Laminator Reminders

Laminator Reminders

A laminator is for coating flat things (i.e. paper) with plastic.

See also Reminders.

GENERAL WARNINGS

This reminder page is NOT a substitute for being trained on the CNC by a qualified HackPgh member.

This reminder page is NOT a substitute for using your brain and taking appropriate precautions.

ALWAYS wear SAFETY GLASSES when operating the CNC.

ALWAYS wear HEARING PROTECTION when operating the CNC.

ALWAYS follow all other relevant safety rules.

LAMINATOR SPECIFIC WARNINGS

The laminator gets VERY hot, be careful not to burn yourself when working with it.

Laminator Machine Details and Capacity

The laminator is a:

GBC Pinnacle 27 with Accutherm Heat Technoloy

Model No. Pinnacle27 Roll Laminator

27" is the maximum width of material that can fit through the laminator.

25" is the width of the lamination material currently in the laminator at time of writing.

24" is the practical maximum width of the paper you want to laminate - you need a margin of lamination material on either side of the paper.

The length is effectively unlimited, as long as the lamination material is.

Preparation

Clean the dust off the laminator before starting, to minimize dust getting into the lamination itself. Also see the esction below about clearing dust off the rollers with a "sacrificial run" of material.

It takes the printer a while to warm up, so turn on the printer approximately 10 minutes ahead of time.

The main power button is on the back, left.

The secondary power button is at the top of the control panel on the front, right.

Settings

On the front, right bed of the laminator (the blue area) is a lable with a table of material settings.

Choose the "nap" setting appropriate for your material. This will set both the material thickness the laminator expects and what temperature it will heat up to.

At Nap 1, the printer will heat up to 322F and beep when it reaches temperature.

Cleaning The Rollers

The rollers will have dust on them. Run a sacrificial run of lamination material through, to clear the dust off the rollers. Run about 12-24" length of material. Examine the results to see if dust is still getting into the lamination. If so, run some more material through.

Laminating

There is a guide, a dark blue plastic piece, on the blue laminator bed.

Lift the lever to allow the guide to slide, and adjust the guide's position so that when the edge of the paper you're laminating is pressed up against the guide, it is centered in the lamination material with a margin of lamination material on either side.

You will need to trim away excess lamination afterwards.

Make sure the laminator has reached temperature, then press the Run/Stop button on the control panel on the front, right side of the laminator.

WATCH the laminator and press the Run/Stop button again to stop it when your paper is fully through the laminator.

You MUST monitor the laminator while it is laminating, do not leave it operating unattended.

There is a cutter on the back of the laminator, it is manually operated. Make sure the end of the material you're laminating is past that cutter before stopping the laminator.

Use the manual cutter to cut the lamination.

Trim the lamination off your piece.

You're done!