HEATING ELEMENTS

All Panther dryers are fitted with advanced design ceramic heating elements. Panther Dryers was the first t-shirt dryer manufacturing company to recognise that ceramic elements could radiate most of their heat energy as long wave infrared heat at exactly the same frequency as the "peak absorption frequency" of t-shirt printing inks. (The "peak absorption frequency" is that wavelength of heat, which most readily penetrates and thereby heats up a substance fastest.) By another happy coincidence of physics this wavelength of heat is true "black heat" which in practical terms means that you cannot see any glow from the elements and the heat itself is not colour sensitive.

These factors give ceramic elements 4 great advantages over any other type of heating element in the drying of t-shirt printing inks.

#1. You use far less energy (electricity) to raise the printing ink to its correct curing temperature than you would with any other type of heating element.

#2. The temperature of the t-shirt does not reach the same temperature as the ink, as the t-shirt will remain several degrees cooler than the ink there is therefore less shrinkage of the fabric and less chance of scorching any fabric.

#3.As the heat is not colour sensitive it heats all colours at the same speed. One setting on the dryer will cure all colours of ink and dark shirts do not overheat and scorch, as they tend to do on medium or short wavelength dryers.

#4.There is another great advantage that ceramic elements have. They have a very long life in use. We know from experience that most of the elements in a Panther Dryer will last more than 19 years.

We normally make dryers with heating element widths of: - 24.5cm. (10 inches) approx. 51.5cm. (21 inches) 78.0cm. (32 inches) 104.5cm. (43 inches) 158.5cm. (64 inches) Other widths are available in approximately 5 or 10 inch units.

The heating elements are selected to have a surface temperature range of 0 to 500 degrees centigrade. This is the optimum range for t-shirt dryers where the inks require 120 to 170 degrees centigrade. We can install different wattage elements for customers who want to use mainly lower or higher temperatures.

Element height adjustment is built into all Panther dryers. The height of the elements above the conveyor belt is adjustable from 60 to 160mm. This makes it very easy to pass caps, jackets and overalls through the tunnel. We do also make special order dryers where the elements will adjust up to higher positions.

NB. NOTE ABOUT TESTING THE TEMPERATURE IN A TUNNEL. Temperature testing equipment can be very misleading. Due to the fact that every substance has its own "peak absorption frequency" if you pass temperature testing strips through a tunnel (with ceramic heating elements) on a printed t-shirt at a temperature suitable for curing a plastisol ink you will probably measure 130C on the temperature strip but the t-shirt will actually reach 145C and the ink will reach 160C. The temperature shown on the temperature strip will only be the temperature of the strip, nothing else. The same principle applies to many types of electronic temperature measuring equipment like the "doughnut" type with the cross wires. The infrared "gun" type are also often misleading due to the angle of use and the distance into the tunnel.

The best use for any of these devices is to ensure consistency between print runs rather than trying to establish the exact temperature that you have reached.

T-SHIRT DRYING SPEEDS

A drying advice chart is supplied with each dryer. The number of t-shirts that you can expect to dry per hour in a Panther dryer is shown on the individual specification sheets. The figures that we have quoted are lower by about 20% than the actual figures that we have achieved in workshop tests. We used an average sized print which was 20cm. in diameter on medium sized t-shirts. The normal plastisol that we used was Sericol's "Texopaque"; the low temperature plastisol was "Easiprint" and the heat dried water based ink was "Texiscreen". All of the prints were made using an above average amount of ink.

PLASTISOL INKS and AIR DRYING WATER BASED INKS.

All of the dryers will dry and fix all of these types of ink at rapid rates of t-shirts per hour.

HEAT DRYING WATER BASED INKS.

The 700 Texitunnel series of dryers will normally not dry and fix heat cured water based inks in 1 pass through the tunnel at a speed that will allow the printer to keep moving. The 700 L and 700 LW models will dry and fix some types in 1 pass but not all types. The 700 Texitunnel can be used for these inks if the shirts are passed through the tunnel at a speed which dries the ink and then another pass through the tunnel after the print run is completed to fix the colour. Working like this you could expect an average drying rate of about 100 to 150 t-shirts per hour.This is the most efficient way to dry water based inks in any small dryer.

The 8000 Texitunnel series of dryers will dry and cure all types of t-shirt printing ink in 1 pass.

HOT AIR RECIRCULATION OPTIONS FOR WATER BASED INKS, DISCHARGE INKS AND DIGITALLY PRINTED T SHIRTS

All dryers with a tunnel of 1.5 metres or longer can be factory fitted with hot air recirculation units. These units collect the hot air which naturally rises to the top inside the tunnel and the hot air is blown down onto the conveyor belt. This assists in the rapid removal of water and water vapour from the surface of the t shirts. We include an air speed control with this system so that you can adjust the volume of air to the point where you can get the maximum effect of the hot air without disturbing the printed item. Shutters at the entry and exit of the tunnel are fitted to prevent fumes blowing into the workspace. The cost varies with the size of the tunnel. (on the 700L it is £325.00)

HEATING CONTROLS

Panther dryers are now normally fitted with dual display digital temperature controllers.

The top display shows the actual heating element temperature in degrees Centigrade (Celcius) in red. The lower display shows the selected temperature in green.The controller will normally keep the temperature within 2 degrees of the selected temperature.

A red indicator light shows when the power switches on and off.

The temperature is selected simply be pressing up or down arrow keys.

An alarm can be connected to the temperature controller. This will operate a flashing red indicator light on the controller and a buzzer.The alarm will activate if the temperature diviates more than 10 degrees from the set temperature, it will also indicate any problem with the temperature sensor.

An alarm system costs £20.00 (Euros 30.00) extra.

The 700 Texitunnel series dryers have 1 temperature controller.

The 8000 Texitunnel series dryers have 2 temperature controllers. The heating elements are split into 2 heat zones (front and rear) and each zone has its own controller. It is often an advantage to run the dryer with a hotter zone at the front. This heats the ink up to its drying temperature faster. Optionally the long dryers can have 3 temperature controllers.

MOTORS AND SPEED CONTROLS

All Panther dryers are fitted with variable speed DC motors. DC motors combine good torque characteristics with reliable variable speed control. A printed circuit board and potentiometer in the control box provide the variable speed. The normal speed range of each type of dryer is shown in the individual specification sheets and covers the range most suitable for drying t-shirts. For special order we can make dryers with different speed ranges for customers who want to work mainly at slower or faster speeds. Normally we can do this with no extra cost on the 8000 series Texitunnels.

VENTILATION.

Except for the Tampon print dryer all Panther dryers have fume extraction ventilators. The fumes are exhausted through a 160mm long exhaust stub (connector), which can be connected to ducting so that the fumes can be removed from the workshop. On the 700 Texitunnel series there is one 75mm diameter exhaust stub. On the 8000 Texitunnel series there is 1 or 2 100mm. exhaust stubs. The 8000 Texitunnels also have a ventilator speed controller; this controls the volume of air passing through the tunnel.

CONVEYOR BELT

We normally fit conveyor belts, which are about 20cm. wider than the heating elements. This allows printers to put larger pieces through the tunnel more easily. As an option you can order a dryer with any width of conveyor belt. All conveyor dryers are normally fitted with a black (carbon impregnated) antistatic, open mesh, PTFE coated fibreglass conveyor belt. The PTFE (non stick) coating prevents ink sticking to the belt and makes it very easy to keep clean. The antistatic carbon impregnated into the belt prevents the build up of static electricity in the dryer. This prevents flock, lint and dirt sticking to the conveyor belt and any interference to digital controls. The open mesh enables the belt to cool quickly when it is not in the tunnel. This increases the working life of the belt.

CONVEYOR HEIGHT

The height of the conveyor belt surface above floor level is normally 80 cm.

TUNNEL INLET AND OUTLET.

The normal inlet and outlet lengths are shown on the specification sheets for the individual dryers. They are long enough to be satisfactory for most purposes and short enough to avoid wasted workshop space. If you require any different lengths the option is available. We can make any length that you require. (See the extras pricelist)

COOLING UNITS.

Cooling units are not usually required on most Panther Dryers.They are available as optional extras.They will not fit onto some of the small models unless the exit conveyor is extended.(See the extras pricelist)

THE CONTROL BOX

The control box is normally fitted onto the side of most of the "in stock" 700 series Texitunnels and on the 8000 series it is normally fitted on the top at the front of the tunnel.On most dryers you have the option of having the control box on the side or on the top.

WHEELS.

The 700 L and 700 LW Texitunnels and all of the 8000 series Texitunnels are fitted with wheels. On the smaller dryers wheels are an optional extra. €32.00 (£20.00)

ADJUSTABLE SHUTTERS ON THE TUNNEL ENTRY and EXIT.

On a Panther dryer used for t-shirts we do not recommend it except when extra element height or the hot air option has been specified. It is available as an optional extra.

CONSTRUCTION

Panther dryer frames are made of mild steel..

COLOUR

Dryers are spray painted in our own "in house" spraying room using the least environmentally harmful paint that we can find that has a good durability. Most dryers in stock are normally painted in RAL 5107 (Traffic Blue), RAL 7001 (Light Grey) or a dark red colour RAL 3004 (Purple Red).You can choose almost any colour you wish. If we have the colour in stock there is no extra charge. If the colour has to be obtained specially for you then there may be a small charge for this service £20.00. We select colours by the RAL number. You can view a RAL colour chart by clicking on this link. RAL colour chart

MAINTAINANCE

There is very little to do. The best maintenance that you can do is to keep the dryer clean. Ventilators and grilles should be kept clean and the carbon brushes in the drive motor should be replaced if they become worn. This is probably at about 5 years.