Printer maintenance carousel system and method

A maintenance carousel for collecting waste ink in a printer, comprising:

• a shroud;
• a shroud cover associated with the shroud, the shroud cover including one or more electrostatic plate housings;
• one or more electrostatic plates disposed at least partially within the one or more housings, wherein the one or more electrostatic plates are configured to generate an electromagnetic field;
• a tray supported for rotation within the shroud;
• and
• an actuator assembly configured to drive rotation of the tray, the actuator assembly including an actuator and a clutch.

A maintenance carousel for collecting waste ink in a printer, comprising:

• an enclosure including one or more openings, the one or more openings designed to receive the waste ink from the printer,
• a tray disposed within the enclosure;
• an actuator assembly in communication with the tray, the actuator assembly including an actuator, a clutch, and a gear unit configured to rotate with the clutch;
• and
• a fan assembly in communication with the enclosure and the tray, the fan assembly configured to generate an airflow through the maintenance carousel,
• wherein the printer is configured to engage the actuator assembly and drive rotation of the tray by impacting the actuator each time one or more printheads of the printer deposits waste ink into the maintenance carousel.