pages, Configuration Switch, LaserWriter Safety
• Specifications (pdf pp. 45-54) - Engine, I/O Board, Sheet Feeder, Envelope Feeder, Paper
• Troubleshooting (pdf pp. 56-125) - General, Printer Diagnostic, Maintaining I/O Connectivity, Troubleshooting Tips, Capacitor Discharge, Fuser Roller Modes, Expansion Post Connectors, Circuit Board Diagrams (Pro 600 and Pro 630 I/O boards, DC controller board, pickup controller board, pickup sensor board, high-voltage power supply, envelope feeder controller board, sheet feeder controller board), Wiring Diagram, Connector J136 and J743 locators
• Take Apart (pdf pp. 127-273) - the whole engine, from rear panel and I/O board through the fuser assembly and its thermoprotector, heater bulb and thermosensor, to the delivery and pickup assemblies
• Upgrades (pdf pp. 275-285) - Upgrading RAM, Upgrading I/O Board, PhotoGrade Medallion
• Adjustments (pdf pp. 287-291) - Registration Adjustment
• Exploded View (pdf pp. 292-296)

The board diagrams carry usable designators: VR202, C201, C202, J201-J213 and TB201 on the DC controller; SW601-SW605 and J601-J605 on the pickup controller; PS701 and PS702 on the pickup sensor board; VR401, J401, J402 and TB401-TB406 on the high-voltage supply.

What this manual does not contain

No schematic and no component values: the diagrams are locators. No fuse ratings, no supply-rail tolerance table, and no winding or resistance figures for the fuser heater bulb or thermoprotector.

Pages that cite this document

• Service Training Laserwriter Pro 600 630 Service Course Version 1.1 1996 - the training course for the same printers.
• Laserwriter Pro 1993 - the owner's guide for the same two printers.

Safety: a laser printer's fuser runs at several hundred degrees and its high-voltage supply drives the corona and developer bias. Let the fuser cool for at least five minutes (ten on the Pro 600/630) before touching it, and follow the manual's own capacitor-discharge step where one is given. The mains side of the DC power supply is live in the usual way; treat it as you would any switched-mode supply.

Download: Laserwriter pro 600.630.pdf