Brother HL 5200 User Manual

Brother HL 5200 Toner Cartridge Remanufacturing Instructions

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Released in November 2005, the Brother HL-5200 printer engine is based on a new 30ppm, true 1200 DPI laser engine.
While these cartridges are similar to the Brother HL-2030 (TN-350) engines, there are enough differences that warrant it's
own instructions. The first section of this article covers the theory behind these cartridges . The first three paragraphs
have some interesting information on the reset gears and how they work. The rest is standard Brother theory. If you are
not familiar with brother cartridges, it would be best to read through this entire section. It may save you a few very
frustrating hours.

Current machines released so far are:
HL-5240
HL-5250DN
HL-5250DNT
HL-5270DN
HL-5280DW

There are two different yielding toner cartridges available for these machines, the TN-550/580 (TN-3130/3170 Europe,
TN-3145/TN-3185 Asia). The TN-550 cartridge is rated for 3,500 pages at 5%; The TN-580 is rated for 7,000 pages at
5%. The drum unit is new as well; Part # DR-520 (DR-3115 Europe) and is rated for 25,000 pages.

Similar to the TN-350, there is a reset gear that resets the printer. The TN-550 reset gear is different from the TN-350
though. Like the TN-350, the starter cartridges that come with new printers do not have this gear. There are actually two
different reset gears for TN-550/580 cartridges, one for the low yield (550) that has one reset rib, and another for the high
yield (580) that has two reset ribs. These gears work by the gear train turning the reset gear and the ribs(s) of the gear
press against a new toner actuator bar in the machine. If one rib engages the actuator, it is sensed as a low yield
cartridge, if two ribs engage the actuator, it is sensed as a high yield cartridge. Reset gears are now available for the
starter cartridges.

An interesting point in the reset procedure is what happens in addition to the counter being reset. When the printer senses
a new toner cartridge, the bias voltage is set to 400 volts. As the cartridge is used, the bias voltage is reduced gradually
down to about 300 volts. This process is necessary because according to Brother, a new toner cartridge has a tendency
to print light. As the cartridge is used, the density increases. To keep the density level even throughout its life, the density
bias voltage is reduced accordingly. This will also have to be true of any aftermarket toner. This is also why there are two

Brother HL 5200 Toner Cartridge Remanufacturing Instructions

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different reset gears. For the low life cartridge, the bias voltage is reduced over the life of 3,500 pages. For the high yield
cartridge, the bias voltage is reduced over 7000 pages. Each time a new cartridge is installed, the bias voltage is reset to
400 volts, and the cartridge page count is reset to zero.

As with previous Brother cartridges, the waste toner is repelled out of the drum cartridge and picked up by the developer
roller in the toner cartridge and brought back into supply chamber. That is why there will always be a good amount of
toner left in the supply chamber when the cartridge is finished. This remaining toner MUST be completely removed from
the supply chamber before adding new toner. Failure to do this will cause back grounding. In addition to contaminating the
toner cartridge, this will also contaminate the cleaning section of the drum cartridge, which in turn will contaminate the
toner cartridge again. The reasons for this are explained in the following cartridge theory section.

The cleaning section of the drum cartridge consists of a "cleaning brush" and a recovery blade. The cleaning brush has
two opposite charges placed on it during the print cycle. The first attracts any remaining toner off the drum. The second
repels the toner off the brush back onto the drum where it then transfers back into the toner cartridge. This is all done in a
timing sequence that does not interfere with the printing process. If the cleaning brush becomes contaminated with bad
toner that will not charge, the brush will not be able to clean itself, and back grounding will occur. It seems to be the nature
of contaminated toner that it will accept most of the charge to be cleaned off the drum, but it will not accept the charge that
would allow the brush to clean itself off at all. A properly working cleaning brush will at any given time have only a small
amount of toner on it. Once contaminated, toner will accumulate, which will only cause the problems to get worse.

Since the developer roller actually contacts the drum, some toner is transferred back into the supply of the toner cartridge.
Once you print with a bad toner cartridge, the drum unit will become contaminated. Even when you change out the toner
with a good properly recycled or new OEM cartridge, the drum unit will transfer some of the bad toner back into the good
toner cartridge, which will again cause back grounding. Both cartridges will be contaminated again.

The remaining "toner" in the toner cartridge is just below the bare minimum that can maintain the proper charge level.
When the change toner light comes on, the toner will not charge up to the proper level and will cause the back grounding.
As the toner cartridge reaches the end of it's useful life, the printer senses the low charge level in the toner supply and will
try to keep the charge level up. This constant charging keeps an almost "empty" cartridge from back grounding. Once the
printer cannot get the remaining toner up to the minimum charge, the change toner light comes on. The cartridge at this
point will still be printing properly. If you were to take that same cartridge out of the machine for a few days, and then put it
back in the printer with out doing anything to it, the cartridge will shade. This will happen because the charge level that the
printer was trying so hard to keep up has dissipated out and the materials left can no longer accept a proper charge.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

1. Make sure that your cartridge technicians thoroughly clean out the supply chamber of the toner cartridge.

2. In the event that they forget, and you have a shading cartridge. The toner must be completely cleaned out again (do not
use the toner over!!), and NEW fresh toner MUST be installed.

3. The drum unit has to be taken apart and cleaned out with emphasis on the cleaning brush area. This is a very simple
process but very necessary once it is contaminated. According to the Brother service manual, there will be approximately
65-70g of toner left when the cartridge is spent. We have confirmedthis in our tests. How to run test pages, Printer trouble
shooting as well as common cartridge problems will be covered at the end of this article.

TOOLS REQUIRED

Toner approved vacuum
Phillips Head Screwdriver
Small Common Screwdriver
Needle nose pliers

SUPPLIES REQUIRED

Brother 5200 Black Toner (130g for the TN-550, 190g TN-580)
Lint free cotton cloths
Toner magnet cloths
White Lithium Grease

Brother HL 5200 Toner Cartridge Remanufacturing Instructions

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1. Remove the fill plug from the toner cartridge. Dump the remaining toner and vacuum/blow out the cartridge. Make sure
that the gear area is clean. Leaving any toner in the teeth of the gears may cause a tooth to be damaged and cause a
clicking noise. We have found it best to use compressed air to clean them out, but to also keep one hand over the gears
to protect them

2. On the NON GEAR side of the developer roller, remove the screw.

1. Remove the drum axle plate.

2. On the GEAR SIDE, remove the two screws and cover plate.