Problem

A defect has been found in Thermal 2 head firmware version 1.05c that can cause solid stripes to be plotted on plate.

See the examples:
 

Machines affected

Any customer using 1.05c firmware on a head with the beam correction hardware may be affected by this artifact. All new and some RMA heads are affected.

Verify the head hardware by typing:
   >> redirect pass
   >> th2 eng
   >> th2 io read FFE0 1

The output will be the requested memory address followed by a four-digit hexadecimal number, for example: 0000FFE0: C342

• If the last character of the four-digit number (2 in this example) is equal to 2, 3, 6, 7, A, B, E, or F, the head has the beam correction hardware and you should downgrade the head firmware to version 1.04d.
• If the last character of the four-digit number is equal to 0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, C, or D, the head does not have the beam correction hardware and will run firmware version 1.05c with no problems.

Solution

1. Upgrade to the latest controlled release head firmware version.
2. Reset the head.

Technical contact(s)

Kyle Good

Submitted by

Jeff Edgar

Date submitted

27 Oct 2005