New Guantlet 3 - Loading Yourself

[LuckyFlyinROUSH]

So we got a G3! Back right before the World Series, just haven't had any real time to take videos or post pictures, so here it is!

Took a video, Dunno why the hell Youtube flipped my video sideways....
https://youtu.be/PY3mmsYkcSU


Also! So a while ago someone posted they wanted to buy a G3, and would be loading & Unloading it themselves. Fastest he could do was about 60-65doz an hour, but no way to sustain that speed. 40-45doz an hour was a good going rate (beginning of video). You could easily do that on any other make of press.

 I just wanted to post my personal opinion after puting 50k prints on it already. If you don't want a well informed, very opinionated description just enjoy the video and don't read below.



If you don't print the volume that we do...

You would be better off with a sportsman. Has more than enough great features, and if you aren't printing 1000+ piece orders every day, save the cash. You don't need it. Buy it down the road, and move the sportsman over, or sell it as M&R holds great value.

If this is going to be your main press, and you setup several jobs per day. Say your orders range from 12pcs to 1,000 pieces, (MOST of our markets). Don't buy it. Here is why in comparison to our 10 Color sportsman.

Started typing and ended up stopping because I had a few pages...so I'll just bullet point.

Comparison between 10C sportsman - 16C Gauntlet

Main Reason: Job setup times take almost twice as long.
- Most of our jobs range from1 color to 4 colors.
- Move table around is easier on the 10 color sportsman to lock in and register, then take trilock board on and off
- Sportsman has no bars in the way, slows you down for ink/setups/tear downs
- Sportsman we can leave the squeegees in, pull out an old screen, throw in a new screen for a new job. The Gauntlet we have to pull the squeegees out unless we want to fight the machine. Most jobs include white first, black last. Those two squeegees rarely come out of the machine. Add that up all day....
- Sportsman feels easier to turn off/on heads and jump about between jobs. I'm not sure why, but maybe not a fair comparison as the Gauntlet is so much bigger, might account for it.

- So the backstory is we setup as many jobs as we can at the same time. So either 2 - 3 color jobs, or 2 - two color jobs, and 3 one color jobs. Saves on having to take the trilock board on and off the press. Load ink and squeegees in etc all the same time. Seamlessly start one job right after another finishes.

     - Don't over buy heads on a machine to the point where it takes you longer to work around the machine if you only do 1 -2 jobs like that per year. Instead get creative with seps, until you really do need the larger machine. Time savings will be noted. We have noted that 10 color is the perfect machine in balance of size and ease of use.

So as a direction of workflow, our Gauntlet runs 500+ piece orders, or 6+ color orders only. Sportsman runs everything else unless we simply have too much work.

Needless to say...Our next few presses will be 10 color sportsmans. Anyone who wants to come try out either press is welcome in KC.

[TCT]

Very nice! Congrats!

You put the pressure on the loader v by telling him it was going to be on you tube though!

[dirkdiggler]

btw, you don't have to take squeegee and flood bar off to change screens and its not a fight, very easily done and we do it everyday.

[LuckyFlyinROUSH]

Really? Inch and a half ridged frames? Can't pull them out. Have to split pallets then fight it if we want to.

[dirkdiggler]

nope, split pallets and pull carriage to the front!  Comes out super easy, no mess at all.

[dirkdiggler]

and use the "park" feature.

[LuckyFlyinROUSH]

Have to try it out, none of my Ops have figured out an easy way yet.

[screenprintguy]

Yep, do it every day. What I like to do. Have pallet under screen, quick push squeegee button once/release- brings the screen down, then hold squeegee button,  it will run forward leaving the ink unflooded. Release and hit reset. Move pallets half index,  flip up head, pull screen to the front, and you easily clear a winged flood bar to drop out and reload a screen without removing flood bars and squeegees. You can also do the park heads at the panel. But I've been doing this on the fly and seems faster. This GT3, is one baaaad Mamajamma

[ffokazak]

Just had a moment.... Thanks for that tip.

Park position--> reset ---> half jog ---> flip head up---> remove screen.

*slaps forehead*

[brandon]

I have been lucky to have bought a new Sportmans E several years ago and a new Sporty EX two years ago. In my opinion they are great presses that replaced the legend of the earlier Gauntlet. Obviously the Gauntlet 3 is back but don't rule the Sporty out! It can and does handle everything we throw at it. Great press

[dirkdiggler]

Sporty is GREAT, but not in the same league as the GT3.  Lift cylinders are a thing of the past and once you experience a press without them, you will never want to go back.  Up and down technology seems like a joke now.  I would bet most would agree.

[LuckyFlyinROUSH]

Absolutely. Two different leagues. The best part about the sporty is the free Index feature, not relying on the pallet left/pallet right button...and you can only do that with lift cylinders.

Guess what I need to re-iterate is, GT3 is perfect for long runs. Not constant setups every 15 minutes like the majority of us do.
Up-down technology slows you down just enough that its perfect for single operators. To each his own, but if anyone is considering buying either one of these presses. Come spend a day in my shop, watch the guys work. Watch how many small orders one press does over the other, even with the better operator on the G3.

Dirk - Just tried half jog/flip head. I can get the frame out, but only if I pull the carriage all the way forward. Thanks for the tip.

[GraphicDisorder]

Head park feature should be what you are after. My CH3D has it. Which is basically a Guantlet with digital at the head.  I had a sporty before this press and we can set this one up way faster.  Just being honest.

[screenprintguy]

I have to disagree that the GT3 isn't good for lots of set ups. Our core business is small runs, 4-300 peice jobs on average, throwing in larger runs as well. We will print 8 color set ups, spot or sim process on smaller orders as well, sometimes 36 peice orders, multi locations. With that said, I specifically went after the GT3 over a sporty for the speed and ease reason. If "YOU" are the one doing set ups, you will find, on a large color count press that free wheeling can be a real back breaker. Having the knob at each head has cut down the aggravation of manually spinning pallets. I guess you can say personal preference, but numbers don't lie. Also having such a large color count press allows us to set up multiple set ups at one time hopping from either job to job, or set up to set up how ever you want to say that. Also allowing you to go into the next job without worrying about breaking down a previous job, or taping over a design on press so that you aren't worried about shirts from a different job possibly kissing screens from another design ect. If you have the technique in place, the set up and breakdown IS faster. Once we are about a year into this new GT3, we will seriously be looking to move the Diamond back out and add another GT. Not that a sporty isn't good, of course it is, it's an awesome machine, but like I said, as an owner who still is heavily involved in set ups breakdowns and runs, there is no comparison between the two. Maybe what helped us is the week after install we had Patrick Lashbrook from M&R for a few days with us showing us all the time saving techniques. It made a huge difference in the way I would have approached the press in the morning and through out the day. Taking advice from other guys like Diggler who's still setting up and running stuff as an owner, he's found speed in the design of these machines. I personally wouldn't go backwards from here. There is a video of a former Challeger 3 owner finishing a run, breaking down 11 colors, " I think", and then setting up at least 7 or so colors, new floods squeegees, inks, tri locked, test print and begins run in 8 minutes without running around like maniacs. You really can't expect any system to be faster than that.  But like I said, personal preference is always a factor. Either way you have the right tools to rock out tons of jobs daily, weekly ect.

[DannyGruninger]

Absolutely. Two different leagues. The best part about the sporty is the free Index feature, not relying on the pallet left/pallet right button...and you can only do that with lift cylinders.

Guess what I need to re-iterate is, GT3 is perfect for long runs. Not constant setups every 15 minutes like the majority of us do.
Up-down technology slows you down just enough that its perfect for single operators. To each his own, but if anyone is considering buying either one of these presses. Come spend a day in my shop, watch the guys work. Watch how many small orders one press does over the other, even with the better operator on the G3.

Dirk - Just tried half jog/flip head. I can get the frame out, but only if I pull the carriage all the way forward. Thanks for the tip.

when you park your heads there should be a button that says move forward.... park heads, move forward, change screens

I disagree as well, when I was running my m&r stuff and had a ch3 press 55 model(basically same as a gt3) we would be doing tear down and setups like it was nothing.... Granted we are doing them faster now with our roq's but I strongly disagree that you cant use a gt3 for fast setups..... Here you go, in my old shop this was a tear down and setup in under 10 minutes - 8 colors on both jobs I believe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_FDQFkZBwk