Dimension 1200es and Fortus 250mc Head Alignment

The toggle-head technology that we find in the Dimension 1200es and Fortus 250mc is a genius design that allows both sides of the toggle head to apply material by tilting the tips back and forth. The way that it does this is by forcing the head in the X-axis either to the far right or left, and a toggle bar under the head plate pops the head one direction or the other.

Although in our experience, the alignment of the head is usually dead-on, sometimes things shift and you need to take these matters into your own hands.

Alignment by definition is ensuring the path from the outlet of the tubes connected to the head is perfectly aligned to the inlet of the material tip. This ensures when the material leaves the outlet, enters the servo motor wheel, then leaves to enter the tip that it can accurately enter the inlet of the tip. Otherwise, the material would go astray in either direction and cause massive failure.

Now, if you are experiencing head alignment or loading issues, we recommend you contact support at CATI right away. However, a rudimentary head alignment can be done pretty easy with a long piece of material and your yellow T Handle wrench (provided).

Here is a basic diagram of the head components:

The simplest procedure is:

1. With the machine off, remove the head cover. I advise you to do this with the machine as cool as possible or wear gloves.

2. Disconnect the tubes from the top of the head and stick a piece of material down into the head. Do this with the head toggled to allow the maximum space between the wheels.

3. Check the alignment to see if the material has the tip at its center.

4. Toggle head back and pinch the material tight and see if it hits the tip the same way.

5. If the material is missing or crowding one side, you can back off the bottom screw on the liquefier block to adjust the inlet of the tip to the left or right. Simply line it up and tighten the screw back down.

Again if you do need further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Robb Lauer
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, LLC