Plate Burner

[earlj]

This isn't really an equipment modification, more an equipment acquisition. Tom Persinger clued me in to an Ebay auction for a Nuarc Plate Burner in the Twin Cities metro area. To make a long story short, I won the auction for $404. It is more than I had hoped that I would have to pay, but I found similar units selling on the used market recently for $1250 to $1500.

It is a Nuarc FT26 Plate Burner, used in the printing and circuit board fabrication industries. It has a flip top vaccuum frame with glass on both sides, which allows one shot to be set up while the other one exposes. The maximum image size is 23"x27". The light source is a 3000 watt halogen bulb, and the unit has a built in integrator to measure the exposure. The unit is too big to get into my darkroom without some disassembly, and I need to find an adapter from my dryer plugin to the type of plug that the unit has.

Here are some pictures. I will post the results as soon as I get the unit up and running. Attached files

[earlj]

Here is how the flip top flips.

Attached files

[earlj]

Here it is with the glass up on one side of the flip top. Each side of the flip top has a separate vaccuum circuit, so you can expose with the vaccuum on on one side while you set up the next shot.

Attached files

[earlj]

And here is a shot down toward the lamp. This one is hard to figure out, as there is a lot of reflection from the glass of the flip top.

Attached files

[gneissgirl]

Wow, this is a serious piece of equipment!
Its footprint is a little smaller than I thought it might be. I can see it might be a squeeze thru a normal doorway, though. It seems to be in great shape! I think you got a great deal, Earl. I don't know anyone who could put it to better use, either! Good goin' ;D

[earlj]

Thanks, Mary. I think that I will have to remove the fan housing from the back and the control panel from the front to get it into the laundry/darkroom without major surgery. The disassembly will allow a thorough cleaning and inspection. The house wiring is already in place - I only need an adapter plug. My only concern is that the bulb looks well used, and a replacement is another $165.

But, I still am optimistic that it will enable the finest art that Earl has ever produced.

[Tom Persinger]

this looks great Earl! especially the 2 sided vacuum top! that's fantastic..... i look forward to seeing your first 16x20" 3 color gum print... good luck!

[murrayatuptowngallery]

Yeah, yeah, almost the same thing at the newspaper a lifetime or two ago.

Double check that halogen assumption. Probably more like a mercury arc lamp to produce the expected UV. Pretty sure you don't want to look at that lamp running either.

Serious UV output. I think we called the plates diazo process, but that wasn't my area.

[Longbow3]

There goes the electric bill...

[epatsellis]

Just a quick nit pickin', the bulb is a 3000w Mercury Arc. Gobs of UV, the FT26 has an integrator built in, and the vacuum works quite well. There is also a single sided version available, identical except for only having a single vacuum motor control and only glass on one side (I have 3 of teh two sided ones waiting for me to find space or homes for them) a step up from a tabletop type plate burner like the Nuarc 26-1K 1000 watt ones. (like the one in the studio here.) Good luck with it, and remember to leave the fans running for several minutes before you shut it off, as the bulb relies on the fans for cooling, and failing to do so will be expensive (~$125-150 last time I bought a bulb for one at work)


erie