Anyone with electrical knowledge have any idea how to repair a part of the mini shaker?

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, oniman217 said:

not sure if this adds anything valuable to you guys but heres another thing I found. Mine has SLITS instead of holes.

 

That's crazy. From what I understood only a couple places made these, the rest were just resellers. It seems like every shipment of them has some drastic change, lol.  It makes sense though, slits wouldn't clog nearly as easy as circles. I recommend a timer if you can't get it to put out the right amount of powder without the motor stopping, clogging, too much too little etc. the timer was the last change that made all those problems go away. 

 

 

[ugursengil]

Hi, I know this is an old subject but I need help. I received a mini dtf shaker but there are some problems about cables. Can anyone help me? Just I need some photos about inside of panel.

[johnson4]

2 hours ago, ugursengil said:

Hi, I know this is an old subject but I need help. I received a mini dtf shaker but there are some problems about cables. Can anyone help me? Just I need some photos about inside of panel.

They are going to be different. Generally though it's a basic system with two relays, 2 panel mounted POTs and some switches. There will be one AC to DC power supply. that is all that is in mine anyway.

[hurst504]

On 12/7/2021 at 12:01 PM, johnson4 said:

to kind of sum up what I did:

1. Cut a notch in the slapper plate and extended it. The two metal pieces that hold the silicone. There is a bolt on one side. I cut a notch here so I can move this bar over more. I then used 1/8 thick silicone sheet and cut with scissors to make it as wide as possible and attached on the other side. I just used some cheap thin aluminum plate here. It formed around the rod because it's so thin and works well. 

1A( Why). the original problem here on the new shaker, the protruding " round thing" where the motor is attached to the slapper sticks out too far into the slapper box and the overall slapper length is only roughly 12". The original shaker, this " protruding motor mount" was shorter, and the slapper was over 13" in total length. If you don't have at least 1/2 inch of excess on both sides of your film, you get issues with the powder. So whatever mod you need to achieve that. 

2. I added the timer and opened every row on the powder box, in your case making some bigger wouldn't be a bad idea. I then used a cheap $12 timer and set the unit to "max". The timer cycle is adjustable to ON time and OFF time. I easily found the sweet spot and go over 4 hours now without even looking at the powder usage let alone refilling it. I did this at the motor on the hopper. Cut the wires, run to timer, out of timer to motor. easily enough room and wire, so its " always on" on the machine, while the timer controls it's actual on time. 

2A. ( Why). The overall design of this is stupid on the 2nd one, it's flawed. Instead of fighting with it, I decided to run a timer and full blast. It just turns on/off to a set amount of time instead of trying to find a constant flow. Having the U hold powder instead of " dropping" powder on the printer is a better method, it also adds weight to the film and pull it down so the slapper hits it a bit harder, further making it better for excess powder removal. 

3. The heater box is also POORLY designed. They have LARGE holes all throughout the units roof. this allows too much airflow, causing it not to heat correctly or maintain even heat. I didn't drill anything here. Mine has 6 rows of 6 holes. Those individual holes are WAY to large. I took the two screws off and lowered the heating assy. I used HVAC aluminum tape ( Heavy duty) and placed it over ALL the holes on the backside. Make care to see that no paper is left behind on the tape. Through testing, I simply opened up one hole at a time in various locations to get an even suction without it being too much. So like this:

 

••••••

••••••

••••••

••••••

••••••

••••••

 

This how the roof originally looked. The missing dots in the illistration are OPEN, the rest are closed. 

 

••      •• ( center two)

  •••• ( outer two, one each side)  

•  ••••• ( one hole near the left side by not the edge one, this is where the temp sensor is and too close will cause mis-readings) 

•••••• ( the 4th row is completly blocked off, no open holes)

•  •••  • ( two holes open, one on each side 1 in from the edge hole).

 

3A ( Why). The reason I did it this way, was to allow air to flow front and back, limit that flow, and keep airflow away from the thermostat. As-is, It's pulling cold air over the coils and the T-stat, causing issues.  This entirely solved my problem- I get one photo would suffice, but I dont have a chance to do that at the moment. 

4. I added an adapter up top to fit 4" hvac hose. Clearly this was originally designed for a fume extractor to be used with it, hence the issue with too much air flow in a sealed system. the way this unit was designed to work was for the fumes and stuff to come out of the top naturally with no air flow, and a " gap" with a slight suction ABOVE not on the top vent to pull away the fumes without any actual vacuum. 

5. I had to add the edge guides on the take up roller. Saves so much time and headache. 

6. Added the powder box on the hopper. 

7. Added feet to the shaker with spacers to make it taller yet adjustable. I use a Big metal pan under the unit to catch the powder. It's deep and wide so it never really piles up to the point of an issue. It just "towers" down the sides of the "hump" on each side. It never reaches the point of touching the film with 8lbs of powder. I also make the front slightly lower than the back, so all that liquid from the curing of the ink doesn't run back into my powder, rather forward into the floor. 

 

I think that's it, but realistically thats basically everything. Lol. Modified powder box, slapper, curing unit and takeup roller. What's left?

 

I'll add photos later on when I'm not busy to clear up any confusion. 

 

 

the shaker I have I got used from a friend and he brought the gray mini shaker from dtfsuperstore when he sold them. 
ok so if i'm understanding correctly. the sheet metal you used, plugging some of the holes at the top of the oven and the take roll guards solved your edge curing issue. because these bulbs should have been longer in my option. 

as far as using the hvac tape on the holes. I think this one might be different with the holes. 2 rows are offest from element 1 and 3, 1 row directly above element 2 and the other 2 rows of holes are in the center of element 1/2 and 2/3

[johnson4]

5 hours ago, hurst504 said:

the shaker I have I got used from a friend and he brought the gray mini shaker from dtfsuperstore when he sold them. 
ok so if i'm understanding correctly. the sheet metal you used, plugging some of the holes at the top of the oven and the take roll guards solved your edge curing issue. because these bulbs should have been longer in my option. 

as far as using the hvac tape on the holes. I think this one might be different with the holes. 2 rows are offest from element 1 and 3, 1 row directly above element 2 and the other 2 rows of holes are in the center of element 1/2 and 2/3

Those holes are fine, they don’t need taped. That looks like the original shaker DTFSS sold, back when they first started. The ones that needed taped were poorly designed. 
 

See, most of these are 30cm shakers sold as 33cm shakers. It’s rare to find an actual 33cm shaker. Especially back then, I guess it was assumed if the film fit it would work. 
 

for this one, I alternated the bulbs being pushed over all to one side. eventually replacing it with 15” bulbs( where the actual cure portion is about 13.5”) to solve the issue with 13” film. Otherwise, you can only print 11.75” or so wide and it cure fine as long as it’s centered properly. 
 

Personally I’d source some 15” 300w bulbs to replace them with, otherwise it will be endless tinkering. 
 

See the coiled wire in the bulb? Measure that from end to end- not the entire bulb just the wire- that’s about the largest cured width you’ll get. 

[hurst504]

2 hours ago, johnson4 said:

Those holes are fine, they don’t need taped. That looks like the original shaker DTFSS sold, back when they first started. The ones that needed taped were poorly designed. 
 

See, most of these are 30cm shakers sold as 33cm shakers. It’s rare to find an actual 33cm shaker. Especially back then, I guess it was assumed if the film fit it would work. 
 

for this one, I alternated the bulbs being pushed over all to one side. eventually replacing it with 15” bulbs( where the actual cure portion is about 13.5”) to solve the issue with 13” film. Otherwise, you can only print 11.75” or so wide and it cure fine as long as it’s centered properly. 
 

Personally I’d source some 15” 300w bulbs to replace them with, otherwise it will be endless tinkering. 
 

See the coiled wire in the bulb? Measure that from end to end- not the entire bulb just the wire- that’s about the largest cured width you’ll get. 

Yeah he said he got this shaker when they first started selling them. Ive actually been looking for bigger bulbs before i found your tinkering.
I figured as much that i could go up to about 300w even maybe 400w for 220v. 
Did you find a good vendor that sold 15in/38cm 300w bulbs?
I have another shaker coming. they say it's 33cm but I want to have bulbs just incase it's not. 

[johnson4]

41 minutes ago, hurst504 said:

Yeah he said he got this shaker when they first started selling them. Ive actually been looking for bigger bulbs before i found your tinkering.
I figured as much that i could go up to about 300w even maybe 400w for 220v. 
Did you find a good vendor that sold 15in/38cm 300w bulbs?
I have another shaker coming. they say it's 33cm but I want to have bulbs just incase it's not. 

The original bulbs are 300W(220v) on mine that looks like that, that’s actually one of my favorite shakers to this day. 

 

finding bulbs has been the biggest pain I have run across, without having them made specifically which is expensive. 

I did find some, but I’ll have to go back and look. I was told they were 120V bulbs 300W, but when I hooked them up on 220V they were at 300W and worked normally. 

 

[hurst504]

1 hour ago, johnson4 said:

The original bulbs are 300W(220v) on mine that looks like that, that’s actually one of my favorite shakers to this day. 

 

finding bulbs has been the biggest pain I have run across, without having them made specifically which is expensive. 

I did find some, but I’ll have to go back and look. I was told they were 120V bulbs 300W, but when I hooked them up on 220V they were at 300W and worked normally. 

 

Thanks. Let me know if u find it.
 

My next question, Is the 15in length of the bulbs sized from end to end of the white or is the bulb measured from coil to coil. 
 

because the straight part of the wire don’t get hot just from the start of the coiled up part. So if I’m looking for bulbs am I looking for 15in bulbs or something bigger. If that makes sense. 

[johnson4]

2 hours ago, hurst504 said:

Thanks. Let me know if u find it.
 

My next question, Is the 15in length of the bulbs sized from end to end of the white or is the bulb measured from coil to coil. 
 

because the straight part of the wire don’t get hot just from the start of the coiled up part. So if I’m looking for bulbs am I looking for 15in bulbs or something bigger. If that makes sense. 

They size the bulbs from tip to tip of the ceramic end caps where the power wire goes in. They all seem to have that gap from the end cap to where the winding starts, at least the ones I’ve seen. Maybe to prevent the heat from running back into the actual wiring I’m not sure. 
 

With the bulb 15” In length, you’ll get about 13”-13.5” of curable width. 
 

if you redesigned the lid and made the bulbs about 6” away from the film, you would get a more consistent cure without risk of overheating and could use the bit smaller bulbs. The further away the bulb is the more they overlap and create a more consistent heat zone. You would need to move the coupler down to about 1.5” away from the film on the side to keep the temperature in check. It’s what I’m doing on my shaker build anyway.

Edited October 2, 2022 by johnson4

[hurst504]

1 hour ago, johnson4 said:

They size the bulbs from tip to tip of the ceramic end caps where the power wire goes in. They all seem to have that gap from the end cap to where the winding starts, at least the ones I’ve seen. Maybe to prevent the heat from running back into the actual wiring I’m not sure. 
 

With the bulb 15” In length, you’ll get about 13”-13.5” of curable width. 
 

if you redesigned the lid and made the bulbs about 6” away from the film, you would get a more consistent cure without risk of overheating and could use the bit smaller bulbs. The further away the bulb is the more they overlap and create a more consistent heat zone. You would need to move the coupler down to about 1.5” away from the film on the side to keep the temperature in check. It’s what I’m doing on my shaker build anyway.

Ok cool. I might have to look into maybe redesigning the lid. This bulb here is 15 3/8 so it should definitely be curing the full length. Maybe the bulbs on its last leg. 

[hurst504]

8 hours ago, johnson4 said:

They size the bulbs from tip to tip of the ceramic end caps where the power wire goes in. They all seem to have that gap from the end cap to where the winding starts, at least the ones I’ve seen. Maybe to prevent the heat from running back into the actual wiring I’m not sure. 
 

With the bulb 15” In length, you’ll get about 13”-13.5” of curable width. 
 

if you redesigned the lid and made the bulbs about 6” away from the film, you would get a more consistent cure without risk of overheating and could use the bit smaller bulbs. The further away the bulb is the more they overlap and create a more consistent heat zone. You would need to move the coupler down to about 1.5” away from the film on the side to keep the temperature in check. It’s what I’m doing on my shaker build anyway.

I think i figured out something that I want to test. but the place don't have enough 300w (220v). Do you know if the 400w (220v) would work or nah. 

[johnson4]

On 10/3/2022 at 2:43 AM, hurst504 said:

I think i figured out something that I want to test. but the place don't have enough 300w (220v). Do you know if the 400w (220v) would work or nah. 

I was wrong, I looked back at my notes. You want 400W bulbs, not 300W bulbs. Anything over 400W bulbs will burn the film, anything less has a hard time curing properly and cycling properly. 

 

so 400W is perfect. That is actually what I am STILL looking for. I am trying to find 6 of them, haha. 

[johnson4]

On 10/2/2022 at 8:07 PM, hurst504 said:

Ok cool. I might have to look into maybe redesigning the lid. This bulb here is 15 3/8 so it should definitely be curing the full length. Maybe the bulbs on its last leg. 

You also need to consider the 15" of space you have where the film runs. Do you have it running in the center? That shaker I have like this one, It absolutely needs replacements. I've been using it non-stop for 2 years. One bulb is shot and the other two have hot spots. 

[hurst504]

3 hours ago, johnson4 said:

You also need to consider the 15" of space you have where the film runs. Do you have it running in the center? That shaker I have like this one, It absolutely needs replacements. I've been using it non-stop for 2 years. One bulb is shot and the other two have hot spots. 

I ended up finding some shorter bulbs. they should be around 10.5 inches. it may or may not work but instead of having one long bulb going straight across. Imma going to stagger them. 
I have noticed that america sucks when it comes down to these bulbs. I've found places in canada and the uk carrying them.
look up this "220V 400W Quartz Heater Tube Infrared Heating Element Pipe". I also found bulbs with a screw end so you have to make your own connection. 

[johnson4]

4 hours ago, hurst504 said:

I ended up finding some shorter bulbs. they should be around 10.5 inches. it may or may not work but instead of having one long bulb going straight across. Imma going to stagger them. 
I have noticed that america sucks when it comes down to these bulbs. I've found places in canada and the uk carrying them.
look up this "220V 400W Quartz Heater Tube Infrared Heating Element Pipe". I also found bulbs with a screw end so you have to make your own connection. 

Thanks. I hadn’t used any like that. 
 

I found this one on Amazon- 

 

IIVVERR AC 220V 400W Quartz Heater Tube Infrared Heating Pipe 33cm (AC 220V 400W Tubo calentador de cuarzo Elemento de calefacción por infrarrojos Tubo de desinfección 33cm

 

looks just like that one, just apparently 33cm

Edited October 5, 2022 by johnson4

[johnson4]

Something I’m going to try with my DIY shaker build( pro model) is using heated mats with aluminum plate instead of bulbs altogether.  The plates will “ hump”   In the middle to ensure complete contact. The plates will be temperature controlled. Cheaper and easier for me with a build, also entirely consistent. 
 

I ordered a custom sized and wattage/voltage mat that will cure the film instead of the bulbs, it should be here in a few days. preliminary testing shows it will work great, and remove the need for the exhaust to be “perfect” and get a complete edge to edge cure. 
 

if that works well I’ll follow up on that as well. Save some electric and hassle with bulb replacements. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by johnson4

[hurst504]

6 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

Something I’m going to try with my DIY shaker build( pro model) is using heated mats with aluminum plate instead of bulbs altogether.  The plates will “ hump”   In the middle to ensure complete contact. The plates will be temperature controlled. Cheaper and easier for me with a build, also entirely consistent. 
 

I ordered a custom sized and wattage/voltage mat that will cure the film instead of the bulbs, it should be here in a few days. preliminary testing shows it will work great, and remove the need for the exhaust to be “perfect” and get a complete edge to edge cure. 
 

if that works well I’ll follow up on that as well. Save some electric and hassle with bulb replacements. 

i was thinking about doing something like this too. it will definitely be cost effective and better coverage than using bulbs. Kinda like the mat that comes in some of the desktop dtf oven.

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, hurst504 said:

i was thinking about doing something like this too. it will definitely be cost effective and better coverage than using bulbs. Kinda like the mat that comes in some of the desktop dtf oven.

I’m not sure, just a standard silicone element mat. If that’s what those use, yeah. It works fine as long as you keep contact points. Film likes to bubble or “ slightly raise” as it’s heated.  

 

( the below is unrelated) 
 

me personally I need a shaker with extended curing like on the one I’m building. I’m looking for at least 24” of cure tunnel in length, aiming for 26” in length. This will make the fastest of printers cure time be a minimum of 3 minutes for a proper cure. I designed a lid and insert and made the body. 

but to have the insert  cut/bent in stainless would be over $150 alone plus I’d still need to weld it and then the $50 actual lid, welding and prep/ powder coat for it as well- seems like a bunch of money and work that could be avoided using the mats. I started a design with laser cut steel that was to be bent and welded for the frame but it got expensive and over complicated fast so I scratched that. 
 

you can buy linear rail dirt cheap in comparison. I created a 3D mock-up of the build( I realized I could do this to save on design costs) and it’s only about $250 in total for the entire frame for a 26” X 26” curing portion, the duster/shaker portion and the preheater/take up roller. The duster box( the box where the powder meets the film and shakes off by slapping) is about $60 plus powder coating. Add in the preheater ( another heated mat), the powder box/powder distribution portion and the take up wheel set-  For an extended 24” shaker capable of being run from a single touch screen if desired would be under $1,000. 
 

my build quote on the whole thing is under $1,000 for a professional looking, powder coated ( sealed with sheet metal, wouldn’t even know it was linear rail) shaker capable of handling 9 IPM( inches per minute X 24” wide) printer feed while still curing properly. The whole unit comes up to about 1500W at full power. Since it’s bottom heated and will retain heat better though it will be more consistent and cycle less often using less electric with less wasted heat. It will have its own adjustable exhaust fan built into the lid. 
 

overall, it could be a complete DIY kit in a box for a professional running shaker, I just need to finish a few small part designs and get the rest of the parts into production. 

the “ prototype” I used to test the cure times and all that before finalizing this stuff has been working well, it’s just the bulbs that keep throwing me off. The only logical reason is cost, but the mats are hardly any more here in the US and are much more efficient and safer. 
 

anyway, love to hear any follow up of the changes made to make it work in your side. 
 

 

[hurst504]

29 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

I’m not sure, just a standard silicone element mat. If that’s what those use, yeah. It works fine as long as you keep contact points. Film likes to bubble or “ slightly raise” as it’s heated.  

 

( the below is unrelated) 
 

me personally I need a shaker with extended curing like on the one I’m building. I’m looking for at least 24” of cure tunnel in length, aiming for 26” in length. This will make the fastest of printers cure time be a minimum of 3 minutes for a proper cure. I designed a lid and insert and made the body. 

but to have the insert  cut/bent in stainless would be over $150 alone plus I’d still need to weld it and then the $50 actual lid, welding and prep/ powder coat for it as well- seems like a bunch of money and work that could be avoided using the mats. I started a design with laser cut steel that was to be bent and welded for the frame but it got expensive and over complicated fast so I scratched that. 
 

you can buy linear rail dirt cheap in comparison. I created a 3D mock-up of the build( I realized I could do this to save on design costs) and it’s only about $250 in total for the entire frame for a 26” X 26” curing portion, the duster/shaker portion and the preheater/take up roller. The duster box( the box where the powder meets the film and shakes off by slapping) is about $60 plus powder coating. Add in the preheater ( another heated mat), the powder box/powder distribution portion and the take up wheel set-  For an extended 24” shaker capable of being run from a single touch screen if desired would be under $1,000. 
 

my build quote on the whole thing is under $1,000 for a professional looking, powder coated ( sealed with sheet metal, wouldn’t even know it was linear rail) shaker capable of handling 9 IPM( inches per minute X 24” wide) printer feed while still curing properly. The whole unit comes up to about 1500W at full power. Since it’s bottom heated and will retain heat better though it will be more consistent and cycle less often using less electric with less wasted heat. It will have its own adjustable exhaust fan built into the lid. 
 

overall, it could be a complete DIY kit in a box for a professional running shaker, I just need to finish a few small part designs and get the rest of the parts into production. 

the “ prototype” I used to test the cure times and all that before finalizing this stuff has been working well, it’s just the bulbs that keep throwing me off. The only logical reason is cost, but the mats are hardly any more here in the US and are much more efficient and safer. 
 

anyway, love to hear any follow up of the changes made to make it work in your side. 
 

 

i'll keep you posted once these bulbs arrive.
I also seen mention something about programming the temp control so it cycles less by increasing and decreasing something. I'll look for it. but imma probably try that out and add a timer to the shaker. since currently i'm turning the knob back and forth to make the duster drop and not drop powder

[Cory1994]

Has any body with the 12 in shaker / dryer ever had a problem with the dryer bulbs coming on? I have 120 at the bulbs but nothing is heating up. Didn’t know if it may be a bad bulb but there’s three and none are working 

[Cory1994]

This is dtf not dtg btw

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, Cory1994 said:

This is dtf not dtg btw

Are you sure it’s a 120V unit? The 220V units with solid state relays would show 120V all the time on one side. The SSR relay usually only controls one side of the 220V. 

 If it has mechanical relays then maybe one side of the relay has failed. it’s how those relays usually fail.
 

if it’s a 120V unit verified working before, then it sounds like the bulbs bad. You could do a continuity test on the bulb with a voltmeter with the unit disconnected to see if it’s an open circuit. 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by johnson4