Silk screen printing with the curing of polymerizable liquids

Abstract

Apparatus is disclosed for the production of silk screened textile goods. Workpieces are positioned on pedestals of a conveyor at a printing station and a silk screen design is then printed thereon. Cyclical operation of the conveyor incrementally advances the printed workpieces to a 'drying' station where the printed designs is converted to solid form. The ink employed is plastisol based and is converted or 'dried' to solid form primarily through polymerization. The 'drying' station employs a heater element which selectively emits infra-red radiation spectrally limited to a wavelength range of three to four microns, a wavelength range at which the liquid plastisol exhibits a peak of radiation absorption. Operation of the conveyor is responsive to the rate at which an operator silk screens the workpieces with means being provided to retract the heater element from its operative position if this rate falls below a predetermined pace in order to avoid over exposure of the workpiece to the infra-red radiation. The plastisol inks are 'dried' in significantly reduced times with the energy requirements being greatly minimized. Similar advantages can be attained in 'drying' other polymerizable liquids by employing infra-red radiation which is spectrally limited to a wavelength range at which the liquid exhibits a peak of radiation absorption.