Whip Mix ProPress SP, Operator'S Manual

Page 1: ...ProPress SP Furnace Operator s Manual Whip Mix Corporation 361 Farmington Ave P O Box 17183 Louisville KY 40217 0183 USA 502 637 1451 800 626 5651 Fax 502 634 4512 www whipmix com ...

Page 2: ...firing any porcelain To dry the muffle set the idle temperature to 400 C 752 F for one hour and 600 C 1112 F for one hour with the firing tray in place and the table left open Follow the numbered instructions on page 10 to set the idle temperature to the temperatures mentioned above Whip Mix recommends leaving the furnace on at all times Turning the furnace off overnight may cause damage to the mu...

Page 3: ...ro Series Accessories 33 Fahrenheit to Centigrade 34 Centigrade to Fahrenheit 34 External Component Locator 4 Chapter One Getting Started Before Unpacking 5 Unpacking 5 Press Version 5 Installing the Vacuum Pump 5 Quick Cool Jet Installation 6 Power 7 Front Panel Controls 7 Menu Selection Buttons 8 Information Display and Entry 9 Start Program 9 Abort Program 9 Using the Furnace 9 Chapter Two Spec...

Page 4: ...nent Locator Selector Knob Vacuum Pump Hose Barb Power Switch Power Inlet Plug Fuses Pressure Regulator Top Muffle Cover Pressure Regulator Attachment Calibration Port Back Cover USB Port Keypad Lift Table Vacuum Pump Power Outlet Quick Cool Jet Hose Barb ...

Page 5: ...pping hardware and remove it Keep these parts in case there is a need to ship the furnace back If problems arise Check the air supply for sufficient pressure Check all connections If problems persist write down your serial number and call Technical Support If problems arise Check the air supply for sufficient pressure Check all connections If problems persist write down your serial number and call...

Page 6: ...put end of the vacuum pump 2 Place the other end over the silver Quick Cool Jet barb located on the upper right back of the furnace See below 3 Using the other pink hose place one end over the input side barb of the vacuum pump 4 Place the other end over the vacuum barb at the back of the furnace 5 Plug the power cord into the power outlet at the back of the furnace next to the furnace power inlet...

Page 7: ...perature 60o F 15 5o C Maximum ambient room temperature 80o F 26 6o C Minimum relative humidity 45 Maximum relative humidity 60 Turn the furnace on using the power switch The display should light up and the unit will perform an internal self test for about 30 seconds The following screens will be displayed in this process Note The actual version number of your furnace will replace X XX XX in the a...

Page 8: ...gram Erase a program Special Functions press the Selector Knob and turn the Selector Knob to one of the following actions Start Night mode Change Idle temperatures Set vacuum level Select degree C Centigrade centimeters or F Fahrenheit inches Set program start delay Set Night mode temperature Select between constant vacuum pump or intermittent cycle vacuum pump Change volume level of sounds Select...

Page 9: ...or Knob to initiate the Program Abort Program Press the Abort key on the Keypad select Yes and press the Next button The temperature will begin dropping to Idle temp and the Table will automatically lower Using the Furnace After the furnace has completed the self test at power up the Firmware Version appears on the screen then the Main Menu is displayed Select the Special Functions menu item and p...

Page 10: ...be returned to the Main Menu automatically After the Night Mode Temperature has been set follow these steps to activate Night Mode from idle mode or during a program 1 From the Main Menu select the Special Function item Turn the Selector Knob to the displayed item Night Mode 2a Push the Selector Knob OR press the Next button to activate Night Mode 2b To start Night Mode at the end of the program w...

Page 11: ...t button is pushed The furnace may be set to display all values using the metric system with degrees in Centigrade and vacuum in centimeters of mercury OR to display all values using the American English standard system of degrees Fahrenheit and vacuum in inches of mercury Select Constant or Intermittent Vacuum Selecting constant vacuum will cause the vacuum pump to run continuously during the vac...

Page 12: ...pecial Functions push the Selector Knob OR press the Next button 3 Turn the Selector Knob until display reads CHANGE MUSIC VOLUME 4 Push the Selector Knob OR press the Next button Continue to turn the Selector Knob to the desired volume The cursor will appear to the left of the volume selected 5 Rotate the Selector Knob and a sequence of tones will begin playing to give you an audible reference fo...

Page 13: ...ble tone Transferring User Firing Programs to Other Furnaces Importing Once you have exported programs to the Flash Drive either via the furnace EXPORT PROGRAM function OR via the PC Software you can load these programs on a different furnace or return them to the same furnace 1 Place the Flash Drive in the USB slot on the left side of the furnace 2 Select the Special Functions item from the Main ...

Page 14: ...ired decrease temperature High Fusing Adjustment Calibration 801 C 1471 F or above 1 Select the Special Functions item from the Main Menu 2 Turn Selector Knob until display reads CAL HIGH FUSING Example If your porcelain appears to be overfired by 25 you would enter a negative 25 twenty five degree value to lower the effective firing temperature of ALL the High Fusing programs 4 Turn the Selector ...

Page 15: ...value and if rotated counter clockwise it changes to a negative value If you need to raise ALL of your Press Fusing program firing temperatures by the same amount you can dial in a positive value then press the Next button to accept the offset value Conversely if you want to lower ALL of your Press Fusing program firing temperatures by the same amount dial in a negative value and press the Next bu...

Page 16: ...e to activate the following features Fast Cool With Vacuum On for cooling muffle to entry temp between programs Lowers the lift and runs the vacuum pump until the furnace reaches the entry temperature for a program To activate this function start a program with an entry temperature lower than the current temperature Enable Program Password Protection Call Whip Mix TOPS Technicians On ProPress SP u...

Page 17: ...PC application A memory stick is then used to transfer the programs from the PC to the furnace Refer to the separate instructions provided in pdf format on the DVD The Change Program menu item allows you to add change move copy print or erase programmed firing cycles This mode is reached by selecting the Change Program Item from the Main Menu All of the features described here may be performed whi...

Page 18: ...sh the Selector Knob OR press the Next button to advance to the next character in the Program Name You may enter up to 14 characters If you do not require all 14 characters then simply hold down the Next button to space through the unneeded characters or press the Selector Knob and jump to the first Parameter entry screen 8 Dry Time Entry Dry Time is the time it takes the table to go from the full...

Page 19: ...using 15 Cool Time The Cool Time parameter specifies the length of time the table takes to go from the full up position to the full down position with several intermediate pauses along the way The range of values is 00 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds to a maximum of 1 hour 39 minutes and 00 seconds Rotate the Selector Knob to select the time value then push the Selector Knob OR press the Next button t...

Page 20: ...vested The SP Pressing Furnace senses the movement of the ceramic in real time and when the movement ceases the patterns are filled the muffle heater is turned off the vacuum is released and the table is lowered as quickly as possible to drop the mold temperature below the vitreous point of the ceramic before a significant reaction layer has a chance to form The thermal mass of the mold itself wil...

Page 21: ...er is the next to last parameter when entering a program It s default value is zero degrees If you desire to modify the Hold Temperature but don t want to disturb standardized program values you can enter a negative offset if the furnace is currently overfiring or a positive value if the furnace is currently underfiring This offset will be subtracted from or added to the Hold Temperature parameter...

Page 22: ...using Adjust Enter the Press Time value Consult your ceramic manufacturer s datasheet and use their value as this value can vary widely depending on the ceramic used Press the Next button to continue Initially it is recommended to leave the default value at zero You may decide to modify this at a later date or not Press the Next button to continue Maximum Press Time Backup Time Enter up to 14 char...

Page 23: ...elector Knob OR press the Next button to store the parameter 11 Hold Temperature Hold Temperature is the final highest temperature in a 1 Stage Program or an intermediate stopover temperature in a 2 Stage Program The range of values is 400 C 752 F to a maximum of 1200 C 2192 F Rotate the Selector Knob to select the temperature value then push the Selector Knob OR press the Next button to store the...

Page 24: ...e correct amount of time press the Next button or press the Selector Knob to enter the program RE PRESS TIME This function is password protected and adds an additional four 4 minutes to the selected amount when entering parameters under Re Press Time To use this function you must have selected it in the Special Functions section under Calibration see page 16 of instructions The press rod remains e...

Page 25: ...the Main Menu button 2 Select Change Program push the Selector Knob OR press Next button 3 Turn the Selector Knob until ERASE A PROGRAM is displayed Push the Selector Knob OR press Next button to select this feature 5 COPY TO is displayed Turn the Selector Knob to select a location for the copied program If a program that is already entered is selected you will write over the existing program Push...

Page 26: ...een accessed or if the Change Program feature has been used after the last program was run The third alternate screen Chapter Four Run Program Menu Note If the Selector knob is pressed while this screen is being viewed you will automatically find yourself in the Program Edit mode with the the first parameter displayed being the next program setting AFTER the currently running segment This feature ...

Page 27: ... The illustrations below demonstrate the progression of LEDs on a 1 Stage Program Pre Dry segment Rate Rise segment Hold Temp segment Closed Cool segment Open Cool segment The illustrations below demonstrate the progression of LEDs on a 2 Stage Program Pre Dry segment First Rise segment Second Rise segment Second Hold segment Closed Cool segment Open Cool segment First Hold segment ...

Page 28: ...to do the pressing with reduced pressure to avoid splitting the mold wide open Check your mold visually before placing the mold in the oven Press the Next button to lower the table place your mold on the stepped ceramic insert verify the mold is centered You will see a message Split Ring Reduced Pressure No on the display along with Press Next to Raise the Table The No signifies that the default i...

Page 29: ...r minutes After the first press has been completed re pressing will occur if password 315 is activated See the Calibrate Oven section of this manual for further information Rotate the Selector Knob until the screen looks like the one above and press the Next button This has activated the Re Press mode 1 If the muffle temperature is below the entry temperature specified in the program the table wil...

Page 30: ...at are designed to identify problems Several of these are listed below Not Enough Vacuum This error occurs if the furnace has not achieved its target vacuum level within 100 seconds The program will abort automatically Check the vacuum level setting If the barometric pressure is unusual you may have to call for fewer vacuums Check Programs The computer has detected a corruption of the memory in th...

Page 31: ...d the test will end 9 If the numbers dropped outside the acceptable loss range then the vacuum system has a leak and it must be repaired and recalibrated Fuses The furnace contains two fuses On the rear just below the power cord there are two 12 Amp 115 Vac Slo Blo or two 7 Amp 220 Vac Slo Blo 25 x 1 25 inch ceramic fuses If More Help is Needed We hope you have many years of trouble free service f...

Page 32: ...Tray Regular 96339 Encoder Assembly Selector Knob Control 96336 Key Pad Assembly 96341 Vacuum Sensor Assembly 96346 Flash Drive ProPress SP 96016 Fuses 115 VAC 12 Amp Pkg of 2 96092 Fuses 250 V 7 Amp Slo Blo Pkg of 2 Note Other replacement parts available Contact TOPS at 800 626 5651 for assistance Must have serial number on unit to identify correct part Technical Specifications Power Supply 120 V...

Page 33: ...33 ProPress SP Furnace Operations Manual High Efficiency Vacuum Pump ProCal Pro Series Accessories ...

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