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Big GBC Laminator

Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-08 by kilocycles

I may have lucked into something good. I put out a post on our county
FreeCycle Yahoo group for a heat-type laminator. It surprised me, but
I got a response. I went over and picked it up last night (free, of
course; that's what FreeCycle is all about), and this thing is an old
GBC Model 418-LM roll-type laminator. I haven't measured the rollers
yet because I didn't have anything handy that long. They're probably
18 - 20 inches, and there are 3 rubber rollers and one heated metal
roller. The rollers are about 2.5" in diameter. Looking at the
rollers and the diagram on the back, it's possible to manually feed a
board straight through. This machine must weigh about 50 pounds. It
has a temperature control pot or rheostat on the back.

There are some large electrolytic capacitors on this thing, so when I
check it out, I'm going to bring it up slowly on a Variac.

I sent an email to GBC to see if they can send me some info from their
archives.

Cheers,
Ted

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-08 by Stefan Trethan

On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 01:18:17 +0100, kilocycles <kilocycles@...>
wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text
> There are some large electrolytic capacitors on this thing, so when I
>
> check it out, I'm going to bring it up slowly on a Variac.


I doubt it's _that_ old ;-)


Sounds like a good find.

ST

Re: Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-09 by kilocycles

Stephan,
Stylistically, I'd say the 1960's! I'm going to disassemble it and
get the spiders out, and see what it'll do.

Cheers,
Ted

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 01:18:17 +0100, kilocycles <kilocycles@...>
> wrote:
>
> > There are some large electrolytic capacitors on this thing, so when I
> >
> > check it out, I'm going to bring it up slowly on a Variac.
>
>
> I doubt it's _that_ old ;-)
>
>
> Sounds like a good find.
>
> ST
>

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-09 by Stefan Trethan

On Thu, 09 Mar 2006 23:31:43 +0100, kilocycles <kilocycles@...>
wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text
> Stephan,
>
> Stylistically, I'd say the 1960's! I'm going to disassemble it and
>
> get the spiders out, and see what it'll do.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ted


OK, it _IS_ old ;-)

The 'lytics might be dry, i'd test them with the esr meter if they are
critical for function.
I'm curious what a 60's laminator would need 'lytics for at all,
considering that they practically exclusively used "mechanical"
thermostats then. Maybe you see a motor cap for the drive motor?

ST

Re: Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-09 by kilocycles

I just hoisted the beast onto my lap and shined a light in there, and
I don't see them. I'm looking through a bunch of 1/4" ventilation
slots. I could have sworn I saw two tall cans in there in the lady's
basement, but it must have been shadows of the rollers or something.
There is a large heat sink and a big rectifier or SCR of some type,
which is good, because that means this thing puts out some heat! The
fuse holder says "115 VAC, 15 Amp". Probably somewhere around a
kilowatt, I suppose.

I measured the diameter of the rubber rollers with a divider, and they
are 2 inches. The exposed roller length is about 19 inches.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> OK, it _IS_ old ;-)
>
> The 'lytics might be dry, i'd test them with the esr meter if they are
> critical for function.
> I'm curious what a 60's laminator would need 'lytics for at all,
> considering that they practically exclusively used "mechanical"
> thermostats then. Maybe you see a motor cap for the drive motor?
>
> ST
>

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Big GBC Laminator

2006-03-10 by Stefan Trethan

On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:34:48 +0100, kilocycles <kilocycles@...>
wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text
> There is a large heat sink and a big rectifier or SCR of some type,
>
> which is good, because that means this thing puts out some heat! The
>
> fuse holder says "115 VAC, 15 Amp". Probably somewhere around a
>
> kilowatt, I suppose.


Sounds about right, my fuser (30+cm length) has about the same power.



I was surprised today to find they sell GBC products here (Austria). I
bought a simple paper cutter (sliding blade type) and found it is GBC
brand. Might even sell their laminators here, but then, it's not like i
need one.

ST