18 Dec
2006
18 Dec
'06
3:21 p.m.
The drive itself: the rubber roller driving the
aforementioned plastic
roller had melted. Clearly visible is the area where the rubber meets
Not really melted. The material decays (I am not sure what chemically
cuases this). It's a well-knwon problem for old compyter enthusiasts --
HP magnetic card reader rollers are well-known to suffer from this
Baiscailly you have to replace the roller. Replacements that have been
successfully used (depending on the machine, etc) include silcone rubber
O-rings (possibly with a grobe machined in the original hub, or a new hub
made), heatshrink sleeving, silicoe rubber tubing (fuel line for
glow-plug engines, for example), etc.
I've wondered if the 2-pack elastomer materials sold by e.g. Devcon would
work. Make up a mould and cast a new roller. A lot of work, but if it
does the job well it'd be worth it in some cases.
-tony