Silk-Screen Lettering on Equipment Panels

whitehorse; one company the draftsmen use a preformed letters & numbers that transfered to white electric meters & other equipment we built. perry

Thank you for this suggestion.

Yes, I believe you are talking about the Dry-Transfer type of letters. I have used these before for prototypes and custom in-house use. There are two problems in using that type of system for my application.

1. I need to produce custom artwork and shapes that the pre-formed letter suppliers would not have.
2. These type of letters are extremely fragile, and require a clear enamel painted over them to protect them or they will simply wipe off with a cleaning cloth, and for cosmetic reasons, painting over the letters with a clear finish would not work for me.

Thanks, Curtis

Silk screen printing is not ideal for this type of work, ideally pad printing is the way to go, however you could try a local signwriter for vinyl cut letters, they can cut to any design.

OK, I'm looking at pad printing. At first, since I never heard of this technology, I was uninterested. Then I did a Google search, and - wow!

I would have to work a hand operated jig to ink and print the images onto the large equipment panels (there would be no way of removing the panels and inserting them into a pad printing machine, and I would not want to lay our the $$$$ to buy one anyhow.) It seems that this idea is workable, and promises as good or better resolution as screen printing. I'll keep you posted. Tomorrow I plan, if I get time, to contact some manufacturers and go over some questions regarding ink, and the viability of making a hand operating jig for inking and application. My biggest concern is inking the plates.

I'm not sure where you are but I think Jaycar and maybe Oatley electronics both sell screen printing kits especially for equipment panels.

I'm in Australia though I think both companies sell on the net.

My brother did T-shirts for a while and the process of making the screen is very simple. essentially you draw what you wnt on the material, stick it under a UV lamp for a while then peal off the stencil. Thats it...done, finito, end.

You can make small screens by cutting frames from plastic or metal sheet, you then put a small amount of glue on one side and sit it on the stretched silk. When dry you cut off the outside edge and you have a small screen made to shape. Visit an artist supply shop (normally found outside art schools) and in the paint brushes section you will find a selection of rubber brushes.

Art Supply shops also hold kits and other materials for non-t-shirt screen printing including paints and inks.

One resource you can use to make your own silkscreen frames are aluminum extrusions sliced about .5 to .75 wide. You can use different sizes and shapes to fit your needs. You can purchase small amounts of screen online. For best results, pre-stretch (evenly) your screen in a larger frame. Once mounted and cleaned, glue your smaller frames to the fabric. After the glue has set, simply cut around each one to free it from the larger frame and apply your own emulsion if you want to burn your own artwork. You can make a simple lightbox with a Halide Bulb or similar light. I have had success doing it under direct sunlight on a hot day...just takes longer. Once the image has been exposed for a set amount of time, clean the screen again to remove the areas of exposure, being careful not to loosen emulsion in the unexposed areas. Once dried, you have a screen ready to rock and roll. On the bottom of the silkscreen frame, out at the edges somewhere, build it up to slightly raise the screen off the surface it is placed on. Hysol ink works well, with a catalyst. Add to that a squeegee wide enough to cover your artwork in one swipe. Now you can rock and roll on screening your panels.

paint will wear off over time. IMO, the best and most aesthetic way of labeling equipment would be with laser-engraved acrylic or aluminum tags that you can screw onto the machine. very professional looking, neat and fast.

see this: http://www.epiloglaser.com/laser_engraving_equipment.htm

In order to write several words in a small place you could use abbreviations like: PWR (instead of "power"), GND (instead of "ground"), ALM (instead of "alarm") e.t.c.

I used to screen print custom printed panels and boxes.

one in particular had one inch side walls on every side of the panel.

I custom built a frame to fit inside the area that needed printed using 1/8 inch 5052 aluminum x 1/2" wide the area printed was only about 3" x 4" and had a cut out so could not use a square frame.

I can show you a photo if you would like.

Jack Mester (jack@jmsis.com)

Your custom built frame sound very interesting, but at the moment, I'm wanting to pursue the pad printing idea. I'll keep you offer of a photo in mind...

Thanks, Curtis

Pad Printing is frequently used in this type of application.

See this website for videos, technical articles and FAQs on Pad Printing:

www.padprintmachinery.com.

Good Luck!

The most durable inks are epoxy. After cure, they have excellent solvent resistance. Unfortunately, the chemicals you need to use to clean epoxy inks from the silkscreens will damage the organic mask on the screen. This makes them impractical for short run work. One way around that problem is to have metal screens etched out of stainless steel. They will stand up to the solvents, but are on the expensive side.

The industry-standard method is to purchase legend plates that mount behind the operator. This should be much easier and cheaper than the screen method.

Click https://www.c3controls.com/30mm-standard-legend-plates.cfm

Thank you for this suggestion, however, as I am rebuilding equipment for resale, I want to make the instruments look like they did when originally manufactured. This limits me to applying inked/painted letters, with some other artistic elements, as well. Standard off-the-shelf lettering would not be available either.

It is more expensive, but reproducing the original look is more important.

Thanks, Curtis

Hello,

I recommend to investigate to use laser engraving and "laser blackening", as a viable alternative to screen printing.

RMI lasers can likely point you to someone in your area that has a laser machine and can give you some ideas and price. The letters won`t rub off, and will be crisp.

It may not be as expensive as you might think.

http://rmilaser.net/

Mirco.

The instruments I am rebuilding would not take too kindly to be (over 270lbs.) tipped on their backs, fronts, etc to put them in a LASER engraver. Unless they are able to shoot from the hip in my workshop like a cowboy, I wouldn't think this would be feasible, at any cost. The instruments cannot be disassembled for this purpose.

Thanks, Curtis

Hello WhiteHorse:

as I understand it one laser process makes labels that you then screw to the machine. No turning it upside-down and stuff.

They really look niece. Very sharp and clear. And no worries about paint compatibility either.

You can choose an old style type face and general design to match the refurbed machine date.

With regard to Polyurethane paint. Dad and I use polyurethane 'varnish', on wood, and once it is cured (two part poly) it is there for ever.

Of course you will have your own preferences. Please let us see the thing before and after finishing OK?

There are laser units available that are portable, RMI has units that could likely be set on its side easily. Fiber optic lasers where you essentially just have a fiber optic cable to place in front of your panel are even more portable, but it seems you are going after other methods, and belive that engraving lasers are very large in size.

was just trying to help, best of luck, trust the cowboy to get the best bang for the dollar, even from the hip!

Mirco.

Use a mask, air brush, epoxy paint. This is how we do what you are looking for.


See Markem Corp. et.al.

Laser marking is also used, but the cost of the equipment is problematic. Keyance 3D laser marking system is in the 30K range, Trumpf is in the 40K range. Laser marking is great for volume production, but cost restricive for low run volumes.

As suggested, pad printing will get into small spaces or use separate printed labels held under the switches. Another option is inkjet printing, the print head can be some distance from the panel & the MIL Spec inks dry instantly & are durable. Companies like Domino & Videojet make the equipment, it's not cheap but occasionally turns up on ebay.

Look up permanent laser labels - they are made on aluminum stock and you can print on them using a laser printer. cut out with a straight edge and ax xacto knife. www.rippedsheets.com

Hi

When you finally know how to, please let me know I need this for exactly the aplication...

Wangito.

Maybe I'll get my associate to shoot a few photos to send you when we get this working. At this moment, I am looking at a bar pad that is available on eBay for <$30 with shipping. It is 18" long, and /34" wide. I believe this will give me the height and width for anything I want to print, even after I cut a few pieces off to make some shorter bars for myself. I'm going to buy one anyhow, even though I don't yet know whether the process is what I will choose. It has some good looking potential, even though I would have to jig my inking and printing for good resolution and alignment, by biggest worry is finding ink that is compatible with the Polyurethane paint I am painting the panels with, and I have yet to understand how to ink the plates, whether I am using steel plates or not. I hope to get some time to call some suppliers tomorrow with these questions.

Thanks, Curtis

Hello WhiteHorse:

as was said by a Guest, the laser method looks great. It will not be damaged by any kind of cleaner.

The company mentioned seem to sell lasers only. If you could find a place that made them, it would be handy.

If you do not like that, I would think you can use the same paint as is used to paint the machine? Or epoxy?