# My DIY forced air conveyor dryer



## Jimmy Lee

During some slow time at the shop and after seeing another member here post pictures of his conveyor dryer that he was building, it inspired me to attempt to build one to see if it could actually be done and have it operational. Although we never got to see the other members dryer completed and actually working, I have used some of his build designs to build mine and it is now finished and working. I have about a $175 in the entire project so if you are low on cash and do not have the means to purchase a manufactured professional dryer, you can build one to get you by. In the following photo's you will see the build in progress and then a video showing the operation of the dryer.


The first step was to build the conveyor frame and rollers. The frame of the conveyor was made with some steel that I bought at Home Depot in the electrical conduit section and the 4 of the 5 rollers were made from 1 1/4" electrical conduit pipe.. The legs of the conveyor I bought used at a Habittat for Humanity store for $15.




























I used some 1 1/4" roller bearings that I purchased from Lumberjack that fit perfectly in to the conduit pipe and used a 2 inch bolt and nut through the center to attach the rollers to the frame.




















I tried several different ways of motorizing the conveyor. My first attempt was using an electric motor and a 3 pulley chain drive system that I bought at the Habitat store for $10 but that failed as I could not get it to run slow enough to obtain the speed I needed for the belt. I purchased a router speed control unit to try and slow the motor down but the motor just did not have enough torque to keep running when it was slowed down.










I followed what the other member had done and bought a rotisserie motor and used a 2 pulley system which actually worked but the belt ran so slow that it took 16 1/2 minutes for a shirt to travel the length of the conveyor which only allowed to produce 4 shirts per hour which was so unproductive and we can't make any money working at that pace. So after looking at the rotisserie motor and shaft, I realized that the only way to accomplish the correct speed and drive roller system was to go with a direct drive setup. I was able to use the rotisserie motor and the rod that came with it to build the drive roller.











The drive roller itself was made from a 1 1/4 inch pvc plumbing pipe. I used a 1 1/4 inch expansion plug on each end and then placed the rod from the rotisserie through it for a true and straight running drive roller. The drive roller was than wrapped with a vinyl/rubber material with some spray adhesive to give the belt some friction to grab a hold of to make it rotate around the conveyor.










Next I had to fashion a belt. I purchased some household aluminum screen from Lowes, that came in a 25 ft by 36 inch roll. My belt is only 24 inch's wide so the screen was cut down and I ended up with enough screen for 2 belts as my conveyor is only 6 ft long, so the screen was cut down to 12 1/2 ft and then spliced together with some high temp silicon from Autozone










I attached 2 turn buckels, (one on each side) at one end of the conveyor to adjust the tension of the belt as well as aid in the tracking of the belt. The belt had to be seamed perfectly straight on the frame so I would not have to really worry about the tracking. The belt does not travel fast enough for the tracking to be a concern.

I then began constructing the oven itself. The oven was made with 1/4 inch mdf board bought at Home Depot. I wrapped the mdf with some reynolds wrap heavy duty aluminum foil and attached it to the mdf with some high heat aluminum foil tape used to seal heat ducts with.










I purchased a quartz heater from a Tractor Supply Store (TSC) to use as the heating element. This heater has 2 settings on it and can also be used as a flash dryer if someone is looking for a cheap alternative for a flash unit. It was $40. The blower motor was purchased from the Habitat store for $5 and it is a 2 speed blower with a low and high setting which I use the low setting.




















After everything was built, I took some more 1/4 mdf board and enclosed the entire oven again to cover up the foil and to add an outer shell so to say to help keep the heat enclosed without making the outside of the oven hot. A fresh coat of some garage floor epoxy/acrylic paint I had setting around and "Whala" we now have a fully finished running DIY conveyor dryer.











The dryer heat runs between 220 to 230 degrees which is sufficient for the waterbased printing that I do. The belt speed is at 2 1/2 minutes per cycle which means the T-shirt is in the oven for 2 1/2 minutes which again is sufficient for waterbased inks. I can shut off the blower and get the oven temperature up to 320, 330 degrees if I decided to print plastisol inks but would be a little concerned with maintaining the proper heat and time curing process for plastisol inks.

The video shows the conveyor running with a T-shirt going through it.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcw8bHjjKrs[/media]


If you shop around at flea markets, garage sales and second hand stores, you see plenty of items that can be bought and torn apart to build yourself a dryer. Remember, "another man's junk is another man's treasure" and you help the environment a little bit by recycling. 

Hope you all enjoy the build and let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I will do my best to help out.

Regards.
Jimmy Lee


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## abmcdan

Very impressive.


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## Reign

wow that's a nice looking homemade unit, I appreciate all the directions but taking on a project like this requires some skills that I don't have. great job and nice video! thanks


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## Jimmy Lee

Do not now what happened to the video but you can see at "Youtube" by searching for my username; Rasputin857


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## 34Ford

Nice.

See if this link works.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcw8bHjjKrs[/media]


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## veedub3

WOW!! what a nice dryer!


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## Sungfooo

how did you put the rottiserie rod into the plug? just drilled a slightly smaller hole into the plug and jammed it in?


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## Sungfooo

can you also post a link to some similar expansion plugs cause all the ones at home depot have some screw mechanism going through the middle and it doesnt look similar to the one you used.

thanks


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## Jimmy Lee

Sungfooo said:


> can you also post a link to some similar expansion plugs cause all the ones at home depot have some screw mechanism going through the middle and it doesnt look similar to the one you used.
> 
> thanks



Engine Expansion Plug by Dorman - Autograde - part# 02603

Tractor Supply Company - Home

Also check your local swimming pool stores. When at lowes or home depot, make sure you are looking in the isle that has all the specialty screws and fastners in the drawers.

ACO hardware has them as well.


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## Jimmy Lee

Sungfooo said:


> how did you put the rottiserie rod into the plug? just drilled a slightly smaller hole into the plug and jammed it in?



When you remove the nut,bolt and washer from the expansion plug, it will have a round hole on one side and a square hole on the other side. All I did was was tapped it through the square hole with a rubber mallet. You can actually push the rod through with your hands.


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## Jimmy Lee

Jimmy Lee said:


> Engine Expansion Plug by Dorman - Autograde - part# 02603
> 
> Tractor Supply Company - Home
> 
> Although I did not see any on TSC website but they have them in the plastic drawers in the nut and bolt section.
> 
> Also check your local swimming pool stores. When at lowes or home depot, make sure you are looking in the isle that has all the specialty screws and fastners in the drawers.
> 
> ACO hardware has them as well.



If you cannot find them then let me know and I will send you 2 of them.


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## Jimmy Lee

So far I have only noticed 2 minor things with the dryer. 
1. I do not know if the rotisserie motor is designed this way but every time I turn the motor off and then turn it back on, the motor will reverse polarity and spin the opposite direction but I just turn it off again then turn it back on and it spins in the direction I need it to.

2. Were I seamed the belt together with the silicone, it has either shrunk from the heat or it has warped I guess you could say but I believe it is caused from not having the belt tension even on each side and the belt is about a inch narrower then it was when I put the belt on. It does not affect the operation at all


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## Lucky7Graphix

That is cool looks really good


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## Sungfooo

sorry a few more questions

is the heater 1500 watts , because thats all i'm finding?

how did you determine the heat in the oven (temp gun? regular thermometer )? is that the heat of the item passing through the oven , or just the air lingering in the oven?

do you have any idea how the conduit pipes are going to hold up against the heat? because the guy at home depot said they werent made for high heat, but he kinda seemed like he didnt know what he was talking about.

GREAT DRYER BY THE WAY , I was so busy interrogating I forgot to throw you a compliment. 

I plan on building a mini version of your dryer

thanks in advance.


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## colorfinger

Jimmy Lee said:


> So far I have only noticed 2 minor things with the dryer.
> 1. I do not know if the rotisserie motor is designed this way but every time I turn the motor off and then turn it back on, the motor will reverse polarity and spin the opposite direction but I just turn it off again then turn it back on and it spins in the direction I need it to.
> 
> 2. Were I seamed the belt together with the silicone, it has either shrunk from the heat or it has warped I guess you could say but I believe it is caused from not having the belt tension even on each side and the belt is about a inch narrower then it was when I put the belt on. It does not affect the operation at all


Nice dryer/conveyor mod....


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## Jimmy Lee

Sungfooo said:


> sorry a few more questions
> 
> is the heater 1500 watts , because thats all i'm finding?
> 
> how did you determine the heat in the oven (temp gun? regular thermometer )? is that the heat of the item passing through the oven , or just the air lingering in the oven?
> 
> do you have any idea how the conduit pipes are going to hold up against the heat? because the guy at home depot said they werent made for high heat, but he kinda seemed like he didnt know what he was talking about.
> 
> GREAT DRYER BY THE WAY , I was so busy interrogating I forgot to throw you a compliment.
> 
> I plan on building a mini version of your dryer
> 
> thanks in advance.


The heater has 2 settings, 750/1500 watts. The temp is of the shirt and not the air temp. Temp was taking with a temp gun.

You do not want to use the pvc pipe as your rollers that are directly in the oven heat, that's why I used the metal conduit pipe and it will hold up to the heat with no problems. I had my dryer running for 4 hours when I shot the video.


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## Jimmy Lee

colorfinger said:


> Nice dryer/conveyor mod....




Thank you. It was based off of your dryer that you built.


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## sandhopper2

I have a dryer , but one of the heating elements is out . Replacement is $200 + would the heater work that you used for the short time before I spend $ to get correct unit . I will be doing Plastisol so cure to 330 or so


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## Jimmy Lee

sandhopper2 said:


> I have a dryer , but one of the heating elements is out . Replacement is $200 + would the heater work that you used for the short time before I spend $ to get correct unit . I will be doing Plastisol so cure to 330 or so



I have not ran any plastisol prints through it but it will work. Without the blower on, the heat will get up to 340 degrees but I have not let it run for a long period of time with out the blower on to see if it maintains that heat temp. To busy now to continue experimenting with it but I do not see any problems so far in curing plastisol inks.


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## sandhopper2

Thanks for the reply 
Your Dryer looks good . The one I have needs lots of work so I'm going tpo copy some of your ideas . Did you use any insulation or just the aluminum foil ? 
Mine has a meatal side but the top is missing . I thought I would use c ment board and build a top then some paint to cover that . I have a belt on it but it has tears and holes trying to sew them with some nomex thread


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## Jimmy Lee

sandhopper2 said:


> Thanks for the reply
> Your Dryer looks good . The one I have needs lots of work so I'm going tpo copy some of your ideas . Did you use any insulation or just the aluminum foil ?
> Mine has a meatal side but the top is missing . I thought I would use c ment board and build a top then some paint to cover that . I have a belt on it but it has tears and holes trying to sew them with some nomex thread



No insulation used. Cement board should work out fine. Repairing a belt is one of the biggest hassles and is almost better to just replace it. The cost is expensive but worth it. I have a strict policy with putting anything on our belts if it is not a t-shirt.


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## 100%pinoy

thanks for sharing... been searching for DIY dryer and yours is simple and doable. I'll build mine with your design...


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## Robertscali101

built me one and ill pay =0


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## sk8anton

thanks for posting, i made one already, just waiting for the heater from fedex


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## Jimmy Lee

sk8anton said:


> thanks for posting, i made one already, just waiting for the heater from fedex



If you don't mind, post a picture of it when you get it done. The joy of DIY. Mine still runs perfectly fine.


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## sk8anton

thanks bro!!!! just built mine.
here is the link for the video
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r9pDZiExsc[/media]


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## sk8anton

here is the video
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r9pDZiExsc[/media]


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## demj1308

can anyone tell me where to find these bearings, or exactly what they are called, thanks


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## Jimmy Lee

demj1308 said:


> can anyone tell me where to find these bearings, or exactly what they are called, thanks



I will have to go to the hardware store and get the exact sku # and item name and let you know. I have seen them at Lowes, Home depot, Aco Hardware and Tractor Supply (TSC)


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## spizzles

all I can say is WOW


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## Jimmy Lee

spizzles said:


> all I can say is WOW




Thanks.

The dryer is still working great. I do not use it everyday as I have a professional dryer but do use it when I have multiple jobs running and need some extra drying capacity. 

If I was to do it over again, I would make the belt wider and I would use 2 of the quartz heaters so the heat chamber was larger adding a little more heat and drying time but it works fine just as it is.


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## demj1308

Jimmy Lee said:


> Thanks.
> 
> The dryer is still working great. I do not use it everyday as I have a professional dryer but do use it when I have multiple jobs running and need some extra drying capacity.
> 
> If I was to do it over again, I would make the belt wider and I would use 2 of the quartz heaters so the heat chamber was larger adding a little more heat and drying time but it works fine just as it is.


would you length the heat chamber, putting the 2 heaters end to end ?
II or --
Thanks


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## Jimmy Lee

demj1308 said:


> would you length the heat chamber, putting the 2 heaters end to end ?
> II or --
> Thanks



I would put the heaters side by side instead of end to end. I would make the belt longer as well.


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## hubindustries

Has anyone used one of these to successfully cure plastisol yet?


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## sk8anton

i use mine to cure plastisol. never used waterbased ink. since i cant control the belt speed, i adjust the heater height


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## hubindustries

Good to hear. Thanks!


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## jfish

A true Craftsman we have here! 

That looks very professional and awesome! 

What were your total costs after fixing etc? I would almost just consider buying a regular conveyor belt for it instead of the fencing/mesh? I know they aren't cheap either though.. 

For belt speed couldn't you just apply a speed controller? And with blowers you can usually do the same too. They even sell the kind you plug in or hardwire to and then you can just adjust the speed like a dimming light switch.. which maybe would work as well? 

So what have you been using it for so far? And with blower what ink temps are you hitting? Where can one order the heater element online? Or locally obtain one in Midwest MN/Wisc areas? 

Again congrats it looks awesome you could start your own conveyor brand!


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## Jimmy Lee

jfish said:


> A true Craftsman we have here!
> 
> That looks very professional and awesome!
> 
> What were your total costs after fixing etc? I would almost just consider buying a regular conveyor belt for it instead of the fencing/mesh? I know they aren't cheap either though..
> 
> For belt speed couldn't you just apply a speed controller? And with blowers you can usually do the same too. They even sell the kind you plug in or hardwire to and then you can just adjust the speed like a dimming light switch.. which maybe would work as well?
> 
> So what have you been using it for so far? And with blower what ink temps are you hitting? Where can one order the heater element online? Or locally obtain one in Midwest MN/Wisc areas?
> 
> Again congrats it looks awesome you could start your own conveyor brand!




Thanks for the compliments.

I built the conveyor for one reason only. There are a lot of folks starting up screen printing that do not have the extra money to purchase a professional dryer so I wanted to see if I could actually build one on an extreme low budget and make it work.

I have about $175.00 in the conveyor and it works. Purchasing a regular conveyor belt is expensive and did not go along with the low budget build so therefore, I used the aluminium screen for the belt.

I did buy a speed controller for the original motor I was trying to use but that did not work out so I went with the rotisserie motor which gave me the speed I was looking to get so the belt would run at a speed to be productive as well as provide the timing needed to cure the shirts.

I have only used the dryer for water based inks and it maintains temperature at 230 degrees. Most printers and ink suppliers will say that you need 320 degrees to cure but that is not always the case. 

The heater can be purchased from many places, Walmart, TSC, Lowes and home Depot.


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## demj1308

jfish said:


> A true Craftsman we have here!
> 
> That looks very professional and awesome!
> 
> What were your total costs after fixing etc? I would almost just consider buying a regular conveyor belt for it instead of the fencing/mesh? I know they aren't cheap either though..
> 
> For belt speed couldn't you just apply a speed controller? And with blowers you can usually do the same too. They even sell the kind you plug in or hardwire to and then you can just adjust the speed like a dimming light switch.. which maybe would work as well?
> 
> So what have you been using it for so far? And with blower what ink temps are you hitting? Where can one order the heater element online? Or locally obtain one in Midwest MN/Wisc areas?
> 
> Again congrats it looks awesome you could start your own conveyor brand!


Im in the process of building one based on these plans, the best place i found for the heater is menards, they have a website where you can order online, tractor supply only has them in certain stores and the one walmart carries is only 1200 watt. You can also change the belt speed by using a different size drive roller.


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## Jimmy Lee

You can change the belt speed by changing the size of the drive roller. That's why if I was going to build another one, I would make the heat chamber larger so I could speed the belt up to be more productive. As the dryer is now, (depending on what I am printing) I can print faster than the dryer runs.


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## hubindustries

I'm thinking i'm going to build this using a flash dryer in place of the Quartz heater, then use a larger drive roller to speed up the belt. Anyone ever used any of these flash dryers from the eBay seller signbiz55?
Here is one of them.


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## Naptime

hubindustries said:


> I'm thinking i'm going to build this using a flash dryer in place of the Quartz heater, then use a larger drive roller to speed up the belt. Anyone ever used any of these flash dryers from the eBay seller signbiz55?
> Here is one of them.



yes. i use bob's 18x18 as my flash and cure. i'm now averaging about 120 shirts a day, and i've been using that flash for a year now . no problems from it ever.

i've had days where it's on for 8-10 hours.

i happily recommend it.


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## midwaste

Wow, top notch ingenuity and construction skills. I started to build one of these a few years ago and let it languish, ultimately selling the major piece, a section of industrial conveyor roller that I looked all over for...

FYI, you can use the fiberglass screen instead of the metal. I held a heat gun to a piece of it to test for over 40 seconds, getting it up to >1000F and it didn't burn or melt, it just charred a bit. 300-400F wouldn't affect it and it is more stable than metal, since the fibers are bonded together, unlike the metal, which can deform, shown by your strip, though it still works.

I had the same problems as you regarding slowing the speed down enough, but unfortunately NEVER THOUGHT OF USING A ROTISSERIE! That's brilliant, there. I tore apart a treadmill and was using the motor from it, but like you, it didn't have enough torque at low enough speeds, plus it was an odd mounting arrangement. If you needed to slow it down a bit more, you could wire a 110V rheostat in line with the plug, you could also do this with your fan, which I did with a very similar fan that I use for exhausting the shop.

One thing I do still have is a 2200W 18x18 Intek IR flash panel. Someone above mentioned using a flash panel and it's very doable, and put out MUCH more heat than a 1500W quartz heater, but they are definitely pricier. If you built the box/shield right, you could use it for the conveyor then raise it up and roll it away to use as a flash.

Fantastic work!


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## demj1308

Need some help with mine, i have basically copied this one except i have used 2 of the heaters. Do you have a floor inside the oven or is it open, i had the 2 heaters about 15" above the belt but it was only getting the shirt to about 220 as it passed the second heater, didn't seem like i was producing a "oven" type setting inside, just the direct heat onto the shirt. Moved the heaters down to where they are about 6 inches above the shirts now, as it gets to the end of the second heater it is around 380. The heaters now are basically enclosed in the unit with a full roof over them. Any thoughts...currently i dont have a floor, is the current setup good with it reaching the 380 for 10-20 seconds or do i need a oven where it will be around 330 for 30 seconds ? I have attached 2 pics of current setup


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## Jimmy Lee

I do have a bottom in mine which allows it to be more like an oven to hold more heat.


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## GrahamB

I came across this post whilst perusing other items and thought I’d post some of my work on the topic
I posted an item regarding making a flash cure unit some time ago which included a transverse conveyor system which worked well but had limitations for large jobs.
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing/t393.html. 
It was always my intention to make a full conveyor and I used a similar approach of using aluminium screen mesh. 
Key elements were to use materials I had at hand and the conveyor needed to be easily stored. In this case some mesh that had got creased waiting to be installed on a door was in the workshop. I’d always wondered about the mesh being “stretched”, so my approach was to have no weight on the mesh as it was being dragged around. 
I had an old security door and used it as the frame. Rollers at each end are similar to others Ive seen using PVC pipe but I had some skateboard wheels with nice bearings that fitted perfectly into the pipe and over the threaded rod that I had. 
I joined the ends of the aluminium mesh by stapling a folded over section, inserting some 6mm dowel into the gap and then simply looped some thin wire around the 2 dowels in 5 places to hold them together. I wanted the ability to get the mesh off easily for repairs or modification if it didn’t work properly. I extended the dowel past the edge of the mesh by about 10mm with the intention of putting a flappy paddle microswitch to detect if the conveyor drifted off of the rollers before it caused any damage. This hasn’t been needed as the tracking seems to be very good (even after a couple of years). Tension and tracking is adjusted using some shackle bolts on the slotted end roller
The motor is the DC one I used on the previous project (which had in built gearing) and I had a multi position switch and used it to control the speed of the motor. A silicon diode drops about a half a volt and so by switching in various numbers of diodes in series with the motor it provides a DC voltage to the motor of 15, 12, 9 and 6. 6 volts gives me a transit time of about 90 seconds which is fine for the plastisol and other inks that I use. (3 volts equals 6 diodes in series). 
I modified my previous “flash cure” unit by building a new frame rather than continuing to use the electric griller frame. I actually used the metal from the sides of the old oven creating a double skinned section above the element which worked well as an insulator with a reasonable air gap. I was considering using some “thick” aluminium foil (kitchen variety) as a reflector (not sure if I needed it but seemed like a good idea). I settled on a disposable aluminium baking dish from a 2 dollar store which was structurally far more sound and a good fit above the griller element. Temperatures, measured with a handheld laser unit can be up to 200 Degrees Celsius (430F) on the fabric surface. Only need about 150C (330F) for plastisol curing. I have thought about forcing air into the air gap as a forced air unit but it doesn’t seem necessary for my needs.
All in all it works very well. Like others, I glued some rubber sheet to the pipes so that they get a grip on the mesh. I think the idea of having the mesh simply slide over a surface is a good one rather than having the shirts etc supplying a weight to the conveyor medium and needing some sort of other roller setup. The use of the griller element with its temperature control allows me to have both temperature and transit time easily adjustable. Temperature is very stable.
The conveyor unit is basically a door and can be vertically stored taking up little space. Similarly, the heat cure unit is only about 150mm high and simply sits on the door frame. The whole thing sits on a collapsible table when needed. I haven’t needed to do anything to the conveyor itself and the wooden dowels don’t interfere with the travel as they go over the rollers and may prevent the "skew" reported elsewhere on this thread.
Total cost this time was about $10-00, 2 shackle bolts, baking tray $3 from 2$ store and 8-10 nuts for the threaded rod I had. Everything else I had in my collection of stuff. Good use for rubbish that would have ended up as landfill.
I hope you enjoy the story and that it provides some ideas and confidence to have a go. 


(You may have guessed this isn’t a US post, for aluminium read aluminum.) 

Just a note on the reverse direction of the AC rotisserie motor referred to elsewhere in this thread. AC motors need some sort of start direction device, sometimes mechnical and sometimes electronic (eg capacitor). Your basic dead chicken doesn't care too much which direction he is rotated and so manufacturers of these motors save the few cents on forcing it to start in a particular direction. Same thing applies to your basic dead chicken in a microwave. The turntable motors will usually start by choosing a random direction (unless its a real smart microwave oven)


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## Jimmy Lee

Nicely done Graham. Just goes to show that all things are possible if you set your mind to it. I never would have thought about using the type of DC motor that you have used as I would have thought that there would not be enough torque to turn the belt at the correct speed. The rotisserie motor are designed just as you stated.


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## demj1308

Jimmy, im going to redo mine and i know i asked you this before but wanted to double check, as far as the layout using 2 heaters, which method would you use (crude drawing attached & labeled). Thanks

A seems to have the heat not spread the whole length
B seems like it would heat the center of shirt mostly
C same as A


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## Jimmy Lee

demj1308 said:


> Jimmy, im going to redo mine and i know i asked you this before but wanted to double check, as far as the layout using 2 heaters, which method would you use (crude drawing attached & labeled). Thanks
> 
> A seems to have the heat not spread the whole length
> B seems like it would heat the center of shirt mostly
> C same as A


I would use design A. It would allow for even heat across the entire shirt.


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## BnC Custom Ink

Jimmy Lee said:


> I would use design A. It would allow for even heat across the entire shirt.


I think I would go with C, A might not get the edges of the shirt(bigger designs) and the middle might get too hot. Side by side you could tilt/hight adjust them to achieve even coverage. This is how I have it in my plans. Construction should begin soon.

Just a thought take it for what you will.

Sent from my PC36100 using T-Shirt Forums


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## Naptime

a couple questions for jimmy, and others that have built this type of conveyor..

our shop is now well into our second year. with all that we've learned, and with upgrades to other equipment, like our exposure table and our press, we have seriously increased production.

last year, we were probably at 15-20 shirts an hour. now, we are at roughly 60-75 shirts an hour depending on the job.

however, the curing process has now become a bottle neck.

we print plastisol only. and we flash cure. and while this has worked great for us, there are two limitations... it takes 30 seconds to cure a shirt. and more importantly, i use a "poor man's conveyor" which is actually a rotating table. so, i have to stop printing, to rotate the table every 30 seconds. i also have to set a timer to remind me to turn the table. and then i have to stop after every shirt and pull it off the dryer. all this stopping really kills productions.

another issue we face, is if we have to flash a job, and cure it. then we are moving the flash unit from the press to the dryer table, and back for every 4 shirts (4 station press) this again, kills production time.

we were going to buy a second flash dryer this week. so there would be one on the press and one on the drying table. but then i would still have to stop what i am doing every 30 seconds to turn the table and take a shirt off. (when my daughter is in the shop with me, we easily turn out 120 shirts an hour. i print, she handles the drying table. but on my own, i'm kicked down to about 60 an hour)

so... i got to thinking.. why not build this conveyor...

i have a few questions...

first.. i've found the conduit rails, and conduit rollers, and fiberglass screen, and nuts and bolts, etc...

what i can't find, to save my life....

*the bearings !?!?! where do you get these? what are they actually called? can i get them at a local big box store? do i have to order them?*


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## Naptime

the next thing i was thinking...

i was going to build this, and place a flash dryer inside the heating chamber...

*but, then i got to thinking... instead of 3-4 hundred on a flash... couldn't i just make a larger chamber, and use 2, or possibly even 3 of the quartz heaters to get enough temp for curing the plastisol to 330?* i do NOT intend to put a fan in the unit.

i thought maybe i could put two of the heaters side by side, and have a 30" or so chamber. so the shirts would be in the chamber longer, and two heaters, i would think, would keep the temp higher.

i'm planning to make the belt about 7-8 feet long. which should give plenty of intake and exit belt for cooling the shirts before they drop off the end.

if needed i can probably squeeze out to 10 feet. but i dont really think that much is going to be necessary.

i would love to use 2 or 3 of these instead of a single flash, to keep the budget down. as this is likely to be temporary for hopefully no more than 4-6 months while we save for a true conveyor.


----------



## Naptime

i have a rotisserie motor that i'll be using to power the drive shaft. but, it seems to me that it spins awful fast. (at least it did when i tried using it to power my poor man's conveyor. )

back then, i tried slowing it down with just a light dimmer switch from lowes. which of course did not work because of the way it works.

*but i wonder if an a/c motor speed control would work? it maintains the 120 volts in and out. *

i'm just trying to think of ways to speed or slow the belt if i am able to get a higher temp in the oven. i like the simplicity of using the expansion plug right on the rotisserie shaft. we thought about using gears off of a 10 speed bike to be able to adjust speed, but it really sounds like more engineering than i feel like messing with. that led me to thinking about the a/c motor speed control.

something like this....

AC Motor Speed Control, 120 V, 2.5 A Max - AC Speed Controls - Motor Supplies - 5JJ60 : Grainger Industrial Supply


any thoughts?


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## Naptime

i have seen that some used a bottom and some didn't. i would think a bottom would be best, so that it's more like an oven.

i plan to pull the 18x18 ceramic floor tiles off my poor mans conveyor, and use them immediately under the screen. i'm actually planning to have the screen slide right across them, with a roller between them.these things retain and radiate a lot of heat back up through the shirt, which really helps them cure faster when on my drying table.


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## Jimmy Lee

Naptime: I do not know what the bearings I used are actually called. I happened to find them at the local "Lumber Jack" hardware store during the build and knew that they would work out perfectly. I have some links below with some other options that will work by using conveyor rollers.

You only need one drive roller which is what the motor is attached to and one roller at the opposite end of conveyor that rolls. The remaining rollers on my belt do not even roll as the shirt is not heavy enough to make them roll as the belt just slides over them.


5 Metal Conveyor Rollers 2 x 27 Hex Shank New | eBay

DRIVE OR CONVEYOR ROLLER | eBay

Conveyor Idler Rollers | eBay

Grooved & Smooth Conveyor Rollers Lot of 7 | eBay

EIGHT (8) BRAND NEW SPRING LOADED CONVEYOR ROLLERS | eBay


As far as adjusting the speed of the belt, is just plain ole trial and error. I tried an ac speed control switch that is used on wood routers but again I could not obtain the correct speed as the motor I was using did not have enough torque to keep running at slow speeds. You can increase the diameter size of your drive roller to obtain different belt speeds as well.

To make the conveyor dryer more productive is to increase the length of the belt and adding more heating elements so the speed of the belt can be increased while still allowing the proper amount of time the shirt is in the oven chamber. ( and yes you need a bottom to create an oven).


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## GrahamB

A couple of other suggestions on the drive motor. 2 geared options are the drive motor from a garage rolladoor or a windscreen wiper motor from an auto wrecker.

Its a bit easier to control speed of a DC motor (just volts) and the gearing will give lots of torque, not that you need too much..

As I mentioned, I used old skate board wheels which fitted perfectly into the plastic pipe and have great bearings.

Graham B


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## Naptime

well i got started on mine earlier this week.

so far it's coming along nicely.

many thanks to those of you that documented yours before me, so that i had something to research 

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing-equipment/t195933.html


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## ryanellsworth

Hey Jimmy, what kind of water based ink are you using? I have Matsui 301 and also use discharge, and usually cure about 3 minutes 320-360 degrees with a regular 16x16 infrared flash. I would like to make this conveyor, using my 16x16 panel as the heater and I'd like to add a blower to decrease drying time. But it sounds like the blower lowers the temp about 100 degrees? I'm not sure if that would cure my ink sufficiently. 

Also I hear a lot that an air flash should lower the curing time down to 60-90 seconds? But you have the belt cycle about 2 1/2 min? Is that to make up for your temp being lower? Not sure if I would need to increase belt speed, or if it's possible. Using a smaller roller would increase the speed right? But it looks like you are using a pretty small one already so maybe the speed can't go much faster than 2 1/2 minutes...?

edit: just realized a bigger roller would increase the speed. derp!

Anyway awesome job on yours, it looks great! Excited to get mine started.


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## Jimmy Lee

I have never printed any discharge so I can't say what the outcome would be. I use matsui inks as well. The speed of the belt is set at 2 1/2 min. to have the shirt in the oven as long as possible to reach the highest amount of curing time. The blower will decrease the temp. 

Good luck with yours.


----------



## poker

Jimmy Lee said:


> The speed of the belt is set at 2 1/2 min.


How do you control the speed of the motor without using gears? 

Thanks for sharing your project. I've watched your video a dozen times. I'll probably start buying parts today.


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## Jimmy Lee

poker said:


> How do you control the speed of the motor without using gears?
> 
> Thanks for sharing your project. I've watched your video a dozen times. I'll probably start buying parts today.




With the way this dryer is built and the motor used, there is no changing the speed of the motor. If you want to change the speed of the belt then you would have to change the diameter size of the drive roller. It takes some trial and error to figure out what is going to work for you. That is why if I was to build another dryer, I would make it it larger by making the belt longer and the oven larger using 2 heaters and a faster motor.


----------



## siverone

where i can buy a lamp heating for plastisol


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## poker

I have the electrical conduit rails, expansion plug, and rotisserie motor.

The rotisserie motor has that square rod that I will use to turn the drive roller. How does the square rod sit on the rail and turn (spin) properly??

Thanks for your help.


----------



## Jimmy Lee

poker said:


> I have the electrical conduit rails, expansion plug, and rotisserie motor.
> 
> The rotisserie motor has that square rod that I will use to turn the drive roller. How does the square rod sit on the rail and turn (spin) properly??
> 
> Thanks for your help.



This will require some minor engineering. I used a steel sleeve about an inch long and the diameter was just large enough to slide over the square rod and fit inside the hole of the turnbuckle. You can get the sleeve at any hardware store or if you can find a piece of pipe and cut a sleeve. Once you get the sleeve part figured out and working, you will need to keep that lubricated with some grease to aid in the rotation of the roller.


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## Whatagimik

<-----Jealous. Nice job!


----------



## demj1308

Just wanted to throw a post in for anyone that's looking to make one of these dryers. I know there a few people out there that have made these with success, mine has been working great. The only problem is the heaters, the element is a little narrow (about 12-14 inches), and the rounded bottom of the heater makes it hard to seal up the heat, and also on mine the plastic sides started to distort. 
I ended up wanting a little more control and even heat, so i took the 2 heaters apart and removed the heating elements and mounted them to the bottom of a piece of hardiboard, and wired each one to a separate switch allowing easy on and off as well as ability to select the heat level. Also the elements are available by themselves in different sizes. I would recommend that if you have a little electrical now how, you purchase the elements by themselves in 20-24", giving a full coverage across a 24" belt.


----------



## MimosaTexas

demj1308 said:


> Just wanted to throw a post in for anyone that's looking to make one of these dryers. I know there a few people out there that have made these with success, mine has been working great. The only problem is the heaters, the element is a little narrow (about 12-14 inches), and the rounded bottom of the heater makes it hard to seal up the heat, and also on mine the plastic sides started to distort.
> I ended up wanting a little more control and even heat, so i took the 2 heaters apart and removed the heating elements and mounted them to the bottom of a piece of hardiboard, and wired each one to a separate switch allowing easy on and off as well as ability to select the heat level. Also the elements are available by themselves in different sizes. I would recommend that if you have a little electrical now how, you purchase the elements by themselves in 20-24", giving a full coverage across a 24" belt.


This is exactly what we are doing with ours, only with 34 inch elements purchased by themselves. I was wondering if you could explain a bit more about how yours are wired up. We have 220V power and were hoping to wire ours up all on the same switch, or maybe two. Do they need any kind of special attachments or is it just a wire that goes directly to the elements? We were hoping to get some info before actually buying the elements and any info would be helpful.


----------



## demj1308

MimosaTexas said:


> This is exactly what we are doing with ours, only with 34 inch elements purchased by themselves. I was wondering if you could explain a bit more about how yours are wired up. We have 220V power and were hoping to wire ours up all on the same switch, or maybe two. Do they need any kind of special attachments or is it just a wire that goes directly to the elements? We were hoping to get some info before actually buying the elements and any info would be helpful.


depending on the element you get, some are 110 some are 220, and the amount of watts each one is will make a difference on the answer. Its just basically a push on flat spade connector on the elements, to switch 220 you will need something else besides a standard light switch, maybe a small breaker panel where you can use the breaker as the switch. Ours uses 4 110 elements, and 2 110 circuits coming in (will be changing this later) elements 1 and 3 are wired together and the 2 neutral wires go straight to the neutral coming in, the 2 hot wires coming from the elements go through the switch. Elements 2 and 4 are both connected the same way but each has its own switch.


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## sandhopper2

Can you post a link to the suppler that has just the units 
I have bought the heaters , but now thinking I should just use the elements in a larger size 
Larry


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## demj1308

sandhopper2 said:


> Can you post a link to the suppler that has just the units
> I have bought the heaters , but now thinking I should just use the elements in a larger size
> Larry


Commercial and Industrial Quartz Elements: Quartz Infrared, Inc

or just do a search for infrared heater elements and you'll find a few


----------



## Jimmy Lee

demj1308 said:


> Just wanted to throw a post in for anyone that's looking to make one of these dryers. I know there a few people out there that have made these with success, mine has been working great. The only problem is the heaters, the element is a little narrow (about 12-14 inches), and the rounded bottom of the heater makes it hard to seal up the heat, and also on mine the plastic sides started to distort.
> I ended up wanting a little more control and even heat, so i took the 2 heaters apart and removed the heating elements and mounted them to the bottom of a piece of hardiboard, and wired each one to a separate switch allowing easy on and off as well as ability to select the heat level. Also the elements are available by themselves in different sizes. I would recommend that if you have a little electrical now how, you purchase the elements by themselves in 20-24", giving a full coverage across a 24" belt.



Knowledge is such a powerful source when collaborated with others. Nice job on the heating elements. Just goes to show how we can help each other out by sharing ideas.


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## gotshirts2ink

I was watching a few videos and a couple of people built their dryers from your design
Very well designs I will say
I will be looking for parts to build mine here in a few weeks and I think I will be doing a parts break down as a list unless you already have a parts list
Great job again!! DIYers Unite!


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## sandhopper2

I remove the 1 failing 220 heater in my no name dryer and added the 2 Quarts heaters . IT WORKS 
Shirts in the tunnel for about 30 seconds and get to 330+ So I guess that will allow 120 an hour much more than I can do at this time 
As they say on Duck Dynasty" HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY"
Larry


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## StepOutOfLinePR

i think i will be trying this design...out of all the ones i seen, this one seem to be the easiest and it works. thanks for sharing


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## 2020 PrintWorks

Wow there's about a gazillion different elements available. Any thoughts on the best size and wattage for 110volts.


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## old sneaker

Can you tell me how you mounted the drive roller? Did you put the spit square rod all the way through the PVC and rubber bushings and if so how does it stay in place between the rails? How is it attached to the rails?
Thanks
jamie


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## Jklavinsprinting

This is great! I'm looking to build another exposure unit as well.


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## StepOutOfLinePR

i purchase my heaters last night off of amazon


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## StepOutOfLinePR

i can't find the blower the heaters should be here by the end of the week and i'm also building a stand for my new flash dryer


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## Roundsole

Is the reason the fan is attached to provide a more even heat over the length of then conveyer??


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## StepOutOfLinePR

got my heaters in so i will be building this weekend


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## StepOutOfLinePR

*i got a few small things to do but it is working. i ran a few shirts through it last night and they came out fine. i gotta go and get a infrared laser thermo gun to see how hot its getting. i want to put a blower on it but couldn't find one...i'll post again when i'm completely finish *


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## sk8anton

you will have some coldspot on the side area


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## StepOutOfLinePR

did you have that problem? what did you do to correct it?


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## sk8anton

yes, i had that problem. just turn the heaters sideway, so it has wider coverage.
and make sure you can adjust the heaters height. for the belt, i used thick duck cloth( 100% cotton) instead of the door screen. 
work like charm.


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## StepOutOfLinePR

hubindustries said:


> Has anyone used one of these to successfully cure plastisol yet?


i have only 2 shirt but it work fine ,but i haven't done a wash test


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## StepOutOfLinePR

demj1308 said:


> Jimmy, im going to redo mine and i know i asked you this before but wanted to double check, as far as the layout using 2 heaters, which method would you use (crude drawing attached & labeled). Thanks
> 
> A seems to have the heat not spread the whole length
> B seems like it would heat the center of shirt mostly
> C same as A


this is why i have them the way they are


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## StepOutOfLinePR

anyone had problems with the shirts being scorch?


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## abbathreads

I used the same heaters for my dryer.

Just be sure they are an appropriate height above the belt.

Curious..what did you use for the rollers to spin on? I used a thing called a 'crossbar' 4" and screwed it to the inside of the rails.


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## abbathreads

I used the same heaters for my dryer.

Just be sure they are an appropriate height above the belt.

Curious..what did you use for the rollers to spin on? I used a thing called a 'crossbar' 4" and screwed it to the inside of the rails.


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## demj1308

I originally used those heaters also, after they started to distort and became too difficult to seal the heat in, I removed the elements and mounted them to the underside of a cement type board, and made the height of the board adjustable.


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## abbathreads

It's definitely an innovative process. Pretty fun to work on tho!

I just finished plans on my site if anybody wants to take a look!


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## 211chucky

on that blower motor, how strong does it need to be?


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## StepOutOfLinePR

hey guys i'll be building another one soon so stay tune


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## 211chucky

well i hope that i just ordered something that will work for my build. i found a heating element online, it is 24 by 24" 4000 watts, it is a replacement element for a BBC unit. it was only 190.00 which would be almost the same cost as buying a few of the other heaters. so in everyones opinion do you think that should be enough to do the job? i was wanting to go a little wider but i guess 24" isnt bad. if anyone wants to know where i got that let me know i will post a link


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## sk8anton

i would like to know where u got the part. please share the link. thanks


----------



## sk8anton

hi 211chucky, i think i saw you on some thread about diy dtg. i just finished with my epson 1100 dtg. i havent bought dtg ink yet though.
how is your dtg? is it still working?
so, you're into screen printing? 
btw, can u post the link for the BBC element?
thanks.


----------



## 211chucky

sk8anton said:


> hi 211chucky, i think i saw you on some thread about diy dtg. i just finished with my epson 1100 dtg. i havent bought dtg ink yet though.
> how is your dtg? is it still working?
> so, you're into screen printing?
> btw, can u post the link for the BBC element?
> thanks.


hey here is the link Replacement Heaters for Automatic Presses

yeah i did do the 1100 build. i am having some issues with mine right now i think it is the software though.it starts to print, prints half the image then starts. yeah i have been screen printing for about 4 yrs now. i am trying to get this conveyor done so i can print with water based inks. i usually only print one color stuff but i did my first black shirt the other day and the ink was thick as hell. i want to get this down so i can get to printing the dark shirts because that is what everyone wants where i sell shirts. i guess if i want to continue to sell shirts that is what i have to do. hope this element works for what i am doing. i think a 4000 watt unit should do the job though.


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## sk8anton

what white did u use? try ryonet comet white, its pretty easy to use.
check out my work at www.facebook.com/iprintshirts
do u have facebook page for your printing work?


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## 211chucky

very nice work, what do you use for color separation? i got a book that i am trying put into use to do my own seps but i am stuck on a few things. i cant wait to be able to do my own seps though that will be sweet! i printed my first black shirt the other day, it turned out to be a 5 color job and it was a one color job (just black) on a grey shirt. i couldnt believe how many colors it took. that is the reason that i am tackling this conveyor dryer project, when i got done with this print it felt like i taped a piece of cardboard to the shirt it was so thick. thats why i want to be able to print with discharge and waterbased inks.here is a pic of it, this is the first print, didnt tape up any pinholes or anything yet. i made a few adjustments and it looks a lot better now. i should have made a darker black screen but i didnt know. i used ultrasep to do the sep on it.


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## sk8anton

is that a halftone print? u dont really need a conveyor dryer. i used flash dryer to cure until i have big orders.
to be honest, if u want to reduce the aggravation, try to look for used conveyor on craigslist or digitsmith.com instead of trying to build one. sometime if u get lucky, u gonna get a really good deal on craigslist.
the DIY conveyor will give u a lot of problem.
btw, i used separation studio and accurip for color separation and film output


----------



## 211chucky

i have sep studio and there isnt really a way to do grey scale seps. yes that is a halftone image. i have a conveyor dryer, it just isnt forced air so i have trouble with water based inks. i have scoured the net for a used conveyor dryer with no luck. there is nothing local (denver) i looked on ebay and there really isnt anything there either. its to late to turn back now on the dryer i already oreder all the supplies. i am going to start building frame tonight. i am thinking of doing the top with sheet metal and i dont how big to make it. i want to make it big enough that i can add another unit if i need to. so my question for anyone reading this is, does anyone have any idea how to wire this heating element so i dont fry it??


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## 211chucky

here is what i have far. should start building the element part today.


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## 211chucky

ok guys i am at the point that i need to wire this thing up and i could use some help. i dont want to fry it the first time i wire it up. here is the wiring diagram that came with it. my dad knows a little about wiring and he is stumped too so if anyone has any help please chime in for me.


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## 211chucky

finally finished my build. i am surprised at how well it works. i have to thank everyone who started these and motivated me to start mine. so, thanks guys. final cost, 320 bucks, the main expense was the 200 dollar heating element that i got.


----------



## 211chucky

i do have a question though. i would like to speed it up. it gets plenty hot that i could go with a dif motor that is faster and be good. does anyone have any ideas what kind of motor i could use that i could put a speed control on? if anyone has any ideas would you please post a link to one so i can see what i need. thanks again


----------



## StepOutOfLinePR

211chucky said:


> i do have a question though. i would like to speed it up. it gets plenty hot that i could go with a dif motor that is faster and be good. does anyone have any ideas what kind of motor i could use that i could put a speed control on? if anyone has any ideas would you please post a link to one so i can see what i need. thanks again


go back to the beginning of these posts, someone said something about another motor with controlled speed


----------



## winterk80

Simply amazing! Well done.


----------



## acura2ner

Hey jimmy how is the conveyor dryer holding up?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using T-Shirt Forums


----------



## outbreak

demj1308 said:


> Commercial and Industrial Quartz Elements: Quartz Infrared, Inc
> 
> or just do a search for infrared heater elements and you'll find a few


Ok, I'm about to get started on this. How many elements would you recommend? I'm planning 24", 120V elements. 

Thanks!


----------



## Amock23

demj1308 said:


> Just wanted to throw a post in for anyone that's looking to make one of these dryers. I know there a few people out there that have made these with success, mine has been working great. The only problem is the heaters, the element is a little narrow (about 12-14 inches), and the rounded bottom of the heater makes it hard to seal up the heat, and also on mine the plastic sides started to distort.
> I ended up wanting a little more control and even heat, so i took the 2 heaters apart and removed the heating elements and mounted them to the bottom of a piece of hardiboard, and wired each one to a separate switch allowing easy on and off as well as ability to select the heat level. Also the elements are available by themselves in different sizes. I would recommend that if you have a little electrical now how, you purchase the elements by themselves in 20-24", giving a full coverage across a 24" belt.


hi there,
thinkin of going the same way myself, few questions tho..
i see u discarded the forced air blower, how does that affect the air flow?
i know hot air rises, doesn't that melt the insulation on the wires u hooked up the elements with?
at what height are the elements hooked up in relation to the conveyor belt?
how much space did u leave in between the elements?
how long does the shirt stay in the oven from the moment the upper part enters till in gets out?
how many watts does one element put out?

great thread, big thanks to Jimmy Lee for starting it and everybody for the great ideas and selflessness in helping out others!


----------



## hozea

thanks for your information It is helping me to build a set up similar to yours I'm just trying to get the rollers set up right and I think I will be a proud owner of a conveyor dryer with out having to spend $2,000 bucks outright for a unit like this ! I had a flash unit and it got away from me by selling it. I Was sad about that, but now I think this is even better than that ! So, I'm currently building on my dryer with two heaters in it right now !


----------



## tengm247

that is cool.


----------



## hozea

oh, I forgot that I had a 100 watt blower fan that came with my wood fireplace heater for free (brand new). It blows the hot air around the room. I might even add that to my conveyor set up also.(Found a use for it at last !) Right now I'm just using plastisol inks. But, I might start using water based inks too so I will make space for it and add it to my unit. Making this is very fun ! You don't need much $$$ to build it. Just know how to use the circular saw and your tape measure and you are on your way ! I think my investment will total about $206.00 bucks !! This a Brilliant Idea !!! If you have all of the materials at once it only takes like a few days to build.


----------



## khaleef

Hello,

First of al, i want to say a big thanks for sharing this. I really envy you guys out there. When i read DIYs and you guys talk about how you got these things for cheap at one store. We dont have such things here. I would like to build the conveyor too but dont think i can find that _Quartz Heater_ anywhere here or would be too costly if i manage to find in any of these Big Stores out there.

I'm decided to check out what kind of Heat Elements used in this Quartz Heater and some Question sprang up... Can i get answers please?

1. Can i use Halogen in place of heater in the Conveyor Oven?

I mean this http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-GL43PDBL._SY300_.jpg

2. Looking/Reading about the Elements, It looks like what is used in some Electric Cooker/Boiler (Which i can easily get) and arrange them in a Metal Box.

Thanks in Advance.


----------



## outbreak

I'm not sure those lights would get hot enough. However you could look into heating elements for an oven - and if you could control them like an oven that would be cool too.


----------



## rome3ro

211chucky Can you please post some pictures of the heater that you have built?


----------



## dizzieink

Thanks for all the great information! Please check out my post about my DIY conveyor dryer if you are interested. It wouldn't have been possible without all of the knowledge in this thread.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing-equipment/t659529.html


----------



## Jeremy George

GrahamB said:


> I came across this post whilst perusing other items and thought I’d post some of my work on the topic
> I posted an item regarding making a flash cure unit some time ago which included a transverse conveyor system which worked well but had limitations for large jobs.
> http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing/t393.html.
> It was always my intention to make a full conveyor and I used a similar approach of using aluminium screen mesh.
> Key elements were to use materials I had at hand and the conveyor needed to be easily stored. In this case some mesh that had got creased waiting to be installed on a door was in the workshop. I’d always wondered about the mesh being “stretched”, so my approach was to have no weight on the mesh as it was being dragged around.
> I had an old security door and used it as the frame. Rollers at each end are similar to others Ive seen using PVC pipe but I had some skateboard wheels with nice bearings that fitted perfectly into the pipe and over the threaded rod that I had.
> I joined the ends of the aluminium mesh by stapling a folded over section, inserting some 6mm dowel into the gap and then simply looped some thin wire around the 2 dowels in 5 places to hold them together. I wanted the ability to get the mesh off easily for repairs or modification if it didn’t work properly. I extended the dowel past the edge of the mesh by about 10mm with the intention of putting a flappy paddle microswitch to detect if the conveyor drifted off of the rollers before it caused any damage. This hasn’t been needed as the tracking seems to be very good (even after a couple of years). Tension and tracking is adjusted using some shackle bolts on the slotted end roller
> The motor is the DC one I used on the previous project (which had in built gearing) and I had a multi position switch and used it to control the speed of the motor. A silicon diode drops about a half a volt and so by switching in various numbers of diodes in series with the motor it provides a DC voltage to the motor of 15, 12, 9 and 6. 6 volts gives me a transit time of about 90 seconds which is fine for the plastisol and other inks that I use. (3 volts equals 6 diodes in series).
> I modified my previous “flash cure” unit by building a new frame rather than continuing to use the electric griller frame. I actually used the metal from the sides of the old oven creating a double skinned section above the element which worked well as an insulator with a reasonable air gap. I was considering using some “thick” aluminium foil (kitchen variety) as a reflector (not sure if I needed it but seemed like a good idea). I settled on a disposable aluminium baking dish from a 2 dollar store which was structurally far more sound and a good fit above the griller element. Temperatures, measured with a handheld laser unit can be up to 200 Degrees Celsius (430F) on the fabric surface. Only need about 150C (330F) for plastisol curing. I have thought about forcing air into the air gap as a forced air unit but it doesn’t seem necessary for my needs.
> All in all it works very well. Like others, I glued some rubber sheet to the pipes so that they get a grip on the mesh. I think the idea of having the mesh simply slide over a surface is a good one rather than having the shirts etc supplying a weight to the conveyor medium and needing some sort of other roller setup. The use of the griller element with its temperature control allows me to have both temperature and transit time easily adjustable. Temperature is very stable.
> The conveyor unit is basically a door and can be vertically stored taking up little space. Similarly, the heat cure unit is only about 150mm high and simply sits on the door frame. The whole thing sits on a collapsible table when needed. I haven’t needed to do anything to the conveyor itself and the wooden dowels don’t interfere with the travel as they go over the rollers and may prevent the "skew" reported elsewhere on this thread.
> Total cost this time was about $10-00, 2 shackle bolts, baking tray $3 from 2$ store and 8-10 nuts for the threaded rod I had. Everything else I had in my collection of stuff. Good use for rubbish that would have ended up as landfill.
> I hope you enjoy the story and that it provides some ideas and confidence to have a go.
> 
> 
> (You may have guessed this isn’t a US post, for aluminium read aluminum.)
> 
> Just a note on the reverse direction of the AC rotisserie motor referred to elsewhere in this thread. AC motors need some sort of start direction device, sometimes mechnical and sometimes electronic (eg capacitor). Your basic dead chicken doesn't care too much which direction he is rotated and so manufacturers of these motors save the few cents on forcing it to start in a particular direction. Same thing applies to your basic dead chicken in a microwave. The turntable motors will usually start by choosing a random direction (unless its a real smart microwave oven)


Can I connect that heating element directly to a 120v plug?


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## Jeremy George

Can I connect that heating element directly to a 120v plug?


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## dizzieink

Not to sound rude but that is probably a good question for an electrician. Maybe there is one here?

That said, if you are talking about the quartz heater why don't you deconstruct it from the frame with the wiring intact? Even if you can/do wire directly to the element you'd probably want a switch and regulator in line. The unit comes with both of these already hooked up for you.

You could also use an element and temp regulator from an oven, which has the switch and regulator in one.


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## Jeremy George

I was hoping that there would be one here to help. Since I'm from the Caribbean, those quarts heaters are not available here. So I was hoping to use the heating element of an oven and yes, use a temp regulator. I have basic electrical knowledge but not 100% sure as to how the elements work. I came across some that are 2000w. If i used two of these, that should be ideal. I'm just not sure if they can work just like that or would I need other parts from the oven to make it work. Can anyone her answer this? Thank you for your response.


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## dizzieink

I researched this before building my dryer and it is possible. Keep in mind unless it's a toaster oven/countertop oven, most are going to be 220v. You'll at least need the element, temp regulator, thermal couple and high temp wire (at least long enough to run from inside the oven). If you are lucky enough to have an old oven you should already have all these parts and can most likely find the specific wiring diagram online. If not, make sure all the parts you source are rated for the max amount of amps you will be pulling (specifically the thermostat and wiring).

You want as even heat as possible when curing ink. I ultimately did not use an oven element because they are not well known for this (I got an infrared panel from BBC), though it will probably work fine for a low cost setup (I know "low cost" is a relative term in the Caribbean). Another poster here had a pretty cool setup with tube elements that seems like it would help with coverage. This is similar to what you could pull from a toaster oven, as I'm assuming you are trying to avoid shipping.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing/t172306-5.html#post1205601

As far as wiring diagrams, if you don't know the exact model, once you have the parts I would recommend posting/searching an electrician forum. I know I came across some with similar questions that were answered with drawn diagrams and all. Main thing, aside from wiring correctly, is making sure you have proper grounding. It goes without being said that it's important to get it right the first time.


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## anubhavtees

Can i use this fan heater instead of quart heater??
Orpat OEH-1250 Room Heater Price in India - Buy Orpat OEH-1250 Room Heater Online on Snapdeal


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## Squiggy

How did you attach the rotisserie shaft on the opposite end of the rotisserie motor

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Motor-shaft thru rail into plug inside a pipe to other side (how did you attach it to the other rail so that it would spin perfectly. a little lost) Please help

text me at 918.938.8297. thank you.


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## sinGN

It is very nice......


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