Hey we have this machine that cleans our screens for us. We simply put it on a conveyor belt and it runs through the machine and comes out the other end clean.
The problem is that it does not do a good job at it, so we put the screens through twice.
The other problem is that the stains and blockages in the mesh are still there when they go through the second time. So what we tried was to make the solution we mix to put in the machine stronger.
The problem was that the solution was attacking the glue on the screen so now the mesh is coming away from the frame.

Does anyone have a machine like this and have the same problems?
Or is there something we are not doing correctly?

Let us be hard and sincere !

If you have a cleaning and reclaiming machine giving you such poor results as described.... Throw it away or sell it if you find an other dead pidgeon !!

We had - in my company - cleaning and reclaiming fully automatic machine for many years (since 1986) from the French manufacturer BUISINE working himself in close relation with the German chemist REMCO for product - one single product for cleaning of inks and reclaiming of emulsion - with absolutely no problems to obtain a good cleaning and the elimination of ghost images, including for very big (2,5 x 3 M) screens. We left since 1996 the use of solvents to come to an "emulsifier", no risks of fire or any environmental dangers due to VOC emissions.
The fact we were working with UV inks only since 1979 helped also to find a correct "single" chemical to work with.

The conveyor wearing the screen must be in stainless steel. I saw in a machine using a simple steel chain many problems of oxydation after a few months of use. Same thing for the belts wearing the high pressure water or emulsion nozzles= they must be both solvent, sodium hypochlorite and acid resistant.
Of course the glue used with the "stretch and glue" frames must be quite resistant, but this is something that all the (good) screen products manufacturers supply easily.
The preparartion (cleaning, abrasion), of your steel or aluminium frame before stretching the fabric must also be perfect.

There are very good German, French and Danish automatic reclaiming systems manufacturers that can be recommanded.... It is, unfortunately, often only a question of investment !

MC

Hello to frustrated nowhere,

I am sure I can help you but I need more detailed information regarding the type of equipment, the used ink system, the stencil type and the mesh adhesive.

If you are interested in a practicable, working safe and environmentally friendly solution please contact me and I will do my very best to support you.

With best regards

Werner Deck

Werner Deck wrote:

QUOTE:
Hello to frustrated nowhere,

I am sure I can help you but I need more detailed information regarding the type of equipment, the used ink system, the stencil type and the mesh adhesive.

If you are interested in a practicable, working safe and environmentally friendly solution please contact me and I will do my very best to support you.

With best regards
Werner Deck

Hello the equipment is a GRUNIG G-wash 140.The inks are vinyl,UV and 2 pack.
The stencil type is Direct, the mesh adhesive is a 2-pack,red in color.(The most common)
We also had teething problems with this machine when it was first built with the screens jamming inside the machine. As you could imagine once the first screen jams all the other screens behind the first one all get squashed together and it was a cow of a job getting them out which also caused internal damage to the machine.

The other problem is the screen frames fill with the cleaning solution if you have any minor cracks in the frame.
This does not happen as severe if you clean your screens by hand.
I personally put a screen in my machine on a Friday ready to print first thing Monday and did not realize my frame was leaking.
Come Monday there was a pool of screen solution that spilled over the weekend that took the paint clean off it.
Now there is an ugly rust look where the paint used to be!

My boss bought this machine to make all of our jobs easier and he is appreciated for that.He bends over backwards for his staff, so it makes me sad that he spent 'big' dollars on a machine that really does not perform.

The other downfall is the weekly maintenance spending on the machine to combat erosion,top up chemicals,empty waste,ect..
The time it takes to perform maintenance,remove tape from the screen before putting the screens on the conveyor belt,take the screen off the back, put screen back on the conveyor belt the second time and the chemicals to clean the second time plus electricity and water (I work in a drought area level 6) this machine is uneconomical.

I believe that if you want a screen cleaned proficiently then it needs to be done by hand!