screen printing > DIY - From master engineered marvels to cobbled together jury-rigged or Jerry-built junk!
Most UV bang for your buck?
mimosatexas:
that bulb looks perfect. I have been googling for ballasts without luck all morning.
StuJohnston:
Out of curiosity, I checked the local electrical supplier for ballasts and the highest they have is 1000W. I am pretty sure that ballasts over a kW like what we use are pretty specialized. I also took a look at Alibaba http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=5kw+lamp+ballast
IntegrityShirts:
--- Quote from: mimosatexas on April 08, 2014, 10:32:00 AM ---that bulb looks perfect. I have been googling for ballasts without luck all morning.
--- End quote ---
Olec al-53 is the power supply for that bulb, with I think the 1260/1262 lamp headt. You can find them used all over the place for under $500. They weigh about 150-200lbs though so shipping hurts.
mimosatexas:
The problem I see with buying an AL53 is it is branded and sold as a screen printing exposure system, and is priced at a premium as a result. New they run $4K and include a bunch of extras. Replacement bulbs from Douthitt cost twice what comparable bulbs cost from other sources, though obviously the build quality may be different.
The used one you linked is being sold "as is" and has not been tested. The cheapest one that is being sold as tested and functional is $700. I guess I just can't understand why a new ballast and power supply for a 1000W can be had for under $100, but a 5000w is 40 times as expensive new or 7 times as expensive used.
IntegrityShirts:
I think I bought my AL53 for about $400 shipped. The motorized shutter didn't work on it, hour or so of tracing with a multimeter on the main board found a little ice cub relay was dead. Easy fix.
I'm just suggesting that these 5kw olec units are plentiful in the used market, coupled with a used light integrator and you have a full on professional 5kw exposure/timer control for under $600-800. Add a diy vacuum blanket/glass/frame and you're done. Even if you find the 5kw ballast you'll have to manually operate a shutter and start a stopwatch or something with each exposure. That's exactly what I did with a 1000w grow lamp prior to upgrading to the olec. It was a pain in the butt haha. Now I have possibly the most ugly exposure unit in existence, but it works well.
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